Location Notes

For our cold open we need a field, or large patch of untended grass. I think it should be untended because that would look more realistic to die in a discrete part of town, or distant field. We also thought filming at dusk or dawn would have a good atmosphere with the light, as this is a sad, mysterious scene, so the lighting would be soft, and possibly low key. Although this effect could come from post-production, rather than filming. Below are the main locations that were considered for filming the first scene of our production.

Blows down

• Large areas of rough looking grass
• With such a large area, easy to find a unpopulated part
• Grass would be wet- at around dusk or dawn, this could be a possible health issue
• Possibility of dog waste in places
• Hard to control extraneous thing walking into shot
• Risk Assessment- watch out for wildlife, wet grass could be a health issue



Image from Google Maps




• Local, easy and free to get to

Blows Downs- taken on 19/11/11

Mentmore Park

• Long grass- could be hard to get good angles, but good for hiding the body
• Hard to avoid dog owners and dogs and other extraneous things walking into shot
• Mentmore park looks well tended to, so would have to keep that part out of shot
• Free, and a local place within our town
• Risk Assessment: as there is long grass, we would have to check for any litter or waste hidden within the grass, also if it is wet could be a possible health risk.

Image from Google Maps

Longrove Wood

• Slightly further away than the other locations considered, situated in Studham, 5miles from Dunstable
• more of a forest than a unused field, so may not give the same impression
• could be a good alternative if we are unhappy with how the filming within a field looks
• forest looks isolated which fits to the genre
• busy road adjacent to the edge of the wood- noise may leak through
• As the wood is a campsite, could be hard to get the right atmosphere, especially if people are camping whilst we are filming
• Risk Assessment: Busy road we would take caution if we go to close to it, sharp trees may harm actors and crew, as it would be Autumn/winter when we are filming, we should be aware of dead and frail trees 
• Longrove is a section of the woods that you can see on the left of Byslip road

Image from Google Maps

Half Moon Lane

  
• The end of this lane, leads to Blows Downs
• It is often muddy and looks slightly uncared for
• Filming at the end of the pavement or possibly road would reduce the health risk of laying in wet grass
• Quiet part of town, so not much noise from town life may leak into the film
• Dog owners and dog walkers may be a problem because we could possibly be blocking an entrance to Blows Downs
• But as we are still in the estate, not the Downs themselves, the dogs would often still be on leads
• Residents and users of the downs often park closely along the end of the lane, it may be hard to keep these out of shot
• Risk Assessment: We would be filming very close to or even in a road, albeit a quiet one; could be litter on the pavement, although this could add to realism of the shot, would have to be removed

Image from Google Maps

Half Moon Lane- taken 19/11/11

 Grove House Gardens

• Popular location within town- likely to have extra people in shot
• Grass is cared for and may not look as rough as other sets
• Road adjacent to the gardens
• know location- may look less realistic in a film
• Risk Assessment: acknowledge and respect wildlife and other people, take care of roads nearby

Grove House Gardens- taken 21/9/10

 

Image from Google Maps

Dunstable Downs

• Large area of rough ground, possible to find an unpopulated part
• Some manufactured pathways which could be used as an alternative to grass
• Possibly too far to walk to for Nadine and actors
• Risk Assessment: brambles, steep hills and wildlife would all have to be accounted for

Dunstable Downs- taken 21/9/10

Public Footpath between Bibshall Crescent, Hillyfields and London Road/High Street South

• An alley would give a different, perhaps scarier feel than grassland
• This particular one isn't used often, so will most likely be empty
• Although if someone does use it whilst we are filming, we would have to let them pass and possibly have to re shoot part of a scene
• In November/December time there is a cover of leaves on the floor, which we could use or remove from shot
• There is some cracking on the tarmac of the footpath which could make the set look dangerous
• Risk Assessment: blocking the use for the public, litter on the floor may have to be checked for and removed, caution to be taken at the mouth of the footpath as it's close to London Road

Footpath- taken 19/11/11

Image from Google Maps