Yesterday we made the long trip up to Donington Park near Derby to scout the location of the test session I will be taking part in in a few weeks time with Sam. This is a key sequence as it is when I will for the first time be driving the BMW I will eventually be racing. Originally we planned this sequence to be at Brands Hatch but due to restrictions on testing, there was no available session within this time frame. I will still get to test the car at Brands (where I will actually be racing) but not until the Friday before the event. Therefore, this test session at Donington Park will be an essential scene and also introduces us to Sam who I will be sharing the car with.
Before we went to the location I referred to a prior scout of the track I had completed myself last October to enlighten myself on what we should be looking out for. As we had better weather yesterday than in October, I will also be able to see the whole track for the first time. George had acquired media access for us meaning we could see the exact positions that cameras could be placed, rather then guessing what would work. I also looked at the track and plotted possible locations on a map and supplied reference photos that I thought looked good so we could see how they were taken. These can be seen below and gave me an idea of what and where I should be looking when we were walking around the track. George also put together a rough call sheet of what needed to be completed and by what time.
Knowing the importance of this scene we left very early to ensure we had a substantial amount of time to scout the location and set up. I suggested we all stay at George’s as he was driving so we could maximise time on the road. We left at 6am and arrived at the location at 10:45am after encountering a large amount of congestion on the way. This did leave us nearly an hour behind schedule but we all agreed we should stay later and proceed to do our full scout rather than skipping segments. I would say, in hindsight, that we could have left even earlier but as we still managed to complete our full scout without issues I think it worked out well. It is important to remember these travel issues however, as we will be doing a similar trip in a few weeks for the actual test and we need to leave at the right time to ensure I get there for the drivers briefing and the full day of testing.
After looking through the map, we walked around in an anti-clockwise direction so we could more easily take pictures of the cars as they were coming towards us. The track is much larger and Brands Hatch and I fully expected this scout to take at least three hours. However, due to the heavy winds and temperamental weather our progress was slowed meaning we finished at 4:30pm rather than the time expected by George. It did not affect the rest of the day as we had nothing planned later, but details like this are worth noting for camera operators on the day. It could take longer than expected to walk around the track so everyone must be prepared and have this knowledge.
The scout itself went well. The idea was that I would frame up pictures to use in future camera cards and plans while Cailan would take a video of each location on his phone so he could show this to the camera operator on the day. It was an easy process to repeat and we all did a great job in our roles by in ensuring everything that needed to be captured or completed, was. In a future blog post you will see how I will use the pictures taken to create information cards for the camera operators so that they know exactly what is required of them. This has worked to great affect in our previous track dates so I am looking forward to creating these and capturing these shots of my track day with Sam.
As well as observing the race track itself we looked around the pitlane as Cailan will be focusing on this area, so it was important to know what coverage he could get from there. The pitlane seems more accessible than Brands Hatch, meaning Cailan will be able to go out to a few local trackside locations while I am on track before returning when I come back into the pitlane. Lighting and space seemed to be equal to that at Brands Hatch meaning careful attention to white balance and framing (ie. Cailan not getting himself in the reflection) would ensure we have no issues with our shots in this scene.
Overall this location scout went well. We noted the possibility of adverse weather. This is important for myself as a director but also George as producer so he can ensure all crew are prepared for the day and the possibilities. All information we have received today will enable my plans to be very thorough which is perfect as I will want to focus on the driving when we come to film this sequence in a few weeks time. I am personally very happy that I organised this day as without it we would have struggled immensely to capture the best filming spots. Today was vital in enabling the actual shoot date to go well and it has been to the benefit of the whole team that we did this scout. The fact we have allowed more time for in depth scouts and camera tests means our actual shoots will go better because of it. This is something I wish I would have done sooner, but I am very thankful for the lessons learned as it means going forward we are in a much better place. 
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