Major Project: Diary Room Test Shoot

Major Project: Diary Room Test Shoot

In preparation for our diary room sequences. We conducted two test shoots during this project. The first one was quite early on and was designed for us to scout/test the location we had found to ensure we knew what we were working with in our actual shoot.

The second was initiated by me, after receiving detailed feedback from Helen about how the shoot could be improved after showing her a test edit. This was designed for us to test our new camera plans and help Cailan get more comfortable operating the track and Dolly in a small space. 

On our first test, we all got to practice our roles (since it was still early on in the project). Allowing us to find a balance between everyone's responsibilities. On this occasion, Alex found he could have greater control and impact on how things were filmed, as he had to focus less on being a contributor, since this was a controlled environment and time frame. This meant me and Cailan coudl have a more direct feed from our director and make more informed decisions. 

There was some clashes however with it being early on in the project and I think my desire to help, got in the way a bit. I was too focused on trying to instruct Cailan and see what he was doing, when I needed to have more faith in him and divert my attention elsewhere. 

The main thing we learned from this test shoot was the importance of lighting. Which lead me to booking out several lights with Ferg, as well as bringing my own. 

The second shoot allowed the team a chance to actively understand and work on Helen's feedback before our re-shoot. Cailan got to get some more time with the track and dolly to understand how best to get the shots we needed. I also got Drey to come and advise him on this as she has experience with this kind of shooting.  

Thanks to this test shoot (even though it was in the studios, which was a different environment to the one we were going to be filming in). It allowed us to adapt our plans to be more practical and realistic for the space we had. Making us more prepared for the shoot and improving the overall end result.

Major Project: Monthly To Do List 2

Major Project: Monthly To Do List

As part of my continued efforts as producer and editor on this project try to keep on top of things by setting myself weekly to-do lists. Here are the things I need to get done this week.

Stuff To Do ASAP

• Email Billy Monger
• Email Brands Hatch

Research editing techniques.

Get a clear edit workflow

Label all shots to make life easier 

Be aware of all content/coverage we have and where it is.

Other Stuff To Do 

• Plan Test Shoot(s)
• Email Brands and Other places for relevant permissions/access
• Make a list of possible contributors
• Generic Sponsors Email
• Branding
• Audience Research
• Set Design/Props List
• Equipment list
• Camera locations 
• Email camera/equipment companies asking for a free product in return for shout out and promotion

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.