Costume
As these are our first shoot days, the costumes that the two main characters choose to wear will establish what they wear on the other shoot days, depending on what day we are on in the story. I described the colours we wanted from each character, but as we only want everyday clothes, I have left the specific items of clothing to both Ed and Dan. As I said previously, we wanted Luke's character in lighter coloured clothing with Ed in darker coloured clothing. At the script read through both Ed and Dan described items of clothing that they had and I said they would all be appropriate. These clothes included light coloured jeans for Dan and dark coloured jeans and trousers for Ed. Dan also has a white top and red hoodie, and Ed has darker blue and grey hoodies. As the two shoot days are set on two different days in the story, the boys may need to change costume depending on whether we are on schedule or not on the day. If we are on time, they should only need to wear one costume each day.
Dan suggested bringing black jeans as part of one of his costumes. I liaised with Alex about this as the initial thought was that his character would be wearing lighter clothing. Alex explained that as long as the hoodie is a light grey, he is happy with the black jeans, as he is not dressed entirely in dark clothing. The other costume consisting of light blue jeans, white top and red hoodie was light enough for Dan to wear for his character. As a result of this, the ideal costumes are listed below:
6th February
Tim - dark green trousers, blue hoodie, blue top, brown boots
Luke - light blue jeans, red hoodie, white top, black shoes
Mollie - black jeans, black boots, Kent Owl Academy fleece
7th February
Tim - dark blue jeans, grey hoodie, grey top, brown boots
Luke - black jeans, grey hoodie, green top, green parka coat
Mollie - black jeans, black boots, Kent Owl Academy fleece
Props
To ensure I had all the props necessary for the upcoming shoot days I made an updated list of the props. I had made one in the pre-production package, however, as we have a new script draft since then I created another list. As this is only for two days, the list seems quite small. I am still waiting on the doctors bag, while keeping an eye on eBay and Amazon for another second hand one. I am hopeful that the bag will arrive before the first shoot day. Nevertheless, the other props are all bought and prepped for the shoot days.
- Van
- Van sticker
- Old doctors bag (still not arrived)
- Leaflets
- Needle / syringe
- Fake owl
- Feathers
Make-up
From the start I knew that we would want our cast to have natural make-up, due to the nature of the film consisting of regular, everyday people. However, I haven't had a lot of experience of make-up in front of a camera. I have experienced it once during a studio production where I helped the contributors apply setting powder. As a result of this, I knew that powder would be beneficial in preventing the cast looking shiny on the camera. However, as I want to act professionally during the production of VET-MAN, I researched into make-up in front of a camera.
I looked online and I was struggling to find an article on television and film make-up as they were all explaining how to do your make-up for the best Instagram selfie - which is not what I wanted to explore. In the end, I came across an article by Quora and a make-up artist from America, Carolyn Bunch, explaining that sometimes you have to adjust for lighting and use make-up that is theatrical or heavy duty for it to be appropriate for the camera. She also explains that it "really depends on the show, how it is shot and what the lighting will be each take" (Bunch, 2016). As VET-MAN is set in the present day with ordinary people and in everyday life, the make-up should be very natural. However, natural, normal skin contains "a certain amount of oil that generally goes unnoticed until viewed in a close-up" (Cyber College, 2010). This shine can be exaggerated by the heat of studio lights, which we won't have to worry about by filming on location, and personal tension, which could be possible if the actors get warm from performing and start to sweat. As we will be shooting close ups of each character to ensure we get enough at each location, it is possible that we will see a bit of oil on the face. At the very least, "subjects should use a face powder that matches their skin tone" (Cyber College, 2010). Using a powder is what I originally thought of, and was the reason I started researching into television make-up to ensure it is necessary and to find out which one to purchase. Reading this comment in my research shows me that I am going in the right direction in order to resolve any problems we come across with shiny faces on the camera.
As we only have one female cast member attending the first two shoot days, I will ask if she knows about make-up on the camera and I will ask her to bring her own powder in case of any shine on the camera. I believe I will only have to think about make-up for both the male cast members, as they are less likely to have applied make-up before or to think about bringing it.
Relating back to the article from Carolyn Bunch, she mentions that it depends on "what the lighting will be each take" (Bunch, 2016). We will be using only natural lighting at each location, apart from the scene inside the pub. We have already conducted test shoots with artificial lighting and have agreed that the pub is too dark to shoot in without it. This means that the make-up will be completely different here, however, as the majority of our locations are outside, the make-up for the other scenes should be relatively similar. Throughout my research, I found that "make-up should always be checked, and if possible even applied, under the lighting that will be used in photographing the subject" (Cyber College, 2010). Although this piece of advice is focusing on photographing someone, the way in which the lighting affects the cast member would be the same whether we were photographing or filming them. As "normal skin tones contain a significant amount of green" (Cyber College, 2010), some make-up may also contain these coloured elements, and as a result of this I will aim to look for a powder without the green elements.
To take my research further, I contacted our make-up artist who was going to be working with the fake blood and black eye. Beth explained that a setting powder would work well, however, I need to make sure the powder has a 'no flashback' quality to it. This should be detailed on the back of the powder pot. Flashback is the "harsh white markings" (Michelle, n/d) on someones face in a photo which was taken with the flash on. These markings are caused by silica, an ingredient in many translucent powders. As silica has so many surfaces, if there is enough powder on the face, there will always be a lot of surfaces ready to pick up the flash and throw it back to the camera. Luckily we won't be using flash on the camera for filming, however, Beth advised that it would be best to get one without the flashback quality just in case. Ideally, as we want a natural look we shouldn't need to use any make-up, however, as I found out in my previous research we may run the risk of the cast showing up shiny on the camera.
As a result of everything I have learnt throughout my research, I went out and shopped for a translucent powder as close as I could which didn't contain silica or green elements so I can be prepared on the shoot day for any shiny faces. I want to be prepared for anything that may occur on the shoot days in order to keep the day running as smoothly as possible.
The producers job on shoot days
In order to fully prepare for upcoming shoot days, I continued to research into the producers role during filming because apart from making sure everything is going smoothly, I am still unsure on any other roles I need to take upon myself on the shoot days. In addition to this, the producer is well-known to have the organisational role when creating a film. However, I will be taking on a creative side as well as the organisational role, and in order to know exactly what this entails on a film shoot, I carried out some research to see what I could do during the shoot days to benefit our film.
I took advice from creative producer, Sarah Green. She started out by focusing on the organisational role of a producer, before moving towards the more creative side of the job role. She has previously worked with filmmakers Terrence Malick and Jeff Nichols.
Green explains that she loves being on set and that if she's doing her job well, she shouldn't be wildly busy, instead things should be running smoothly. She's there to troubleshoot, and a lot of what she is doing is "just sitting, watching and having a different perspective" (Green, 2016). She continues by clarifying that she's not the director so she isn't shooting what is on the screen, she's just there observing everything that's going on. Sometimes, she can address a problem before it even happens or the director may come to her and say - 'You've been watching that, what do you feel about this or that?' - and she will have an answer. Green continues by explaining her interest in the differences between producers and creative producers by highlighting that the tasks for a producer are easier to pinpoint, due to the creative producer job role being harder to encapsulate, mainly "because it touches on creativity, which really means that there is an - 'It depends' - component to every situation" (Green, 2016). From this comment, I understand that the amount of creativeness I will really be able to exert throughout production will all depend on how the shoot days go. If we have a really successful shoot and everything is captured easily then Alex is less likely come to me with any problems, as Green explained happened to her. I understand that to prepare for this, all I can do is ensure I am at each shoot day and I am available to help Alex in specific scenes that he may become stuck. I will aim to throw in new ideas where I can but as Green suggests, it depends on how well the shoot days are going.
While conducting my research I came across an article with advice from photography producer, Blaine Deutsch. Although the article was about photography, this is a similar occupation to filming, and they both require the same production stages. As a result of this, I believe that the role of a photography producer is similar to a producer on a film set and that I can still learn from Deutsch's advice. I also think it would be interesting to see if he suggests other aspects that I could be working on during the shoot days that I haven't found in other research. Deutsch explains that a good producer should be able to do the following:
Look - not just looking around, but keeping in the mindset of both the crew and client / cast.
- Old doctors bag (still not arrived)
- Leaflets
- Needle / syringe
- Fake owl
- Feathers
Make-up
From the start I knew that we would want our cast to have natural make-up, due to the nature of the film consisting of regular, everyday people. However, I haven't had a lot of experience of make-up in front of a camera. I have experienced it once during a studio production where I helped the contributors apply setting powder. As a result of this, I knew that powder would be beneficial in preventing the cast looking shiny on the camera. However, as I want to act professionally during the production of VET-MAN, I researched into make-up in front of a camera.
I looked online and I was struggling to find an article on television and film make-up as they were all explaining how to do your make-up for the best Instagram selfie - which is not what I wanted to explore. In the end, I came across an article by Quora and a make-up artist from America, Carolyn Bunch, explaining that sometimes you have to adjust for lighting and use make-up that is theatrical or heavy duty for it to be appropriate for the camera. She also explains that it "really depends on the show, how it is shot and what the lighting will be each take" (Bunch, 2016). As VET-MAN is set in the present day with ordinary people and in everyday life, the make-up should be very natural. However, natural, normal skin contains "a certain amount of oil that generally goes unnoticed until viewed in a close-up" (Cyber College, 2010). This shine can be exaggerated by the heat of studio lights, which we won't have to worry about by filming on location, and personal tension, which could be possible if the actors get warm from performing and start to sweat. As we will be shooting close ups of each character to ensure we get enough at each location, it is possible that we will see a bit of oil on the face. At the very least, "subjects should use a face powder that matches their skin tone" (Cyber College, 2010). Using a powder is what I originally thought of, and was the reason I started researching into television make-up to ensure it is necessary and to find out which one to purchase. Reading this comment in my research shows me that I am going in the right direction in order to resolve any problems we come across with shiny faces on the camera.
As we only have one female cast member attending the first two shoot days, I will ask if she knows about make-up on the camera and I will ask her to bring her own powder in case of any shine on the camera. I believe I will only have to think about make-up for both the male cast members, as they are less likely to have applied make-up before or to think about bringing it.
Relating back to the article from Carolyn Bunch, she mentions that it depends on "what the lighting will be each take" (Bunch, 2016). We will be using only natural lighting at each location, apart from the scene inside the pub. We have already conducted test shoots with artificial lighting and have agreed that the pub is too dark to shoot in without it. This means that the make-up will be completely different here, however, as the majority of our locations are outside, the make-up for the other scenes should be relatively similar. Throughout my research, I found that "make-up should always be checked, and if possible even applied, under the lighting that will be used in photographing the subject" (Cyber College, 2010). Although this piece of advice is focusing on photographing someone, the way in which the lighting affects the cast member would be the same whether we were photographing or filming them. As "normal skin tones contain a significant amount of green" (Cyber College, 2010), some make-up may also contain these coloured elements, and as a result of this I will aim to look for a powder without the green elements.
To take my research further, I contacted our make-up artist who was going to be working with the fake blood and black eye. Beth explained that a setting powder would work well, however, I need to make sure the powder has a 'no flashback' quality to it. This should be detailed on the back of the powder pot. Flashback is the "harsh white markings" (Michelle, n/d) on someones face in a photo which was taken with the flash on. These markings are caused by silica, an ingredient in many translucent powders. As silica has so many surfaces, if there is enough powder on the face, there will always be a lot of surfaces ready to pick up the flash and throw it back to the camera. Luckily we won't be using flash on the camera for filming, however, Beth advised that it would be best to get one without the flashback quality just in case. Ideally, as we want a natural look we shouldn't need to use any make-up, however, as I found out in my previous research we may run the risk of the cast showing up shiny on the camera.
As a result of everything I have learnt throughout my research, I went out and shopped for a translucent powder as close as I could which didn't contain silica or green elements so I can be prepared on the shoot day for any shiny faces. I want to be prepared for anything that may occur on the shoot days in order to keep the day running as smoothly as possible.
The producers job on shoot days
 |
| Sarah Green |
In order to fully prepare for upcoming shoot days, I continued to research into the producers role during filming because apart from making sure everything is going smoothly, I am still unsure on any other roles I need to take upon myself on the shoot days. In addition to this, the producer is well-known to have the organisational role when creating a film. However, I will be taking on a creative side as well as the organisational role, and in order to know exactly what this entails on a film shoot, I carried out some research to see what I could do during the shoot days to benefit our film.
I took advice from creative producer, Sarah Green. She started out by focusing on the organisational role of a producer, before moving towards the more creative side of the job role. She has previously worked with filmmakers Terrence Malick and Jeff Nichols.
Green explains that she loves being on set and that if she's doing her job well, she shouldn't be wildly busy, instead things should be running smoothly. She's there to troubleshoot, and a lot of what she is doing is "just sitting, watching and having a different perspective" (Green, 2016). She continues by clarifying that she's not the director so she isn't shooting what is on the screen, she's just there observing everything that's going on. Sometimes, she can address a problem before it even happens or the director may come to her and say - 'You've been watching that, what do you feel about this or that?' - and she will have an answer. Green continues by explaining her interest in the differences between producers and creative producers by highlighting that the tasks for a producer are easier to pinpoint, due to the creative producer job role being harder to encapsulate, mainly "because it touches on creativity, which really means that there is an - 'It depends' - component to every situation" (Green, 2016). From this comment, I understand that the amount of creativeness I will really be able to exert throughout production will all depend on how the shoot days go. If we have a really successful shoot and everything is captured easily then Alex is less likely come to me with any problems, as Green explained happened to her. I understand that to prepare for this, all I can do is ensure I am at each shoot day and I am available to help Alex in specific scenes that he may become stuck. I will aim to throw in new ideas where I can but as Green suggests, it depends on how well the shoot days are going.
While conducting my research I came across an article with advice from photography producer, Blaine Deutsch. Although the article was about photography, this is a similar occupation to filming, and they both require the same production stages. As a result of this, I believe that the role of a photography producer is similar to a producer on a film set and that I can still learn from Deutsch's advice. I also think it would be interesting to see if he suggests other aspects that I could be working on during the shoot days that I haven't found in other research. Deutsch explains that a good producer should be able to do the following:
Look - not just looking around, but keeping in the mindset of both the crew and client / cast.
Listen - be tuned in to the conversations going on around the set and be sure your crew is doing the same. If there are any rumblings of an issue or a request, act on it.
Predict the future - this skill comes from the ability to combine the product of looking and listening. Also, know the schedule and shot list forwards & backwards. Plan for every contingency you can imagine, then plan for the things you’ve yet to consider. Check the weather. Check it again. Confirm your crew. Know what the director expects and work with them. Have answers before you’re asked the question.
React - know when you should talk over something with the director and cast, and know when you should just make it happen.
Be a good judge of character - when I hire a crew member, I’m not only choosing them for their technical or creative skills, but also for their understanding and appreciation for set etiquette. With so many other potential variables, the last thing I need is a clash of personality on set. Do good work and work with good people.
For each one of these points I am able to relate them to my role as producer on the shoot days. To ensure everyone is happy I will remember to constantly look around and think in the mindset of both cast and crew. I will listen to everyone on set, and if I hear of any problems, as the producer I will try my best to resolve them. Deutsch advises to know the shot list and storyboard inside out. I have already printed the shot list and am revising this before the shoot days. I have decided to take a copy of this to each shoot day to ensure we are getting all the shots that are listed. In addition to this, I will be taking a copy of the production schedule to make sure we are shooting all the scenes that we need by the end of each day. I will also be checking the weather on all shoot days, to ensure we are prepared for whatever weather it may be. I am also prepared to postpone shoot days if the weather is bad, although this will put us behind schedule, the safety of equipment, cast and crew is most important. I like to think I have considered everything like Deutsch suggests, however it may be likely that I'll come across something that I haven't planned for. If I do I will solve it in a professional manner. All crew are confirmed so far, and I will keep in contact with them until their specific shoot days when we will be with them. I have some phone numbers which will be easier to contact people on, others I just have their email and I will email in advance as I understand that not everyone keeps up to date with their emails, whereas with a phone number I can contact them quicker. I understand what Alex and Katie expect to get out of the shoot days by revising the shot list. As a result of this, I will be on hand with the list to help with any shots they may have forgotten. Finally, I have picked our additional crew members for a reason. They are all experienced in their area, as I have explained in the pre-production package, and in blog post - Additional Crew, and as a result of this they will have understanding and appreciation for set etiquette and I believe they will do a good job.
I continued by looking into the role responsibilities of a creative producer and found that as production moves forward, the producer "keeps an eye on each stage, work[s] with the director to ensure a smooth production" (Levinson, 2018). Essentially, a creative producer makes sure that the original vision for the project is properly realised. The producer must also understand "all aspects of production from development through final edits" (Levinson, 2018). From my tutorials at University, I understand that I need to be involved with the shoot days more than what I initially thought. I need to ensure we get the right shots and have everything before we finish for the day. I have decided that the best way to do this is to take a copy of Katie's shot list and tick off the shots we get. If we decide to add any shots on the day then that will help create better coverage, but my primary aim will be to make sure we have each shot that is listed. This will be my way of working with Alex, the director, to make sure the shoot days run smoothly and to make sure the original vision for the project is realised, as I stated previously.
Throughout my research, I discovered an article focusing on creative producing. It includes ideas and advice from Vancouver-based producer, Erik Paulsson, for filmmakers trying to break into the industry. Although I am not specifically focusing on breaking into the television industry with producing now, I found this article beneficial in helping me understand the roles surrounding creative producing. Paulsson considers himself a creative producer, as he has had over twenty years of experience in the business and twenty-some credits to his name. He states that the "creative producer is almost like being the co-director. You don’t want to get in the director’s way but you want to be there for support, offering suggestions and making sure all facets are working as well as they can be” (Uytdewilligen, 2017). I felt that this piece of advice was beneficial for the upcoming shoot days. Before this unit, I believed that the shoot days were purely down to the director and that the producer didn't have much of a role during this stage of production, however, I now understand that my role as producer can be seen as a second director. As Paulsson explains, I don't want to get in the directors way but I am there for support instead, by making sure all aspects of production are going well. A way in which this may work in practice would be for Alex to control the shots and get the film looking as he wants it, and I can be there as a second mind, to add ideas into the way it's filmed, along with making sure all the shots that detailed in the storyboard are filmed.
I discovered another article, this time written by Maria Johnsen, a global digital marketing A.I and film producer, where she explains that the "creative input of the producer might be little or massive" (Johnsen, 2018). To have a bigger influence on a film, the producer "must be willing to give his input into the supervision, editing, design, writing and casting" (Johnsen, 2018), while other producers simply focus on the administrative responsibilities and prefer to stay out of the creative tasks. Reading this statement made me feel as if I have been taking on the creative side of producing quite well throughout pre-production so far, as I have been involved with all the aspects of filmmaking that she had listed, as well as the administrative roles of budgeting and general organising. My input into the design of the project was with props and costumes in the previous unit and in this unit I managed to get Harriet on board to help with the props and design of the sets on shoot days. I was the script editor throughout pre-production, and I have continued this into this unit for the most recent script drafts. Although casting was primarily Alex's job as the director, I was involved in each part of this as much as he was. I attended the auditions and helped decide who to ask on board with our project. In addition to this, as I am the co-editor for the project, I will also have a creative say in the edit, more so in the placement of footage during the rough cut, than in the fine cut with the sound effects and colour, as this part of the edit is Katie's responsibility. Nevertheless, I will be reviewing the edit to ensure it is resembling the initial ideas we had for VET-MAN. On top of this, I aim to supervise the shoot days, as I found in my previous research, I can act as a second director so while Alex expressing his direction on the shoot days, I can step back and have a general overview of the whole project. As a result of covering all these aspects, I can safely say that I believe I am taking on the creative side of producing well so far, and I will continue to do so with the parts of production still to come which I listed previously, such as in the editing stage.
Reflection
- I found it beneficial to contact our make-up artist along with conducting my own research online to get different opinions on how to tackle the natural make-up and shiny faces problem if it was to occur. I feel prepared now if it does happen on the shoot days, and I feel that I have brought the correct product from my research to help us if we need to use it.
- I now understand my place for the upcoming shoot days which was the aim of this research. I knew from my tutorial that I needed to make sure we get everything and all shots that are needed from the shoot days, but as the producer is a big role throughout each stage of creating a film, I was sure I had more responsibility on the shoot days. I have been constantly researching into the role of producer and many articles explain the importance of a producer throughout each stage, however, they don't detail exactly what a producer does during production and post production. Nevertheless, the few articles I found from Green, Paulsson and Johnsen have explained what I should aim towards as producer during production and I will try my best to follow their advice in the upcoming shoot days.
- I believe I have taken on the creative role of producing well so far after reading the article from Johnsen. As I explained with the research, I have taken on each of the roles she describes as being creative. The majority of these roles came around in the pre-production unit, however, I will continue the creative role into production and post-production.
References:
- Michelle. (n/d). Why Make-up Flashback Happens and How to Avoid It.Available: https://labmuffin.com/why-make-up-flashback-happens-and-how-to-avoid-it/. Last accessed 3rd Feb 2019.
- Bunch, C. (2016). How is makeup for film and television different from ordinary makeup application? [Online forum comment]. Message posted to: https://www.quora.com/How-is-makeup-for-film-and-television-different-from-ordinary-makeup-application
- Cyber College. (2010). Makeup for Television and Film. Available: http://www.cybercollege.com/makeup.htm. Last accessed 3rd Feb 2019.
- Bunch, C. (2016). How is makeup for film and television different from ordinary makeup application? [Online forum comment]. Message posted to: https://www.quora.com/How-is-makeup-for-film-and-television-different-from-ordinary-makeup-application
- Cyber College. (2010). Makeup for Television and Film. Available: http://www.cybercollege.com/makeup.htm. Last accessed 3rd Feb 2019.
- Green, S. (2016). The Differences Between a Producer and a Creative Producer. Available: https://www.mentorless.com/2016/07/03/creative-producer-difference-producer-sarah-green/. Last accessed 3rd Feb 2019.
- Johnsen, M. (2018). Being A Creative Film Producer. Available: https://medium.com/@mariajohnsen/being-a-creative-film-producer-f1264ab6a05b. Last accessed 3rd Feb 2019.
- Levinson, C. (2018). Job Description for a Creative Producer. Available: https://careertrend.com/about-6619271-job-description-creative-producer.html. Last accessed 3rd Feb 2019.
- Uytdewilligen, R. (2017). The Creative Producer: Getting The Best of Both Worlds. Available: https://infocusfilmschool.com/creative-producer-filmmaker/. Last accessed 3rd Feb 2019.
- Martin, G. (2013). Why Producers Are More Important Than Any Good Photographer. Available at: https://fstoppers.com/interview/why-producers-are-more-important-any-good-photographer-1525. Last accessed 3rd Feb 2019
- Johnsen, M. (2018). Being A Creative Film Producer. Available: https://medium.com/@mariajohnsen/being-a-creative-film-producer-f1264ab6a05b. Last accessed 3rd Feb 2019.
- Levinson, C. (2018). Job Description for a Creative Producer. Available: https://careertrend.com/about-6619271-job-description-creative-producer.html. Last accessed 3rd Feb 2019.
- Uytdewilligen, R. (2017). The Creative Producer: Getting The Best of Both Worlds. Available: https://infocusfilmschool.com/creative-producer-filmmaker/. Last accessed 3rd Feb 2019.
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