Pre Production - Location Scout - Sunday 14th at Donnington Park

Yesterday I visited Donnington Park to do a location scout of the track which seems like it will hold the event which concludes our documentary, the motor race. Timetables for the 2019 season are yet to be confirmed, but from researching into the previous year's championships, they have all started at this track. While at the location, I needed to make sure I looked out for certain things. My findings can be seen below.

Transport Links

Near Donnington Park, there is an International Airport (East Midlands), which was a potential travel system, but due to flights from down south, it isn't financially viable to fly. When I went to location Recce I drove and it took 3hr30mins, but for George and Cailan it should take 1 hour less as they live closer to the location. We should be able to fit all crew and equipment across two cars and money for fuel has been allocated in the budget.

Parking was right by the track and only around 10 minutes away from the pits. However, as I will be racing, you are allowed cars inside the circuit boundaries and we should be able to park parallel to the pit garage. This will help us as we will not need to carry the kit from the car to the paddock. As for links around the circuit, from what I could see you can walk all around the track. From previous experience, there may be media shuttles between races. As long there is strong leadership from Cailan about where people will be filming, getting the correct shot will be no issue. A plan will be made in early 2019 after another recce about where each camera will be placed.

Space

I visited while it was raining heavily so I was not able to walk the whole of the track, but I was able to gain vital knowledge of the surroundings by observing the area. I was attending this event as general public, not media, meaning that I was not able to assess how the filming locations would be trackside. As mentioned in another blog posts, filming positions at the side of the track are often narrow meaning it will be tough to set up a tripod. I hope to assess this situation again in January when we recce the location again, hopefully with access to go in the media areas.

Space for the general public is great. As shown in the pictures there is lots of space and especially on a smaller race meeting like I attended, and one similar in size to one I will be racing in, there is only a small number of people meaning we could film where we wanted. From my experience, we should obtain media access but we know there is a possibility that we will not. Therefore, I wanted to see what the shooting conditions for general viewers were. I did some test shooting while I was there. I did notice that around the first half of the lap it was especially hard to get close enough to the track to get the cinematic shots that were after. Saying this, there were numerous locations we could film from, which I have indicated on this map that I took with myself when looking at the location. (The X marks the location and what you can see from that location. The arrows are areas I did not visit but it seemed people were observing from these locations and could be good for filming)

I also looked in the pit garages to see how big they were and they were larger than expected. I had only ever visited ones at Brands Hatch before and they are much smaller. This enables us to have more creative freedom with filming in the garages. The view from the garages was also good, but when the race is live we will be unable to walk down the pitlane as it is a very high-risk area. In general, the circuit has a lot of space for filming and I could not see any issue from the general admission viewing areas. When we recce again with the trackside access we will see what the restrictions are. I will be in contact with George about booking this location for a recce and obtaining media accreditation. 

Power Sources

While looking around the location, I kept an eye out for what power sources were available at the track. These will be vital on the shoot day as we will need to charge the cameras at some point during the day. While in the pit garages there seemed to be a couple of plug sockets. We should bring an extension lead to make sure that all of our cameras can be charged. This will also be right next to the car so the cameras will be exactly where we need them. I also noticed a few power outlets in the cafe but it would be too much of a risk to hope one is available on the shoot day. 

We may also decide to buy additional camera batteries just for this event, but this may not be cost effective as we could easily end up spending £150 on batteries. We know our budget is already quite high so we need to make sure it stays sustainable. This will be a discussion we take forward into 2019 and decide if the cost is worth it. 

Facilities

I kept a special lookout for facilities such as toilets, food areas and places to rest when at this venue as they will be important as we will be there all day. I was surprised at how up-to-date this track was and the facilities were much better than expected. 

Toilets are located at a number of points around the track which will enable any crew member, no matter where they are, to have access to a toilet. These will be clearly located on a map we will use for the crew so they know where they are so that we have no problems with not understanding where the nearest facilities are. 

Areas for food are located at the main entrance. Depending on when our race falls in the day, we may ask the crew to bring food with them at our cost or choose to use the lunch break as an opportunity to meet up and discuss final plans before the race. We must be wary that to travel to certain locations around the track could take up to an hour to walk to. Food was served throughout the day, but as a team, we know that it is best that each crew member takes enough food for the day just in case the food hall is inaccessible because of the timing of the race.  

Areas to sit down and rest were located around the track, much like the toilets. There are benches to sit and grandstands as well. We hope these will only be needed in a situation where something has happened on the track and suspended the racing. Otherwise, all crew should be focusing on capturing the shots for the documentary. However, it is important to know these rest areas as the team may decide to meet up and discuss something in the middle of the day. These areas being clearly located on the map will then be very important in allowing all crew members to know where everyone is.

Hazards

It is important to observe the hazards with any location to minimise the risk of injury while filming. I visited on a very rainy day and all the areas with tarmac surface where fine and not slippy underfoot. However, there is a large area of grass that will have to be walked upon by certain crew members during the shoot day. That grassy area was susceptible to being water-logged and slippery. If the day is rainy or the area had seen rain over the previous days, caution will be needed when crossing the grassy areas.

Other risks come from the cars themselves. The camera crew who will be directed by George on the day will need to be diligent when moving and always keep an eye on the race track. Like anything in life, accidents can happen and if the crew member is keeping an eye on the track it will remove them from any risk that may present itself. This rule goes if you are trackside or just a general spectator at motorsport events. As I have experience with motorsport and being trackside as photographer/videographer, I will be able to show the crew how I operate as well as knowing where is safe and what places could be at potential risk. As long as the crew member thinks before they act, motorsport should not pose a threat. It is unplanned and actions with no care and attention which can cause issues. I will make sure, along with George and Cailan, that the rest of the crew know this and works accordingly.

Overall the biggest issue with location would be the distance. We would have to travel a long way, but we have put funds aside in the budget to make sure that will not be an issue. The facilities and track itself give us a lot of opportunities to capture some quality shots. We will see if this is the location used for the event by the end of December.

What to do reference: https://elementtwentysix.com/6-things-look-location-recce/