TV News: Shoot Diary Day 3
Today we headed up to London to get some shots of various transport and modern looking things/places. We didn't have Andrew with us today but this didn't affect our plans. My role today was camera assistant. Today was once again very efficient as we had a rough scheduled/plan of what shots we wanted, where and in what order.
However we were still pushed for time in places due to environmental/weather issues, light levels and more which I'll get in to in a bit.
We started the day by meeting at London Victoria. We briefly went over the plan once more and then set off towards our first location, Battersea Power Station (Or rather Battersea Park). We got there in good time but the trouble was we didn't have a chance to properly RECCIE this location before the shoot. As a result we discovered that construction work had been erected in the place we planned to film, obstructing our access.
Alex was able to get a few shots using his phone but nothing like we planned. However this was only a minor set back and we still had plenty of ground to cover. So un deterred we headed to our next location, and on the way Alex and Cailan got some great shots of the train pulling in.
Our next location was the area of Stratford and the Olympic park. We began walking to the location but as we did we encountered our second hindrance of the day (the weather). As we tried to set up shots it began to rain, getting heavier and heavier. This made shooting difficult so we decided the best course of action was to grab some lunch and wait for the rain to stop.
Fortunately this didn't take too long. However as a precaution we decided to invest in an umbrella that we could place over the camera. This way if it were to rain again we would have a way to overcome the situation.
I had the Fig Rig and the DSLR and did my best to fill in the gaps. I tended to focus on scenic shots and pans that we could use. When filming I thought carefully about the "carology" brand, ensuring I got as many shots of transport and technological advancements as possible.
We had to leave the park after a short while since we were running slightly behind schedule, but continued to get some shots around the Stratford area. Once again Alex got great close ups and pans while Cailan set up the best angles for time lapses. I got a few time lapses of trains and other transport but since he had the tripod I imagine Cailan got a better angel.
This continued in to our next location which was near London City Airport. We set up the tripod and other cameras safely on a bridge out of the way to try and get some shots of planes landing/taking off. Surprisingly this took longer than we expected as it was difficult exactly when/where the plains trajectory would take them so we messed up a few shots.
Again Cailan had nice framing using the tripod for stills and time lapses, Alex meanwhile put his skills to good use tracking the motion of the planes. I used the fig rig to try and get some steady close ups of the planes taking off but i struggled to see whether the shots were in focus at times.
I think I got some good shots but if I'm honest as the day went on, I felt like we only really needed two cameras so I felt a bit like a spare part. Since the other two cameras already had great coverage.
To make up for this I made sure to keep up with my behind the scenes documenting that I could use to support our brands social media.
Our next stop on our Journey took us beside the Thames where we set up some nice scenic shots, Cailan used the Gorilla pod here and on the bridge to get a better angel. Alex did some great scenic pans with his set up as well, so much so that my skills weren't really necessary here, I wasn't sure what I could add.
Shortly after this we moved to our final location of the day, which was meant to be eh Gurkin, however were inspired by the view of the shard we had as well as some other modern looking buildings that we thought would work really well. Cailan and Alex had a great set up, but I felt certainly like a spare part at this point so tried to fill in some different angels but honestly I struggled to find one that worked. I decided to position myself away from the other cameras to get a fresh angel but as a result some of my shots felt cut off. I tried using my Dolly but the terrain wasn't ideal.
We had to finish the shoot here as we were loosing the light, but that was fine since we'd covered almost all planned locations and had plenty of footage to work with.
Overall today we worked very well as a team and were very organised, getting successful footage that can be put to good use. And although my skills weren't utilized heavily today, i'm sure this will all change in post production.
Posatives
We prepared a rough schedule and stuck to it well most of the time.
We worked well as a group and as interdependent units to get the best angles and most coverage possible.
We had a productive day and were able to adjust to changing situations well, e.g. buying an umbrella.
We communicated quite effectively with one another as to what shots we wanted (although this could have perhaps been done more often) and moral stayed high until the end.
We worked well when complying with the local filming guidelines/permissions, for example some places didn't allow tripods so we used a gorilla pod instead.
We obtained plenty of footage that I have big plans for in the edit.
Equipment was utilized well.
Difficulties
We had a little trouble with rain but prepared/adapted accordingly.
We ran out of time/light to film in some locations but still got plenty of coverage.
I did feel a little bit like a third wheel/spare part at times but did my absolute best to fill in any opportunities i saw, and I'm sure my skills will be put to good use in post production.
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