Filming Diary - Day 1

Filming Diary - Day 1

Planned Date: 8th October 2017

The first day of filming will be at the field/wood location. It is planned to film the whole bicycle sequence in this location and in one day, between the hours of 10am-1pm. The timings are essential to follow to ensure that daylight can be constant for any necessary reshoots. 

Props and Costume 

• Only one actress is required for the day, and on this occasion it will be Molly. She will be wearing casual clothes as specified in the costume design information, with boot shoes to avoid the hazard of shoelaces. 
• The bike itself if a key prop. A smaller bike should be used if possible in order to further reduce the risk of injury if (and when) the actress falls off.
• The actress should bring a coat to be used as a plotting device in the narrative, and a helmet should also be worn as an important safety element and plotting device. 
• The camera should be brought along fully charged and with substantial memory space in case of re-takes or extra shots. 
• A Steadicam could be used, fully charged, to enhance the quality of the dynamic shots.

Evaluation of Day 1

What went well?

Overall I was happy with what I filmed, because I was able to shoot a variety of shot types including low-angles, pans, close-ups, long shots and tracking. This was essential at ensuring that the range of shots could be experimented with when editing in order to check that the range of shots could be brought together in a way that is not jarring or uncomfortable to the eye. 

The filming session also allowed me to get to know the environment in which I was directing my music video. Most of the more important sequences were shot, so I was able to see roughly how the narrative would look.

What could have been better?

The fact that I was not able to finish filming the sequence was particularly frustrating. The main reason was due to the lighting, which began to change gradually after arrival due to the autumn days being short. The slight changes in the natural lighting was not too noticeable at first, however when comparing videos during editing the differences in the colours of the leaves in the background of the shots were visible, resulting in an unprofessional look. 

Another problem was that the actress did not want to 'fall off' the bicycle, which was part of the script. The risk assessment that was carried out beforehand ensured that the actress would not sustain any injuries from carrying out the 'stunt', however the environment in which she was asked to perform it were not appropriate on the particular day. It is likely that I will have to re-shoot elements of this sequence as a result, however ultimately this will be decided after editing when it can be chosen more accurately what shots need to be re-shot.