Tuesday 5th MARCH Shotlist for various pick up shots.
● Alex “Arriving home” M/S
● Alex going through the door and going upstairs M/S
● Alex on PC M/S & C/U
● Alex typing on keyboard C/U
● Alex speaks off camera about “Whats to come” M/S (Angle is Slightly lower than eye
level)
● Racing License Application Pack C/U
● Cutaways from Alex’s Room C/U [Trophies, Memorabilia etc]
● Alex contemplating what’s ahead C/U
● Drone Shots of Kent [NOT P.W]
“Fundraising”
● Alex on PC M/S C/U
● Pull focus on keyboard C/U
● Pull focus on Alex C/U
● Alex speaks off camera about “Fundraising” M/S (Angle is Slightly lower than eye
level)
● Alex speaking EC/U on eyes & mouth
● Pull focus on PC Screen C/U
● Alex sighing as he realises the challenge ahead - M/S zooms to C/U
“Brands Hatch Scenic Shots”
● Driving to Circuit out window
● Brands Hatch Iconography (Coming into the circuit and around the track)
● Cars on Track
● Timelapse
● Alex walking down the pitlane
● Alex putting on race gear
Diary Room Test / Dolly Test
● MC/U On Track and Dolly
● M/S Alex from 45 Degrees [left of alex]
● UC/U Alex from 45 Degrees [left of alex]
We started the day by filming a couple of actuality sequences in which I explain the journey that lies ahead of me. These, in hindsight, should have been recorded right at the start of the project but we made a few mistakes early on which meant some sequences were forgotten. This is an issue and we regret not doing these sooner, but we always knew about them and it was just finding the right time. These sequences clearly explain what I will be doing as well as why we are starting a kickstarter. Even though these sequences are filmed out of place in terms of reality, they do not lie about what has happened which is fine and happens all the time in documentaries. From this experience, we have already learned how to be more productive with the time we have as a team, which means we have not missed any other sequences since these, which should have been filmed in early January.
The two actuality sequences in which I speak to someone behind the camera went well. We set up rudimentary lighting so it was not grainy but also naturally showed what my room is like. I think this was good because if we set up a lot of lighting, this sequence would have looked very staged and unnatural, therefore this was the right decision even if the lighting isn’t perfect. It’s hard to comprehend, but it’s a documentary in which I go on a journey, meaning not every sequence will have perfect lighting or sound. This does not mean we forget about it however, simply try to best prepare for each scene and film accordingly. Finding the balance between raw and completely set up is hard but we seem to have found somewhere close to perfection which means we are not having many issues with grainy footage or significantly staged sequences. This has been thanks to a long and arduous learning experience so far, meaning we now know exactly what to do before shoot days to ensure we have no issues. (eg. scouts, filming tests, test shoots, lighting experiments). Nonetheless, these two sequences looked natural and I was happy with how I felt as a contributor at the same time. It was very important to film these now as it means George can put them into a sequence and see how they look. The framing and sound were exactly what I envisioned and it was great that Cailan used my reference material to good effect as it means the tone I am after is very consistent throughout.
After getting the footage onto our hard drives we drove to Brands Hatch. The most important part was the poster as we needed that for printing for our Kickstarter backers as well as for University. The photoshoot went well after I gave Cailan an idea of what picture I was after. We spent around 30 minutes capturing pictures which will allow Cailan to design this poster by early next week so we can get it printed and shipped. As I had a clear vision of what poster style I wanted, it meant that Cailan simply had to adjust camera settings. I was happy with the number of quality photos Cailan took as that will give him different styles to chose from when creating the poster. While I had an idea for the picture I wanted, I knew I should allow Cailan to be creative and produce a poster which he thinks works. I wanted Cailan to take control of the poster and that will allow us to see what he can do. If we decide it needs changes when he sends it over we can suggest adaptions, but I am confident in Cailan creating a great poster as he has done great graphic design work in the past.
While at Brands Hatch we also filmed a variety of clips from around the track. These included iconography like track logos as well as shots of cars on the track. Extra shots like these will allow us to have further opportunities in the edit, especially at the start when I am speaking about who I am and what my dream is. We were pushed for time meaning we did not capture all of the camera angles I wanted, meaning we will probably come back to Brands Hatch before the race day to ensure we get them. These shots will help when establishing Brands Hatch as we come to the track on a number of occasions throughout our documentary and shots like these will allow the viewer to understand what it is like. I directed Cailan as well as operating a secondary camera myself on occasions as it meant that we got a wide range of coverage considering we did not have much time. We were also extremely lucky that the Puma I tested a few weeks prior was on track, meaning Cailan and I decided to pick up some shots of the car out on track. This will be great in the edit for George as we were let down on that day by the first year, so we did not get all the camera angles I would have wanted. Overall, the shots from around the track went really well and I feel we were very productive in our time at the track, capturing a large amount of footage. However, I would like to spend a few more hours at the track capturing more shots, but we may do this when in the edit as it would allow us to fully understand what shots we may be missing. Everything I planned was filmed and we actually finished ahead of schedule which was good as we have been typically running late. This could have been due to tightly filling days in the past but not giving adequate and realistic time, so it shows that George is understanding how the group works and giving us all the correct amount of time so we do not overstretch ourselves.
George filmed a BTS video for our Kickstarter at Brands Hatch, while Cailan and I filmed another one at the Maidstone studios. We were running slightly behind on these for our Kickstarter backers due to filming every available day, so it was good to catch up with these and ensure the people who donated are seeing our progress! I am personally really enjoying these little videos and they provide us with a good log of how we are improving our productivity and skills as a crew. These videos also show the extra lengths we are going to for this project (travelling far up north for sequences etc) and hopefully provide a good basis to how much this project means to us all as a crew. These videos can be seen in another blog post and are worth watching as they show our progress alongside these blogs.
After a thought-provoking meeting with Simon which raised important points such as the relationship between our roles, what we must all be doing (Specifically how George and Cailan manage booking out kit) and small issues with the current edit, we spoke as a team about how we could improve further going forward. Further research into the issues we have faced can be seen in a future blog post.
Our biggest issue within the team is most likely still communication. It has been improving but we understand that steps could be taken to further improve it. Going forward we have made sure that we don’t allow arguments to break out over every little detail. The likely reason this has happened in the past is due to each of us taking criticism personally, which was not allowing us to all be as productive as we should have been. I am happy it was brought to light and we had a genuine discussion about it as it means we now know what we should be doing better going forward. Communication has been our biggest issue as a team but I believe we are improving and I think that some of our shoot dates so far have been a testament to that. I am enjoying this learning process as it is allowing us all to understand how to work effectively in a team, which is vital for when we go into work.
Finally, we ended this long day by testing the track and dolly once more, so Cailan was fully happy with it before the diary Room sequence on Thursday. I also realise that I would have to adapt my camera plans and shot lists and that evolution can be seen in a future blog post. Track and dolly testing went well apart from the issue of making the pan of the camera smooth on the tripod. This issue means I have adapted what I originally thought would work as I want to allow Cailan to be comfortable in his role and what he needs to accomplish. I don’t want to over-complicate it for him, therefore I will simplify some of the camera movements so he can ensure they are right and have no issues. We have taken on board the advice from Simon and Helen after our test shoot, meaning the Diary Room is a lot more personal, allowing the viewer to connect to my story. My plans and new ideas can be seen in my Diary Room shoot day blog post. By the end of our track and dolly testing, Cailan was a lot more confident with it and was happy that George had arranged this extra test. Originally this was never going to happen but after our test footage, George suggested it would be better with more practice. I agree and see today as a very successful day.
We completed a wide range of tasks which allow us to put together sequences, create the poster, allow our donors to be updated as well as having much more footage of Brands Hatch to establish the track. This was a tight day and we managed to pack everything in, but thanks to George’s schedule and time slots we managed to be productive and complete everything on the call sheet. Today’s footage now means that we are no longer behind on some of our sequences and we now have no issues with missed segments. I know we will have to go back to Brands Hatch to film further establishing shots, but that was a given anyway. As has been the current trend, today went really well and I am very happy with the progress we have made. I am now able to focus more on the edit with George at the studios and that work will be seen over the coming weeks. I am really looking forward to involving myself in the edit as so far I have been planning intensely for the future segments. However, we have far fewer shoot dates over the coming 2 weeks which will allow the edit to progress at a much faster rate. The next few weeks are very important in allowing this documentary to fulfil the potential we all know it has. We must now knuckle down as a team and make sure we fill the potential. I am very excited to work on the edit and it will allow me to see issues and learn from mistakes going forward as a contributor, writer and director.
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