At the start of the day we traveled to Grindleford, finding the location we had identified as suitable during the recce. For this particular scene I saw it being shot in a very specific way to hide the fact we are not actually recording with the older prop camera. As a result, I took the camera for the first scene, as it was much quicker than having to try and explain the ideas and composition to Victor and the crew.
We faced no real issues during the filming for this sequence, other than the changing bright light which we had balance with lowering aperture size and bouncing light with a reflector. The small aperture did also make it more difficult to achieve a shallow DOF or pull focuses with the Mk III, as we did not have an ND filter. Our preparation and shot lists worked well here to get the coverage, and the specific angles I had in mind when writing the script worked to improve our efficiency.
For the more complex second scene in Grindleford, we set up at our second location, a sloped bank next to the stream. We had picked this location initially as the high slopes behind the banked area seemed to be ideal for the villain's POV shots, looking down on the vulnerable Laurence below to create tension. The most difficult aspect of the location was sound recording and communication because of the loudness of the stream.
As indicated in the script, Ed is by the stream at the beginning of this scene, but comes up to find the empty chair and Laurence missing later on. This presented an issue for blocking and framing as it was difficult for Craig to move quickly in the suit up the bank, and we were sure that the travel time would be unnecessary and cut from the final edit anyway. To get around this we envisioned the edit and placed a cut after Ed's line next to the stream, and then in the next shot he walks into the frame to cut out the travel time.
To create a sense of unease or that something is 'off', we used canted angles with cluttered frames in the aftermath of the inferred kidnap of Laurence. I also referenced a shot from 'War of the Worlds' (Steven Spielberg, 2006) with the camera lying on the ground, using the Hitchcockian rule to present it as the most important element. We consciously avoided using a master shot for that part of the scene as we knew we wanted to use low-angle close-ups to obscure what has happened, adding to the suspense that follows into the next scene.
Initially I had wanted to get a number of shots of Ed looking around, panicking as he tries to find Laurence. these shots would be a mixture of POV wides from behind trees in a number of angles, as well as a handheld, close-up of his reaction - shot with a wider angle lens up close to use the distorted, claustrophobic look. However due to time constraints I had only time to get enough basic coverage, including a longer take moving around Ed that I decided I would cut into smaller shots to create a panicked, fragmented feel.
Returning to the house location, we prepared to shoot the final scenes with the actors - including re-shooting the basement scene from the first day.
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