Office Shoot and Pre-production

Tomorrow we will start production on the office sequence, earlier than I anticipated too. Today I have ensured that the Pre-production paperwork has been completed. This consists of a call sheet and a location risk assessment form. Bekah handled the risk assessment whilst I copied my camera script onto a more formal sheet and did the call sheet. I made sure all the cast, crew and equipment is ready. And we should start filming at about 11:30am tomorrow.

Call Sheet

Camera Script

• The Shoot. 28/02/12

Today I started filming on time at about 11:30am, everyone was in costume and ready to begin.

I thought today was very productive because I managed to finish all of the office pieces in one day, (except the stop motion animation shots, as I do not have paint at this time).

First we shot the establishing shots and medium shots, using the tripod throughout and the dolly for one shot.

Most of the shots were brilliant in the first take after doing a rehearsal, I did however, do safety shots, some of which proved to be better than the original. Keeping track of continuity was important, and I almost forgot several times.  I tried to shoot in the most logical order, doing the difficult shots first, and making sure I had full rushes to save me from redoing shots later. After about an hour or so, we managed to get 5 shots done, the dolly shot taking 5 takes, but we got there in the end with the aid of James the Camera Technician, and a hair bobble.

We then took a short break, and continued about 1 hour later. At this time, many of my classmates were back in the room, however I managed to film "around" them, making sure they were not in frame and keeping track of continuity. Since the sound wasn't going to be used, I didn't have to worry about other people making noises and I could vocally direct the actors/actresses whilst recording, which was particularly useful on reaction shots from Briley. I made sure to get the shots involving the engagement ring done first so that Roxie could have it back and go home. Then I finished with Briley, and finally Joby's close-ups were completed. We wrapped at about 3:00pm, giving an hour to spare before we finished college for the day. I made edit logs throughout the entire shoot, writing down each scene, shot, take and it's name.

Today was slightly nerve racking, as people are waiting for you to set up etc. However it made me realise that the amount of ground work done before hand in pre-production, really does pay off. I know that the next shoot will be considerably more time consuming, and I will need all of my resources at hand to make sure things run smoothly.

Picture on set. Left to right: Joby-Actor. Me-Director, DOP. Patrick & Owen - watching.

Pre-production

Now that all the storyboards and camera scripts/shot lists are done, all I have to do now is wait for my producer to acquire the props, clothing etc necessary for filming that I can't get myself. In the meantime, I shall try and get myself acquainted with a steadicam rig, perhaps with the shoulder mount that James said he'd bring in. I'll also go down to the rehearsal room to look at spaces and get a feel for the angles and places for necessary lighting.

Camera Script/Shot List

As I'm acting as Director of Photography as well as Director, I have to turn the storyboards I created into a camera script and shot list. This comprises of a list of all shots in order of location and scene. In each shot explaining how the shot is accomplished and any detail not explained in the storyboards.