Professional Practice: Shoot Day 2
Today was the second day of shooting, although I didn't initially think I would need a second shoot day, after showing the guildhall my rough cut they asked me to make a few changes that required re-shooting a few bits and getting some pickup shots.
I had Alex helping me today, primarily as my sound operator but also as an assistant camera operator.
I had with me the revised version of my script so that I could re-record my PTC's as well as a few notes on the pickup shots I needed.
To start the day we once again wheeled the cart outside, and while the weather conditions were fortunately very similar to the previous shoot day, I had to remember how the cart was placed.
To overcome this difficulty I had some reference images as well as the rough cut saved to my phone and with Alex's help, we were able to position the cart as close to its original location as possible, helping maintain continuity.
PTC's
Recording PTC's this time was actually easier since I had already learned the script and actually had less to say to the camera (since the guildhall wanted me to shorten the PTC's).
I had Alex behind the camera to start with to check I was in focus but then he positioned himself closer to me with the tascam to get as clear audio as possible.
I like to use manual focus which actually proved as an advantage when I had someone to help. While it was difficult to present and operate a camera at the same time, it is a skill I can take forward.
I did takes of various length so that i could present the guildhall with different options later on.
Panning
Although most of my panning was done last time I made the mistake of recording some with the incorrect camera orientation.
As such a re shot a few of the pans from new angles.
Since I had now reccied the location twice and had shooting experience this proved to be easier the second time around.
Time Lapses
In some of the commissions I looked at, they featured time lapses of museum visitors. While I wasn't sure if I needed this at first I realised I didn't have many cut aways to ease the initial transition in voice over, so upon Alex's suggestion, I finished my panning shots while he filmed a few time lapses, which upon review, turned out a lot better than expected.
Other Shots
I continued to get a few more establishing shots since the ones I had, while good, weren't as effective as they could have been.
Also when watching back my rough cut one thing I picked up on was the length of my POV shots and the lack of cuts.
To remedy this I recorded some additional POV shots from slightly different angles that I could cut to.
I also wanted to get a shot of the mechanism inside of the cart but last time found it too dark to prove as an effective shot. However this time I was able to overcome this problem by placing a light just in front of the mechanism to provide a well lit shot.
Overall today was very productive and I have multiple options for editing that will benefit both myself and the guildhall.
Difficulties
The outside location proved to be quite noisy when recording PTC's but to overcome this we did multiple takes.
Some of the angles of the pump were darker than others and raising ISO would have made the shot too grainy. to overcome this I placed a light out of shot but kept the intensity low to maintain a natural look.
The location of the pump had to be re established. I could remember roughly the angel it was positioned at last time but to help me I had reference images to properly asses the space with and maintain continuity.
Positives
My communication skills were effective today, Alex raised more questions than Mellissa and I effectively explained my creative vision.
I came away once again with more footage than initially planned.
I reviewed the footage far more frequently this time around and because of that I was able to quickly identify which shots were most effective and which needed to be re-shot.
I stuck to my schedule far better the second time, probably since I had a clearer idea of what I needed.
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