K.H. - Reflection on shoot

Our shoot started at 10:00 am and ended at 4:00 pm on 10 January 2015, and we filmed in St Thomas a Becket Church in Capel, near Tonbridge.

Contribution:

• I was responsible for bringing the components of the track to the shoot for the establishing shot of the church which I filmed with Mia
• I helped set up the framing and operate the fog machine for our opening shot outside
• I operated the boom mic on several shots, such as the first shot in the church of the protagonist walking down the aisle
• I operated the steady-cam for the over-the-shoulder shot of the protagonist holding the paper and photo in the church
• I assisted with the hair-raising shot by operating some of the wires attached to Cat's hair with Mia
• I did a large amount of the behind the scenes filming using a separate camera, which is footage that will be used as evidence of our shoot

We followed the storyboard fairly carefully because we'd based our shots around the location, which meant they did not need to be adapted while on set. They helped us organise the shots we filmed considerably, and made sure we didn't leave anything out.

What worked well:

• The candle shot was particularly effective because the fog obscured the background and made the viewer unsure of what to focus on within the frame, before the candle was whipped off of the alter. The movement was particularly fast and snappy and should shock the viewer.
• The shot using the slider that showed Cat walking down the church aisle worked well. The movement was fairly smooth and the low position of the camera was particularly striking.
• The shot of the protagonist in front of the window is one of the best shots we have on a visual level. The sun came out while we had the camera set up, which gave us chance to create a shot with very impressive lighting. The light initially obscuring the protagonists face is also particularly eerie.
• The shot of Cat's hair being raised is one of the most technically complex shots to create, but the effect is very ominous and it was worth the time to set up

Challenges:

• The final shot of Cat being pulled down the aisle was particularly difficult as it demanded the involvement of everyone in the group, me handling lighting, Harry on camera, Mia pushing the skateboard and a strong performance from Cat that would make the character's sense of panic seem convincing
• Time management was a problem, with many of our shots being quite technical, they required a large amount of time dedicated to them being set up, and executed in some cases
• The fog machine's fog scattered when we used it outside, which makes it's presence in the opening shot look a little like smoke. It was difficult to try and get the fog to work as we wanted because it was so windy, but the final effect is still close to what we intended

How we could apply our knowledge to another shoot:

• Time management is one area we could have improved on. The key-holders wanted to close the church sooner than planned so next time we should check when we will need to leave in advance.
• More planning, possibly with a stricter time table, would be required, although this would be easier now we know how long shots like this would take to set up
• Practicing more with effects before-hand would have helped in controlling how to use the fog and blood, which we had little experience with