We all arrived at the track for 11:45pm and proceeded to walk the track as a team and decide the camera locations. This was a great opportunity for us all to understand the creative vision of this scene and which areas would provide the shots needed. We would have liked to have scouted this location before the day, but Cailan's work schedule along with University meant this was not an option. We spent 45 minutes plotting the camera locations (4 different locations for Cailan, 3 tripod shots as well as two action cameras located around the track. We had 5x 5 minutes sessions to get all the footage we wanted.
George took control of the drone (Because it was his drone and he knew how to use it) for the first practice session, while Cailan drove the kart. We really wanted a mixture of drone shots to use, so this was important. Cailan would still have four sessions to obtain footage with a moving camera. After George completed his drone footage, he packed up and took over Cailan's kart, while Cailan proceeded to get to his first location. Looking at George's drone footage, he did not quite capture the excitement from the race that I was expecting. Thankfully we are in a position to re-film these shots at a later date. We have intended to re-shoot these drone shots on Sunday 24th February. I did give George a list of shots he should have captured, but he struggled when the pressure was on. We have decided more practice is needed before we re-shoot this sequence, as these shots can add another dimension to this karting sequence. 
Cailan changed position for each of the four races as decided on our track walk. Each shot captured a different part of the track and enabled each shot to be very unique in its own way. I had shown Cailan some reference material I had shot at this track in the past, to allow him to understand what I was expecting. The shots Cailan created gave a great sense of speed, allowing the viewer to understand why people find karting/ motorsport an exciting sport. I was impressed with Cailan as he followed my reference material well but also chose to film at his own angles when he thought they would benefit this sequence. This has allowed us to have a wide range of footage for the karting sequence in which we will need a lot of cutaways to overlap when I am speaking. Overall, Cailan and the cameras placed on tripods around the track captured a great variety of angles, which leaves us in a great position going forward. 
While it was a less stressful sequence to film than yesterday, Cailan had clearly taken on board the feedback I had mentioned, meaning that he kept rolling, ensuring we have more footage to cut around. The majority of the shots were clean and in focus so I look forward to seeing a test sequence along with the test PTC we recorded after racing.
We wanted to test the PTC sequence before we actually filmed it on the 24th February as we had learned from the issues experienced on the license day. We did intend to film the actual PTC on this day, but we decided testing it first would allow us to understand how this sequence would look, before shooting it for real. It was important we did this because I realised that I had not created the best questions, meaning the responses I gave for this segment could have been improved. This along with the positioning of the camera are going to be changed, as I feel the totally static camera throughout doesn't give the best impression of a natural scene. When we come to the actual PTC in February, we also need to capture a couple of cutaway shots of me putting on my racing overalls as well as parts when I am walking to the "interview point". These extra shots will be vital in allowing this sequence to have full coverage, ensuring the edit does not run into any issues with showing a natural sequence.
We did a practice PTC about why Filching Manor is so important to me. It was good but as mentioned, I was not a fan of the totally still scene. I little bit of movement or actuality would have allowed this scene to be more engaging. Therefore, I have changed the script and adjusted my shot lists so that we can film these sequence for real soon. This test shoot was very important and allowed me to understand how I actually want to shoot this scene. I liked the angle and shot size, but I feel more movement would have helped this sequence engage with the viewer in a way that makes it look and feel more natural. We have learnt from the mistakes of the license shoot day and it leaves us in a good position going forward, allowing us to have a clear idea of how we want this sequence to look.
As well as shooting and testing the sequence at Brands Hatch, we went to the South Downs to recce the location for a future shoot date. We got to the site and it was very windy and we did not have enough daylight hours to complete a proper scout. This was because we had overrun with the karting session, which meant everything thereafter was delayed. This was through no fault of our own as the people karting before us had overrun. Thankfully we can re-scout the South Downs as a team at a later date. We still picked up on some useful information in this scout, such as out of bounds areas and the potential for a lot of wind noise. These observations have allowed us to update the equipment needed along with allowing me to understand where best to film this scene on the Downs. The later location scout will allow us to cement the ideas and how we will film this sequence.
Today was a much more promising day, and we had clearly learnt from the mistakes made on the license day. Going forward we now have a clear idea of how we want to film the karting PTC as well as how we are going to tackle the South Downs scout. All of the footage of me in a kart looked fantastic and it is going to give us a lot of options when in the edit. I'm very happy with myself and the team, we proved how effective we can be as a team when we know exactly what we are doing.
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