As previously documented in Blog Post 62, at that point in time I went about designing and filming the first part of the original footage that I would then include in my promotional video. Having looked at the editing and compilation stages of this first part of the original footage this meant that I was able to move to the next stage of filming that I was going to carry out myself.
I previously decided that I was going to make use of both footage that had previously been used in the previous series of Ashes to Ashes and Life on Mars, but also original footage that I will film myself. In regards to this second and final part of the original footage filming I once again decided that I was going to film some more car chase elements. As previously mentioned in a whole host of past blog posts, the different cars play a key part in the series' and therefore something to include in my promotional video as to stay in keeping with the style.
Moving onto the situation of this part of the original footage I decided that two vehicles were once again going to be used - the main character's car of the 1986 Ford Capri and also a 1981 Mercedes W123. The inclusion of the Ford Capri was once again a very easy choice to make as that was obviously the main characters car and therefore was always going to feature prominently in the promotional video. In regards to the other car, though, I decided that the 1981 Mercedes W123 would make a nice period reminder back to the 1980s and to have them both feature would reminisce back to the previous series' of Ashes to Ashes and Life on Mars. Also it was very useful that the Mercedes that I had access too was finished in the incredibly period colour of beige which is also very uncommon to see on cars nowadays.
In regards to the actual filming I once again decided to make use of my iPhone 5s which based on the previous experiance of the first part of original footage I was very pleased with the more than adeqaute quality for both audio and visual aspects. The camera on the iPhone 5s has a rather impressive camera in that it records in 1080p HD and also at 30 Frames Per Second which meant that this would be more than adequate and high quality for the sort of production that I was looking to make. Also, the 5S has improved video stabilisation too which is a useful feature to ensure that no camera shake or wobble is evident.
For this particular part I decided that there would once again be a total of five different scenes within this part of the footage and these included the following:
Scene 1 / 5 - Car Chase Begins
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| Scene 1 / 5 - Car Chase Begins |
For this first scene of this second part of the original footage I decided that I was looking to create a sort of introduction to this short series of different scenes. In regards to the location I firstly decided to have a change to that of the first part of the original footage, and decided on a rural setting. As this was on the public highway it was important to take into consideration that of other road users and therefore the use of the rural roads here in the The Fens meant that this would be easier to manage. To begin with I decided on the location of a lot of stacked hay bales on a off road side layby which would be the perfect "cover" for that of the Ford Capri (the Police) to hide behind waiting to intercept a car coming along the road. With this in mind, the Mercedes W123, being driven by a balaclava wearing criminal, would be driven at a swift pace along the road past that of where the Ford Capri was "hiding" and waiting to intercept. For this scene I decided that there was going to be some panning to filming of the camera and therefore I was actually going to do the filming of the video myself. With this in mind I managed to find two very willing volunteers who decided that they would like to help me out with some "stunt driving" for this scene. Once I had instructed both of by willing volunteers on my thoughts for the scene and how it would work, I was able to start filming. All went according to plan and once the Mercedes W123 drove past into view the Ford Capri was quickly launched away (with lights on for full effect) from a standstill to start the chase of the criminal.
Scene 2 / 5 - Mercedes Drive-By
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| Scene 2 / 5 - Mercedes Drive-By |
With the car chase scene introduced and initiated by the first Scene, this meant that now I was able to concentrate on three scenes of proper "chasing" scenes prior to ending the Car Chase too in the 5th scene. For this second scene I decided that I would like to capture on film footage of a fast drive by of the Mercedes as to emulate that of a fast chase scene. For the filming element once again I decided that I wanted some panning in the shot and therefore I decided that I would carry out the filming. This once again pleased my balaclava wearing criminal who drove the Mercedes past where I was crouching at the other side of the road where I was filming. Speed-wise it was important to get the right speed to portray the right effect, even though it would be possible to increase and/or decrease the speed when editing the footage in Premiere. However, too slow would not appear realistic, and too fast would not allow for a smooth driveby footage and also would not appear realistic either. With this in mind when driving past to give the impression of speed the Mercedes would be accelerating and the speed when passing was around 50 Miles Per Hour.
Scene 3 / 5 - Capri Drive-By
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| Scene 4 / 5 - Capri Drive-By |
In a similar vain to that of the 2nd Scene with that of the drive by of the Mercedes, as the car chase was progressing I decided that a similar drive-by shot also of the Capri would be a good piece of footage and when the editing stage was in progress this meant they could be closely placed together. I have certainly seen this type of quick drive-by clips together and as they had previously worked well I decided this would be a good combination. Once again I was crouching at the opposite side of the road to where the Capri would drive past, and once again speed-wise it was important to get the right speed to portray the right effect, even though it would be possible to increase and/or decrease the speed when editing the footage in Premiere. However, too slow would not appear realistic, and too fast would not allow for a smooth drive-by footage and also would not appear realistic either. With this in mind when driving past to give the impression of speed the Capri would be accelerating and the speed when passing was around 50 Miles Per Hour.
Scene 4 / 5 - Car Chase Corner Drive-By
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| Scene 4 / 5 - Car Chase Corner Drive By |
Having introduced the car chase, and also now filmed some close-by driving shots the next scene that I was looking to film was that of another drive-by shot. For this I decided that I would stand on a corner of the road, and then film the two cars drive past quickly as to give the effect of a car chase. With the two car going around the corner this would also hopefully mean that there would be an element of lean with the cars being driven quicker than usual as per a car chase. Also, I decided to ensure that the lights on the Capri were once again switched on as that would enhance the effect of being the undercover police car being in action and chasing that of the criminals car. For this clip I decided that I would not pan the camera and therefore decided to hold it still as to capture the cars being driven past at speed.
Scene 5 / 5 - Car Chase Ending
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| Scene 5 / 5 - Car Chase Ending |
With this being the final scene of this part of the original footage, and also the last piece of original footage that I would be filming and also using in my promotional video I decided that I wanted to end the case with that of a capture of the criminal. With this in mind I opted to revert to the similar location to that of first scene as this was going to be perfect for this particular scene. To begin with, the criminal's car of the Mercedes was placed to the top right hand side of the dusty are and my willing volunteer kindly donned the balaclava and when the camera was filming would jump out of the car and run around the back of the Mercedes as to emulate running away. Whilst this was happening, the Capri would appear from the left hand side of the camera and whilst accelerating swiftly it would then perform a handbrake turn and slide across the front of the Mercedes. In regards to the filming element for this, I decided to utilising the hay bales that had been stacked up, as this meant that when standing on top of these I had an excellent aerial top down view which meant for a nice alternative camera angle to capture the footage from.
With all of the footage now recorded for this second part of the original footage that I was going to record, this meant that I was now in a position to begin editing and compiling this part of the original footage into a series of scenes. This would therefore be beneficial to me as I could then include this in my promotional video in the future when I begin compiling the entire video sequence. Personally I felt that ensuring that I had all of the original footage in place and edited meant that I knew exactly what I was working with and how I could then therefore incorporate this with the footage that I would gather from the previously aired series' of the shows. Therefore the next blog post will be in regards to the editing and compilation of this second part of the original footage that I have recorded.
