Practice shoots

 

CAMERA WORKSHOP 24.2

 

Laura and I had a camera workshop with David. We explained to David what our film was about and what kind of shots we would mainly want, so he could help us accordingly. We got a nice recap on how to use set up the camera, it´s basic settings as well as it´s unique features. He did also confirm that the C300 is very good for night shoots, so that´s great. Laura and I then had the chance to take it outside and test it out. We managed well and practised some shots we knew we had in our film. We both followed each other, trying different variations with pauses, walking past, closing up on face etc. We also tried the following close up of a hand with keys in it. I think Laura and I were really happy with everything, so we returned the camera without having many questions.

We had to take close ups of the camera
to remember how to set everything

Some screenshots:

We got the camera for ourselves a few days later 28.2

We tried taking more practice shoots that day, but it was a bit of a fail. We struggled to set up the camera and had trouble with some cables. We messed about with the settings too, as there is a lot of options to go through. Laura had also bought a lense filter, but it unfortunately fit only on one of our lenses. Then after a while of struggling we finally got outside with the camera set up. It started raining almost as soon as we got out. We then had to go back in and try and get the camera raincoat on. It was a pain, so I sincerely hope we won´t have to use it on the real shoot. We finally got out again and got a few shots. It was cold, wet and we were getting tired. Then we had trouble with the black magic again so we decided to give up and warm up. (We realised our problem was just a loose cable) At least now we had learnt how to set up the camera quickly and learnt how to solve the problems we might have with it. 

 

2.3 Testing the camera again

We tried again to take some test shots. This time it went a lot smoother and we began to feel confident. We managed to set up the camera really quickly, Laura (like always) had remembered to charge all batteries, it wasn´t raining and we knew what we wanted to practice. We also tried things out with lights, that Anne had given us. Were a bit nervous that our film will be too dark, but I thought it looked bright enough on camera. As long as we keep the ISO low enough for it not to be grainy I think we should be fine. We´ll try to manage if not. We can use windows, car lights, lights from uni on Lauras street and the Bourne club, Anne´s lights, streetlights etc. I think we can find a way with all of that. Laura is also happy with the camera movements, the only thing is that the camera is quite heavy so it´s a bit hard to manoeuvre. That’s why we asked for a camera rig. Ieva (our camera assistant) and Laura went to a workshop to learn how to use it. That will take a lot of the weight off.

Screen shots of our tests:

I´m happy with how our tests looked

Lighting workshop with Anne 3.3

Laura and I met with Anne to go through some lighting options. We explained our idea again and Anne in turn gave us lots of ideas of how to light the film. She was also a little worried as to how were going to light it. Night-time shoots can be really hard to do, especially for students. We want to try to get three-point lighting, fill light, strong shadows and make it look like it´s coming from natural sources. Anne gave us some equipment to help us out. She gave us her ring light to add a nice fill to Hannah. I also thought it would be cool to use it as a brighter more dramatic lighting when Bea becomes very panicked. Anne also gave us some other lights along with her own filters. We tried whether or not we could fake a red traffic light or brake lights and it worked nicely. We could also use the green or orange filter for this kind of thing and we also have the basic dimming and warming filters. After talking for a while about ideas we went outside where it was getting dark. We tried out the strength of the lights and how they looked on the face of someone walking past. I have attached videos of this. I think this was a really useful workshop and encouraged us to think about lighting even more. It is an incredibly important part of a film, so we have to try and get it right. We felt a lot more prepared after talking about it with Anne and doing some tests.