My
main issue with Gone is the length, the whole thing just feels too rushed.
However the brief was 10 minutes so that is what I’ve done. I will definitely be
doing a longer cut because I think the story suffers at this length. Yet overall
I think we have done a great job at creating a drama with minimal crew, budget
and a very tight schedule and I am generally pleased with the final outcome.
I
feel that I have worked extremely hard throughout the entirety of the film
making process. I do not believe I could have put in much more effort, although
Gone is not perfect at least I know I gave it my all. I have struggled
throughout this project due to lack of crew, I have been doing lots of roles,
including things such as catering! A more supportive and expansive crew on set
would have taken the pressure off me and allowed me to concentrate more on
getting the shots and staying true to the story. Never the less it all got done
in the end and I had so much fun doing it. I really enjoyed being on set and
found it a great experience to be directing professional actors!
Pre
production was a hive of activity, recceing locations with my producer Rosy,
developing the script, storyboarding, researching and watching lots of TV and
films for inspiration. I found it quite fun and interesting to organise
everything ready for the shoot, I wish I’d had a bit more time before I had to
drive to London to pick up the actors. The pre production stages flew by so
quickly and before I knew it, it was the night before the first shoot! I
appreciate just how much work goes into making films now. Every tiny detail has
to be carefully considered and making Gone has given me great experience in
doing just that.
I
am really pleased with the locations we managed to secure. Even though a few
fell through, like Eden, I think our back ups turned out to be the stronger
choice anyway. Heligan created a much more wild looking Garden of Eden than the
Eden Project would have done and the biome would have been a nightmare with the
lenses steaming up on the camera. I was able to make quick decisions on set
when confronted with problems, such as the pouring rain for the scene where
Ollie hands Imogen the bees, I adapted the script there and then and we went
with it. As it turns out I actually prefer that they are outside now and I
think the rain adds a lovely feel to the final scene, it makes the relationship
between Ollie and Imogen seem more playful. Other locations I think worked
especially well include Bodmin and Cligga Head. The control tower at Bodmin is
such a cinematic looking building, fitting the theme of the film perfectly with
its run down appearance. Cligga head on the other hand is a beautifully scenic
location and produces a different kind of cinematic aesthetic, but equally as
powerful. Although not much of the location made it in to the final cut I did
get some good stills for posters etc (and I love how they were edited by Jon
Barclay). Myself and Rosy knew from the very beginning that the Locations would
play a massive part in making the film look good as we were on such a tight
budget. I think we pulled it off well and secured some amazing locations, they
were a pleasure to film at.
Overall
the shoots went smoothly, there were bound to be a few hiccups, there always
is, granted some were bigger than others. Most of the time we worked well as a
team but there just wasn’t enough of us, this made things take much longer than
they should have. This part has always been my favourite of making a film, but I
do feel some of the fun and excitement was taken away by having to worry about
everything. I found myself having to think about whether the actors were ok,
whether we were getting all the shots and if they were even any good, if
everyone had eaten enough, if the shots would match up in the edit, had I
covered enough cut aways, so on and so forth. This is a shame because I really
did want to enjoy every moment of it, looking back on it now it was great fun
but at the time I didn’t really appreciate it.
Once
we were in the edit I started to worry massively about the film, I just didn’t
like how it cut together, something wasn’t working for me. We had to cut out so
many shots I was proud of and sequences that were filled with great moments
with Ollie, to enable the rest to breathe within the 10 minutes. Each cut I saw
just jarred and didn’t flow properly, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. I
got feedback from people saying that the start and end were really good but the
middle was blocky and didn’t have enough substance, I could see where they were
coming from. After the crit screening we amended a few bits that were pointed
out, but there were few that I decided as Director I didn’t want to do. Such as
taking out the last scene on he bridge with Ollie and Imogen, it was a fair
point but I believe that the story needs this part, you need to see what
happens to the bees, after all it is supposed to be a conservational drama to
help them. After viewing the film on the cinema screen it was clear to me that
the grade wasn’t stylistic enough, it didn’t conjure up the same atmosphere as
the many apocalyptic films I watched did so we re–graded, de-saturating it more
and pulling the shadows into blue. We then moved on to the sound design and
this is where the film came into its own. It no longer felt as awkward with the
terrible levels and the clicking of the image stabilizer. Hours were spent over
a number of days trawling through audio websites trying to find the right piece
of music to lift the footage, it paid off in the end. I am extremely happy with
the track I found, in my opinion it makes the film. It completely transformed
it, the paced immediately seemed slower which was amazing, it also builds a
great atmosphere, especially when it changes at the control tower.
I
am really pleased with what I managed to achieve with this film. I have aimed
to keep really high standards, at times I may have seemed a bit of a
perfectionist but it paid off.
Here
are some of my favourite parts of the film:
There
are a few major things that I would change about Gone, one of them being the
scene on the bridge with Ollie and Imogen. On the day of shooting I only had 20
minutes to film the whole scene, and it shows. I was too rushed to be able to
get enough camera angles and do enough takes to nail it. I left Heligan knowing
that I hadn’t got it and I was dreading watching it. This scene proved the
hardest to edit, both visuals and audio and we had to re-shoot some stuff with
another actor to try and improve the emotion. Another thing I would change is,
as I’ve mentioned before, the length. It is just too quick, there isn’t enough
breathing space to allow the emotion and atmosphere to mature. There are also a
few scenes I would add back in, such as the part when Ollie feeds the stray
dog, I think it will make a touching scene. I also like the sequence where he
is playing around on the carousel, it highlights how alone he is and how he
craves for emotional support.
I
hope that I have managed to create a drama with an innovative approach to
tackling conservation. I hope it will make a difference.
