TV News: Shoot Diary Day 1

TV News: Shoot Diary Day 1

Today saw the first official shoot day of our TV News project. 

We began the day by meeting at the car park that would form the start and end location of our package. We met as a team and went over the script briefly discussing locations and the set up we wanted. We then sorted out exactly what equipment we wanted to use, we decided that a boom mic wasn't necessary as a clip mic did the job better in this situation. 

We then set up the first shot that would form the location of our package. This was quite easy since we had already RECIED the location a few days earlier. 

Alex had a few practice run through's of the script which helped iron out a few parts that didn't work (due to the re write earlier we didn't have much of a chance to proof read). After a few practices Alex began to really get in to the role of the presenter and when he relaxes and is less self conscious I must say he does a bang up good job. I could tell early on that he has the personality and knowledge for the job. 

Cailan was our main camera man and this gave him a good chance to get to grips with the Panasonic. He had some really nicely framed shots and knew what he was doing, he was also considerate enough to get a second opinion at times and I was very happy with his work. Andrew was on second hand held camera to get tighter shots, and my role was more that of an assistant today. Filling in wherever needed on camera, script etc.

After this we set out on route to the locations we had previously arranged. Myself and Andrew went on ahead to set up cameras safely and in optimal locations so that we could be fully prepared for ALex's arrival. For the first locations I used a mixture of tripod and hand held shots to see which worked better but as the day went on, hand held became more practical. 

Alex had Go Pros safely and securely set up in his car, along with Cailan to cover interior shots and commentary. Cailan helped Alex to read the script as he went, and this process continued throughout. 

About halfway through the journey we stopped to film some further PTC for our package. This was a key point where we compared rough stats/prices of electric cars vs petrol, and tried to lower the tone on electric as an option to avoid being biased (one of the aims of our re write).

Poor Alex struggled a little hear since being a presenter is no easy task and energy levels began to drop. This was a point at which tension grew a little within the group. Alex had to focus on remembering his lines both in and out of the car, so understandably got a bit frustrated, and i'm sure Cailan must have found the multiple takes a little tedious. I tried my best to help diffuse the situation but perhaps got in the way more than anything, so I went with Andrew to set up the next location and let them work through the PTC at their own pace which was for the best and played in our favor in the end. 

Throughout the day, us going on ahead really helped as we could frame up in plenty of time and got some great shots. 

By the end of the day we returned to the car park and filmed a closing piece, however energy levels were at an all time low by now so we may need to get a few pick up shots tomorrow. 

My role today was really camera assistant, but i'm making sure to get plenty of behind the scenes clips for later use. And my Post Production skills will come in to use soon.

Positives

Alex made a great presenter.

Cailan made a great camera man.

Andrew Had a clear contribution. 

I didn't think about killing anyone.

Difficulties

When trying to film the intro we had multiple people with strimmers walking past, and had to wait some time for their noisy presence to be gone (although at least it gave us a chance to practice).

The clip mic recorded great audio but we're not 100% sure if it was in stereo or mono, although this can be fixed in post its still annoying.

There was a car accident on a road near one shooting location (nothing to do with us as we were safely parked on a different road at the time) this delayed shooting by around 15 min.

Energy levels dropped towards the later half of the day and poor Alex struggled in particular and got quite frustrated. He managed to get some good takes in though.