Meetings and Discussions

Here I have posted my word document of detailed meetings and Discussions within a small team.

                                                                            Record of Meetings and Discussions for Filming at Bodiam.

Thursday 24^th March 2011

The Production team gathered today in the meeting hall to discuss the pricing of filming at Bodiam Castle in the summer July 2011. It was decided that it would be more convenient to film during the summer months, as there is a less likely chance of rain. We referred back to the RECCE report, documented on the 16^th March 2011. It informed us that the main footpath leading to the castle entrance could be a possible hazard, for those unsteady on their feet. As the area is very open and exposed to cold winds, the temperature could prove to be a discomforting problem for members of cast and the film crew.

This decision was finalized by the realization that in order to eliminate the potential hazard of falling on slippery surfaces we would have to hire a number of national trust buggy’s to carry cast and crew to and from the castle safely. This will not be necessary if the weather stays dry. We are in dialogue with the national trust department presently arranging to hire 2 buggy’s incase of bad weather. Our initial thought was that we would need at least 5 buggy’s but by filming in the summer we are saving our budget. ( Longer daylight hours of filming. Bright lighting to help the atmosphere and the shoot and light up, any dingy corners.)

Monday 28^th March 2011

Today the team gathered to discuss the costing and budget for our Medieval Game trailer, which is to be shot this summer, July 2011, at Bodiam Castle, 12 miles north from Hastings.  We started with creating a list of categories to take into consideration. They are as follows: Script and Rights, Producer, Director, Cast, Travel, Hotel and Lodging, Food, Camera, Lighting, Sound, Locations, Art Department, Office Expenses, Petty Cash, Equipment hire, Film or Tape Stock, Lab for development, Insurance, Editing, Shipping, Still Photos, Contingency, Final Post Online, Final Post Mix, and Marking.

Spread sheets are being put into production to show predicted costing for these elements, and by our next meeting we should have these present in order to make some crucial decisions.

We located the national trust film and TV Location Hire information, so we can get a realistic quote.

Please call Harvey Edgington, Broadcast & Media Liaison Manager, on               020 7799 4547         020 7799 4547 or by emailharvey.edgington@nationaltrust.org.uk

Alternatively contact Lauren Taylor, Broadcast & Media Liaison Co-ordinator, on               020 7799 4548         020 7799 4548 lauren.taylor@nationaltrust.org.uk
Tuesday 29^th March 2011
Today we looked closely at the first hiring cost sheet that we produced. A finalised decision was made today that if the filming is to go on longer than expected, we will replace the two Z5E HDV High Definition Camcorders with the previous model, The Sony Z1E. Filming 4 days post schedule will add another 950 pounds to our expenditure, but if we replace the Z5E with the Sony Z1E for the last 4 days, the amount will decrease to 260 pounds, saving us a total of 690 pounds. This may not even occur, but we want to be prepared as much as possible. We also decided that purchasing the DV tapes from Argos online would work out the cheapest. At 15.99 for a bundle of 5, we thought this was a fantastic offer, and after reading the great reviews, we couldn’t resist.
So far we have decided on hiring the following items for the costs shown below:

Camcorder x2 - £2660    £3610

Tripodsx2 - £784   £1064

Audio mixer/sound mixer - £392   £532

Recording kit/player - £1960   £2660

Microphone - £140    £190

Lighting Kit - £770     £1,045

Dolly Cart - £1050    £1,425

HD Monitors - £2,800   £3,800

Vision Mixer - £280    £380

DV Tapes - £79.95    £79.95

The first price shows total hire cost for the item for a period of 14 days and the second price shows the total hire cost for the item for a period of 19 days. We noticed that the difference in costs after adding an extra 4 days on to our expenditure dramatically increased the total hiring costs by £3,870.80p. We could consider hiring cheaper equipment for post schedule filming.

Wednesday 30^th March 2010

Today the team put together a spread sheet indicating the budget’s for the different categories stated above in the 28^th March meeting section. The budget’s for each are listed below.

Cast and Crew:  (We have worked out that there is a list of 52 members of cast and crew, 42 crew and 10 Actors and Actresses.)  £65,000

Travel/Transport: (coaches and buggy’s) We would need to hire a 53 seater coach.  http://www.coachbroker.co.uk/coaches/53-seater/  £7,000

Hotel Lodging:  The White Rock Hotel located on Hastings Seafront costing approx £84 per head per night.  £65,000

Equipment Hire:  £20,000

Food: £7,000

Art Department: £5,000

Office Expenses: £5,000

Location Hire: £20,000

Petty Cash: £5,000

Insurance: £2,000

Editing: £5,000

Contingency: £5,000

Final Post Mix: £8,000

Marketing £ 20,000

The budget comes to a total of £236,000

Budget.....

I have just put together a spreadsheet showing the budget for our different categories. This is formulated so that if the price is changed, the total will change accordingly. I have also changed my hire cost spreadsheet, as I realised that my total amounts were incorrect. The total expenditure for a 14 days hire will come to 10,915.95 not 10,915,15, which i had previously posted below on this blog. I also changed the colour of the sub total boxes to a yellow colour, and the totals to a red colour, to make the document clearer.
 I am just about to work on my presentation, here I will show all my conclusions and rejected ideas. I also want to display some of my photographs of Bodiam Castle, as I was quite pleased about how they turned out.
I have already started my self evaluation but I am struggling to finish it at the moment, I hope I get a wave of inspiration soon, as the deadline is looming, and I am sure friday will come faster then the wind.

A note on the Camcorders.......

Another decision was made today, that if the filming is to go on longer then expected, we will replace the two Z5E HDV High Definition Camcorders with the previous model, The Sony Z1E. Filming 4 days post Schedule will add another £950 to our expenditure, but if replace the Z5E with the Sony Z1E for the last 4 days, the amount will decrease to £260, saving us a total of £690. This may not even occur, but it is always good to have a backup plan.

Costings

Below I have posted my costing write-up.

                                                                                                                                       Equipment Hire

Looking through the Hire rate card for digital film camera’s we established that the best plan would be to hire a fairly decent model for a fixed rate. We are strongly considering the Sony Z5E HDV High Definition camcorder, as this is the improved version of the Sony Z1E. It shoots 1080 HDV progressive or interlaced modes with 16.9 shooting modes. The recording duration is 63 minutes, and our games trailer/short film will only be 20 minutes long. The camcorder has improved 4x resolution viewfinder and is capable of shooting simultaneously on HDV tape and flash memory using optional HVR-MRC1K. It also shoots DV/DVCAM & HDV PAL. It costs £95 per day to hire, so two camcorders over the course of 2 weeks would come to £2660. If the shoot runs over by 4 days it could end up costing £3610. It is quite pricey, but the team feel that the camcorder and lighting are two of the most important aspects of the film and should be prioritised. If we do need to cut the budget on this item slightly, we could always hire the older model of this camcorder, the Sony Z1E which only costs £65 per day, which would mean a total of £1820, for the two weeks and £2470 if shooting commenced 4 days post schedule. This could potentially save £840.

For the tripods we are looking at the Sachtler Video 18, with carbon-fibre 3x stage legs for £28 per day, totalling £784 for the two pieces.

We are interested in hiring the SQN 4S audio mixer with 4 input dual output analogue, which is supplied with headphones for £28 per day, totalling £392 for two weeks use.

For the recording kit we are looking at the Panasonic AJ HD1400A, Varicam/DVCPRO 100 HD VTR, which is a player and recorder for direct playback or ON speed 24fps or 25fps varicam recordings. It is HD, SD and fire ware supported and compatible with FCP HD systems. It records 1080/60i, 1080/50i, 720/60P.Along with this we have chosen the Sennhesier K6/ME88 gun microphone, which includes an on-camera mount. The Player costs £140 per day, totalling £1960, and the Microphone is £10 per day totalling £140. For the lighting kit, we want to hire 1 single blonde kit and an ARRI Double 800W Redhead Kit. The Redhead kit costs £25 per day and the blonde kit slightly less at £15 per day but we need two of them. This comes to a total £770.

For our dolly cart we would like to hire the Key West Magic dolly, which comes complete with centre boss and column plus 1x seat with pneumatic and track wheels. It is compatible with Moy or Speed Track for £75 per day, £1050 for two weeks hire.

We have decided to hire the Astro WM3014 7” HD LCD high quality HD display monitor with Waveform/vector functions and universal camera-top arm for £100 per day, totalling £2,800 for two monitors.

We have finalised a decision on the vision mixer, we will hire the video distribution amplifier for £20 per day, totalling £280.

Because of the brilliant 4 and a half stars review on the Argos website, we have decided to purchase our DV tapes online. They come in bundles of 5, so we will need to purchase 5 at the cost £15.99 each, this will allow one spare left over.  The total comes to £79.95.

After reviewing the above prices we can conclude that the cost of the equipment will come to a total of £10,705.95p, this is without allowing adding extra time to the schedule. If the filming was to run 4 days post schedule the total would then increase to £ 14,785.95p.

Camcorder x2 - £2660    £3610

Tripodsx2 - £784   £1064

Audio mixer/sound mixer - £392   £532

Recording kit/player - £1960   £2660

Microphone - £140    £190

Lighting Kit - £770     £1,045

Dolly Cart - £1050    £1,425

HD Monitors - £2,800   £3,800

Vision Mixer - £280    £380

DV Tapes - £79.95    £79.95

Total: £10,915.15p        £14,785,95p   

Diagrams

We have had several meetings regarding solutions to the problems discussed in the REECE report. We spoke about filming in July, as this seems to be the driest month of the year, as established by an average temperature and rainfall chart located on holidaycheck.com. we are still in the process of finding the exact measurements of the castle. I have added below some diagrams that could be helpful.

Equiptment and Staff

Today I have been making a list of all the people that we may need on site, for filming at Bodiam. I tried to put some structure and order to this list, and then thought carefully about where I need to prioritise.
I thought about Camera crew, such as the operator, first and second assistant, and camera production assistant, then the Producer, production Manager, Unit Manager,and first and second assistant directon. Then in the Art department, we will need a production designer, assistant art director, a set designer and Illustrator. For the sets, we will need a set decorator, a buyer, and set dresser. In the props department we will need a builder, master, head carpenter, cinematographer, and a director of photography.
Then the electrical department would consist of a gaffer, lighting technician, and an electrical best boy. I also learnt a new word. Grips - these are trained lighing and rigging technicians. Their main responsibility is to work closely with the electrical department, to put lighting set-ups in place that are required for a shoot.
I thought about the Editorial department, consisting of a film editor, colorist, a negative cutter and a telecine colourist, and about the location management.
I began to make a list on excel of  possible pieces of equipment that we might need for shooting and the cost of hiring these.

Bodiam Castle Pre Production Continued ......

The view from the Northwest tower was terrific! So many endless posibiltites and ideas filled my head. I felt fairly secure up among the roof tops, as there was a large sturdy looking concrete wall surrounding me, a positive aspect, but then something struck me that was so very obvious that I stupidly had not even thought about, until now. The moat! We would have to make sure that all members of the team are able swimmers and that there are more rubber rings provided. Electrical equiptment would need to be kept as far away from areas of water as possible, and perhaps protective material would be needed to cover particular items.
There is very low lighting in some of the more interesting areas, so I would have to consider where all the electricity points are and what kind of lights would be the safest to use.
Along my travels around bodiam I came across a dimly lit room with a sign stating that bat's are living in certain areas of the castle. This may cause some minor problems, whilst filming at night time. All members of the team would need to be made aware of these flying friends, so as not to cause alarm.
Another thing that bothered me, is that the toilets are located quite far away from the castle ground. We might have to consider providing portable toilets onsite. I think it is ignorant to assume that everybody is healthy , and some may find the bathroom distance distressing if they have a medical condition/problematic bowels or bladder. I feel that it is essential to provide nearby toilets and a cafe or food stall for the comfort of the staff. They will not perform to a high standard if they are left feeling neglected.
With electrical equiptment, it will be important to have all cables tapped down and visable to the eye, always running parallel to the paths, or cables completly covered, to prevent trips and nasty falls.