Reflective Journal
Week 11
Monday 30-11-2020 to Sunday 06-12-2020
Promo Video Main Filming Day
Today was our main Promo filming day around the high street in Amersham. We had managed to reschedule to during our own time, before College Lessons. We were more limited in time since we all had to get back to our own homes in order to log on for our Zoom lesson, but it was the best that we could come up with due to Covid-19 restrictions. There was Jack, Charlie, Adam, Ellie and me. As Director, I was working closely with Ellie who was the cinematographer. We found that the time we spent discussing ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture was really useful as we were able to experiment with the camera settings to get better photos than we usually do.
As Director, I was responsible for setting the shots up, and for explaining to Ellie what we were after. Since it is a group project, I didn’t ignore suggestions from the others, since, having had experience of working with them I know that all of us have good ideas. We did already have a pretty clear idea of what we were after from our storyboard, shot list and location scouting, so that was helpful. I made sure to get the shots that I knew we needed, but also tried some experimental shots too. Adam was a great spotter for the camera too, keeping us safe. Jack and Charlie were great actors, and Charlie was a great Runner too since he was in shot less than Jack. I feel we worked well together in a professional manner.
One shot that we atempted was very interesting was a shot where Jack was lying on the ground looking up at the sky. Ellie stood in front of the bench just by him and I stood on the bench. I wanted to do a “pull back” shot, where Ellie started the shot then, in a smooth movement she passed the camera up to me whilst filming and I panned up even further. We really liked the shot, but due to not having a Steadicam or Camera Gimbal we decided it wasn’t quite as smooth as we wanted to go with the glossy feel that we were after. We tried it several times with the same result. It looked what it was – hand-held. It was a shame, but one thing that I, and indeed all of us, have been learning is that if a shot doesn’t work then you have to let it go, no matter how much you are attached to it or want it to have worked. This was one of those shots.
I still love the idea of it, and since I am hoping in the future to buy a Steadicam or Camera Gimbal then I will try it again if am appropriate project comes up.
I’m pleased with the days’ filming. I believe we got the shoots we want. Our previous location scouting really paid off in terms of being able to set up the shots that we wanted quickly and efficiently.
Promo Video weather challenges
(Saturday) I had planned get a couple of particular shots in Amersham today (Saturday), the “Amersham twinned with…” sign, another particular sign that I had found, and to do some “Stock Shots” of Old Amersham. But, unfortunately, it was too misty and kept raining on and off. I had gone out with my parents to get our Christmas tree from near Chesham, so we drove to and from Chesham via Old Amersham and it just wasn’t good enough for filming.
I was able though to work out an appropriate order to film the shots that I wanted and find good places to park for when I can film, so that was helpful.
I would like to try tomorrow morning (Sunday), but I’ve checked the “BBC Weather” app and also the Dark Sky weather app and to be honest the weather isn’t looking much better tomorrow. I’ll have to see tomorrow. It could go either way since the apps didn’t predict the mist today.
(Sunday) It went the wrong way, even worse weather than expected. I’ll try again another day.