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.