Understanding The Script - Steal The Style

This blog post will be dedicated to the script of Steal The Style and how my camera will be used.

I started off by going through the script with Cailan and circling the points at which our camera was in use. This was a useful exercise for our very first rehearsals as we knew when there was a possibility we may get used.

As the rehearsals went on we started to get called by the director on segments that were not in the script. To solve the issue of being surprised we continually updated our personal scripts to match what the director wanted.

However, it was frustrating as when a new script was put on the google drive it would not include the "new" shots that were being called by the director. Then we would go to work on the new script and the director would still call for the shots that were asked for the week before, the ones we had handwritten on the script. This was an annoying cycle that kept going throughout the unit meaning on every new script we had, we had to hand write all our camera positions. By the end, most of the time the script had no relevance to the camera operators at all.

As for the movement of the camera - I had taken the initiative to tape down markers on the floor so I knew where my camera would be pointing. I also wrote notes in our script to make sure we knew our cue to change position. Cailan did seem to follow my lead on this as I did all the writing and taping down of positions as he went along with it. It would have been good to have both taken responsibility for these jobs but I was happy to do them by myself if it meant our camera was always in the correct position.

An issue that presented itself throughout was my first shot of Alfie. He is standing side by side with Adeline and I am trying to get a close up on Aflie. This was never achievable though as Alfie tends to move a lot of the spot and it is impossible to track him when the camera is locked down. I did mention this to George. N the floor manager who I know would have transmitted the info to the director. Nothing was ever done to change the distance they stood apart from so I could get a wider shot to compensate for him moving constantly. This will now be an issue on the day, which is frustrating as I have mentioned it numerous times - I will have to work with it and most likely have Alfie be cut off when he moves or a wider shot where Adeline is slightly in the frame.

Another issue I came across in the final rehearsals is that when I am operating the camera towards the end of the show, I am focusing on the two presenters. I always lined up the camera in the Center of Frame as that is what it is listed as. However, on every take, I was told to put them more towards the left of frame to give them "looking room". In hindsight, this should have been discussed way before this moment, but it was frustrating to only learn about this change over talkback in the middle of the take.

Like I've mentioned in my report and other blog posts, it was hard to fully trust the script as a camera operator as a lot of the time, what was on the script did correlate with what the director wanted or the cue cards given to the actors. I am not trying to be harsh in saying this as I realise this is everyone's first experience in a live setting. I just want to make sure the blog voiced my concerns that myself and Cailan had throughout this process.