Production

We have been very busy working on our final AS project which is called 'Them and Us!' As described in previous posts it is based around the recent troubles here in Northern Ireland. Production is well underway as I write this, and we are working on the editing of the film. We first filmed at a location in West Belfast called Casement. It is a GAA stadium which has a bar in it. We filmed the IRA meeting here as they sat in the bar discussing an upcoming attack. Myself and two other friends acted in this scene. We went through it repeatedly until we got it to look and sound realistic as possible. We then ran through it on camera at numerous different angles which was very effective when it came to editing. Mise en scene was perfect as the bar is quite old and not very modern, therefore looks very similar to how it did during the time frame which our filmed is based. Our costumes were also very effective as we dressed how we imagined people would have during this period, which was helped greatly through our research and watching multiple films based on the troubles. As well as filming from many different angles, we used a lot of different camera shots including mid shots, medium shots, and zoom up shots. The camera shot was dependant on the dialogue, for instance if the actor was saying something quite serious then there would be a zoom up shot of him, I believe this made it very effective for the audience and help them understand the importance of certain parts.
We then filmed the UDA meeting, which we shot at the side of an old building which had caged windows. We thought this was effective as we wanted it to be very different to the location we shot the IRA scene. We used a lot of different angles once again, one of which we used was over the shoulder shot which was good when focusing on a particular character if they are saying something important. Chris, who is my media studies partner, acted in this scene, as well as two of my friends. Our mise en scene was very effective here also as the building behind was very old, and the windows had cages over them which would have been very common in the period it was set. Our costumes in this scene were realistic which once again were based around our research of what people might have wore during the time. For both the IRA and UDA scene, we filmed in excess the amount needed, which was initially a problem as the film was far too long, however after a lot of editing and work, we managed to cut the size immensely. It also ended up being a good thing, as we had a wide range of filming to pick and choose from.
Finally we filmed separate shots of murals around Belfast, this was very useful in creating an atmosphere in the film. We took different angles of each mural, as well as slowly scrolling along them which was quite effective. We tried to incorporate the murals to relate to the piece of dialogue being spoke, for instance when the IRA speak of 'entering enemy territory' there is a loyalist mural which states "Loyalist Sandy Row - Stay Out!" This created a very powerful image for the viewer. We recorded a total of ten murals, however we decided it would be best to not use them all as it would result in the viewer seeing very little of the two paramilitary groups which the film is based on. We used the same amount of Loyalist and Republican murals, once again, to keep everything equal.