#on-set production

[anythingisfilm]

On-Set Exercise 2 - Blackwidow

Our production exercise 2 project was very rushed compared to exercise 1, we only realised as we finished shooting exercise 1 that there would only be 1 possible day before the due date that all of us would be free to film. That day was only 5 days after our exercise 1 shoot and 2 days after our in class shoot, which all of us were dedicating a decent amount of time to prepping for. Part of the blame for this was on me, as I was scheduled to work Thursday - Sunday and had class all day Monday and Tuesday and a half-day Wednesday and so I very quite limited availablity. We decided on shooting after class on Wednesday, the prep day would be Tuesday.

We decided our mood would be dread, and settled on the story of a woman preparing to kill her husband, with set elements suggestion this was not the first time she'd done so. We wanted the dread to come from the viewer figuring out what's about to happen but being powerless to warn the husband or do anything to stop it. We also didn't want to spill over from dread into plain fear, so the husband is still technically alive at the end of the short, but his fate is sealed. I decided I wanted a very stylystic approach, looking to Giallo film to inspire the lighting and shot style, and specifically Suspiria ((1977) Dir. Dario Argento) for the lighting colours.

We booked equipment as soon as possible, but were slightly limited on what we could get due to the last minute nature of the booking. It wasn't myself who booked equipment, and part of the rush to get something booked meant that a few items were missed. My first choice of camera as DoP, the URSA mini was not available and we had to go with an FX6 and a variable lens. This threw a spanner in the works as I'd been hoping to utilise lens distortion in some of my shots and find that this effect is not as dramatic on a variable lens as it is on static lenses unless you're going for something like a dolly zoom or some other shot that requires the focal length changing as the camera moves in some way. The other issue this raised is we had previously had issues with getting the remote follow focus to work with the FX6, and this time a manual follow focus was missed from the booking entierly, this left us on set with no working follow focus and so all focus had to be done from the barrel.

We also couldn't get a transmitter or more than one monitor, and so the focus pulling on some shots was done by the camera op who could see that camera's monitor rather than having a separate camera op and focus puller. None of the shots on this required any complex focus pulling, so this wasn't a major issue, but far more interesting shots could have been achieved if we were better able to follow the actors through their environments rather than having very set focus without much depth. We decided shadows and silhouetting would be a good way to portray certain interactions, as you can still achieve some level of depth even with infinite distance focus. Again something Suspiria does to create fear and suspicion which we chose to draw on.

All of our set design was done with roughly 2 days notice, we dramatically scaled back our vision for the short and its art direction. Originally the short was going to be 1950s themed, however we had to pivot to a more modern setting as we decided we couldn't authentically create a 50s home enviroment. This gave Flo, the production designer, more of a chance to create a good looking set in the limited time, scaling back the scope of the project was essential to cope with the restrictions we were working within.

As DoP I had made thumbnail sketches during our production meeting 28th of September where we discussed concepts and storylines. We then refined the story over the next few days and on Monday 7th of October, right after we shot the in-class project we had another meeting where we solidified the story, art direction, prop and set requirements, call time, lighting requirements and I re-made the thumbnail sketches. Later that night I created a shotlist, however I only created a chronological list, not a shooting order list, as I had work for my Tuesday class to complete.

Whilst taking inspiration from giallo film for most, the hallyway shot was specifically inspired by the poster for Dev Patel's 'Monkey Man' (2023), which very effectively creates a sense of dread and foreboding from the framing and colour choice.

As DoP and Director on this project I failed at a number of my responsibilities, which visibly damaged the success of the final project. Whilst it's understandable given the very strict time scale we were working on, a better prepared or more experienced DoP and director would be capable of making this work. Instead My lack of availability and poor organisation led us to a rushed pre-production full of mistakes and oversights and a poorly coordinated shoot. A smarter decision would have been to lay our personal availability at the beginning of the course, and take this into account when assigning roles. Unfortunately in my case this may not have helped much, as I only get my work schedule 3 days before it comes into effect. So I have very little notice of when or how long I'm working. This issue is external to university and it is my responsibility to ensure it doesn't interfere with education, it was sadly not possible for me to meet this responsibility on this occasion and I let down my team because of it.

The other crew members had to cover for my absence with my guidance to create their individual elements in line with the overall vision, I communicated ideas and gave feedback on proposals, although not as efficiently as if I'd been more available. Whilst I was unavailable to physically be present for prep, I was in communication with Flo who was production designing, and we co-ordinated what would be require and what would be realistic. I went out and bought supplies whilst Flo created elements from scratch and sourced other features.

The actual shoot day was quite messy, again down to my poor planning. I left other crew member s floundering as they didn't have a clear shooting order and some shots required others to be completed before they could be shot because of our limited props and resources (I.E. We couldn't have the dinner scene before we had the cooking scene, as to minimise waste we were using the same food in both scenes.). We worked this out as we went, working out a shooting order on set. We ended up managing to get everything we needed, but the shoot bled over on time quite significantly. We began shooting at 18:30~ and finished at 22:30~, which was an hour over our original 21:30 goal.

I am not a very practiced director, and we didn't have an official AD decided, so my control of the set was quite poor. I was often overwhelmed as I was focused on organising the camera as DoP and would have to switch focus to answer questions from other departments and give direction to our actors. I had originally agreed only to be DoP and so wasn't prepared to direct action as well, my lack of experience and preparation slowed production down as I had to take extra time to understand the issues crew members were having and it took me a bit to figure out solutions having never encountered many of the issues before. In future I would not accept both the role of DoP and director without having at least one AD or both a 1st and 2nd AC. On this production the camera team was just me and Chelize, the 1st AC. As Chelize was also the cast co-ordiator though I often ended up needing to find other members of crew to help with set-up as she had other tasks to fulfil such as arranging costumes and running through the action with the cast.

I still believe overall the shoot was a success, we managed to get some really nice shots, and I believe we achieved the original goals of creating a mood and transforming the space. The use of high-key lighting to create strong shadows, and used coloured lighting to fill these shadows with shadow and create unfamiliar visuals really changed the feel of the space. The plot line we created and the wonderful performances from Annabel and Omar really sold the story and alongside the environment created an uncomfortable and foreboding mood. We successfully created dread, as the audience is privvy to the plot, and can see the inevitable from the second shot of the short, combined with the letter from the husband in the first shot, the audience is lead to fear on behalf of who they know is about to become a victim. Although there is a lot I would have done differently if I could do the shoot again, it was a very valuable experience, and I learned a lot about scheduling, directing and how set design incorporates other cinematic elements like lighting and cinematography.

Link to film:

[paperbackparadise]

Froggin' available in the Paperback Paradise shop, also available in this set.

[marafilmblog]

Sound Recording

Lav Mic techniques:

I learned a lot this semester from my first experiences of using lav mics and figuring out how and where to place them for optimal comfort and sound quality.

My experiences this semester have been placing mics in and behind ties, the collars of shirts, in jumpers and scarves and more...

Each time has been a different challenge and I’ve learned things do to differently next time on each set. I’ve always carried tape with me when sound recording and it has come in very handy.

I have found that even though I believe I have secured the mic properly, there may still be a lot of noise from the actors costume and movement and even jewellery.

I have also looked online for some extra hints and tips for fastening lav mics. I took notes on some of my favourites:

‘Button Hole Rig’: This is done by attaching a button to the capsule of the lav and placing it through a buttonhole then taping the wire to the interior of the shirt. This means you are able to disguise the mic while getting clear, crisp sound with no clothing noises as the capsule is exposed. This is a technique which will work better on interior shoots.

‘Paperclip Spacer’: Using a paperclip to create an air pocket around the capsule of the mic. This can reduce clothing and movement noises by creating a guard and pocket of space between the mic and costume. This is a cheaper alternative to products already sold and works well with jackets, heavier shirts and jumpers.

I also found this video educational:

[filmsrus]

CLASS WITH TIM COURTNEY

This week in on-set production, we had BAFTA winner Tim Courtney, a director from Inverness, come in and give us a lecture and do a blocking exercise with us.

We watched his BAFTA winning short, My Loneliness is Killing Me, which we talked about how he made. He met with the actors beforehand and got to know them on a personal level, finding things they had in common before the shoot. He spoke of the minimal soundtrack in it, that he likes to see and hear the spaces - the background noises and the breathing of the characters for example, to help the audience connect.

He annotates scripts by actioning a lot of the heavier dialogue to note dow what the character is thinking and feeling when saying the line, which I have been doing for Closing Night and it has definitely helped a lot to move things forward on set.

Scripts are constantly being amended after every HOD meeting where someone expresses a concern about the script regarding their department. Scripts should have 'Amend #' at the bottom.

HIS TIME IN TV

Courtney directed a few episodes of Hollyoaks. He said that soaps are a great training ground for directors as it forces you to think on your feet and use creative ways to solve problems efficiently, as well as teaching you to work in teams of crew and even cast who you may have never even met before.

He would first read the scripts then meet the team, ask questions and give suggestions knowing that they may not be taken as he is only jumping onto the project and does not have as much control as if it was his. It is the producers' project - not his. He has to be fully prepared to explain his plans to the DOP as only a few days later shooting begins so any special equipment has to be requested from the producers immediately. He would only get around an hour to meet only the main cast beforehand and would have only around 20 minutes to set up, block and shoot a scene. You had to get creative to have as little set ups as possible, keeping the shotlist simple. Soaps are very talkative with minimal action to churn them out as quickly as possible so getting the eyeline right is about the most important thing, rather than elaborate set ups.

He spoke of how all of this helped in his own projects as he went from shooting 30 pages in one day on Hollyoaks to around 6 a day in shorts. I definitely understand where he is coming from as during our rehearsals for Closing Night, we had only 2 hours to set up, block and shoot what we have set aside 6 hours for for the actual shoot, which makes me feel a lot more confident for our time management on set.

Andrew spoke of how in order to get onto a higher end TV production, you must have a certain number of hours of work logged in TV. I think I will definitely try to get onto Rivercity or something like that when I'm back from Germany as it sounds like great experience.

SCRIPT SUPERVISORS

Tim spoke of his newfound appreciation in script supervisors as he never had one on MLIKM, but said that on Hollyoaks his right hand was his 1AD and his second was his script supervisor. He described the role of a script supervisor really well, it made me realise that I didn't have a full understanding of it beforehand.

He recommended a book to us that expands on all of this more: Directors Tell The Story by Bethany Rooney and Mary Lou Belli.

A script supervisor is a second pair of eyes for the director - directing can be a pretty lonesome job but this is the person you can ask questions and ask for suggestions and bounce off of. They will know best if you have enough coverage, if there's a possibility for a better take. They may notice things you don't.

IN PREP:

you can ask your scripty 'how did you read that?' they will also have questions prepared and will take notes on your answers

This is especially handy on soaps when theres 15 interlinking storylines that have to be kept on top of.

ON-SET:

The scripty will annotate the script, drawing lines to represent what part of the script each slate covers, labelling that line with the slate and take number, and noting down a simple shot description such as 'wide'. They will also circle the slate/take that the director likes the most, and may also note down what one they think is best too.

They will also be taking continuity notes. For example, if a character crosses their arms in a script, they will note which arm goes above with a little doodle even and make sure that it stays consistent. This of course creates some devise between actors and the 'continuity police' as actors are told that their amazing performance is not usable because they stepped forward at the wrong beat or something. Especially when you're on a soap and don't know your actors.

IN POST:

They are the middleman between the director and editor. This is especially important in soaps where you only have 3 days for the edit, meaning the editor doesn't have time to watch all the rushes and will just go off the notes for the best takes. On soaps or reality TV shows like Love Island, the edit basically begins on-set, with precise note-taking.

Andrew said that he has had editors on set edit the footage as they film to get a rough idea of what you're missing and what is working - eliminate any surprise and ensure there is no continuity issues.

FLOORPLANS

Tim showed us one of his floorplans and talked us through the blocking stage.

He started with this position but it makes the characters quite closed in as the camera is pointing at the radiator and the desk, not the big open space.

He then condensed it to two more interesting shots and gave the D's character a more interesting movement. The DP wanted to keep the wide to capture D's face at his second point by the sofa, instead they compromised and Tim got D to turn around to the camera by the desk when delivering his lines. As D is not the main character, Tim argued that he doesn't need that close up on just him by the sofas.

Tim spoke of the difference between TV and Film DOPs. The former want to get the job done, the latter want to achieve a cinematic look. Of course this is not a rule but is the norm.

Tim told us to always have a call sheet on us as director to know everyones name. Andrew also told us to print off the actors' names and characters names, laminate them, and stick them to the camera so the DOP can refer to actors by their name when asking for things to do with blocking.

BLOCKING EXERCISE

We did a blocking exercise which I directed. It was pretty nerve wracking to do so infront of Tim as I obviously wanted to give a good impression but he revealed a lot of gaps in our learning and understanding of a film production which I had to adapt to on the spot. I'm not sure how much of the year I can speak on behalf of, but it appears as though almost all of us were under the impression that the blocking is up to the director but the shotlist is up to the DOP. This however is not true. A director should have at least a rough shotlist for the DOP for their first meeting - it is all up to the director. I'm not sure how so many of us were under this wrong impression for the last two years but I have since, as director, taken the shotlist that Ben, our DOP, for Closing Night, started to make and refined it and added to it, as before I thought that that would be me overstepping my role.

As we started running out of time, Tim swooped in and managed to condense the 3 shots I had planned into 1 through blocking. It was really impressive and interesting to see. It was a great exercise for that reason - it makes you realise how much you can capture with minimal set ups. I have already started trying to apply this where appropriate to the film I'm directing and the one i'm DOP on.

This was definitely one of the best classes we had. Big thanks to Andrew for organising that for Tim for giving us his time.

[curatorofthisdigitalmorass]

ALIEN: ROMULUS (2024) - Production Design by Naaman Marshall

[midydoof]

Me and @the-obnoxious-sibling have been having a lot of fun with the new vivre cards this whole week.

Bonus actual home life drawing:

[hinamie]

realizing how much i like drawing him a million years too late :<

[ariaste]

Me: [sees everyone talking about how Assad Zaman was "literally" coming up with RPF about himself and Eric Bogosian in an interview]

Me: ah, fandom's doing its little "interpret an innocent comment in Some Kind Of Way" thing again, let's go find the video and do our own critical thinking about what was actually said here--

Assad: What would happen if I said-- [words that cannot be interpreted as anything but RPF fanfic]

Me:

Me: ok fandom gets a pass on this one actually

[sofiaruelle]

Commission for the lovely @flowerandthesongstress of our fave triad, Sam, Abigail and Sebastian basking in the afterglow of a very productive band practice.

The Companion piece

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 334

So. Danny has discovered he might erm, might be technically a necromancer. At least as far as magic is concerned. Like even if it’s just via resurrecting himself the magic side of things (god, he’s more scientist- sided dangit) count it as such. 

Which means that half the time someone tries to summon a necromancing-esque being, he’s the one who gets tugged if he’s even a centimeter within range. It was annoying enough in high school, it’s no less annoying in this world they’ve all moved to. 

On the bright side, thanks to also being half dead himself, the summonings and other rituals can’t actually drag him somewhere. It just causes him to feel like someone was crushing a lung or two, which honestly nothing new. (Gosh were those days of vigilante work really that violent? Huh, guess they were)

What he wasn’t expecting was for a tiny child, a living child, to track him down despite him not existing legally or anything similar in this world, to revive their previous local child vigilante. Which like, hey, first of all, he has a few questions? Just a couple and yeah sure, he’ll shake on it- can he have your name first there kid…? 

Tim, on the other hand, is getting a little concerned when he realizes a lot of the questions the probable-fae keeps asking are in line with the stuff CPS asks. (Unknown to him, that is exactly where Danny is getting several of his questions about this scrawny vigilante kid. Erm. He might have to take the kid, for like, his own safety- hey Frostbite he needs your help he has some questions-) 

[outsassing-nero]

17.10.24// really busy, but will make time to visit cute vegan cafes!!

listening to: snow man, one

[mrsbridgerton]

luke thompson and yerin ha on set filming the masquerade ball in season 4 of bridgerton!

[marafilmblog]

Sound Recording

Kit List:

This is a simple sound kit list I like to send to producers or book for my own crew.

Sound Devices MixPre 3 – Recorder and Mixer

MKH50 Shotgun Mic

Sennheiser Portable Wireless Radio Mic x2

URSA Radio Mic Waist Transmitter Belt x2

Boom Pole - Large

[filmsrus]

CREATIVE EXERCISE 2

Feeling: nostalgia

Sophie and I decided to make a short following a mum cleaning up after her 7 year old's birthday party while the kids play in another room. We wanted to capture the emotion a parent feels as their child ages - the fear of time slipping away - that they'll blink their eyes and soon their child will be leaving for uni - the urge to cherish every moment - for time to slow down. We talked about how this might be the mum's memory of the cleanup - a moment she remembers because its when she first had the massive realisation that her daughter is getting older.

We shot this on a Lumix GH5 II with a pair of tights over a 18-35mm zoom lens. We cut a hole in the middle of the tights which creates a haziness around the edges, whilst focusing nicely on the centre of the frame. There are certain takes where due to the lighting and aperture, the tights are more visible, we tried to make the effect as consistent as possible but we were on a time crunch so there is definitely room for improvement. However, I think the tights did us a huge favour - the soft focus is dreamy and feels nostalgic. It feels like a warm memory.

The sun was on the other side of our house and there was a lot of cloud cover which meant that the view from our window was just white. I think this however worked in our favour as the blown out background makes sense for this feeling of nostalgia - its like a memory where you can't quite remember what the weather was like that day.

I made a floor plan and we dressed the set together, Sophie mostly shot it as I had to act and then I edited it and figured out how to make the free sound of children playing muffled, as though its coming from a different room by playing with the EQ.

For lighting, because we don't have any professional lights, we used natural daylight and two warm lamps. One overhead and one pointing at the wall with the chalkboard as that part of the kitchen was in shadow, which created some shadows which were mostly annoying but also made for some interesting shots - such as my shadow on the chalkboard.

Below is our colour palette. We wanted to make things warm, bright and colourful.

For the production design, me and Sophie ventured out to the big sainsburys with a shopping list. We wanted to get all the essentials - balloons, paper plates and cups, napkins, and of course a cake, which we chose to be chocolate to make it as messy as possible. We got a few birthday cards too and I wrapped some cardboard boxes in gift wrap. I drew little kid drawings to put on the wall and Sophie cleaned our kitchen chalkboard and wrote Classic Mum Things on it - things like 'Lily Football Wednesday at 6' or 'buy OJ'. We had to make things look messy - we smeared chocolate everywhere, left soggy and half bitten sweets on the table, spilt dilutant juice on the table and knocked cups over. I even dipped my fingers in the chocolate icing to leave chocolate fingerprints on the cups (which was awful). We also found any childish looking bracelets or teddies or toys that we had around the flat and to make things look more lived in, we put fridge magnets on the fridge and plants in the kitchen.

Below is a photo of our kitchen before we got started

[justafriend-ql]

reminder to all gifmakers that your work is always a unique, valuable contribution to the community. even if someone has already giffed that scene. even if you're not 100% happy with the coloring. even if it doesn't get many notes because sometimes people only look at the 'top' posts in the tags (which are usually just the first posts on the scene after an episode drops).

frankly, the culture of expecting gifs to be made within 15 minutes of an episode airing and only reblogging posts made within that timeframe is stressful and unsustainable for creators, and it prevents people from discovering and appreciating the wonderful diversity and abundance of work that can be found here.

follow your favorite gifmakers, reblog generously, and have some compassion for people that devote their time to making beautiful things <3

[chimaeraonwards]

no ai generated content will ever compare to the absolutely cartoonishly evil plot to cut down trees to prevent workers from striking to get livable wage.