Construction Post 2: Production Days 1-3

In the first half of our production week, we had the following scenes scheduled in to film:

• White lighting set up (beauty shots, chorus/dance routine)
• Individual spotlights
• Red silhouette set up (dancing and poses)
• Strobe set up (chorus/dance routine)
• Panel backdrop (Chorus and dance routine in pairs & Gift's individual shots with  and without her actor)
• Club lighting set up (My individual shots)
• Black backdrop and strobe/dim lighting (My individual shots)

A take of our chorus/dance scene in the strobe set up

Originally, the plan for this scene was to just use strobes and minimal lighting to make it look like a party scene. However we decided to experiment by using the floor lamps  with red filters on the set in addition to the strobe lighting. This paid off as it makes this scene look very edgy as well as tying in with our red theme. Furthermore, the wires are clearly visible and this was intentional - to make it seem more natural and cool.

A take of my verse with the club lighting set up (before)

A take of my verse with the club lighting set up (after)

Even though I redid these shots in order to make it perfect, I was particularly pleased by how this set up looked, considering last minute experimenting was also required for this due to there being a lack of time in rehearsal week. I am really glad that I could experiment with the lighting and achieve a club scene look as it reflects the energetic sound of the verse.

Our Panel Backdrop - The floor lamps have a red filter and are positioned behind the material 

 We all danced in front of it and Gift used it for her individual part. Setting this up did not take to long as we just had to clamp the material down. We were pleased with the outcome - it looks really professional despite the fact that we made it ourselves.

Angela and I in our red silhouette lighting set up

We found it helpful to have someone behind the camera to take pictures, at least one person in front of the camera and one person at the lighting desk when testing how a shot looked. For example in the photo above, Angela and I were there to ensure that we were in silhouette before we started filming. 

Gift and I setting up the lighting for the spotlight 

Setting up took a little while but it paid off as we were pleased with how our shots looked. It was important to wear gloves as this light in particular got very hot.

Reflections

Angela and I reflecting on how we though day 1 of shooting went

Overall, I was very happy with how our team worked on the first 3 days of our shoot and impressed by the professionalism of everything - from the appearance of the set ups to our organisation of the set. We had a lot to do and we achieved 95% of it and this would not have been possible without hard work. I notice that our performances had improved since the test shoot as we had good facial expressions and our dance routine was more synchronised, I also love how much we enjoyed ourselves on set, we laughed a lot and I think it is good to have fun. Finally, we worked brilliantly as a team to get things done. As expected, there were a few issues which can be seen below: 

Problems we faced and how we dealt with them 

My Contributions

I helped to set up the backdrops and clear away the ones we'd finished using. I also performed and directed. At the beginning of the week I printed out the shoot-boards for everyone and stuck them up so that everyone knew what was going on and when. Setting up the equipment was something I did too and I got better as the week went on.

We could have improved by only redoing shots if we needed them. For example, Angela and I redid our spotlights when there was no need to.