We had another very productive week of editing in which we focused on three main sequences. These were, the diary room, the sequence with my Dad and karting and which all had a lot of attention this week.
Diary Room
After re-filming the Diary Room after some feedback from Simon I was really excited to get this edited. George did a great job with it and the four camera shots enabled him to have a diverse range of options with the edit. I was a big fan of the ultra wide shot that I planned for this reshoot and Simon agreed that it was powerful and especially good because it showed the garage and enforced the mise en scene that we had set out throughout the garage.
The mixture of four shots along with my better presentation really meant the Diary Room was vastly improved over its initial version. The lighting and mise en scene meant I was immensely proud of how this scene looked and felt. I am very happy to have made the decision to re-film this and I feel it will benefit the production.
When Simon saw the edit he really liked George's cut and I agree that it works much better. He suggested that we cut down the final one because it does go on for quite a long time. This could dislodge the momentum built through our documentary, especially as this would be towards the end.
I worked with George and we decided to remove a few of the discussion points [pictures] as we both felt that some did not add that much to the story. In doing so we drastically reduced the length of the sequence but when we show it to Simon he may suggest going even shorter. Personally, I do not want our sequences to become too short as then we have the possibility of our sequences being jumpy and all over the place. The rest of the Diary Room looks great and I am really happy.
Simon suggested that we could use some of the Diary Room to spin off into other segments [eg. Karting] but we have not yet tested this to see if it would work. It would also end up with us going back to the Diary Room much more than I would have liked as these are supposed to be special sequences. I feel the more times we visit it, the less impact they have. However, I am more than willing to test this idea as it could work really well.
Sequence with Dad
Over the weekend we had filmed the sequence with my Dad and as we were almost caught up with all of our shoot dates, Cailan could get to work on this edit. It was a short sequence, one that did not need any shortening, but one that did need a lot of time spent on sound design and shot choices.
We had four cameras to use and all of them did get used in Cailan's edit. I was a fan of the track and dolly shot but I agree with George that it was used a bit too much. As for the audio, camera quality and scene length it was perfect. It was a really great little scene and I am very proud of my Dad for doing this because I know he hates being on camera.
In my personal opinion, I felt that the music for this scene did not work. For a scene that was supposed to be happy and remembering good times, I felt the music was somewhat sad. Both George and Cailan disagreed with me and I did not have much choice but to stick with the music as even after trying new music they still believed that the original music worked best. I am happy to agree with them as we are a group and we need to do what is best for the project and if the team thinks this is best then we should stick with it.
Overall this sequence is in a really good place and just needs a little more work to ensure we don't use the track and dolly shot too often as it could lose its effectiveness. Typically this scene still needs to be graded, but the music and sound design are pretty much where it needs to be.
Karting sequence
Simon reviewed Cailan's edit of the karting sequence and agreed with the opinion of the group. While it is exciting and nice to see the karts, it doesn't really work as a sequence within the documentary as it currently stands.
I think Cailan did a great job to edit in my answers between the race footage in a montage but I agree with Simon that the journey I am on isn't really affected by what I say in this sequence, especially as I repeat a lot of what is said in this sequence in the much more powerful Diary Room sequence later on.
As Simon says, we should attempt to put some of this karting footage over the top of one of the Diary Room sequences and see if it makes that particular sequence a little more powerful. If this does not work, in my opinion, we should use this footage in a sting, counting down to the race as karting provides a part of my learning experience.
These stings which "hype" up the final race and build intensity will be vital in this documentary portraying a challenge. These still need to be edited as they require a large amount of GFX which Cailan has not had time to work on yet. When we have an idea at how the GFX will look we can start to edit these sequences.
I would be disappointed to lose the karting sequence, however, as we spent a lot of time gathering all of the footage. But if it does not add enough impact, then we need to cut it as we are already very tight on time and tough decisions like these needed to be made. I am sure we can use the footage elsewhere and it will still have an impact on this documentary.
Very happy with the progress made this week and I am excited to go further into the edit next week, as we are now only just over a week away from the final few filming days and the big race. A very exciting few weeks are ahead and we can be proud of the scale of this project and how we have tackled it.
Sunday 31 March 2019
Friday 29 March 2019
Production - Shoot Day 20 MAIN Test Day With Sam
Possibly the biggest and most important sequence for me as a driver/contributor in this project was the test session with Sam. This was my main opportunity to get a lot of track time before the race in a few weeks time. As a contributor, I was really, really nervous about today. I had never driven this car before and I felt some pressure to perform by the crew ( to ensure they got good shots) and also Sam because he wanted to ensure that I was good enough to race his car. I spent a lot of time before this shoot creating individual camera plans and also used the photos taken from the test shoot to create a detailed plan of what every single camera operator should capture on this day. Each camera operator had a number of locations, at least three each, to film at to ensure a wide range of coverage and a lot of options in the edit. All of the resources that I put together can be seen below and I am personally proud of the plans I put together as they gave a really clear view on what every person needed to obtain.
SHOT LIST
SHOT LIST
W/S & M/S - INT - Alex's Car - Alex In Car On Way [not speaking] To Donnington B-Roll + Miscellaneous establishing shots.
M/S - INT - Alex speaking to Cailan in the car: What's happening/ how is he feeling?
E.S/M/S - INT - Alex's Car - Road Signs to Donnington Park on the journey (Main Camera)
C/U, M/S -INT- Out front of the windscreen and side windows, Rolling into circuit and parking up.
M/S -INT/EXT- Alex getting out of car & Alex walking to sign on
C/U -INT- As Alex signs on and has drivers briefing
M/S - EXT - Donnington Park - Two-Shot of Alex & Sam greeting each other + Talking
C/U - EXT - Donnington Park - Mix of Close Ups between both Alex & Sam
W/S - INT - Sam's Garage - Wide Shot of the entire garage, a mix of static shots and pans.
[CAILAN CAMERA PLAN]
C/U - EXT - Donnington Park - Iconography of the circuit, Flags, Signs, Buildings etc.
[CAILAN CAMERA PLAN]
W/S - INT - Sam's Garage - Alex getting into the car, driving out onto the track [CAILAN CAMERA PLAN]
W/S & M/S - EXT - Car flying down the straight [Camera from pit wall through gap in fence] Both coming towards and away. Get 2 great takes of each [CAILAN CAMERA PLAN]
W/S -EXT- Camera Crew To follow separate plans for various trackside locations
C/U - INT - Sam's Car - GoPro Shot of Alex in the car trackside
M/S - INT - Sam's Car - GoPro looking forward, behind the driver
C/U&M/S - INT - Sam's Garage - Close Up shots of Sam seeing car out of the garage, Medium shots of Sam watching the car from the pitlane & garage. [CAILAN CAMERA PLAN]
M/S - INT - Sam's Garage - Medium shot of Sam as Cailan asks questions [Looks slightly off camera towards Cailan] Questions below [CLIP MIC] FILM AROUND 4PM
GET SAM READING OUT LAP TIMES
W/S - EXT - Donington Pitlane - Car coming in/out of the pitlane [CAILAN CAMERA PLAN]
C/U - INT - Sam's Garage - Alex getting out of the car [CAILAN CAMERA PLAN]
C/U&M/S - INT - Sam's Garage - Alex taking helmet and gear off [CAILAN CAMERA PLAN]
M/S - INT - Sam's Garage - (PTC) Alex talks to Sam & Cailan about his experience,
"like being dropped in at the deep end"
M/S - INT - Sam's Garage - Alex & Sam debrief with each other ambient audio and mumbling discussion
C/U - INT - Alex and Sam speaking [Switch between the two for cutaways]
M/S - INT - Sam's Garage - Alex saying goodbye to Sam and walking out of pitlane
RECORD BUZZ TRACK WITH AND WITHOUT CARS ON TRACK
W/S - EXT - Donnington Park - Alex walking back to road car
M/S - EXT - Donnington Park - (PTC) Alex sitting inside car with door open talking to camera.
M/S - EXT - Donnington Park - Alex getting back into car
W/S - EXT - Donnington Park - Car driving off into the distance at dusk, only see tail-lights
GO PRO CAMERAS ONLY TO RECORD WHEN ALEX IS ALONE IN THE CAR.
TRACKSIDE CAMERAS [BAR SHOTS WHEN THE DRIVER CANNOT BE SEEN] TO RECORD WHEN ALEX IS ALONE IN THE CAR.
THIS IS TO SAVE BATTERY AND MEMORY CARD SPACE.
PHONE NUMBERS IN CASE WALKIE TALKIES FAIL! YOU WILL GET A TEXT WHEN ALEX IS ON TRACK AND IF NOT, WATCH OUT FOR TINTED VISOR!
This shoot started really early. My Dad and I left the house at 3:30am and arrived to collect Cailan and George one hour later. My Dad thankfully drove which enabled the rest of us to catch up on sleep. I personally don’t feel as if I would have been able to drive on track as well as I did if I did not have this rest so I am very appreciative. The rest of the crew also needed sleep to ensure they could be at peak performance throughout the day. My Dad also very kindly helped us on this shoot date which enabled us to get more coverage than we would have otherwise. 30 minutes before we were set to arrive Cailan started filming B-Roll of the journey to the event to ensure Simon’s prior feedback of “Showing you’ve explored the country” was taken into account. Cailan also filmed as we drove into the venue and as I got out the car and went to sign on. We were not allowed to film in this briefing but this did not matter as this was not needed for this sequence. This sequence is very much about me and Sam and the car I will be driving.
After meeting Sam and introducing him to the crew, the crew filmed shots of us having a conversation after my first run on track. This would be great for coverage and options in the edit and what was captured was very genuine and cinematic. One problem when reviewing this footage was that the audio was not great and that was because we did not use clip mics. We were not allowed to carry the microphone and phone on track and Cailan was not always there to take the equipment away, so we decided not to continually mic up then take it off just in case Cailan was there filming. I’m not sure there was a solution that would have ended up with us having perfect audio in this scenario and what we have is usable but needs some further audio editing to be closer to the rest of the project. While the audio is not the best, I would rather have the authentic conversation that we had with acceptable audio rather than a blatantly staged chat with good audio. I am confident we made the right decision on this.
After capturing a number of great shots of me getting my gear on and getting in the car, Cailan went out on track with the rest of the crew to ensure we had a wide array of trackside shots ready for this sequence. Along with being a great person to race with, Sam is also a great contributor and advisor to me when on track and I felt like I was continually learning throughout the day. Sam started by driving while I sat alongside and learned, before we switched and he was the passenger while I drove. We would be on track typically for 15 minutes and then get back to the pitlane and have a chat while the car cooled down. I would also be letting the crew know about my current position when in the pitlane and possible timings so that they would be able to change locations when I was in the pitlane. This worked well as I got more laps than expected and the crew managed to obtain footage from each of the locations I set out for them.
When reviewing footage I was very impressed with what all of the crew had captured. Each angle that I had planned for was exactly right. I was very, very impressed with it and I was personally very happy that my work spent before the shoot was used properly to create a number of spectacular shots. The crew even managed to capture some of their own angles which was great as it gave us further options in the edit which will be a blessing. All of the on track stuff was exactly what I wanted and the onboard footage captured from the action cameras was also fantastic. As with the other track day shoots, one camera was facing me and the other was facing out the front of the car looking at what I was seeing. The camera looking at me was fantastic, the one looking out the front could have been better due to the overexposure of the windscreen , but because of the automatic settings on the GoPro, there was not much we could have done. I think we could improve this for the race day by further testing the camera at Brands Hatch on the Friday before the race and understanding what the auto settings are doing. My understanding is that it is the metering on the camera that was exposing on the dashboard rather than outside the windscreen. This should be a simple fix which will enable us to have a very dynamic view come race day.
Conversation over the walkie talkies was apparently great throughout the day, I only really said thank you to the crew along with letting them know when I was leaving the pitlane. But my Dad, George and Cailan apparently did a great job at understanding what was needed from them as well as what was happening. I am very happy we made the purchase of these walkie talkies early on in the project as it has made sequences like this very professional and much easier. While I was out on track by myself later in the day, Cailan and George made their way back to the garage to ask Sam some questions about who he was and also my progress. Sam used the clip mic for this segment which meant the audio was fantastic and his answers were equally good. These will be included in this sequence to show the viewer Sam’s opinion of me and also let the viewer know a bit about him and his personality. The crew did a great job to capture this while I was on track and I was really impressed. These are the questions the crew asked Sam:
1. How has Alex been doing today?
2. What has been his biggest improvement?
3. Are you looking forward to racing alongside him?
4. Sam, where did your motorsport journey begin? [childhood memories]
5. When did you realise you wanted to be a race driver?
6. How did you come about getting this car?
7. What was the process like building up a car?
8. How have your years in the sport been?
9. Being in the sport, has it changed your view on anything?
10. How is it having drivers come in and race alongside you?
11. What is the aim for 2019 and the future?
After the on track sessions were complete, we filmed a “debrief” between myself and Sam, in which we used clip mics to get great audio. Although the chat was natural it did feel a bit staged in comparison to the authentic conversations I was having earlier with Sam, but it was great to get a conversation with good quality audio. This along with a few cutaways of myself walking back to the car and a chat to the camera about my honest thoughts from the day. Considering this will only be, once again, a small segment of 2-3 minutes I am very impressed with the whole team with all of what was captured, I think we all did a fantastic job and can be very proud of ourselves for completing our roles so professionally.
One issue that became apparent after the shoot date and a long drive back home was that we were missing one of the SD cards used in the Sony at the end of the day. This included some vital footage of Sam speaking as well as a lot of on track material. I was very worried when this happened and I was a little angry that this had got lost between Cailan and George. Thankfully a few days later George found it in one of his small pockets which was a massive relief and I was so happy that this was found. Without this, I feel we would have lost a lot of vital footage that could not be re-shot. From this error we can learn to ensure we put ALL SD cards in the same secure location after each shoot day so that this does not happen again. This was the only issue that we encountered throughout the day and thankfully it was resolved a few days later.
Overall I am very happy with the job done by the team today. Everyone followed the plans that I had created beforehand and used the questions suggested for Sam which ensured we have a massive amount of coverage for this sequence. I feel like, as a team, we are improving after every shoot and understand little details to enable us to be better and quicker with decisions which lead to capturing the golden moments. I am really impressed with the amount of quality material we have which will actually make choosing the right shot harder, as there are so many to chose from. Barring the SD issue we come out of this shoot very confident about the race day which is now just one week away! I am nervous, but very excited!
Thursday 28 March 2019
Production - Meeting W/ Simon + Changes Thereafter
A few days ago we had the opportunity to get some very valuable feedback from both Beth and Simon on our project. This comes at a better stage as most sequences have now been condensed but still lack a storyline throughout as we have yet to record the voiceover needed to made scene transitions better. Knowing this, the feedback we got enabled us to progress the project and at the bottom of this blog you will see what we learned from the meeting and what we will be doing in the next few days.
Notes From Beth (26th Mar 2019)
Bobby interview - what’s the point of what he’s saying? How does it relate to Alex’s journey?
Jamie interview is strong, relates well to the story, where Alex needs to go from here.
Formula Ford Sequence worked really well, professional, wouldn’t look amiss on TV.
Great sense of jeopardy at each section, is he going to get there, is he going to do it?
Shame that Wil spoke over Alex, but good job accounting for it in the drive home
The pacing was pretty good, still at a point where we should cut out anything that we don’t necessarily need.
Jamie interview - Alex’s cutaways don’t really work despite Simon’s feedback, looks like he’s directing which is accurate, but doesn’t really suit the tone of the interview.
Less is often more, don’t feel like you need to include every contributor.
Sound design - music is great in a lot of places, highly entertaining.
Notes From Simon (26th Mar 2019)
When we do come to each of these bits, we need to be reminded of what we’re doing in Alex’s Journey. I.e. “I’ve come to fitness today to do X”
Don’t just assume the audience just remembered it from the list of contributors.
Does Fitness even need to be there in the first place? Fitness wasn’t the thing that stopped Alex from doing it as a dream. Might have to be ruthless?
Would be like doing the racing license and then being told: “Oh, well you don’t really need that to be a racing driver anyways.”
VFX in production this weekend, and the following week. Includes lower thirds, potential clock animation (confirm with George exactly what is needed of me)
Could fitness be re-arranged into a short montage-esque sequence with music and V/O to supply important context to what goes into becoming a racing driver, adds depth. Maybe they don’t set you a goal, but you’ve gotta be fit and it’s all part of the journey, we could potentially make it work without having specific goals.
Go through Timeline and ‘red flag’ sequences that are absolutely crucial - thing’s we can’t not have - Could end up spending a lot of time editing segments that we later decide to cut entirely. Let’s stay efficient.
Notes From Beth (26th Mar 2019)
Bobby interview - what’s the point of what he’s saying? How does it relate to Alex’s journey?
Jamie interview is strong, relates well to the story, where Alex needs to go from here.
Formula Ford Sequence worked really well, professional, wouldn’t look amiss on TV.
Great sense of jeopardy at each section, is he going to get there, is he going to do it?
Shame that Wil spoke over Alex, but good job accounting for it in the drive home
The pacing was pretty good, still at a point where we should cut out anything that we don’t necessarily need.
Jamie interview - Alex’s cutaways don’t really work despite Simon’s feedback, looks like he’s directing which is accurate, but doesn’t really suit the tone of the interview.
Less is often more, don’t feel like you need to include every contributor.
Sound design - music is great in a lot of places, highly entertaining.
Notes From Simon (26th Mar 2019)
When we do come to each of these bits, we need to be reminded of what we’re doing in Alex’s Journey. I.e. “I’ve come to fitness today to do X”
Don’t just assume the audience just remembered it from the list of contributors.
Does Fitness even need to be there in the first place? Fitness wasn’t the thing that stopped Alex from doing it as a dream. Might have to be ruthless?
Would be like doing the racing license and then being told: “Oh, well you don’t really need that to be a racing driver anyways.”
VFX in production this weekend, and the following week. Includes lower thirds, potential clock animation (confirm with George exactly what is needed of me)
Could fitness be re-arranged into a short montage-esque sequence with music and V/O to supply important context to what goes into becoming a racing driver, adds depth. Maybe they don’t set you a goal, but you’ve gotta be fit and it’s all part of the journey, we could potentially make it work without having specific goals.
Go through Timeline and ‘red flag’ sequences that are absolutely crucial - thing’s we can’t not have - Could end up spending a lot of time editing segments that we later decide to cut entirely. Let’s stay efficient.
Notes w/ Group Meeting (26th Mar 2019)
THOUGHTS AFTER THE MEETING:
- Condense Fitness Sequence w/ V/O + Music - 20-30 seconds
- Silverstone Sequence - What do we want to do with it? Give it a lot of focus or don’t bother at all? Perhaps it’s worth just leaving the Team BRIT segment as an extended featurette in the Director’s Cut. We will probably cut this segment
- The music in the "What else I did" sequence needs to be changed ASAP and also include the clips from the other track days as well.
- I am now certain we need to change the fitness segment as it is very boring as is currently and there are a few possible options as to how we change this. I will write a separate blog post on how we will be changing this sequence.
- We need to get to work on the voiceover and stings between sequences. They allow the story to have meaning, which give the viewer a reason to be interested as well as showing them how hard this journey was. I know what I want from these segments, they just need to be recorded and we have not had any time as of yet to do this. These will be done on the "Pick Up Day" in the next week or so.
- Finally, we typically need to cut down all of our interviews bar Dan to ensure they are tight and get the correct answers. I will be going through the timeline with George and making sure we have the best bits
- Overall I think the feedback really helped me understand what I need to focus on and give more detail on what all of us will be working on in the next week which can be seen below!
Cailan to EDIT:
‘What Else I Did Montage’ (~1 minute)
Montage of all of the track stuff, including Puma, Formula Ford, MX5.
‘Brand’s Hatch w/ Alex’s Dad’ (~1 minute)
Include all of the questions and answers, try to cut as little as possible.
George to EDIT:
‘Diary Room Sequence’ (Look at script for timing)
First cut of the latest diary room sequence shoot. Incorporate the last track/dolly shot particularly and be wary of the direction Alex is facing in the shots.
‘South Downs Reflective Sequence’ (~1:00 - 1:30minutes)
Use ‘Cinematic Drama Sad Song’ in the Google drive music folder (Music for Doc > Misc.)
This will need some minor colour correction. Increase exposure by maybe 0.2-0.4 and perhaps add 5-15 temperature.
Bruno Interview:
Interview with Bruno, priority for Alex, but needs work.
After Effects Compositions:
- Kickstarter Page Panning + Vignette (4K)
- Lower Third Templates?
Alex TO DO:
- Shot-list & Camera Plan for Donnington
- Look through the script, double-check everything is good.
- Find the crucial sequences in the timeline
- Think about possible sequences being moved and restructuring
- Work on the voiceover so that the documentary has more of a storyline throughout.
Wednesday 27 March 2019
Production - How To Work Under Pressure - Contributor [RESEARCH]
Working under pressure has been a big part of this project so far, with many key decisions having to be made while filming due to the nature of the documentary. I personally feel I have done well as a director to cope with the majority of the pressure but as a contributor, it has been harder. There have been occasions when I struggled to be at my best and feel a lot of that comes from a lack of experience in the role. Even though I admit to struggling personally on some of the shoot dates with anxiety and pressure to do well in front of the camera, I don't think it has been particularly noticeable. However, as a contributor, I want to ensure I am in the right mindset for my final shoot dates, especially the big one in just over two weeks! I decided to do some research into working under pressure, both as a director and contributor. I know that how I perform on camera in the closing stages of this documentary will be a big factor in its success or failure.
Part of the reason for my stress as a contributor is down to being involved as a director in the same project. I would be lying if I said that I have not struggled with the amount of work needed to complete a project of this magnitude. Part of this is down to not looking at the bigger picture: "Any project or task can seem overwhelming when looked at as a whole. It's critical to break it down into milestones or steps that can be easily attained. When you look at these individual steps, you can more readily meet goals and feel a sense of accomplishment." (Forbes, 2017). A way in which I can definitely improve is to forget about my other duties when I am acting as the contributor on shoot dates. I have got a lot better at not being the director on the day, but a lot of thoughts still linger at the back of my mind as I worry about what else we need to do before we have the whole story in front of us. This quote allows me to assess myself and realise that there is no need to worry about the project as a whole, especially when being a contributor. As a director, I must focus on each individual shoot date as it comes. In doing so it will allow the story to come together in a much more natural way. I know that I have improved in all of the areas I spoke about at the start of this unit, but the further I distance myself from the creation of the project when I am in front of the camera, the better the overall product will be. Therefore, I am determined to continue improving myself in this regard as I know I can still do better. It's a tough time because of the amount of work we still need to complete, but I must not let that affect my "on-screen performance".
Undoubtedly some of the pressure I am feeling is down to some disagreements we have had as a team throughout this project. I feel this is part of the creative journey and an important outcome is that we all seem to be taking things less personally, which is a big positive in our creative workflow. However, some disagreements have meant long conversations and a build up in anxiety, and this is something I wish to alleviate in the final few weeks of being a contributor. "Refuse to engage in arguments or other disagreements with your colleagues. Keep busy to enable your thoughts to remain positive and focused. We all get sucked into drama periodically. But, if you are getting really wound up, stop and think what you feel the final resolution should be. Stop, breathe, take a step back, and then proceed with a clear mind." (business2community, 2015). I know conversations are important in progressing the project and we have made a lot of fantastic decisions as a team because of them. My only issue is that sometimes we get sucked into long conversations that lead nowhere. I know this is not necessary as we can be very clear with our intentions when needed. Going forward I want to ensure that we all retain a level head when in these conversations and ensure that at all times we are speaking about the project and its progression. On a small number of occasions, we have ended up losing the topic of conversation which has led to a few hours of wasted editing or planning time. While conversations are typically to the point, I think we should all ensure, especially in these final few weeks, that when we have group conversations all the key messages are discussed in a professional way and decisions are taken. We cannot afford to be wasting time with unnecessarily long conversations and I think a few small tweaks to our conversations will ensure this is the case. We can be very productive as a team and we need to ensure that this happens 100% of the time instead of 95%, then we will be in a great place come the end of filming.
Many people have spoken about pressure being a motivator in the research material I have found. This has actually been the case for me in past projects, but I feel that I am currently pressuring myself to ensure I do not let all of us down. There is potential, however, to turn this into a positive by remaining diligent with my work and keeping it to the highest quality.“I actually find that I do my best work when under pressure. I enjoy undertaking challenging assignments and finding creative solutions. One time I had two projects that were due the same week. Instead of stressing out, I created a detailed schedule that allowed me to complete both assignments on time.” (livecareer.com, 2019) I can see this working for me in the closing stages of "Dream Chaser" as it has been a benefit to me in the past. I possibly need to change my perception of the challenges we face in this project and allow myself to turn that into a positive by working even harder. If I work even harder before I am in front of the camera then I will need to worry less about the project as I will know I have done all I can. I feel the problem I have is that I never feel like I have done something well. I always look for flaws in my work which becomes a vicious cycle of never feeling like I have done my best, leading to me putting more pressure on myself. Sadly, I think this is a personality trait I have but 'always looking for better' is a good motto to have. Realising I did all I could in the moment would, however, allow some stress relief. "When you see the pressure as a challenge, you are stimulated to give the attention and energy needed to make your best effort, to practice, build "challenge thinking" into your daily life: It's not just a project; it's an opportunity to see if you can make it your best project ever." (inc.com, 2015) For now, I will use the pressure on me to continue creating my best work before shoot dates. I hope that, when I am racing or testing a car, I will forget about the project and enjoy it as well as focusing on being a contributor. I don't feel the stress has shown in the film so far, so I am dedicated to not letting it happen before we wrap filming!
As shown, a lot of this pressure comes from within and that is because I have a vision of how great I know this project can be and I want to ensure I have done all I can to make it happen. However, there is certainly a portion of me that could allow myself some time to gather my thoughts and relax. I feel like I have not had a day off since starting this unit and that could actually be a negative if it were to continue. "Belief in a successful outcome can prevent you from worry that can drain and distract your working memory," Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry explain. "Anxiety and fear are stripped from the equation, allowing you to act with confidence." (inc.com, 2015). I definitely need to allow myself some time away from this project as it currently feels like my only ambition in life. While I feel my dedication to this project is unrivalled, I am probably giving myself too much grief over how filming has gone. I have picked up on small issues that can be easily fixed but for some reason, I feel drawn to them and it has affected how I feel in this project. Once again, it is self-imposed pressure to make everything perfect. But being honest, it's a documentary, it will never be perfect. Part of what makes documentaries amazing is the fact we are going into the unknown and we do not know what we will find. I certainly need to distance myself from small issues and allow myself some slack over anything out of my control. I honestly think doing this will put me in a better place mentally as we approach the race day. I am sure this will be what we need to ensure a successful end, as otherwise I may always look back on this as something I could have done better. I am dedicated to this issue and it is one I have been trying to improve, but one I have struggled with due to how connected I am to this project.
I come away from this research knowing that pressure is a part of creating a project you truly believe in. If I train myself to ensure I am always motivated by it then I will end up with a better result for the whole team. "The hardest part of working under pressure is coping with the perception of pressure. More often than not, we worry about some imaginary catastrophe that never happens, and that tends to render us powerless. Focus on one aspect of the task at a time, instead of looking at it in its totality." (Forbes, 2017). I have had a methodical approach to this unit and I feel I have adapted well under pressure to continue to bring out the best in myself. A lot of the stress comes "behind the scenes" when I am alone and I reflect on the micro-details of my work. I sometimes take my own thoughts too far and it has led me to worry more than I need about the project outcome. "The more you find yourself being pushed to the wall, the better you become at pushing back. It's a natural human tendency! The more you push back, the more your energy expands. When that happens, your horizons broaden and your perception changes dramatically. Working under pressure seems like a challenge too tempting to resist." (Forbes, 2017. I need to learn not to put myself through unnecessary pressure whilst still striving to finish the unit. There is a fine line I need to walk to ensure I am in the right place mentally as we continue with this project. This research has allowed me to realise that a few small tweaks to my workflow will allow me to see the brighter side of creating this documentary and not zone in on the negatives every time. This should allow me to focus on the real issues and continue to work at my best to achieve the final outcome. An exciting few weeks are ahead as I get myself prepared mentally for my first motor race. I need to allow myself to enjoy this experience as it is a dream, one I have been chasing for the majority of my life. It would be a shame to spoil that because I am worried about a camera location or a crew member. This documentary is about achieving a dream and its meaning, and I will not allow that story to be lost.
References
Forbes, 2017 https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/07/28/18-ways-to-get-better-at-working-under-pressure/#3d385f662e35
business2community, 2015 https://www.business2community.com/human-resources/10-ways-to-show-your-ability-to-handle-pressure-at-work-01316198
livecareer.com, 2019 https://www.livecareer.com/interview/questions/how-do-you-work-under-pressure
inc.com, 2015 https://www.inc.com/business-insider/13-secrets-to-performing-well-under-pressure.html
Part of the reason for my stress as a contributor is down to being involved as a director in the same project. I would be lying if I said that I have not struggled with the amount of work needed to complete a project of this magnitude. Part of this is down to not looking at the bigger picture: "Any project or task can seem overwhelming when looked at as a whole. It's critical to break it down into milestones or steps that can be easily attained. When you look at these individual steps, you can more readily meet goals and feel a sense of accomplishment." (Forbes, 2017). A way in which I can definitely improve is to forget about my other duties when I am acting as the contributor on shoot dates. I have got a lot better at not being the director on the day, but a lot of thoughts still linger at the back of my mind as I worry about what else we need to do before we have the whole story in front of us. This quote allows me to assess myself and realise that there is no need to worry about the project as a whole, especially when being a contributor. As a director, I must focus on each individual shoot date as it comes. In doing so it will allow the story to come together in a much more natural way. I know that I have improved in all of the areas I spoke about at the start of this unit, but the further I distance myself from the creation of the project when I am in front of the camera, the better the overall product will be. Therefore, I am determined to continue improving myself in this regard as I know I can still do better. It's a tough time because of the amount of work we still need to complete, but I must not let that affect my "on-screen performance".
Undoubtedly some of the pressure I am feeling is down to some disagreements we have had as a team throughout this project. I feel this is part of the creative journey and an important outcome is that we all seem to be taking things less personally, which is a big positive in our creative workflow. However, some disagreements have meant long conversations and a build up in anxiety, and this is something I wish to alleviate in the final few weeks of being a contributor. "Refuse to engage in arguments or other disagreements with your colleagues. Keep busy to enable your thoughts to remain positive and focused. We all get sucked into drama periodically. But, if you are getting really wound up, stop and think what you feel the final resolution should be. Stop, breathe, take a step back, and then proceed with a clear mind." (business2community, 2015). I know conversations are important in progressing the project and we have made a lot of fantastic decisions as a team because of them. My only issue is that sometimes we get sucked into long conversations that lead nowhere. I know this is not necessary as we can be very clear with our intentions when needed. Going forward I want to ensure that we all retain a level head when in these conversations and ensure that at all times we are speaking about the project and its progression. On a small number of occasions, we have ended up losing the topic of conversation which has led to a few hours of wasted editing or planning time. While conversations are typically to the point, I think we should all ensure, especially in these final few weeks, that when we have group conversations all the key messages are discussed in a professional way and decisions are taken. We cannot afford to be wasting time with unnecessarily long conversations and I think a few small tweaks to our conversations will ensure this is the case. We can be very productive as a team and we need to ensure that this happens 100% of the time instead of 95%, then we will be in a great place come the end of filming.
Many people have spoken about pressure being a motivator in the research material I have found. This has actually been the case for me in past projects, but I feel that I am currently pressuring myself to ensure I do not let all of us down. There is potential, however, to turn this into a positive by remaining diligent with my work and keeping it to the highest quality.“I actually find that I do my best work when under pressure. I enjoy undertaking challenging assignments and finding creative solutions. One time I had two projects that were due the same week. Instead of stressing out, I created a detailed schedule that allowed me to complete both assignments on time.” (livecareer.com, 2019) I can see this working for me in the closing stages of "Dream Chaser" as it has been a benefit to me in the past. I possibly need to change my perception of the challenges we face in this project and allow myself to turn that into a positive by working even harder. If I work even harder before I am in front of the camera then I will need to worry less about the project as I will know I have done all I can. I feel the problem I have is that I never feel like I have done something well. I always look for flaws in my work which becomes a vicious cycle of never feeling like I have done my best, leading to me putting more pressure on myself. Sadly, I think this is a personality trait I have but 'always looking for better' is a good motto to have. Realising I did all I could in the moment would, however, allow some stress relief. "When you see the pressure as a challenge, you are stimulated to give the attention and energy needed to make your best effort, to practice, build "challenge thinking" into your daily life: It's not just a project; it's an opportunity to see if you can make it your best project ever." (inc.com, 2015) For now, I will use the pressure on me to continue creating my best work before shoot dates. I hope that, when I am racing or testing a car, I will forget about the project and enjoy it as well as focusing on being a contributor. I don't feel the stress has shown in the film so far, so I am dedicated to not letting it happen before we wrap filming!
As shown, a lot of this pressure comes from within and that is because I have a vision of how great I know this project can be and I want to ensure I have done all I can to make it happen. However, there is certainly a portion of me that could allow myself some time to gather my thoughts and relax. I feel like I have not had a day off since starting this unit and that could actually be a negative if it were to continue. "Belief in a successful outcome can prevent you from worry that can drain and distract your working memory," Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry explain. "Anxiety and fear are stripped from the equation, allowing you to act with confidence." (inc.com, 2015). I definitely need to allow myself some time away from this project as it currently feels like my only ambition in life. While I feel my dedication to this project is unrivalled, I am probably giving myself too much grief over how filming has gone. I have picked up on small issues that can be easily fixed but for some reason, I feel drawn to them and it has affected how I feel in this project. Once again, it is self-imposed pressure to make everything perfect. But being honest, it's a documentary, it will never be perfect. Part of what makes documentaries amazing is the fact we are going into the unknown and we do not know what we will find. I certainly need to distance myself from small issues and allow myself some slack over anything out of my control. I honestly think doing this will put me in a better place mentally as we approach the race day. I am sure this will be what we need to ensure a successful end, as otherwise I may always look back on this as something I could have done better. I am dedicated to this issue and it is one I have been trying to improve, but one I have struggled with due to how connected I am to this project.
I come away from this research knowing that pressure is a part of creating a project you truly believe in. If I train myself to ensure I am always motivated by it then I will end up with a better result for the whole team. "The hardest part of working under pressure is coping with the perception of pressure. More often than not, we worry about some imaginary catastrophe that never happens, and that tends to render us powerless. Focus on one aspect of the task at a time, instead of looking at it in its totality." (Forbes, 2017). I have had a methodical approach to this unit and I feel I have adapted well under pressure to continue to bring out the best in myself. A lot of the stress comes "behind the scenes" when I am alone and I reflect on the micro-details of my work. I sometimes take my own thoughts too far and it has led me to worry more than I need about the project outcome. "The more you find yourself being pushed to the wall, the better you become at pushing back. It's a natural human tendency! The more you push back, the more your energy expands. When that happens, your horizons broaden and your perception changes dramatically. Working under pressure seems like a challenge too tempting to resist." (Forbes, 2017. I need to learn not to put myself through unnecessary pressure whilst still striving to finish the unit. There is a fine line I need to walk to ensure I am in the right place mentally as we continue with this project. This research has allowed me to realise that a few small tweaks to my workflow will allow me to see the brighter side of creating this documentary and not zone in on the negatives every time. This should allow me to focus on the real issues and continue to work at my best to achieve the final outcome. An exciting few weeks are ahead as I get myself prepared mentally for my first motor race. I need to allow myself to enjoy this experience as it is a dream, one I have been chasing for the majority of my life. It would be a shame to spoil that because I am worried about a camera location or a crew member. This documentary is about achieving a dream and its meaning, and I will not allow that story to be lost.
References
Forbes, 2017 https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/07/28/18-ways-to-get-better-at-working-under-pressure/#3d385f662e35
business2community, 2015 https://www.business2community.com/human-resources/10-ways-to-show-your-ability-to-handle-pressure-at-work-01316198
livecareer.com, 2019 https://www.livecareer.com/interview/questions/how-do-you-work-under-pressure
inc.com, 2015 https://www.inc.com/business-insider/13-secrets-to-performing-well-under-pressure.html
Tuesday 26 March 2019
Production - Shoot Day 19 Fitness At Home Test
After an understandable critique from Simon about our current fitness sequence, I decided that we should spend some time on working out exactly what we wanted to do with this sequence. This critique was also made more important due to an important email from the gym where we had recorded the first sequence. When George had emailed about going back to record a new, different sequence, they replied saying that, regrettably, they had to close after a number of years of service. This was a massive blow for us as a team because we had expected to return to the gym for a sequence in which I see how I have improved on the goals they had set. This along, with the feedback, meant we had to reconstruct our sequence as a priority.
The new plan is to cover the fitness sequence mostly with a voiceover. We would still include clips from the first time we went to the personal trainer in Tonbridge, but a much more condensed and concise version of events would be covered by a voice-over, which clearly states the aims set out for me by the personal trainer. This would lead to a montage sequence which shows me in a different gym getting to work on the goals set out for me by the personal trainer. We would then have a number of stings from this point to the sequence in which I reveal the outcome. These stings will be 7-10 second montages showing the challenge that I am going through not just with fitness, but also on the simulator and with the finances etc. After a number of these stings the results of my fitness will come in, with me stepping on the scales to reveal if I have lost the weight. The strength portion will be harder to visualise without the personal trainer being available anymore so we may have to point out any gain through voice-over.
As we knew this was now the only way this sequence could work and still be a challenge I worked with George in finding a replacement gym in which to film. George found one in my local town who were happy for us to film so we decided to record some scenes next week on our pick up day. We would get any footage that we had previously either forgotten or not filmed to the right quality. Along with this we were also due to film some drone shots of me cycling and racing simulator clips to be used in the stings. I think these stings will really enable the viewer to see the difficulty and challenges I went through in completing this project and I am pleased that this idea has been accepted by the team. We may otherwise have struggled to show the challenge throughout this process.
I decided that today we would go out to rehearse some of the shots we would film in the gym by practising some of the exercises given to us by the old gym. We did this test shoot at the back of my house as it would enable us to decide if they would look interesting on camera or if we would have to use different ones to show the intensity. I would still be doing the exercises given by the personal trainer, but for the sake of an interesting sequence we may have to change them.
After going through my exercise routine as well as the one laid out by the PT from the old gym I was able to look at the footage that Cailan shot on the G7. Cailan was using his initiative with this as we had no plan for this test shoot because it came round very quickly after the closing of the old gym. Nonetheless, when reviewing the footage it was clear that the experiences laid out were not visually interesting, especially when filmed outside my house. The exercises that I needed to do were mostly static and stretches which don’t give the feeling of struggle or strain so we had to change our outlook on how this would be filmed.
For the montage after the V/O sequence from the old gym we would be using the camera plans from the test shoot to mix together a montage of me at the local gym on a variety of equipment. The equipment I would use would be more for cinematic shots, but we needed to do this to ensure this sequence is interesting. Using the camera plans from the test shoot and reviewing footage I am very confident that the new plan for filming this montage at the local gym will make for a much more visually interesting piece. It would also show the struggles that I am going through to become ready for this race. I am very happy with the new plan and the test shoot allowed me to understand what would not work so that I can adapt plans for the actual shoot at the local gym soon. I am very happy with how the day went and how I have adapted the storyline around some criticism and an unfortunate situation. I now know the new fitness montage will be much more intense.
We will also capture the reveal about the weight lost and attributes gained just before the race day, probably in a pre-race reflective piece. This would enable the viewer to [hopefully] see the progress I have made and the dedication I have put into the task of achieving my dreams.
The new plan is to cover the fitness sequence mostly with a voiceover. We would still include clips from the first time we went to the personal trainer in Tonbridge, but a much more condensed and concise version of events would be covered by a voice-over, which clearly states the aims set out for me by the personal trainer. This would lead to a montage sequence which shows me in a different gym getting to work on the goals set out for me by the personal trainer. We would then have a number of stings from this point to the sequence in which I reveal the outcome. These stings will be 7-10 second montages showing the challenge that I am going through not just with fitness, but also on the simulator and with the finances etc. After a number of these stings the results of my fitness will come in, with me stepping on the scales to reveal if I have lost the weight. The strength portion will be harder to visualise without the personal trainer being available anymore so we may have to point out any gain through voice-over.
As we knew this was now the only way this sequence could work and still be a challenge I worked with George in finding a replacement gym in which to film. George found one in my local town who were happy for us to film so we decided to record some scenes next week on our pick up day. We would get any footage that we had previously either forgotten or not filmed to the right quality. Along with this we were also due to film some drone shots of me cycling and racing simulator clips to be used in the stings. I think these stings will really enable the viewer to see the difficulty and challenges I went through in completing this project and I am pleased that this idea has been accepted by the team. We may otherwise have struggled to show the challenge throughout this process.
I decided that today we would go out to rehearse some of the shots we would film in the gym by practising some of the exercises given to us by the old gym. We did this test shoot at the back of my house as it would enable us to decide if they would look interesting on camera or if we would have to use different ones to show the intensity. I would still be doing the exercises given by the personal trainer, but for the sake of an interesting sequence we may have to change them.
After going through my exercise routine as well as the one laid out by the PT from the old gym I was able to look at the footage that Cailan shot on the G7. Cailan was using his initiative with this as we had no plan for this test shoot because it came round very quickly after the closing of the old gym. Nonetheless, when reviewing the footage it was clear that the experiences laid out were not visually interesting, especially when filmed outside my house. The exercises that I needed to do were mostly static and stretches which don’t give the feeling of struggle or strain so we had to change our outlook on how this would be filmed.
For the montage after the V/O sequence from the old gym we would be using the camera plans from the test shoot to mix together a montage of me at the local gym on a variety of equipment. The equipment I would use would be more for cinematic shots, but we needed to do this to ensure this sequence is interesting. Using the camera plans from the test shoot and reviewing footage I am very confident that the new plan for filming this montage at the local gym will make for a much more visually interesting piece. It would also show the struggles that I am going through to become ready for this race. I am very happy with the new plan and the test shoot allowed me to understand what would not work so that I can adapt plans for the actual shoot at the local gym soon. I am very happy with how the day went and how I have adapted the storyline around some criticism and an unfortunate situation. I now know the new fitness montage will be much more intense.
We will also capture the reveal about the weight lost and attributes gained just before the race day, probably in a pre-race reflective piece. This would enable the viewer to [hopefully] see the progress I have made and the dedication I have put into the task of achieving my dreams.
Production - Shoot Day 18 MX5 Trackday
The next shoot date was another opportunity for me to get out into a race car before my main test with Sam at Donnington Park next week. Unfortunately, the rest of the team could not make this day, George was on another shoot while Cailan was working. The MX5 test day was arranged pretty late, around one week before, but no crew were available which meant I had to work around the situation to still capture some shots from the day, as this footage would be included in the “What else I did montage” just before the test session with Sam in our timeline.
I had brought camera plans which I used for the previous test days at Brands Hatch so I had a reference of which locations to film if there was an opportunity. I was sharing the car with Steven, who lent his garage to us for the Diary Room as well as owned the Formula Ford that I test about a month before. We would only be running the car in the afternoon to save costs. This was fine with me as I knew the budget was tight for the project as well as allowing me to focus on planning for the upcoming sequences during the morning.
After arriving and setting up the cameras in the car, one behind the driver and one in front looking towards me, I was ready to get out on track after some advice from Steven which really helped. The importance of this trackday for myself cannot be understated. This would be the first time I was able to actually test the limits of a rear wheel drive car [I had only ever driven front wheel drive bar the Formula Ford, but that was at a media day so I was not able to push the car]. Learning rear wheel drive was important because the car I would be racing uses that configuration and any time in a similar car would vastly help me.
As we did not have camera operators out on track it was hard to capture great b-roll from outside looking at the car, however, I used my initiative and filmed Steven while he was out on track as he did a few laps. I had planned for us to share the car 50/50 so I would be able to obtain a lot of footage of Steven on track, as we both have the same helmet and suit colour the viewer would not have noticed a difference. However, Steven wanted me to have as much time in the car as possible, which was great from the perspective of learning the car, but less so in terms of getting the shots we maybe needed.
I was really stretched today and while I got enough footage to be used for this small segment, I don’t think we maximised this opportunity as even one camera operator changing positions around the track would have enabled us to get some great coverage of this day. We did no pieces to camera or actuality as I did not have anyone there to do that, but luckily we only need a few clips for the 20-minute version for the university.
I was very happy with the shots I obtained. My rudimentary camera setup within the car enabled me to capture two great onboard shots and while it took time to set these up, it was well worth it as both of the shots give the viewer a unique perspective of what it is like to be out on track. As Steven only did a handful of laps on track, I was only able to get a few shots of the car on track which was a little disappointing. Nonetheless there are clips which are good enough to be used in a quick montage, especially those of the car in the garage which will be able to give the viewer the perspective of the car that I’m driving. I have pointed this out to Cailan who will be editing this sequence.
Overall I was a bit disappointed with today in terms of the documentary as I feel we could have done a lot better to organise a crew member to be available to film around the track. I did still manage to obtain a number of shots which will ensure this will be featured in the montage. Even though this was a last minute film shoot I regret not taking the initiative to ask around the university and get someone to help film. It is only a tiny part of this documentary but I wanted to get as much footage as possible to ensure each scene is spectacular. I am happy with what I personally filmed and I still think it will look great in a montage. I know that personally, I need to be more proactive if the rest of the team cannot make it and we need camera crew. It’s possibly not the job you should be doing as a director but I regret not doing so.
I had brought camera plans which I used for the previous test days at Brands Hatch so I had a reference of which locations to film if there was an opportunity. I was sharing the car with Steven, who lent his garage to us for the Diary Room as well as owned the Formula Ford that I test about a month before. We would only be running the car in the afternoon to save costs. This was fine with me as I knew the budget was tight for the project as well as allowing me to focus on planning for the upcoming sequences during the morning.
After arriving and setting up the cameras in the car, one behind the driver and one in front looking towards me, I was ready to get out on track after some advice from Steven which really helped. The importance of this trackday for myself cannot be understated. This would be the first time I was able to actually test the limits of a rear wheel drive car [I had only ever driven front wheel drive bar the Formula Ford, but that was at a media day so I was not able to push the car]. Learning rear wheel drive was important because the car I would be racing uses that configuration and any time in a similar car would vastly help me.
As we did not have camera operators out on track it was hard to capture great b-roll from outside looking at the car, however, I used my initiative and filmed Steven while he was out on track as he did a few laps. I had planned for us to share the car 50/50 so I would be able to obtain a lot of footage of Steven on track, as we both have the same helmet and suit colour the viewer would not have noticed a difference. However, Steven wanted me to have as much time in the car as possible, which was great from the perspective of learning the car, but less so in terms of getting the shots we maybe needed.
I was really stretched today and while I got enough footage to be used for this small segment, I don’t think we maximised this opportunity as even one camera operator changing positions around the track would have enabled us to get some great coverage of this day. We did no pieces to camera or actuality as I did not have anyone there to do that, but luckily we only need a few clips for the 20-minute version for the university.
I was very happy with the shots I obtained. My rudimentary camera setup within the car enabled me to capture two great onboard shots and while it took time to set these up, it was well worth it as both of the shots give the viewer a unique perspective of what it is like to be out on track. As Steven only did a handful of laps on track, I was only able to get a few shots of the car on track which was a little disappointing. Nonetheless there are clips which are good enough to be used in a quick montage, especially those of the car in the garage which will be able to give the viewer the perspective of the car that I’m driving. I have pointed this out to Cailan who will be editing this sequence.
Overall I was a bit disappointed with today in terms of the documentary as I feel we could have done a lot better to organise a crew member to be available to film around the track. I did still manage to obtain a number of shots which will ensure this will be featured in the montage. Even though this was a last minute film shoot I regret not taking the initiative to ask around the university and get someone to help film. It is only a tiny part of this documentary but I wanted to get as much footage as possible to ensure each scene is spectacular. I am happy with what I personally filmed and I still think it will look great in a montage. I know that personally, I need to be more proactive if the rest of the team cannot make it and we need camera crew. It’s possibly not the job you should be doing as a director but I regret not doing so.
Monday 25 March 2019
Production - Shoot Day 17 Brands Hatch w/ Dad
One of the most important sequences in our documentary is one that leads on from a Diary Room section. In it I speak about my first ever motor race back in 2004 and the section we filmed today links to this as I go back to the exact spot where I sat as a kid with my Dad and speak about that day. While it is only a relatively short sequence, once again it comes together to have significance in our story. It took some time to convince by Dad to be on camera but thankfully he agreed as long as this version was not on YouTube. This meant that I could plan some cinematically interesting shots which could give further significance to where we are as well as why.
I created a shot list as well as a camera plan which would allow us a wide range of shots. It has been great to have a variety of cameras available to us as it means we can edit each sequence to a higher quality. For this sequence we had four cameras, each with a unique angle. These, along with my plans can be seen below, and they give you an idea as to how we can change the camera angle depending on which works best. We had external help from a former Graphic Design university student who has video and camera skills and was extra crew, alongside Connor and Cailan. George would be in charge of taking crew stills along with his role as a producer today.
Shotlist:
GV: Driving to Brands Hatch
M/S: From back seat - Alex and Dad driving to track / into the venue
UW/S: Car parking up and Alex and Dad walk along, parallel to the barrier
M/S [Track and Dolly]: Alex and Dad sitting on the barrier
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“CHAT”
Alex R.O.F - Dad L.O.F For ALL Bar track and dolly
G7 - W/S: Looking towards Alex and Dad with a little space either side [Low Angle]
UNI PAN T+D - MS to MC/U: Track moves closer as both speak [continually reset after movement], from behind Alex and Dad
FZ330 - MC/U: Alex and Dad from a 45 Degree Angle
SONY - C/U: Alex or Dad depending on who’s speaking
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M/S,C/U: Cars on Track
UW/S: Timelapse of circuit buildings
W/S,M/S: Alex and Dad watching the race
W/S: Various Establishing Shots from around the track
We got to the location very early and I talked through the plan for all of the cameras as well as what shots I was expecting. Cailan had not created any storyboards for this shoot so we relied on the camera plan and my visual outlook for this scene. We had a slight issue with rough ground for the track and dolly but fixed this easily with a few stones to prop up either end of the track. We had to adapt by doing things like this otherwise we would not get the shots that we were after. Once the track and dolly was set up just behind the barrier, I focused on our other three cameras. Cailan would capture a Mid shot, Jon would capture a close up of whoever was speaking and there was a tripod which was capturing a medium wide shot at an angle. All shots would work together well in the edit and the various options would mean a clean edit process.
We had an issue which was possibly a slight oversight from all of the crew, this being the track commentator who would speak constantly from 10am when racing starts, until around 1pm which was lunch break. We tested to see how the audio sounded when there were cars on track as well as the commentator and while we could have possibly just about used it, I was not prepared to accept mediocre sound quality for this scene when the rest of documentary has had a lot of time and thought put into such things. The reason this would have been an oversight is that all of the track days we have been on recently have not had a track commentator so we had forgotten that on race days this would happen. I will hold my hand up to this and say as a long time visitor to race events at Brands Hatch I should have realised this beforehand. However, as we had to wait for around 90 minutes for lunch we decided to run through the sequence multiple times with cars and commentator making noise.
It was good that we did these tests as even though all of the shots were looking great, it became apparent that Connor was getting into Cailan’s mid shot [Which was also the main shot] so I had to think fast and find an adaption. My plan was for Cailan to slightly lower the angle of his camera as this would mean Connor would not enter into shot. To make completely sure that there was no issue I asked Connor to crouch down as that would mean he was even lower. This worked out well and we tested it again before we started filming and it worked exactly how I envisioned. Before we actually filmed, I looked through all of the cameras and was happy with the shot that they were getting, meaning we were ready to shoot. My Dad and I were both mic’d up and we both wore the dead cat on the microphone to ensure there was no issue with wind. This worked and the audio was very clean, exactly as it has been throughout our documentary.
Thankfully for us, the lunch break came 15 minutes early and after all of our practices we were ready to go. I had four questions that I asked my Dad and considering the time this scene was to take he gave responses that would answer the question without being too long. This was perfect for the edit and I think both the questions and answers worked well and we got exactly what we needed. To be sure I decided we would do 5 good takes so that the edit would be able to have a few choices. Both Cailan and I agree that Take 6 was the one, but we did do two further takes afterwards to make sure we had what we wanted. As soon as we finished our 8th take the commentator started speaking so it all seemed to have worked our perfectly. I was very happy with how the crew performed when reviewing footage - they got exactly what I had planned.
I am very happy that we worked around the issues we faced today. The biggest of which being the noise from the track commentator. I plan to overlay a buzz track that I previously recorded in the background so it still sounds like there are cars on track, but we can see if that works well in the edit. Once again a few cameras will need colour correcting, which does lead me to think that I have not emphasised the importance of this enough. I did send the shots seen above to the crew and they were happy with the angles, which is the main thing. The shoot went well and I think my Dad did extremely well considering how apprehensive he was about being on camera. He did a great job and this will allow the documentary to have much more grounding as it confirms my interest in motorsport from a young age. My Dad being a part of the documentary will also be a great moment for me personally and I look forward to seeing this again in years to come.
A great day in which we adapted quickly to apparent issues and came out of it with a number of great angles and perfect audio. The sequence is very important for our documentary so this will be one that I spend a lot of time on in the edit. The plans made allowed today to work around external issues and I want to maintain this consistency all the way until we finish shooting. I am very excited to see how our final few shoot dates go. The big race awaits and the journey I have been on has been incredible, we just need to ensure that this is apparent in our documentary.
I created a shot list as well as a camera plan which would allow us a wide range of shots. It has been great to have a variety of cameras available to us as it means we can edit each sequence to a higher quality. For this sequence we had four cameras, each with a unique angle. These, along with my plans can be seen below, and they give you an idea as to how we can change the camera angle depending on which works best. We had external help from a former Graphic Design university student who has video and camera skills and was extra crew, alongside Connor and Cailan. George would be in charge of taking crew stills along with his role as a producer today.
Shotlist:
GV: Driving to Brands Hatch
M/S: From back seat - Alex and Dad driving to track / into the venue
UW/S: Car parking up and Alex and Dad walk along, parallel to the barrier
M/S [Track and Dolly]: Alex and Dad sitting on the barrier
---
“CHAT”
Alex R.O.F - Dad L.O.F For ALL Bar track and dolly
G7 - W/S: Looking towards Alex and Dad with a little space either side [Low Angle]
UNI PAN T+D - MS to MC/U: Track moves closer as both speak [continually reset after movement], from behind Alex and Dad
FZ330 - MC/U: Alex and Dad from a 45 Degree Angle
SONY - C/U: Alex or Dad depending on who’s speaking
---
M/S,C/U: Cars on Track
UW/S: Timelapse of circuit buildings
W/S,M/S: Alex and Dad watching the race
W/S: Various Establishing Shots from around the track
We got to the location very early and I talked through the plan for all of the cameras as well as what shots I was expecting. Cailan had not created any storyboards for this shoot so we relied on the camera plan and my visual outlook for this scene. We had a slight issue with rough ground for the track and dolly but fixed this easily with a few stones to prop up either end of the track. We had to adapt by doing things like this otherwise we would not get the shots that we were after. Once the track and dolly was set up just behind the barrier, I focused on our other three cameras. Cailan would capture a Mid shot, Jon would capture a close up of whoever was speaking and there was a tripod which was capturing a medium wide shot at an angle. All shots would work together well in the edit and the various options would mean a clean edit process.
We had an issue which was possibly a slight oversight from all of the crew, this being the track commentator who would speak constantly from 10am when racing starts, until around 1pm which was lunch break. We tested to see how the audio sounded when there were cars on track as well as the commentator and while we could have possibly just about used it, I was not prepared to accept mediocre sound quality for this scene when the rest of documentary has had a lot of time and thought put into such things. The reason this would have been an oversight is that all of the track days we have been on recently have not had a track commentator so we had forgotten that on race days this would happen. I will hold my hand up to this and say as a long time visitor to race events at Brands Hatch I should have realised this beforehand. However, as we had to wait for around 90 minutes for lunch we decided to run through the sequence multiple times with cars and commentator making noise.
It was good that we did these tests as even though all of the shots were looking great, it became apparent that Connor was getting into Cailan’s mid shot [Which was also the main shot] so I had to think fast and find an adaption. My plan was for Cailan to slightly lower the angle of his camera as this would mean Connor would not enter into shot. To make completely sure that there was no issue I asked Connor to crouch down as that would mean he was even lower. This worked out well and we tested it again before we started filming and it worked exactly how I envisioned. Before we actually filmed, I looked through all of the cameras and was happy with the shot that they were getting, meaning we were ready to shoot. My Dad and I were both mic’d up and we both wore the dead cat on the microphone to ensure there was no issue with wind. This worked and the audio was very clean, exactly as it has been throughout our documentary.
Thankfully for us, the lunch break came 15 minutes early and after all of our practices we were ready to go. I had four questions that I asked my Dad and considering the time this scene was to take he gave responses that would answer the question without being too long. This was perfect for the edit and I think both the questions and answers worked well and we got exactly what we needed. To be sure I decided we would do 5 good takes so that the edit would be able to have a few choices. Both Cailan and I agree that Take 6 was the one, but we did do two further takes afterwards to make sure we had what we wanted. As soon as we finished our 8th take the commentator started speaking so it all seemed to have worked our perfectly. I was very happy with how the crew performed when reviewing footage - they got exactly what I had planned.
I am very happy that we worked around the issues we faced today. The biggest of which being the noise from the track commentator. I plan to overlay a buzz track that I previously recorded in the background so it still sounds like there are cars on track, but we can see if that works well in the edit. Once again a few cameras will need colour correcting, which does lead me to think that I have not emphasised the importance of this enough. I did send the shots seen above to the crew and they were happy with the angles, which is the main thing. The shoot went well and I think my Dad did extremely well considering how apprehensive he was about being on camera. He did a great job and this will allow the documentary to have much more grounding as it confirms my interest in motorsport from a young age. My Dad being a part of the documentary will also be a great moment for me personally and I look forward to seeing this again in years to come.
A great day in which we adapted quickly to apparent issues and came out of it with a number of great angles and perfect audio. The sequence is very important for our documentary so this will be one that I spend a lot of time on in the edit. The plans made allowed today to work around external issues and I want to maintain this consistency all the way until we finish shooting. I am very excited to see how our final few shoot dates go. The big race awaits and the journey I have been on has been incredible, we just need to ensure that this is apparent in our documentary.
Sunday 24 March 2019
Production - Edit Week Review 18-24th March
Continuing on from last weeks blog, I will continue to show the updates and thought process from the edit and how we are making subtle changes to ensure the documentary continues to have the tone and style I wanted from pre-production. This week we focused on four main sequences, most of which had been recorded a while ago and recorded further fine-tuning to fit the time length for this documentary.
What's to come sequence
This was a sequence that we had planned to record a while back but due to the stressful nature of this project, it had been overlooked. After recording it recently and putting it into a timeline we needed to see if it worked. George edited it together but unfortunately, right away, we realised that this was a dull sequence which took much longer than expected as well as not having the energy or tone we were after. I take responsibility for this as I did not give this sequence as much thought due to a lack of time. Nonetheless I knew after seeing it in the timeline, edited, that it needed to be changed.
George and I had different views at first about how we should change this. I thought it could be covered in voiceover, with possible "flash forwards" being placed as visuals to the voiceover. George's plan was to shoot it while I was driving to a sequence [logically, to the Abbi Pulling interview about fitness]
At first, I was not a fan of George's idea as it would be very cinematic and I did not want a lot of the film to consist of driving shots. But after some thoughts as well as feedback from Simon and Helen I agreed with George we should film it his was. We can still make this scene visually interesting by showing shots of me changing gear, shots of the speedo etc, to diversify the scene. I now feel that this is the way forward and we will be filming this scene very soon, probably on the way to the Abbi Pulling interview, which would be true to the story!
Interviews
In our documentary, we have a number of interviews, two of which [Jamie and Bobby] are 15-20 minutes long, most of which needs to be cut. We started off with a standard cut to watch through, but over the past week we have cut them both down further but they still sat at around 3 minutes each when showing them to Simon. Our intended length was around 60-90 seconds and I firmly believed we could achieve this.
George proceeded to write a transcript for these interviews as they would help further decipher what we needed to include and what we did not. Simon mentioned in our meeting that we needed to cut the parts where Jamie speaks about himself as the story is about me and my journey, not his. After looking through George's transcript we decided what we wanted to include in the Jamie interview and George put that sequence together. I think it looked much better and was less than 90 seconds which was perfect.
As for Bobby, after Simon's feedback, we decided to remove this interview from our university cut as there were not many hard-hitting points, and as this was the purpose of this sequence, there was little point in keeping it. Whilst a harsh decision, we needed to be ruthless to get our story, and my journey, in the 20-minute timeframe. Even though Bobby was a great guy, it just didn't add enough to warrant it being in our documentary.
Overall we are very happy with the Jamie interview now and Dan's interview was always good and just needs grading before it is included. We still have the fitness interview to be shot [as our first contributor let us down on multiple occasions] but we are very happy with our replacement who is actually much more interesting and will benefit the documentary.
Introduction
Our main introduction consists of a number of scenic and drone shots that were filmed over the past few weeks. When put into a timeline it looked really good and now just needs a voiceover to work. We may decide to include some throwback and archive pictures in this opening as well, but these decisions will come later on in the edit when we have more of a structured documentary. Right now we have a cinematically pleasing start but it will be transformed once it has the voiceover. Right now I am very happy with how this sequence is looking and I am pleased with how this opening should impact on the viewer.
Race License
After feedback from Simon, we decided to take a further look at the race license scene. Our biggest issue with it is the length. To tell the story and show all the relevant footage, it has ended up being too long. Simon suggested we work hard to reduce this sequence and also look at the "I passed" moment as Wil [the instructor] does talk over me, which somewhat ruins the moment.
We are working on the latter and thinking of ways to possibly cut the part where Wil interrupts and cover it with some footage of me on track. Whether this will look odd or not, we will not know until we try it.
We are also cutting and sometimes completely removing some of the parts with me on track with Wil as some don't need to be included in their entirety. This is helping save time and not removing anything from the story. Also removing a few shots of myself and Wil speaking before I get going is helping save time.
However, the main part we have adapted and condensed is the opening. We still start in my room with me speaking, but we head to an L Cut and show me walking down the stairs, driving and arriving while I am still speaking. This means we have cut down this sequence by over half a minute and makes the scene itself more interesting. It flows better and keeps the correct tone, so this change to use a long L Cut has really helped us.
I am much happier with this sequence in its fine stage right now, but even more work on this scene will allow it to have the meaning it deserves. The addition of further audio work and music will be the catalyst for this scene having more power.
Overall, a productive week in which a lot of work was completed and I am happy to see the edit evolve at such a rate even though we have a large number of shoot dates still to come. The crew are doing a fantastic job and I feel I am doing my part as well.
What's to come sequence
This was a sequence that we had planned to record a while back but due to the stressful nature of this project, it had been overlooked. After recording it recently and putting it into a timeline we needed to see if it worked. George edited it together but unfortunately, right away, we realised that this was a dull sequence which took much longer than expected as well as not having the energy or tone we were after. I take responsibility for this as I did not give this sequence as much thought due to a lack of time. Nonetheless I knew after seeing it in the timeline, edited, that it needed to be changed.
George and I had different views at first about how we should change this. I thought it could be covered in voiceover, with possible "flash forwards" being placed as visuals to the voiceover. George's plan was to shoot it while I was driving to a sequence [logically, to the Abbi Pulling interview about fitness]
At first, I was not a fan of George's idea as it would be very cinematic and I did not want a lot of the film to consist of driving shots. But after some thoughts as well as feedback from Simon and Helen I agreed with George we should film it his was. We can still make this scene visually interesting by showing shots of me changing gear, shots of the speedo etc, to diversify the scene. I now feel that this is the way forward and we will be filming this scene very soon, probably on the way to the Abbi Pulling interview, which would be true to the story!
Interviews
In our documentary, we have a number of interviews, two of which [Jamie and Bobby] are 15-20 minutes long, most of which needs to be cut. We started off with a standard cut to watch through, but over the past week we have cut them both down further but they still sat at around 3 minutes each when showing them to Simon. Our intended length was around 60-90 seconds and I firmly believed we could achieve this.
George proceeded to write a transcript for these interviews as they would help further decipher what we needed to include and what we did not. Simon mentioned in our meeting that we needed to cut the parts where Jamie speaks about himself as the story is about me and my journey, not his. After looking through George's transcript we decided what we wanted to include in the Jamie interview and George put that sequence together. I think it looked much better and was less than 90 seconds which was perfect.
As for Bobby, after Simon's feedback, we decided to remove this interview from our university cut as there were not many hard-hitting points, and as this was the purpose of this sequence, there was little point in keeping it. Whilst a harsh decision, we needed to be ruthless to get our story, and my journey, in the 20-minute timeframe. Even though Bobby was a great guy, it just didn't add enough to warrant it being in our documentary.
Overall we are very happy with the Jamie interview now and Dan's interview was always good and just needs grading before it is included. We still have the fitness interview to be shot [as our first contributor let us down on multiple occasions] but we are very happy with our replacement who is actually much more interesting and will benefit the documentary.
Introduction
Our main introduction consists of a number of scenic and drone shots that were filmed over the past few weeks. When put into a timeline it looked really good and now just needs a voiceover to work. We may decide to include some throwback and archive pictures in this opening as well, but these decisions will come later on in the edit when we have more of a structured documentary. Right now we have a cinematically pleasing start but it will be transformed once it has the voiceover. Right now I am very happy with how this sequence is looking and I am pleased with how this opening should impact on the viewer.
Race License
After feedback from Simon, we decided to take a further look at the race license scene. Our biggest issue with it is the length. To tell the story and show all the relevant footage, it has ended up being too long. Simon suggested we work hard to reduce this sequence and also look at the "I passed" moment as Wil [the instructor] does talk over me, which somewhat ruins the moment.
We are working on the latter and thinking of ways to possibly cut the part where Wil interrupts and cover it with some footage of me on track. Whether this will look odd or not, we will not know until we try it.
We are also cutting and sometimes completely removing some of the parts with me on track with Wil as some don't need to be included in their entirety. This is helping save time and not removing anything from the story. Also removing a few shots of myself and Wil speaking before I get going is helping save time.
However, the main part we have adapted and condensed is the opening. We still start in my room with me speaking, but we head to an L Cut and show me walking down the stairs, driving and arriving while I am still speaking. This means we have cut down this sequence by over half a minute and makes the scene itself more interesting. It flows better and keeps the correct tone, so this change to use a long L Cut has really helped us.
I am much happier with this sequence in its fine stage right now, but even more work on this scene will allow it to have the meaning it deserves. The addition of further audio work and music will be the catalyst for this scene having more power.
Overall, a productive week in which a lot of work was completed and I am happy to see the edit evolve at such a rate even though we have a large number of shoot dates still to come. The crew are doing a fantastic job and I feel I am doing my part as well.
Saturday 23 March 2019
Production - Shoot Day 16 Go Kart Sequence
The majority of the karting sequence is complete, with the only part left to film being the PTC where I speak about why we are at the track and also it’s significance in my story. Cailan had captured the race footage back in January and I had filmed the drone footage a few weeks ago so this is all that was left to do. We were due to film this last time but Cailan was ill and this meant we would not have a camera operator for this shoot. Therefore we wanted to ensure he was available so we waited until Saturday 23rd where we would film this PTC.
We had practised this PTC twice before so we were confident in producing a high quality sequence with good answers. I decided against a “walk and talk” for this segment as I did not want the whole documentary to have a copy and paste visual style in which we could not flex our creativity. Therefore this sequence would be static on a tripod where I speak just off camera with the kart track in the background. As it was a somewhat controlled environment I spent some time working on the framing, positioning and eyeline before we started filming. The plans I created before the shoot helped us set up quickly and allowed us to all be on the same wavelength when filming.
Shotlist - Go Karting
We were lucky once again to be graced with good weather conditions as the overcast nature of the day ensured that takes were not too dissimilar to one another so we could work around the best take in the edit. Visually this scene looked exactly how I had envisioned when planning and my decision to change the location where this scene was shot allowed the sequence to be more diverse cinematically. The tested shot did not give much depth perception of the track and I wanted to ensure this new angle did. I am much happier with this new angle and I am very happy that I decided to change it. I could see us receiving the same criticism for this sequence as the Diary Room if we had stayed with the old shot because it did not give the viewer enough of a clue as to where we were.
While I like the cinematic appearance of this scene I was disappointed in myself as a contributor in this segment. While I did give passionate answers I felt it took a long time for me to give the correct answer which was undoubtedly frustrating for the crew. I got good “commentary” in the end but this did take longer than expected and this could be because I had not rehearsed what I was going to say as much as I should have. Even if I had gone through what I said in the script a few more times I am sure it would have taken less time. But we managed to get takes which are what we need and when Cailan and I put these into a timeline to pick out the best takes, we ended up typically having 4/5 good, usable takes for each scene.
While I admit that this section could have gone more smoothly, enabling us to wrap sooner, I am happy we managed to get what was needed. I will speak more about the issues I faced as a contributor in a future blog post which will look into what I could be doing better as a contributor to ensure sequences like this are smoother in the future. This will look into how I can better “work under pressure”, this will be on my blog within the next week.
Overall I think today's shoot had its issues on my part but after around 10 clean takes we managed to get some great answers which will slot nicely into a timeline. I will be working with the editor on how to best edit this sequence as doing it how I first envisioned may not work any more. My initial plan was to edit in a montage in-between each answer but after further thought and reviewing the answers I am not sure that this will work. As Cailan is editing this I have given him a possible idea of how this sequence can work and I will then decide if it works with the tone set throughout. My new idea is to have the questions back to back with some b-roll covering the gaps between questions and then, after I finish what I’m saying, we will have a quick montage which ends in a voice-over explaining how the weekends racing went. I am confident that this is the way forward for this scene but I am happy to change if it fits our tone and Cailan gives me feedback on how he thinks it can work. I am looking forward to seeing this in the timeline as I think this is a scene that can properly show my passion for karting and motorsport.
We had practised this PTC twice before so we were confident in producing a high quality sequence with good answers. I decided against a “walk and talk” for this segment as I did not want the whole documentary to have a copy and paste visual style in which we could not flex our creativity. Therefore this sequence would be static on a tripod where I speak just off camera with the kart track in the background. As it was a somewhat controlled environment I spent some time working on the framing, positioning and eyeline before we started filming. The plans I created before the shoot helped us set up quickly and allowed us to all be on the same wavelength when filming.
Shotlist - Go Karting
- Alex driving to karting M/S
- Car driving up the slope to car park W/S [Looking down towards hut]
- Alex greeting staff at circuit W/S
- Alex signing on W/S, C/U on signing the form
- Alex standing behind the barrier, with circuit behind him. M/S [Explaining to George why this is important]
- Drone shot karts on track - Start of race, flying in opposite direction to karts to create speed. M/S
- Karts on track M/S,C/U [Focus on Alex with moving camera that you will be using]
- One Static Camera capture UC/U shots we can layer mask. One static camera W/S. One static Camera M/S [3 or 4 races so cameras can
- Alex crossing finish line to win M/S, Next race, focus on chequered flag C/U
- Alex on the podium, getting medal M/S, Alex looking happy/smiling C/U
While I admit that this section could have gone more smoothly, enabling us to wrap sooner, I am happy we managed to get what was needed. I will speak more about the issues I faced as a contributor in a future blog post which will look into what I could be doing better as a contributor to ensure sequences like this are smoother in the future. This will look into how I can better “work under pressure”, this will be on my blog within the next week.
Overall I think today's shoot had its issues on my part but after around 10 clean takes we managed to get some great answers which will slot nicely into a timeline. I will be working with the editor on how to best edit this sequence as doing it how I first envisioned may not work any more. My initial plan was to edit in a montage in-between each answer but after further thought and reviewing the answers I am not sure that this will work. As Cailan is editing this I have given him a possible idea of how this sequence can work and I will then decide if it works with the tone set throughout. My new idea is to have the questions back to back with some b-roll covering the gaps between questions and then, after I finish what I’m saying, we will have a quick montage which ends in a voice-over explaining how the weekends racing went. I am confident that this is the way forward for this scene but I am happy to change if it fits our tone and Cailan gives me feedback on how he thinks it can work. I am looking forward to seeing this in the timeline as I think this is a scene that can properly show my passion for karting and motorsport.
Friday 22 March 2019
Production - Shoot Day 15 South Downs Shoot
After a very successful scout of the South Downs a few weeks back, we were ready to film the actual sequence after I had created a camera plan as well as a detailed shot list plus details picked up from the test shoot. On the two previous times we had visited the Downs we had experienced a large amount of wind and this was something we were wary of. Not only did we bring a deadcat for the microphone, we also planned our locations around the wind as I had noted certain areas that would be less prone to scene destroying wind noise.
My shot list can be seen below along with George’s call sheet. I planned to use either the University Panasonic or my DSLR “G7” as they both create the depth of field that I was after. Also, the Sony we have shot the majority of this project on struggles in scenarios like that of the South Downs. Therefore we made the logical decisions to use a camera with great manual controls. After thinking about it logistically I decided to use the G7 for this sequence as lugging the University Panasonic along with all of the kit it needs would have been a major hassle.
insert camera plan and shot list,
South Downs Shoot
MAIN CAMERA - SONY AX53
SECONDARY CAMERA - G7
DRONE
CLIP MIC
1. MAIN CAMERA M/S Alex driving low angle
2. DRONE Showing the area
3. MAIN CAMERA W/S Alex walks up hill
4. MAIN CAMERA Extreme Wide Showing scale of South Downs [ also Attempt Right
to Left Pan]
5. MAIN CAMERA M/S From side as Alex walks and talks up Hill
6. MAIN CAMERA M/S Panning around me [Like Diary Room 1 and 3 Across my
eyeline as I look right forward]
7. MAIN CAMERA MC/U From side as I speak and look into the distance
8. MAIN CAMERA M/S Alex sitting down will speaks slightly off camera [Shots before
will be used to cover first 10-15 sec of this sequence]
9. MAIN CAMERA M/S from side, Alex looking into distance [Sitting down]
10. MAIN CAMERA MC/U Directly in front of Alex, eyeline not quite looking at camera
[Sitting down]
11. MAIN CAMERA C/U Alex sitting there in anticipation
After collecting Cailan from the station we all me at the Downs and proceeded to film the drone shots that George had missed in our location scout. This meant going up and down the road leading to the car park a few times, giving George the opportunity to capture these stunning shots of the Downs which will be used either in the introductory scene or the South Downs sequence itself. I am very happy with the shots George captured and I am happy we left time in the day to capture these as they will prove powerful in whatever sequence they end up being used in.
After filming these, recharging the drone and speaking about the shoot ahead, we head up onto the Downs to shoot the sequence. I had shown Cailan exactly what I wanted from him today and we were on the same wavelength which meant we were confident about the shoot. As with a lot of our sequences, they are relatively short but all key in telling the story I wanted. This sequence was about where I come to relax and clear my mind. It will be seen just before the race and will bring home the message about my mental struggles before the race and my mindset going into it. It is only 30-45 seconds long but I think it adds a lot to the build up to the race.
We observed two of the various locations I had planned but we got very lucky with the weather as it was an overcast day which meant no shadows. We were also lucky with the wind as it was a very subtle breeze but much, much better than before which meant wind noise was not going to be an issue in this shoot. After deciding on which location I would speak, I had a quick look at what I had planned to say and then we started filming. I wanted to bring up a few points but what was said was very natural and honest and I think it is really powerful, especially when given context within the documentary.
I have about 30 seconds worth of “commentary” therefore I decided we should split the shot type into two. The first 15 seconds would be at a M/S so you could see the South Downs in the background, with the later 15 seconds being a close up as what I say gets more important and I want the viewer to feel its impact. This worked really well as it eases the viewer into the scene. Going to a close up right away may have been a little jarring so I felt what I did gives us a lot more of a lead-in to the important parts of what's said. Even though we had some good takes early on, I decided it would be best for the edit if I kept doing further takes as it would allow there to be more choice in the edit. I am always conscious of this, even when being the contributor as I want to allow George or Cailan to have exactly the clip they want when putting these sequences together.
After a really successful shoot in which we got numerous good takes, Cailan proceeded to follow my shot list and get a number of cutaways which can be used before I speak, while I am speaking and also to end the sequence. Even though they may not be needed, I thought it would be worth getting them as we have not had a chance to put this into a timeline yet and it may work better with shots like these. They are all great for sequencing, which once again means the editor will be able to try different shots to see which works best. Cailan followed my shot list and also added to it, which is exactly what is needed to ensure we capture a wide range of shots. While watching the rushes of what was filmed, I was very happy with it and with some slight colour correcting, it would be exactly what is needed.
I was very happy with the team and when we were confident we had everything we needed we head back to the car. I recorded a buzz track off the waves crashing right at the sea front which will be important when creating an atmosphere within this scene. When reviewing this footage/sound I was really happy that I decided to do this as it sounds great and really helps enhance this scenes audio. Overall it was a great day and I am once again leaving a shoot day very happy with what we have captured. All the prior planning and scouting allowed this scene to go to plan. I am really looking forward to seeing how this looks in the edit.
My shot list can be seen below along with George’s call sheet. I planned to use either the University Panasonic or my DSLR “G7” as they both create the depth of field that I was after. Also, the Sony we have shot the majority of this project on struggles in scenarios like that of the South Downs. Therefore we made the logical decisions to use a camera with great manual controls. After thinking about it logistically I decided to use the G7 for this sequence as lugging the University Panasonic along with all of the kit it needs would have been a major hassle.
insert camera plan and shot list,
South Downs Shoot
MAIN CAMERA - SONY AX53
SECONDARY CAMERA - G7
DRONE
CLIP MIC
1. MAIN CAMERA M/S Alex driving low angle
2. DRONE Showing the area
3. MAIN CAMERA W/S Alex walks up hill
4. MAIN CAMERA Extreme Wide Showing scale of South Downs [ also Attempt Right
to Left Pan]
5. MAIN CAMERA M/S From side as Alex walks and talks up Hill
6. MAIN CAMERA M/S Panning around me [Like Diary Room 1 and 3 Across my
eyeline as I look right forward]
7. MAIN CAMERA MC/U From side as I speak and look into the distance
8. MAIN CAMERA M/S Alex sitting down will speaks slightly off camera [Shots before
will be used to cover first 10-15 sec of this sequence]
9. MAIN CAMERA M/S from side, Alex looking into distance [Sitting down]
10. MAIN CAMERA MC/U Directly in front of Alex, eyeline not quite looking at camera
[Sitting down]
11. MAIN CAMERA C/U Alex sitting there in anticipation
After collecting Cailan from the station we all me at the Downs and proceeded to film the drone shots that George had missed in our location scout. This meant going up and down the road leading to the car park a few times, giving George the opportunity to capture the
After filming these, recharging the drone and speaking about the shoot ahead, we head up onto the Downs to shoot the sequence. I had shown Cailan exactly what I wanted from him today and we were on the same wavelength which meant we were confident about the shoot. As with a lot of our sequences, they are relatively short but all key in telling the story I wanted. This sequence was about where I come to relax and clear my mind. It will be seen just before the race and will bring home the message about my mental struggles before the race and my mindset going into it. It is only 30-45 seconds long but I think it adds a lot to the build up to the race.
We observed two of the various locations I had planned but we got very lucky with the weather as it was an overcast day which meant no shadows. We were also lucky with the wind as it was a very subtle breeze but much, much better than before which meant wind noise was not going to be an issue in this shoot. After deciding on which location I would speak, I had a quick look at what I had planned to say and then we started filming. I wanted to bring up a few points but what was said was very natural and honest and I think it is really powerful, especially when given context within the documentary.
I have about 30 seconds worth of “commentary” therefore I decided we should split the shot type into two. The first 15 seconds would be at a M/S so you could see the South Downs in the background, with the later 15 seconds being a close up as what I say gets more important and I want the viewer to feel its impact. This worked really well as it eases the viewer into the scene. Going to a close up right away may have been a little jarring so I felt what I did gives us a lot more of a lead-in to the important parts of what's said. Even though we had some good takes early on, I decided it would be best for the edit if I kept doing further takes as it would allow there to be more choice in the edit. I am always conscious of this, even when being the contributor as I want to allow George or Cailan to have exactly the clip they want when putting these sequences together.
After a really successful shoot in which we got numerous good takes, Cailan proceeded to follow my shot list and get a number of cutaways which can be used before I speak, while I am speaking and also to end the sequence. Even though they may not be needed, I thought it would be worth getting them as we have not had a chance to put this into a timeline yet and it may work better with shots like these. They are all great for sequencing, which once again means the editor will be able to try different shots to see which works best. Cailan followed my shot list and also added to it, which is exactly what is needed to ensure we capture a wide range of shots. While watching the rushes of what was filmed, I was very happy with it and with some slight colour correcting, it would be exactly what is needed.
I was very happy with the team and when we were confident we had everything we needed we head back to the car. I recorded a buzz track off the waves crashing right at the sea front which will be important when creating an atmosphere within this scene. When reviewing this footage/sound I was really happy that I decided to do this as it sounds great and really helps enhance this scenes audio. Overall it was a great day and I am once again leaving a shoot day very happy with what we have captured. All the prior planning and scouting allowed this scene to go to plan. I am really looking forward to seeing how this looks in the edit.
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