Major Project: Diary Room Feedback And Re-Shoot

Major Project: Diary Room Feedback And Re-Shoot

After my concerns with the mise en scene and general set up of the diary room shoot, I put together a test edit to show to Helen and get feedback on. She had quite a lot to say, and expressed a number of concerns and points for improvement which resulted in my insistence that we needed to re-shoot the sequence. The full extent of Helen's feedback is detailed below, followed by how the re-shoot went.

Helen's Notes

• Connor’s camera breaks the 180 degree rule in its current position.

• The Sony has a nice framing, but looks too different from the other cameras (in regards to colour, white balance, exposure, and sharpness). She suggested we try using the G7 instead (especially since the auto focus posed an issue in the test shoot).

• The track and dolly is a nice touch but needs to be changed around a bit too be more effective.

-The framing should be tighter (more of a medium close up than a mid shot).

-The movement also needs to be more subtle (remaining static when Alex starts to speak and then the movement should start/pick up when Alex makes a particularly interesting point).

-With a tighter shot the camera can pan from one side of Alex’s face to the other, helping us gauge his emotion, without moving all the way from one side of the frame to the other (which takes quite a while and there’s some eyeline issues).

• Helen doesn’t think we need more than 1 camera. However your directorial vision and reference material were explained to her, the key is that additional cameras can be used for cut in’s/cuts (as opposed to just relying on the 4K). She said that’s fine just don’t overstretch ourselves/overcomplicate it.

• Alex’s eyeline should be making contact with mine (he should be looking at George, and George should be stood relatively close to a camera).

• George’s current position in relation to the Sony doesn’t look very good. On the Sony it looks like Alex is looking too far off in to the distance at something else.

• Make sure we get various shots and establishing shots in and around the diary room (car parts, tools, door opening etc) this will help to set the scene in the beginning of the sequence (and can be used as a cut away to help divide up talking segments).

• She asked if we were going to have cut-aways in the edit to reflect what Alex is talking about?

• The hand shot’s are not really needed for this type of sequence. Instead we should get Alex to interact with various props that mean something to him.

Re-Shoot

After taking on board and reflecting on everything that Helen had to say. As well as speaking at length with the group, I decided that the best way to address the legitimate concerns with the sequence was to re-shoot it entirely.

This was no easy task to arrange but I put all my producing skills to full use and was able to sort everything out. The first task was to find a day that worked for everyone. I had to shift around the schedule a bit to find a day when everyone was available (including the garage owner and Connor). This took a fair bit of negotiation especially to get Connor to come along (as he had a shoot in the morning and planned to edit on the afternoon. But I knew we wouldn't have as much success without him. But after moving, negotiating and combining a few things I found a date and time that worked for all parties.

Then I had to arrange to get all the required kit. I had to re-arrange this additional booking with Ferg. But then some of the kit was being dropped off to him on the morning of our shoot so I had to arrange an early collection from those individuals as well.

I also insisted that we have an additional test shoot the day before so that Cailan could practice using the track and dolly (something he was unfamiliar with) and Alex could create more effective camera plans that act on Helen's notes, by testing them in person before the shoot. I also got brought in Drey (an experienced D.O.P on our course) to give her thoughts and advice. All of this really helped!

After doing this, sorting transport for the crew, scheduling the day more efficiently, arranging for the provision of props, and securing the location at the agreed time, the shoot finally took place.

This time I took an even more active role than before. We had three questions to work through. For each one, I ensured that the camera opperators were definitely in the correct locations, that their cameras were in focus, and that each time we had clear, uninterrupted sound.

Steven was kind enough to agree to work outside for our shoot so as not to interrupt the filming. I also brought with me a clapper board to mark the beginning and end of each successful take (and to help sync up the audio).

After each take, I gave Alex active feedback on the answers he gave to ensure each one was better than the last. This time around we also paid much more attention to mise en scene. Moving cars, and various items in the garage in to the background of the shot. I also set up backlighting for this to make the background pop out a little more. This along with the props I had arranged to bring really helped the scene. My more realistic scheduling also meant we had time to complete the shotlists and film additional material (which I worked on with Cailan) to help the sequence to be the very best it could be.

Overall it was a lot of hard work but the day was a huge success and my efforts to improve it paid off.