Production

 Production 

 

The production of this commission went really well and the whole day ran smoothly. All the pre-production work was completed to a good standard which enabled me to have control over the shoot and schedule. This meant I was able to ensure the shoot progressed and I could ensure all of the correct coverage was taken which would prevent issues with lack of coverage in the edit. The test shoots I completed also helped me to visualise the shoot better, help direct the DOP and resulted in less time wasting as I already had visual examples to reference throughout the shoot when trying to achieve a specific shot.  

 

For this shoot we used a black magic 4k pocket camera with a 50mm and 18-35mm lens. I also made use of a variety of rigs e.g., fig rig, slider and stabiliser. These rigs allowed a variety of high-quality shots to be used which kept the speed and dynamic intentions of the shoot.   

 

On the date of the shoot, I arrived earlier than the DOP to set up equipment and have a second look around the car. During this I took photos of key aspects of the car I wanted to capture which would help me to remember these for coverage. This was beneficial as my story board was quite vague in regard to specific aspects of the car. This is also when I noticed that certain aspects of the car were quite dark. I decided to use small LEDs and place these in these in the footwells and boot of the car to brighten the interior up.  I then took reference photos in order to re-create these later on in the shoot.

When we began filming the interior shots, I placed these lights into the footwells again and changed them to red (as this matched the paint of the car) this really helped to boost the quality of the interior shots and create a more luxurious look by creating more contrast and dimension; more details were also able to be seen. I also used these LEDs to create a nice red under glow on the car, as the lights are magnetic, I stuck them to the underneath of the car facing the floor, this again made the shots look more interesting to increase engagement with the video.  

 

During the shoot I ensured we followed the shot list and story board to make sure all the correct coverage was achieved, however, I did not limit us to these shots, we took a variety of unplanned shots which felt right at the time to maximise the coverage and provide plenty of options in the edit. On some of the shots I got the DOP to change the frame rates so I could attempt some speed ramps during post-production; to maintain a fast pace to the edit in keeping with the soundtrack. We also put the camera on the slider underneath the car to get nice close-ups of the wheels and some of the interior, these shots were unplanned but had a really nice effect and high-quality aspects.  

I was happy with how the shoot went, the planning I completed prior meant the shoot ran smoothly and was stress free. We did not encounter many problems on set as I was prepared for all issues which may have appeared; I ensured there was plenty of equipment and back up equipment, so we were not limited on the day. Overall, I feel I acted in a professional manner with the client and when on set in their showroom, this was good experience of working for a client in their own space while also dealing with members of the public who were interested in the car we were filming.