Filming in the Forest -- Change of Plan

Today we went out with the intention of filming a pair of worn down trainers hanging from a tree in a forested area. We tried various shots in various trees, zooming out, however, we did not achieve the desired shot that we planned for. So we went exploring for inspiration and happened to stumble across a battered computer chair amongst some rubbish in a green area which just looked so abandoned and lost that we felt it fit in perfectly with the general mood for our experimental piece so we set up the camera and tripod and I did the slow zoom out from it.

As the sun began to set we carried on exploring parts of Sheffield that we hadn't been to before. We found a couple of abandoned houses that had the potential of fitting in with our piece but from our positioning across the river, we could not quite capture the detail in which the house was in; including specific parts of it that were falling apart.

Instead we proceeded to film the setting sun and the deep pink of the sky as it quickly changed from this to a navy blue. We thought it would perhaps fit in as a cross cut in between the zoom out in shot two and the start of the zoom out of shot 3.

Overall, even though the filming did not turn out quite how we planned it to, we ended up filming some beautiful shots of the sky and the decaying chair. Instead of giving up on the shoe idea and going back home, we decided we would make the most of having the equipment and the weather conditions being perfect (especially for December). I'm sure in the editing process, we will manage to work it in to the general feel of loneliness and isolation that we wish to create throughout and I feel the footage we shot today is more than adequate.

From the footage we shot today, we have decided not to film a fire in the forest. We have already been experiencing problems with being able to actually shoot a fire, because the owners of Ecclesall Woods will not allow us and we have tried to contact a few other places who have also said that it would not be allowed unless in a barbecue, which is not quite as atmospheric, so we decided to discard that idea; especially seen as the sky creates the beautifully rich, warm colours of the fire, so we are at least maintaining one aspect of the fire storyboard and plan.