We used a Canon EOS 550D to shoot our film.
This allowed us to shoot our film in good clarity and also allowed us to be more creative with the use of focus in our film.
We originally planned to shoot during four seperate days.
Shoot 1: Canary Wharf
Our first shoot was used to film two seperate scenes. The first was the first scene in the film where our character’s clean-cut image was established in a purely visual way.
We used a shallow depth of field in order to put focus on different parts of the character’s outfit in order to display his sartorial precision.
We also showed a glimpse of buildings which become more relevant later in the film.
The second part of the shoot gave us a lot of freedom as we were aiming to capture shots of the character admiring Canary Wharf’s vast architecture. We did not storyboard this scene in order for us to to use the most aesthetic shots that caught our eye during our time in Canary Wharf.
Shoot 2: Dining Room
The second location was used to film two seperate scene – the scene before the climax, and the scene which followed it.
The above shot was filmed by placing the camera on an equal base to the cups which menat that the camera would have its back to the wall. This meant that the lens had to be adjusted using a mirror to check how the shot was going to look.
Shooting the main conversation scene which was the centre-point of the film was done by creating the set and then focusing mainly on performance.
In order to provided a warm feeling in this scene, we shot it in the evening and used the locations three-segment lighting to make the subjects appear clear to the audience and keep the background in focus but in darkness which created a relaxed atmosphere.
The blueprint that are spread out on the table are real blueprints which were provided by Taylor Wimpey – a British housebuilding company.
Shoot 3: Bedroom
Through this location, we were able to capture the argument scene and one clip which would be used in the final scene of the film where the protagonist thinks about his wife.
The actress who played the role of the wife (Sagun Pun) had not done any acting prior to this role so during this shoot, other than directing the scene, myself and Jamie Smith worked with Sagun in order to help her provide an aefective performance. In order for her to have fluidity in her speech, we hung up her lines within her eyeshot to stop her from tripping on her words.
In order to create an effective transition from the previous scene in to this one, we began shooting from birds-eye view into a medium shot to begin the scene.
We used a shallow focus on this close-up in order to focus on the character’s facial expression at the reveal of the film.
We also needed an additional clip which would be used in the final scene of the film where the protagonist thinks back to his wife when she was happy. In order to get this clip in the best way, we filmed the actress against a blank wall in the same location with different clothing and attempted to make her genuinely laugh to achieve the most effective result.
Shoot 4: Stratford
Through this shoot, we were able to capture the final scene of the film. Iy was originally planned for Jamie and Grace (the actors playing a father and daughter) to be filmed in the same location but scheduling conflicts disallowed this. For this reason, we filmed this shot later in the day.
We shot Nimesh as he turned to look at the characters behind him.
The father and daughter were shot later in the day in Dagenham.
Upon reviewing this footage, we disliked the change in lighting and also felt that the location of the father and daughter did not match the location of the previous shot. For this reason, we later redid the shot in a different location in better lighting.
The final sequence in the film uses reflection in the physical dimension in order to create sentiment for the character’s perception of himself. In order to film a reflective surface, we had to make sure to shoot from the correct angle in order to avoid displaying the camera operator in the shot.
Frame 