The first issue I encountered when filming is that things look very different on the camera then when I planned it on paper. There are background objects that you don't expect and conditions that could mess things up. I ended up changing location for my first scene in filming as me and my actor both agreed it wasn't very exciting for my trailer.
I also didn't have any chalk to create a body outline on the ground and my actor was questioning the realism of this idea - wouldn't there still be police banners surrounding it? I decided I would come back to that shot another day even though that could also create an issue because of the leaves on the ground - would they still be there? Would it look weird if it wasn't?
My actor being taller than I anticipated was also a problem as I couldn't use the tripod effectively in a close up as it didn't reach high enough.
We were also racing against the time as the light would run out if we took too long in one place - I wanted to film the running scene when it was getting darker, after doing the other scenes.
Another few shots that I had to reschedule were the body's in the field - my other actors weren't available for filming when I did that scene so I filmed the shots that I could and I will come back later with my 'body's' to redo that section.
On a brighter note, I loved the sky in the background of my cornfield scene - the sunset made it look a lot more interesting, as it cast his silhouette slightly during the different angles - The problem with this though, is that I have to come back at the same time when I film the bodies scene otherwise the lighting will be different and look odd.
I really enjoyed doing the running scenes, I think they look the most effective and I'm glad I shot the random clips of the light, because it adds to the atmosphere of it. I like the composition and lighting of the clip with my actor descending the stairs. I didn't plan that shot exactly as it came out, but i am pleased with the result. I had issues with the tripod again though, my actor again being too tall; I had to lean it back against a wall to fit it all in.
Another issue I had with filming in general was trying to keep the camera steady in the shots where I had to move around my model and I also wanted to do a low angle shot in the cornfield slowly moving around my actor; but that wasn't possible to do well.
I need to go back and record the news presenter voice overs as well as my leads screams. I need to film the body scene and the chalk outline frame. I need to film in town with everyone staring at my actor. I need the link shots in the phone scenes to show his being stalked. I also need to film the slamming of the door with back to it or as we decided to change it to a car door - climbing in hurriedly, shots from inside and out, showing his panic.
