I created a new camera plan after our recent test with the track and dolly which allowed Cailan to be much more confident when operating the equipment. This new plan had three positions for the track and dolly, instead of the previous plan which only had one. This originally proved to be lacking in emotion because of the shot size and, after advice from Helen, I decided to ensure the main 2 track and dolly movements would be closer. Something else that was changed from our test was my eyeline. In all shots seen in the test, my eyeline was an issue. Whilst I did not want to look directly at the camera because I had decided early on that it did not work for our documentary, I would be looking much closer to it to allow a better viewer connection.
My new camera plans along with my shot lists for the Diary Room can be seen below. Along with the interview, it was important to have shots of me in and around the workshop as well as cutaways of the photos I show, therefore following the shot list would be very important.
Shotlist
Diary Room Shotlist:
- Camera 1: Panasonic DVX 200 on Tripod - Main shot M/S
- Camera 2: Sony AX53 on Track & Dolly
- Camera 3: Panasonic G7 capturing close ups
- REMEMBER PHOTOS FOR BLOG / CREW STILLS
- DIARY ROOM
- EST Shot of garage (For BTS/Extended cut)
- Car parking up M/S (For BTS/Extended cut)
- Alex walking through garage door W/S
- Alex looking around the cars M/S (For BTS/Extended cut)
- Alex sitting down on seat M/S
- Main Camera M/S [Alex LOF]
- Dolly Camera MW/S [Alex LOF]
- C/U of hands
- UC/U of eyes
- C/U of face
- C/U Alex looking through photos
- C/U of items that Alex holds
On our shoot date, we had intended to have the help of Connor W for the whole day, but he had a last minute issue with his shoot which meant he could only help later on in the day. At first, this worried us because Connors' was a key handheld shot. I thought on my feet and put the camera on a tripod instead of asking George to operate the camera as he needed to focus on his role as producer. This actually worked well as the close up on a tripod was very effective and Connor was able to come later and help with the photo cutaways. As this was the main point of having a handheld camera it actually didn’t work out too badly for us.
After the cameras had all been set up as per the camera plan, we got to work shooting the 4 questions/answers and using different movements for the track and dolly to maximise the cinematic effect. We used the main track and dolly style in question 1 and 3 and then used special dolly styles for question 2 and 4. This really looked great when reviewing the footage as it shows we are pushing ourselves to create individual shots for each question and not settling for one style. I was very happy with Cailan’s track and dolly movements, especially on 1,3 and 4 as they were smooth and could easily be cut in between our other two cameras. The 2nd question wasn’t the smoothest but it was probably the hardest movement so I understand the trickiness of what I was asking for.
The main camera facing me looked fantastic, exactly what I was expecting. My biggest worry with this main camera was its focus as it was the one we would need most in the edit. Therefore, I did ask on a number of occasions about the focus, ensuring the “peaking” on the camera was focusing on my eyes. This indicates it is in focus and the shot is usable. I was really impressed that in every scene the focus was right and I commend the crew for ensuring our main shot was continually in focus. This will make the edit so much easier. This understanding between us is thanks to lessons on previous shoot dates. It has ensured we are all on the same page with
The actual answers went OK. I admit they could have gone better. This was probably due to my nerves as a contributor because I knew the importance of this scene being emotional and allowing the viewer into my life. Therefore, I expect I was overthinking a lot of what was said, meaning that it was possibly not as natural as it should have been. We eventually got good answers for every question George asked, but due to my inexperience and worry, it did take longer than I would have liked and I apologise to the crew for this as I know my struggle with answers put us slightly behind schedule. When reviewing this footage I liked the answers but I could see that I was nervous and my answers were at a somewhat unnatural speed (slightly faster then I would normally speak). The only way I could see this being improved for our next Diary Room shoot (after the race) would be to rehearse the answers. I did not want to do that because I felt that would be.
Each camera picked up exactly the right shots and I was very impressed with the whole camera crew as they did exactly what I wanted, so none of the blame for today's lighting issue can be placed upon them. After recording all of the questions, Connor picked up the cutaways of the photos I am speaking about and Cailan picked up B-Roll of me entering the building as well as me walking around and looking at cars which can be used as establishing shots when introducing the Diary Room for the first time, early on in our documentary. The crew knew exactly what they were doing which allowed me to focus more on being the contributor. However, for some reason in this shoot, I was particularly worried about the shots and angles. This led to me being less natural on camera than I should have been. It was always going to be hard for me to fully give up on my role as director and I know I was making progress on this. Possibly a multitude of things coming together (Time constraints, lighting issues, crew issues etc..) led me to be more worried about the visuals.
Reviewing the day, I was impressed with the whole team but was a little disappointed that I did not ensure the lighting was as good as that in the reference material. This was an oversight which leads me to want to re-shoot this sequence as I know I can do better and I want to prove that. The answers I gave as a contributor could also be improved by allowing me to be more relaxed (Possibly focusing on the cameras less and more on my role on the day as a contributor). I am sure that I can do better, even though today's shoot was a success, it could have looked better visually with more time spent on lighting. Our main issue was that we had a tight time restriction to work within and that factored into my decision to not spend any more time on lighting. My thought was that it was better recording the sequence rather than risk spending a lot of time on perfect lighting, only to miss out important questions. Overall it was tough because of the time scheduled for this shoot, but I honestly think I did the best I could in the time I had available.
No comments:
Post a Comment