My first shoot day was Tuesday 21st November. Today was primarily to shoot the Fly Tool and its features and the Medway River. The tool was a lot lighter than I expected and had a lot of detail to it. I got as many close ups as I could, especially of the wooden handle iron around the spade end. My initial thought was to shoot the tool outside because it was used outside to dig up mud and clay back in the 18th Century, therefore it would make sense to film it outside. Steve set up a table for me inside with the tool on top so to get as much coverage as I could, I also filmed it inside. That way I have a lot of shots to choose from. I want the sequence of the description of the tool to be in the same location, e.g. if I choose the shot of the wooden grip from on the table and then show the spade end from the shots outside, the continuity will be disrupted.
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| Photo from shoot day 1 |
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| Photos from shoot day 1 |
I got George to pretend to use the tool in order for the audience to see how it would have been used back in the 18th Century. However, because obviously I couldn't actually get him to use it in mud, he just pretended to dig round the back of the museum. I shot this in different angles so I had a wide choice of shots to choose from.
When I was filming the details of the tool outside, I needed George to hold it, but this didn't look as nice with hands in the shot. I preferred the shots from inside on the table which is something I didn't think would happen. I was able to get a lot of coverage of the tool and was happy with my shots.
The next thing to do was to film the shots of the Medway River. I decided to film this on the first shoot day because I was right next to the river being at the museum so it made more sense to walk round to the river on the same day. I was able to get some wide shots of the river and close ups of the mud and reeds around the outside of the river. These were perfect shots to describe digging up the mud and clay from the Medway River.
What went well?
- The access to the tool was great, I was allowed to do what I wanted with it, like taking it outside and getting someone to pretend to use it.
- I had all day to film which was more than enough time, I got all the shots I needed of the tool from as many different angles that I could think of. This means I shouldn't need to re-shoot the tool.
- Having George filming on the same day came in handy because he was able to hold the tool for me, he was also there to give any ideas/another creative eye.
- The close up and detailed shots of the tool looked good and I was happy with how focused they are.
What would I improve next time?
- I had to wait for George to finish his filming before he could help me, this lead to me standing around for a little bit. If we had to do it again maybe we would arrange times with each other when we knew we would be free, e.g. if George knew he would be filming for a while then I would have got to the museum slightly later as the shots I needed a hand for were the shots that needed more time spent on them.
- I was later than what I thought in finishing filming the tool as I helped George do his filming also, this meant it was getting darker once I got to the river, and because it was getting even darker I was limited on time with the daylight at the river. If I had planned the time slightly better then I might have had more time at the river. Nevertheless, I was pleased with the shots and they are usable and I shouldn't need to go back to re-shoot.
Shoot day 2
My second shoot day was Wednesday 22nd November. This shoot day was primarily for filming the materials which were used to make the cement in the film. I had to film a flame/the ignition of the flame for the kiln representation, clay, chalk, something being sieved and something being crushed. I used my cousin to help with these while I held the camera.
I filmed a few shots for the flame, including the hob of the cooker being turned on, a lighter being used and a match being lit. The match turned out to be the most effective method and we could hear the ignition of the flame on the camera which sounded good as well. The sieving method was easier because I had this shot planned in my head as to how I wanted it and it turned out just right. I sieved hot chocolate powder as the mud and clay are dark colours and flour would have been too white.
For the chalk representation, I used sticks of chalk and simply filmed them rolling around, this was the only thing I could think of for chalk to film and it looked quite effective. The grinding of something was harder because I had no idea what to film for this. After trying different things, we found crushing the chalk under a glass was very effective as you could see the crushing through the transparent glass. It was some sort of representation for the grinding so I felt confident in using this shot and using it to show Rachel and Steve. Filming is done for now unless Rachel and Steve give me any other ideas or want me to change anything. This extra filming will take place around the week beginning the 4th December, after my weeks work experience.
What went well?
- I managed to get all the shots I needed and I was very happy with how the shots came out.
- I had scheduled all day for filming so I had plenty of time to film them.
- Because of all the time I had filming the objects, I was able to film them in different positions and in different ways completely, therefore, I had many different shots to choose from.
- It was a bright day so I was able to use just the natural daylight coming through the window, which is what I wanted. If I used the kitchen light, it may have made the shots look a bit yellow which, therefore, would take up more time in the editing process.
What would I improve next time?
- If I had to do these shots again I might ask someone from the course to help with it so I had another creative eye, incase they thought of a better idea for the objects.
- I had to change a few shots because they didn't look as good when I tried them out. E.g. I initially had the idea to break up bits of chalk and drop them, then film them hitting the table in slow motion. However, this didn't look as good and the chalk was difficult to break up into small bits. In the end, I had them rolling on the table, which I thought was a good substitute. If I had tested these shots out before the shoot day then I may have realised this and changed the shots during the research period.
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