BDM 311 Personal project.

Working on Iris and her project was quit a challenge with her actors dropping out at the last minute, something of a recurring subject with us students. Now we had the idea of changing the story of a male and female characters into both male characters. Me and Steven Woller discussed the possibility of both taking on the roles turning the project into a Broke Back Mountain story. Iris was ok for us to do it and start the day on the proposed filming. I was sincere into acting as I wanted to help Iris out, as was Steven. But Iris got cold feet and we asked Lana Black if she could fill in for the female part. She agreed and the production was back on track. I was going to be first AD and also DOP as Virat had work during the week-end. We worked on fleshing out the script during the day before we shot the first scenes.

   

Here are Steven and Lana. Steven did a great job on the set design turning an empty shop into a running video shop.

It goes to show that set design goes a long way in a film shoot. And making use of the props in a way that you put the camera in front of a prop it that gives you more filling on the screen. And also add more depth of field, interesting points that Steven added during the setting of the props.   

I made sure that Iris got everything that she wanted and was always talking with her, as that was my task as first AD. With Virat being at work I had an added role of being the DOP. I am still not confident in that role. And as a result I did forgot to push the record button and nobody but Ash noticed that, so felt a bit embarrassed :(   

Lana had a great interaction with Steven and was the right choice for the part. I don't think it would have worked so well with me and Steven playing that part.

Leeana was one of the greatest assets on all our shoots doing the catering and also producing most of our  films. She was also a great slating and general mother on and of set !  

Steven and Iris discussing a scene at Leeana's house that was used as a location for the man (Steven).

During those scenes I was the DOP as Virat could not make it. Preparation for that scene was quit complicated as we had to fake one corner of the room and turn it around again for the opposite view. Below is the set up with Iris talking to her actor; Steven Woller.

Above  is a shot from the footage that we just shot and are now reviewing. Although I thought I would not work well as a DOP it actually went well. Steven was getting tired from being on the few shoots but he did great.










We also had to film during the night time and here is a shot from the scene with Lana and Mr Woller peeking through the video shop. I was DOP during that night and it was quit a mission staying warm. But I also really enjoyed the experience. As Virat could not make it I was also DOP and first AD so that was also quite challenging. The issue we had in the other location how do we show the characters peeping through the window of he shop. As there were a lot of signs on the window and that would come into frame. The best option was to go to the other location that was available as the video shop. So with that said we installed the camera on the Street and also shot the Street scenes on the same location.

Now that we have come to the end of all our shooting schedules we also had the pleasure of the first years joining us. Some really pulled their weight and without a doubt without their help and input we would not have an end product. Josh was on every shoot and he did a great job ! As you can see above.
This scene caused some problems for me as there was a car passing so we had to position the camera to match the shot. I have not yet seen the footage due to being on other productions but I hope I did it right !?

  The Dedo is a great tool for lighting and we used it extensively on each shoot. And got a second Dedo from the SITPro team also. Might be great for Chris to get a second Dedo in the equipment room as they are very useful ! We even gave Josh the nickname Dedo as he hold it so many times :)

Blog out

BDM 311 Personal project.

For the last few weeks I have been involved in Sarah Dewberry's production as first AD and then also in Iris her film as first AD and occasional DOP.

Our first day of the shoot was in a local private hospital and i was amazed on how that was so easy to get access to. My job as first went actually quite good as Sarah was well organized. Great to see so many first year students getting involved in our productions. 

Sarah the Director.

After our first day we went to Queen's park and filmed there and the weather was great. I pretty much wanted the crew to not hold any breaks or give them things to do. That way the spirit stays on the shoot but in saying that it was not always that easy.

The next day (third day) we moved into the Green screen studio and that is where I got slightly confused with the camera set ups. As they moved the scene around it was hard for me on how the characters were presented and how the actual scene was. Just saying that I am not a big fan of green screen filming. But Sarah knew what she was doing and I made sure that the measurements and the white ball notes were taken.

 

 Virat is setting the actors and looking at the light set up. 

 

 John slapping at the imaginary monster. 

My next shoot was for Iris Shao and was another experience that I will not forget. Iris had some issues with the script and we worked on that before we started shooting. So a little of Dan's humor got into the script. The shooting locations was just across the rd from SIT and again it amazed me how easy the access was, compared to Europe. The story was original and only mentioned 2 characters. At this stage I was getting quite tired and drained so when I had the task of being DOP and started rolling the camera Ash noticed me and said what are you filming Dan.

Next blog entry all about Iris and her film and RASH my film. Due to time constrictions I will have to blog on that next week D.