Production - SHOOT DAY 6 Ford Puma Test

The "Puma Test" was not a sequence we had originally planned. but, as the project evolved over the past couple of weeks, a few unique opportunities became available to me as a contributor. Along with the Formula Ford test next week, I have had the opportunity to drive a race-prepared Ford Puma. This will not feature heavily in our University version of the film as we only have 20 minutes to work with and it will be cut into a 60-second montage on the build-up to the race. As a team, we intend to produce a longer cut when finishing University to show off all the experiences I went through on the build-up to my first ever race. Therefore, as much planning went into this shoot like the rest of my sequences.

Puma Trackday Shotlist:

• Shots (in car) entering the track. Signs, road signs etc. 
• Alex walking to pitlane (M/S from in front) (M/S from behind)
• Alex walking through the tunnel (W/S)
• M/S - Alex greeting the race team
• C/U Alex putting on helmet + equipment 
• M/S - As Alex speaks to the team 
• M/S (In car - Looking out the front windscreen)
• C/U (In car - Looking towards Alex)
• Trackside shots (In detailed plan)
• M/S Alex speaking to team when in pitlane
• M/S (From side) Alex walking to car, reflecting thoughts to “behind” the camera. 
• M/S Alex in car reflecting on the day

George had also asked around at University for help on this shoot date as we were low on numbers. He found the help of Gilead from the first year and had rented out a Sony 4k Camera from an exterior website so we would have enough cameras. George would not be on a camera, as we had learned from the license day that he should not be taking time away from his role as producer. George would help the first year understand what was needed and would be free to communicate to the rest of the camera crew when needed. Below is where the camera operators would be placed around the track. We would be using the camera cards I produced for the license day (but didn't end up using because we didn't have the right access). George had secured trackside access today so we could see if my plans from the license day were good. 

Unfortunately, we had an issue when the 1st year who had promised to help us, never showed up at the station where George was collecting him. Once we had resolved the issue of how George would operate today, the crew signed on as official media (Which was great as we were disappointed when we could not do this for the license) and I went up to the drivers briefing. Cailan filmed me as I went about my business which will all add up to some amazing coverage of this day. As we did not have this access on the license day, it was great to understand what we would be able to do going forward. The better access meant we had a much better view of the track for camera operators. Cailan was able to follow me throughout the day instead of running into the issues he faced with the race license (Things such as not being allowed in certain areas of the track).

After the crew had signed on and I had my briefing, the crew went to set up trackside as Cailan followed me while I was run through the process of how the day would work. Part of this was how we could securely mount the cameras into the car. I did have to switch on my director's brain while setting these cameras up, as I wanted to ensure the angle captured would be interesting for the viewer. When we came to set up the cameras, we realised that we did not have all of the correct mounts and joints to get the desired shots. Thankfully, the team I was driving for had some spares and saved us from having far from optimal in-car shots. An example of the in-car shot can be seen, I am really happy with how this looks, with some slight colour correction it will be an immersive shot that will excite the viewer. This was also a good opportunity to test in-car camera locations as we would not have much time to decide these locations on the actual car in April. Small things such as camera placement will make a big difference in the final film, so it was worth spending the time setting them up correctly and testing them today.

Cailan did a fantastic job in the pitlane to secure both actuality of my day, plus shots of me on the track when I was out there. Cailan's intuition allowed us to secure vital extra coverage from various angles around the track which will be fantastic for the edit. I was pleased to see my shotlist and camera plan were helpful as they allowed the crew to have a target of every shot needed to make this sequence work. Going into every shoot we need to prioritise these key shots, as without them it could mean the sequence does not make sense. Outside my shotlist I want the crew to test their skills and pick up extra angles so we have the best coverage possible. Reviewing Cailan's footage, I was very impressed with his work today. He had picked up on a few of his mistakes from the license day and was able to film a much better timeline of my day. You can see the quality of his shots below, these will enable us to have a very stylistic and interesting montage sequence in the University cut. Cailan also filmed my reflection on the day which will be useful for the extended cut and the behind the scenes videos we are creating for our donators on Kickstarter.

As for the on-track cameras, Nick and George did a great job under the circumstances. After the no-show from the first year, the team pulled together to create some fantastic shots that would look incredible in a montage. On future track days (and the race day!) we will have more crew meaning even more camera angles will be captured. The issue with mid-week shoots is that some of our camera operators are not available. One small issue that was communicated by Nick was that the walkie talkie communication could have been better at times. This is something the team is continually working on, as clear communication through this new method won't be perfect straight away. It's important to pick up on these small details so that we can learn from them and create a good working environment within our film crew, where everyone speaks about any issues they have. As for the footage on track, it will enable us to mix them with inboard shots to create an epic montage. I am really looking forward to seeing this footage in a timeline, which will also allow me to understand if we need to adjust any camera angles now the team have experienced the trackside access.

Considering I have been struggling with food poisoning the past week, I am very pleased with how the team helped me get through it and worked extra hard to ensure today was a success. We captured some amazing footage which will look great in a montage in the sequence where today will be featured. Even though today will only be in our main documentary for 10-20 seconds, we planned as thoroughly as we will for the biggest sequence. This planning and detail allows the whole documentary to have a very consistent tone throughout, allowing our documentary not to dip in quality. I was very impressed with the whole team today, it certainly shows we have learned from previous mistakes and are now in a much better place. I am excited about our next shoot on Thursday, which will be various interviews with disabled drivers at Silverstone. I am looking forward to seeing how people allow nothing to get in the way of their dream.