shot day reflection

 Reflection of the day

Our shoot was quite successful as we worked with the time we had as well as faced difficulties that were unexpected. It was a day that also needed a lot of preparation in advance as we could not risk wasting time. For example, the few days leading up to the shoot we started to design the symbols, pentagrams, and crosses with chunks of wood, sticks, elastic bands, and spray cans. Our idea focuses on the ideas of a satanic cult and rituals. So, anything we made and used was a key importance to the representation of our idea. We were also aware of the fact that it would take a while to set up, so it was easier to do everything a couple of days before. Our day started with us collecting the meat (pigs heads, skin, meat etc.) which we then loaded into the car with the camera equipment and props we needed. Throughout the week we had bought props such as a small dress, a wig, fake blood (as well as some blood we made). We then headed to the location with everything which only took 10 minutes to get there. Overall, we did not have much hassle in the morning getting everything together.  

Looking at the pros and cons of the day of the shoot, some of the pros were that we did not find it too difficult to get most of our shots and finding creative ways to capture the angles of the shoot. We were able to shoot the whole thing before 1pm (4 hours) which is 4 hours quicker than we gave ourselves. One of the major things that affected our shoot was the fact that the weather was terrible. As we progressed through the day the weather got worse, and it was raining. This meant that at all points we had to hold umbrellas over the equipment, and we had to rush the shoot more than we would have if the weather were better. I did come away from the shoot thinking worrying whether we could have better shots, but with the weather conditions and how windy, cold, and wet it was I think we did quite well. Another advantage of the shoot was that we were able to adapt to unexpected situations like the weather change. We also did have to put into perspective that we were working with an animal who was only needed for half the shoot. We had to consider how much time the dog was on set as it was cold an
d rainy. Some of the things I think we could have done better was do the meat handling scenes first. The reason for this was because it took a while to set up and in general included us having to really focus. By the end of the day, we were tired and needed to spend more time on it. But because of the rain we were limited to time. Something else we struggled with was the fact that this was a public location. There w
as multiple times where people on a walk or cycling would cycle across or near to our shooting location, so we had to stop and start on set. 

Within this shoot it exposed me properly and took me further than the workshops in class. For
example, I learnt about aperture shutter speed on a recording camera. Things like the different angles we could use. Having done the workshop it meant that we were comfortable with the camera enough so we could get going quickly and did not have to spend valuable time attempting to work the camera. Overall, we were prepped well but it is completely different once you are shooting. Once on set I was able to use my skills, but I also learnt certain things like the angle, shutter speed as well as the different light settings we could use to fit the scene. Things like bubbling the camera, white balance and the use of the microphone were extremely useful, and I felt that if we had not gone over it within the camera workshops, we would have suffered a bit. Overall, I was happy with the ending result of our shoot. I feel that if we had not been under the pressure of weather, we would not have rushed it as much and we would have spent more time sufficiently getting our final shots. 

Looking at the equipment which we used, we used a variety. We ended up not using any additional lighting and just used natural lighting of the sun. The gloominess of the weather ended up being used to our advantage as it set the gloominess and negative connotations of our idea. But we had smaller lights just in case it was too dark – but we did not end up using them. Things like the tripod and microphone were something we continuously used apart from one handheld shot. Something we used that made a difference to the effect of the sunlight was the use of a gold reflector. The gold reflector meant we could reflect the light on to our actor's face. This was something that ended up being useful as it got darker through the day. Overall, the equipment we used was minimal and was simple due to us working outside in the woods. One of my favorite parts of the day was the morning of the shoot as we were excited and felt really prepared. We were also really committed to learning the use of the camera outside of a studio. We began the day putting all our energy into learning new things and the skills of working on set.  

Next time I think something I would do differently is the order of filming. We started the day recording some of the easier, more simple shots. Which I feel in the weather conditions and energy everyone had would have been easier to do at the end. We should have started with the harder, more complex shots, so we could get it out of the way. In future shoots I will be much more comfortable with the camera and will be able to work with the lighting on set (both natural and artificial) more effectively as well as properly understanding it. In the future editing is putting it all together and overall, just focusing on whether it looks good or not. Some of the challenges we are going to face is also the editing of sound. Within shooting there was a lot of ambient sound such as wind, vehicles and Aeroplan's which would go by. There will be some shots we cannot use due to that or edit them to take away the sound. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience, and I learnt a lot and feel much more comfortable around the equipment and camera.