Major Project: Ford Puma Shoot

Major Project: Ford Puma Shoot

Today's shoot saw Alex taking part in his first proper track day after the Racing licence. This was a great opportunity for us (myself in particular) to apply what we had learned from the racing license shoot and have a more successful day.

The first step for this process in relation to my role as producer was ensuring we had enough help. I tried to arange for some 1st years to come down for this day.

This was all set to go ahead and I had arranged a camera and location for them, I was going to supervise their progress and asssist them as best I could.



But they didnt turn up and weren't answering their phone. This meant that i had to go on a camera which i wasn't very comfortable with. I had prepared camera plans for everyone and did my best to follow what Alex had layed out.

This really messed with my schedule and the day by waiting for them to turn u[, when they never did. I quickly arrived at the locartion, distributed plans and walkie talkies. We all get set up and i did my best to communicate witht the others.

Cailan did a good on of informing me and Jon who came down to help, when Alex was out on track. I tried to arrange position chnages for people but struggled to efficiently fullfill my ideal responsabilities as I had to learn a new camera, and a new camera/location plan that i hadn't practiced.

The shoot was a success though for the most part. But due to my being on camera, I couldn't check up on Cailans progress with he shotlsit and we missed some actuality that we shall have to re-shoot at some point.

Major Project: Formula Ford Shoot

Major Project: Formula Ford Shoot

Today saw the completion of a further track day and shoot for our project. For my role as producer, I think the day went very well, and in terms of footage, I think we got a lot of great material, despite some difficulties we encountered which I'll go in to later.

The first steps I took into ensuring the success of today's shoot was the organisation of trackside access. Once again I got in contact with the staff at brands hatch and arranged for our crew to be stationed trackside. This would allow us to follow Alex's camera plans more closely as well as get better quality shots as we wouldn't have to work around obstructions. 

The second success I had early on was in the organisation of crew. After the issue we had last time with first years not showing up, I decided it would be more reliable to stick to who we knew. As such not only did we have a friend of Alex's (who had also done a media course at uni so was experienced on camera) come down, but I also organised two additional camera operators (and booked out the camera's for them), namely fellow third years Alex Hargood and Katie Joslin.  

Accounting for this I scheduled the day carefully to account for their arrival. Firstly myself and the main crew arrived at Brands Hatch, got signed on and met up with Alex's contact who was helping him race today. We double checked which sessions Alex would be participating in and filmed the first set of shots on our list of Alex arriving and getting set up (as we didn't get quite as much material of this last time as we would have liked). Once I was affirmed that Cailan and the other camera operators knew what they were doing and I had briefed them on their locations and timings, it was then time for me to greet Alex and Katie.

I had scheduled for them to arrive slightly later than us so that they didn't end up waiting around all morning, and allow me and Cailan to brief the camera operators individually to avoid confusion and unnecessary crowding of the pit lane area.

Before heading over to them I made sure to distribute walkie talkies accordingly, allowing me to keep in contact with Cailan and be on top of any changes or developments on his end. I met up with Alex and Katie, got them signed on as media and then gave them each a camera plan and a brief explanation. I then re-introduced them to Alex followed by Cailan. Cailan then proceeded to give them a more detailed rundown of their responsibilities and talked them through the packs I had provided. He did a really good job of breaking down the shots and angles we needed them to get as well us instructing them a to how to work the cameras they would be using. 

After Cailan had finished his briefing (exactly on time) I took Alex and Katie to their locations and helped them set up. They seemed pretty confident and so I left them to it (making sure to give them a walkie talkie so we could keep on an open line of communication).

I proceeded to make my way back to the pit lane where I met up with Cailan and did my best to assist him with his responsibilities. But after discussion but after discussion following previous shoots I was keen to let him take the lead. This seemed to work for the morning session, and considering all the factors of the situation, we had a very smooth morning shoot.

However, the afternoon proved more challenging. Although we thought we were prepared for all eventualities we had an unexpected change in shoot, due to the fact Alex, through no fault of his own was hit (lightly) by another driver on track behaving recklessly. 

This really threw him off as well as damaging the car he was driving, preventing him from going out for his next session. The car then had to be taken to the paddock area to have some work done on it so it could go back out in the afternoon. While this was happening I informed all the camera operators that "there was an issue with the car, but that they should stay where they were until and wait for further updates".

I was unsure how much detail I should go in to, even though it wasn't Alex's fault I still didn't think he'd appreciate everyone knowing the full details of the event. I was also unsure what myself and Cailan were to do in this instance, my initial thought was that we should be filming his reactions, but at the same time, I worried it would be intrusive and inappropriate considering what he had just experienced. 

Despite my role research of what a producer should be doing on set, I was not prepared for this scenario. All i could do was remain professional, rather than try to console Alex, who wasn't ready to talk to people yet anyway, I took the opportunity to move up my schedule slightly. Going to check on our camera operators in person and updating them on what our next moves were to be.

Once both Alex and the car had time to recover, they went out for a few final laps so that Alex could re-assure himself of his abilities and that he could drive safely. I informed our camera operators of this and they were able to capture additional footage, meaning we only missed out on one track session which hopefully won't impact our edit much anyway.

Once this was complete I gathered everyone back at the pits and Alec and I thanked them for their time. I then collated the SD cards and sent our additional crew home. Myself, Alex and Cailan had a very minor de-brief but Alex wasn't quite in the state of mind to properly evaluate the day. 

Overall the day was a big success, the crew all behaved professionally, and got great material. We kept mostly to schedule and communication was effective. We did miss out on some key actually due to the events out on track so this will be something to reflect on at a later date.

Major Project: Distributing The Edit

Major Project: Distributing The Edit

Today we had a meeting with Simon, where we showed him the progress we had been making. But due to the crazy bussy schedule we have, and the additional responsibilities I have had to take on as producer. There was not a lot to show him as I have gotten behind on the edit. 

This has not been in keeping with the schedule I set for myself and arranged with Simon. I have been struggling to keep up with it for some time now and feel considerably overwhelmed. That is why after discussion with Simon, it was suggested that I distribute some of the edit to Cailan.

As I was planning to be the sole editor on this project, and have a lot of pride in my work, this is not a decision I took lightly. I was worried about how it would look to others and how it might impact my grade. I was also concerned about losing some of my creative control now in post-production which I was relying on to demonstrate my creative input.

But ultimately looking at how much there is still to do, knowing that I'll only get busier as the project goes on, and knowing Cailans editing style well. I knew I had to do what was best for the project. So after discussion with him, I agreed to distribute some of the edit to him. I tasked him the sequences I knew would match his editing style and that I had faith he would do a good job with. 

I worry if this reflect badly on me, but I have to do what's best for this project and I think we can work together to create something dar better than either of us could do alone. I have complete faith in Cailan and look forward to seeing what he can do. 

Major Project: Edit Process "War Plan"

Major Project: Edit Process "War Plan"

After getting a bit behind on the edit due to the incredibly demanding shooting schedule. I spoke to Simon and the team, and also reflected upon my earlier research. We decided that the best way for me to keep on top of the edit, and ensure an efficient workflow. Was for me to put together a "War Plan" of the entire post-production schedule. 

This would outline exactly what needed to be edited, when it should be started, and when I should aim to have a  completed cut by. I looked very carefully at our productions schedule and reflected on the sequences I had already done. 

After taking on board that information I set myself a series of realistic goals, that would ensure I always had something to work on (but wouldn't get overwhelmed) and that every week I could show Simon as well as my team, new material. Always keeping a day or so free soon after to make any appropriate changes. 

When planning this I also carefully considered the scale of each edit, and how it would tie in with my commitments to shooting and producing the other parts of this documentary. After careful planning and consideration, I put together a clear and realistic plan. 

I decided to do this on a physical spreadsheet to allow me to manually tick things off as I went to avoid mistakes. I think this really helped streamline my edit and allowed me to catch up (with help from Cailan). You can see the war plan in the below image, which details exactly when I planned to start and finish each part of the edit.

Major Project: Fitness Sequence Shoot

Major Project: Fitness Sequence Shoot

Today we headed back down to Strood for our actual Fitness Sequence Shoot after the successful test a few weeks back. I felt quite confident going in to the shoot after meeting and discussing with the owner last time, and scouting the location.

Having gotten a clear idea last time about how long the shoot will last I put together what I considered to be an effective schedule. We arrived at the location promptly and I entered first to greet the owner who we had a pre-established relationship with now. He then introduced us to Craig who was to be the instructor guiding and assessing Alex today. I introduced him to the team and spoke to him about the same things I had with Martin, explaining our aims for this shoot. He seemed quite comfortable with this and then explained to me what he considered the best structure for the sequence to be. 

After this initial briefing I then helped the team get set up. I had arranged for Connor to be with us again this time, to operate a camera, and spoke to him briefly about the shots we required. I had also made sure that Alex made some changes to our camera plans. I noted from last time that the G7 struggled in the gym's lighting conditions, where as the FZ was more suited, I also ensured we had more lighting with us this time. 

Once again I came prepared to the shoot with shotlists and camera plans for all our operators. But after last time, I felt I should try and take a step back and not direct Cailan and the camera operators as much, however this lead to some issues which I shall explain later.

The first part if the shoot and the first part of my schedule had Alex coming in through the entrance to greet Craig. This allowed us to get the establishing shots out the way. We then proceeded with Craig to the meeting room that we had scouted last time. Before setting up in here I took the task of mic'ing both Alex and Craig up and making sure their levels matched.

We did however encounter an issue here, in that we were filming later in the day than when we had scouted, so the lighting levels were different and we were relying more on artificial light in that room. This was quiet orange and we also had very small space in which to film. Alex had to remind Cailan and Connor to white balance their camera's appropriately, leading us to pressure him in to giving directorial input which he struggled to give as he was trying to focus on being a contributor.

None the less we dealt with the situation and got what we needed to get in two takes. Then moving on to the main bulk of the sequence. 

However this played out quite differently to what we all anticipated, since I had only spoken with Martin and not Craig before, he was not as clear on what our aims and plans were for this shoot. So although he took Alex through some tests, they were much much slower paced and less diverse than what we were hoping for.

With the change in situation Connor asked me some camera related questions which I did not feel I should be answering after last time, and attempted to direct him to Cailan, who was currently trying to frame up his own shot.

During these following scenes I attempted to refer us to the shotlist but it became less relevant. I instead focussed my attention on other details such as the lack of lighting in shots which seemed to get forgotten about even though we planned it. As such I used my initiative and set up lights but possibly got in Cailan's way in the process. 

The tests then took longer than we planned putting us behind schedule which I informed people off, but caused us to rush the end of the sequence.

We did however get a closing PTC which I knew was essential after speaking with Helen and referring to them script. 

Overall I think today had mixed results. I felt I took my responsibilities more carefully on set, briefing our contributors and keeping us on schedule as best as possible. Whilst also trying to step back and rely on Cailan. But this did not go as smoothly as I'd hoped. There were a number of communication issues on set. I attempted to be less involved with Cailan but he did not jump to his responsibilities to the level I was expecting. To be fair to him, he was not prepared for the situation change, but still didn't communicate or focus on things like briefing Connor, or paying attention to the miseducating en scene as much as I was expecting, leading to my input which caused confusion for people like Connor, who wasn't sure who to "report" to.

but I think we can learn from this and come up with a better balance of responsibilities and communication as a team going forward. We will be back to film a closing sequence here in just over a months time when I hope we will be working more efficiently.

UPDATE: We had planned to revisit this location to film a second part to this sequence that closed off this part of the challenge and created a sequence that was closer to our original plan. 

However the location we had used previously closed down very suddenly/unexpectedly without warning. The rather threw a spanner in the works but I was determined as producer to find a solution. 

I spent the following day ringing around various gyms local to Alex and eventually spoke to one that was up for letting us film there. After exchanging a few emails and various documentation they agreed to let us film in their facilities. In accordance with this, I put together a brand new plan and tightly written schedule (as we had some other bits and pieces to film that day too, such as some cycling shots and missing actuality for our other sequences).

Due to the last minuet pull together of the shoot the plans mostly just utilised Cailan, with me filling in the gaps here and there with a drone for some sequences, or the occasional second camera during the fitness montage. Thanks to my quick planning we got what we needed to finish the fitness sequence (although in a slightly different way to what we thought) as well as extra material.

Major Project: Research-Drift Queen (Revisited)

Major Project: Research-Drift Queen (Revisited)

My previous notes on the show were mostly in relation to the first episode of the show. But because if it’s relevance to our project I decided that it deserved revisiting so i could watch it in it's entirety to give a more thorough evaluation. Below are a few notes I have after watching the series from start to finish.

• As I think I said before there's very little for Mrs brown, it doesn't explain much and gets super technical, which although Mrs brown is not the main intended audience, it still limits its impact in casual viewers.
• A big flaw is how the presenter talks about how tight her budget is. Yet she has the money to fly to Japan and the USA at a moments notice.
• The narrative perhaps isn't as strong as I first thought, it gets very sidetracked talking about drifting in general and less about the presenter's journey, and we are left a little confused as to the purpose of some scenes.
• It also glosses over a lot of important details and oversimplifies a lot of bits which as a result I think negatively impacts the story. Also, some of the contributors aren't given enough context and we aren't entirely sure why we are speaking to them.
• The overall character arc was decent but the series really felt like it needs at least 1 more episode to complete it. We could consider it as a kind of similar ending point that we could use if we don't get the racing licence for our documentary, since we still got to see this big journey, but it still felt a bit lose at the end.
• It was great that they brought the presenters dad back after a few episodes and we get to see his reactions and words of advice as it really helped Mrs Brown connect with the presenter's journey, Alex’s dad could prove to be a valuable contributor in our doc.
• The PTC's in this series were one of the stand out points imo, they felt very strong and helped to push the narrative along and connect us to the presenter at key points. We should have lots in ours as well as diary room/narration.

• I still think that stylistically this series was fantastic. Great use of editing, cinematography etc. and although like you say it's not quite the same as what we're after, it's still great inspiration I think.

So overall lots to avoid/learn from, but also some good stuff in there too.

My Overall relevance score remains the same

8.5/10

Major Project: Fitness Sequence Test Shoot

Major Project: Fitness Sequence Test Shoot

After finishing Jamie Caroline's interview slightly early, allowed us to arrive at our second location of the day slightly early. The location we were scouting and testing this afternoon was to be for our upcoming "fitness sequence". This was the first segment of the documentary that I had entirely arranged myself. 

A few weeks ago I planned out this sequence, "putting out the feelers" for a number of different gyms, explaining our documentary and what we plan to film, and this location (The Strength And Conditioning Centre) was the location that seemed the most promising. I had been in contact with them over social media ranging our visit. Today we arrived and introduced ourselves to the owner

(Martin) who I had been speaking with. 

Thanks to my contact with him he was pretty much aware of our plans and was happy to assist us, taking us on a brief tour of the site and proving information and suggestions we might find useful. He was very helpful and after the tour allowed us to get on with our test shoot. 

For this shoot I had already collated copies of the shotlist we plan to work from on the actual day, that we could base our test shoot on. I had arranged for Connor to be come down and be on camera for the actual shoot, so also Brought him with us for the test. Although he got some practice on camera, the initial plan I had was slightly altered, due to the remnants of Alex's illness rendering him unsuited for the intense physical exercise we needed to film. So we had Alex and Connor swap roles as I guided them through their new responsibilities. 

On me I had a list of all the shots and equipment we needed to film, and ensured we worked through these one by one in a timely fashion. However here is when I think I began to overstep my role slightly, getting a bit too closely involved with the filming. Initially I just wanted to ensure Cailan got the required shots, but I began to take on more directorial responsibility than I should have done, instructing him to do things unnecessarily, and having a greater influence on his decisions than was appropriate for a producer. 

Looking back I should have given Cailan the space and respect he deserved and trusted his own initiative. Only instructing him if I believed he was straying from the plans I had played out. Thi is something I will seek to work on.

Other than that however, I think the test shoot was a big success.

We got to know the space we had to work with and I made notes of what we would need to do next time (such as bringing additional lighting, and ensuring we had two shoulder rig's and microphones to work with, allowing us to easily adapt to our space).

It was great to meet the owner before our proper shoot and I think that despite some difficulties, we handled the day in a professional manner. 

It was great for me to feel some more engaging involvement with my role as producer and I look forward to the actual shoot.

Major Project: Jamie Caroline Interview

Major Project: Jamie Caroline Interview

Today we went to interview our second major contributor, Jamie Caroline. In the end the day worked out well, but we had some difficulties to start with. First and foremost, due to Alex being unwell, he had not had time to constructor's a clear camera plan or shotlist. Fortunately as D.O.P Cailan really stepped up here to resolve the situation, and came to the shoot with a clear camera set-up and interview structure in mid. The disadvantage to this was that it was quite different to our previous shoots and we had not had time to test it. 

This is where my role as producer came in, and I put my researched skills in to action. Being prepared and altering our call sheet/schedule the night before so that we arrived at our location much earlier than we needed to. Although we could not scout our location before hand, I used my initiative and went on google to find/scout a location (in this case a concealed park area, close to Jamies house) where Cailan could fully use the space to explain his plan, and allow us to briefly run through it before hand. 

This was a huge advantage as it meant we could all get a stronger sense of what we were gon=ing to be filming and how it would work, before the actual shoot. As producer I also arranged for an additional camera operator (Connor Winfield) to come down with as (checking the train times ti ensure he arrived in enough time).

However the second issue we faced when arriving at the location was that the SD cards for 2 of the camera's had been

forgotten/missplaced. Fortunately I had brought some spares with me just in case this situation occurred, which was a huge relief. 

Jamie was another contributor that Alex had arranged to film with before I came on this project, but learning from Dan's shoot I made sure to be more involved with him. After arriving at the location and introducing ourselves, I picked up our camera's and went with him and Cailan to find where the best place to film would be. Cailan and I then talked him through the process, but since this idea was quite fresh to all of us, it was Cailan that took the lead and did a good job of detailing the camera set up he required. 

After helping ensure the initial shots on our list were filmed, we went up to his room (the main filming location) where I instructed him on where to look, and helped to get him mic'd up before talking him through the questions. The initial meeting process took slightly  longer than I had planned so we were slightly behind, fortunately Cailan got everyone set up quickly. 

Thanks to Connor's presence I did not have to be on a camera during the shoot and could use my time to focus on making sure all the shot's Cailan outlined were completed and that Jamie successfully answered all the questions laid out. Using the other time to film some B-Roll that might work nicely in the edit. 

We actually finished a few minuets ahead of schedule which I informed the crew off, allowing them more time to film, cut aways, and for us to film the additional shots we had listed. 

As producer on this shoot I think I used my skills and time more efficiently than before, familiarising myself more with the contributors to get them comfortable. Running through the plan with Connor to make sure he was aware of what he needed to do, checking with Cailan in regards to the shotlist he gave me, and keeping an eye on the time.

This was hugely successful and allowed us to get to a test shoot we had planned in the afternoon, slightly early. This will be detailed in a separate post.

Major Project: Research-Drift Queen

Major Project: Research-Drift Queen

For the final part of proper source material research in the lead up to the creation of our documentary. I came across a brand new, online exclusive documentary series entitled "drift queen". I watched the trailer and was immediately intrigued by the premise of the show. It's story and primary contributor seemed to emulate exactly what we were trying to achieve with our project. As such I watched the first few episodes of the series and began taking notes immediately. My findings are presented below. 

• Contributor introduces themself, their dad (and other people that will play a big role in the doc), as well as the aims of the documentary straight away.
• Use of stock footage (old clips of presenter racing) to help us visualise the points she discusses.
• The presenter talks about their childhood memories (humanising them).
• Great use of montages early on and throughout when they need to move the narrative along quickly.
• Interviews are trimmed and edited down to get to the key points.
• Presenter sits with their dad and goes through old clips from when they were a kid (this really helps us connect with them).
• They use their childhood bedroom as a “diary room”.
• The presenter makes their aim in this documentary clear, and also talks about the challenges they might face.
• A cool fast-paced and steady narrative is maintained throughout.
• The presenter “bigs up” each contributor before we meet them (builds up hype), with voice over we may be able to do the same.
• Loads of relevant cutaways used.
• After each interview, the presenter talks about what they’ve learned from each contributor and how their feeling after. We should try to emulate this in some way (likely through voice-over) in our film.
• Cool use of graphics and visual effects.

• Nice depth of field in some shots.
• Effective editing and camera set-up in interviews (clear shot/reverse shot, great use of reaction shots and the 180° rule).
• There's an obvious use of a “sting” and channel branding throughout, depending on our branding we might try something similar.
• Car Shots are used again in this series, a very effective way to transition the narrative and get on the spot thoughts from a contributor.
• Nice subtle movement in B-Roll shots, this is another editing technique that is subtle yet effective and could be used in our film.
• Some things are “glossed over” or “magicked up” to push the narrative forward when really we could have done with spending more time/focus on them. E.g. budget, why she left motorsport, car shopping etc.
• PTC’s on location(s) help ground the subject.
• Presenter visits places that are sentimental to them (but also relevant to the narrative), using this time to be reflective, but to also speculate on what is about to happen and how their feeling about it.  
• Subtle yet effective use of music.
• The fast-paced narrative works for the documentary in places, but against it in others.
• The documentary often uses very technical/industry terms and Mrs Brown feels lost at times as there isn't much for her.
• Would have liked to learn a little more about the presenter and their history with motorsport.

Closing Thoughts

• I felt the show had a really similar style to the one we’re after.
• It keeps you interested and engaged throughout.
• Seems to know it’s audience pretty well (but as a result there’s not a lot for Mrs Brown).
• Decent Range Of Contributors, everyone ads something to the story that pushes the journey forward.
• Needed put more emphasis on certain aspects e.g. budget as they’re kinda glossed over just so the narrative can move on quickly.
• Perhaps some things seemed a little “magicked up” just to move the narrative along.
• This is only the first episode, so hopefully, certain things that I have expressed concern over will become more fleshed out over the coming episodes.

Overall Relevance Score 8.5/10

Major Project: Pitching to 1st Years

Major Project: Pitching to 1st Years

After chatting to Simon and Laura about my role as producer on this project (and understanding the scale of the film and the importance of delegating responsibility). I took the initiative to prepare a pitch to get 1st year students involved in our project. 

After our recent shoots (the racing licence shoot in particular) I found myself really struggling to reach my full potential as producer when I have to be on a camera, and going forward I'd like to avoid this wherever possible, which Simon agreed with.

As such a big focus for me in regards to future shoots will be ensuring we have enough crew to help us be as efficient as we can be. It will take some of the pressure off of Cailan as well as myself since he can delegate some of the shotlist to additional crew, since he as good as he is, Cailan can only be in one place at a time. My research tells me that finding crew is also a part of my key responsibilities as Producer. Ideally third years or competent external colleagues are who we would like on a shoot. But it often comes down to who's available and how easily they can get to a shoot and fulfil the requirements of the shoot. As such when those options aren't available (due to schedule clashing or whatever else) then it could be a good idea to seek help internally within the lower year groups of the course. 

Although less experienced, 1st years are a resource we have easy access to and have more open schedules, and their location being based at the studios with us would allow for potential briefings and collections of equipment and personal to be more easily arranged.

To get first years interested and involved in our project I liaised with the other lecturers on our course to find an opening in one of their lectures/workshops where I could speak to the year group.

After establishing this I immediately got to work on preparing a presentation to show/pitch to them which you can read bellow.

I made sure to outline early on in the pitch exactly what the project was and what it was we were looking to recruit (camera operators mostly). Before going in to the specifics.

In my pitch I went over the locations we would be visiting and made sure to stress the uniqueness and scale of our project. Highlighting some of the opportunities they would get by joining this project. Being a documentary I explained that this would also be very useful for their upcoming units and give them experience that would provide a head start over other students.

I then broke down the more specific details of the project such as how many crew we were looking for and the dates they would be required. I pitched with confidence and enthusiasm and successfully gauged the interest of the room (fortunately public speaking is something I am quite good at).

I left room for questions but my pitch seemed to answer any quires people may have had. I ended the session with a more open and friendly tactic. I had pre-printed my contact details on some business cards that I left with the group, and rounded off my pitch, not by asking for names, or a show of hands or anything. But by saying that if anyone was interested, I would be easting lunch in the base room and they could come and approach me individually to have a more private, relaxed discussion. 

I am pleased to say that this idea took off really well and I had multiple 1st years approach me and express interest. I took down all their details and followed up with them that same evening (something I've learned from research and experience is very important).

Unfortunately that is where the success of this idea ends. Since almost all of the volunteers either had, scheduling clashes, were un able to physically get to our shoots, or simply changed their minds and stopped responding to my messages.

The two people that did follow through and I kept in touch with proved to be unreliable backing out at the last minuet (the day off a shoot). As such going forward I will stick to resources that are closer to hand (such as other third years).

Major Project: Dan Rowbottom Interview

Major Project: Dan Rowbottom Interview

For this shoot we drove up to Accrington near Manchester to interview racing driver Dan Rowbothom. He is someone Alex met before I came on board with this project and had already arranged to interview, as such he was not a contributor that I had much to do with as producer. With Alex arranging to meet with him and constructing the questions, I focussed my resources on overseeing this process and completing a schedule for the day. Ensuring first and foremost that we arrived at the location in plenty of time to allow for myself and Cailan to meet with Dan and asses the space we would be working with.

In an ideal world I would have liked to have arranged a location scout to asses this kind of thing which would have allowed us to come up with a more efficient lighting and camera plan. But with the location being a day's drive away from all of us, this simply wasn't possible. 

As such on my call sheet I made sure we arrived early to understand the space we had available and adjust camera plans and filming accordingly. This was very beneficial as we arrived at the agreed time and were able to split the filming in to three sections in order to make it more manageable. As producer on set I made sure to have both physical and digital copies of our paperwork available which then meant we could easily alter them and ensure everyone was working from the same plans.

After meeting Dan, reviewing the location and asking members of staff if I could move certain items to make our filming more practical (which they agreed to) we could begin. My initial role was to run Alex and Dan through the questions so that they knew how the interview would run and had time to prepare. I was then able to assist Cailan (who was operating a camera on a Dolly) with his movements, advising him on where he could walk to get the most efficient shot whilst not injuring himself (as I planned in my risk assessment). 

Since it was not practical for us to bring any other crew with, I did attempt to fill in by operating a second camera. But this was not something we had fully planned and since I am not as suited tot eh role as Cailan or Alex, we ultimately decided that for the majority of the shoot this was simply not worth the difficulty, and that I should focus more on ensuring the crew stuck to the plans we had played out. 

This continued through to the latter part of the shoot, in which I did operate a second camera (since the environment was better suited for me to do this), but before doing so I made sure to ask staff to turn down their music, and establish that if anyone did not want to be filmed.

I attempted to follow the camera plans played out by Alex here, but I did not act on them as efficiently as I perhaps could have done, and there were times when I got in Cailan's way to some extent.

After this I ran the crew over the remaining items on our schedule and shotlist that still needed to be filmed. Alex and Cailan then set out to do this, whilst I remained in our "base room" to pack away the equipment. I would have liked to oversee the remainder of the filming but due to the limited space there was greater risk of my presence getting in the way.

Overall though, despite the difficulties we faced having not been able to previously scout the location. The shoot was highly successful and we got some great material. e a lot if this day was arranged by Alex before I joined the project I did feel somewhat limited as to what I could do here, and my desire to help was occasionally detrimental as I got in Cailan's way a few times. Hopefully this will improve going forward.