BLOG ENTRY #3: The Banana Chronicles

Coming up with the concept for “The Banana Chronicles” was a lot easier then the actual shooting. I saw how the whole short was going to turn out in my mind; then when I tried to implement this, the moving came out entirely different.

Originally, we wanted to a short film based solely ‘in the eyes of a banana.’ Filming this was difficult because continuity was always an issue (is the banana inside the bag, is the same person passing by). The end result was decent for the allotted timeframe but if it could be done again, I would want more cameras and a lot more reshoots. Another problem was definitely the tracking shots. It was very difficult to film only the banana while weaving in and out of Hunter traffic. The filming was often shaky and unsteady. If I could do that again I would try and set up tripods to increase stability, for the given timeframe this was impossible.

I am really happy about the after effects. I did not have a clear song in mind during the filming but afterward during editing, my partners and I defiantly felt an old silent film vibe. Adding the grainy film look with only a ragtime piece accompanying the footage was probably my happiest part of the project; things seemed to fall into place.

I learned a lot about continuity, planning and directing filming this short film. I never really understood why it was so important to plan out every shot until I was thrown into a crowded hall with only a banana.