In week 6, I covered the folding of clothes. I had planned those shots but did not pen them down. Not having a visual plan made my mind more disorganised which affected the actor as well. Having learnt, this week 8, I decided to list my shots before recording.
|
SCENE |
SHOT |
TYPE |
DESCRIPTION (subject action) |
VARIATION (camera action) |
|
1 |
1 |
CU |
Balcony door opens, feet behind door, shuffles in the cold |
|
|
2 |
CU |
Balcony door opens, feet behind door, shuffles in the cold, turn and kneel at bedside |
Track feet to bedside position |
|
|
3 |
CU |
Balcony door opens, feet behind door, shuffles in the cold, turn and feet dangle at bedside |
Track feet to bedside position |
|
|
4 |
MS |
Balcony door opens, chest-down body behind door |
||
|
5 |
MS |
Balcony door opens, chest-down body behind door, turn and kneel at bedside |
Track body to bedside position |
|
|
6 |
MS |
Balcony door opens, feet behind door, shuffles in the cold, turn and feet dangle at bedside |
Track body to bedside position |
|
|
2 |
1 |
LS |
Upper body to bed, cheek to bed, hand stretches to caress bed, pulls pillow to bury face in, lift fingers hand searches for doll, feels its features |
Cam on opposite side of bed, stationary (then creep) |
|
2 |
MS/CU? |
Upper body to bed, cheek to bed, hand stretches to caress bed, pulls pillow to bury face in, lift fingers hand searches for doll, feels its features |
Face enters frame, fingers on doll |
|
|
3 |
LS |
Upper body to bed, cheek to bed, hand stretches to caress bed, pulls pillow to bury face in, lift fingers hand searches for doll, feels its features |
High angle, stationary |
|
|
4 |
MS |
Upper body to bed, cheek to bed, hand stretches to caress bed, pulls pillow to bury face in, lift fingers hand searches for doll, feels its features |
Track hand, shallow DOF, POV of doll’s original position |
|
|
3 |
1 |
LS |
gets up, rubs cheek, sit up on bedside, faces balcony, hand creeps, covers doll’s eyes |
Cam on opposite side of bed, stationary, low angle |
|
2 |
MS |
gets up, rubs cheek, sit up on bedside, faces balcony, hand creeps, covers doll’s eyes |
Cam on head of bed, stationary, low angle |
|
|
3 |
MS |
gets up, rubs cheek, sit up on bedside, faces balcony, hand creeps, covers doll’s eyes |
Cam on foot of bed, stationary, low angle |
|
|
4 |
MS |
gets up, rubs cheek, sit up on bedside, faces balcony, hand creeps, covers doll’s eyes |
Cam on opposite side of bed, upside down, stationery capture face, turn right side up during sit up capture back |
|
|
5 |
ECU/CU? |
gets up, rubs cheek, sit up on bedside, faces balcony, hand creeps, covers doll’s eyes |
Dutch angle, wobbly, capture eye/s, trace shoulder to fingers cover doll |
|
|
4 |
1 |
MS |
feet travel from left side of bed to right side where basket is, dolls and pillow case into basket, strip other pillow |
camera at last position, stationary, refocus, crane up to second pillow action |
|
2 |
LS |
upper body travel from left side of bed to right side where basket is, dolls and pillow case into basket, strip other pillow |
camera at last position, stationary, refocus, crane up to second pillow action |
|
|
3 |
MS |
upper body travel from left side of bed to right side where basket is, dolls and pillow case into basket, strip other pillow |
pan, eye level, edge foot of bed |
|
|
4 |
LS |
upper body travel from left side of bed to right side where basket is, dolls and pillow case into basket, strip other pillow |
pan, eye level, edge foot of bed |
|
|
5 |
1 |
LS |
(pillows on table), butt-face gets up on bed to roll quilt, strip, throw into basket |
cam side of bed |
|
2 |
LS |
(pillows on table), butt-face gets up on bed to roll quilt, strip, throw into basket |
cam right foot of bed |
|
|
3 |
MS |
hands touch quilt, roll |
hands enter frame, angle at head of bed, stationary |
|
|
4 |
CU |
hands touch quilt, roll |
hand/s enter frame then track |
|
|
6 |
1 |
LS |
pull bed sheet, strip bed, throw into basket, gets off bed to right side |
cam at left foot edge of bed, low angle, stationary |
|
7 |
1 |
LS |
flap quilt, fold, place at foot of bed |
cam at balcony door, stationary |
|
2 |
MS |
flap quilt, fold, place at foot of bed |
cam at balcony door, stationary, eye level, blanket in air enters and leaves frame frame |
|
|
3 |
MS |
flap quilt, fold, place at foot of bed |
cam at foot of bed, bed level, blanket in air enters and rests on bed |
|
|
8 |
1 |
CU |
pillows put in position, beat shape, take basket away, leave, come back, place doll |
hands enter frame, creep out, stationary at re-entrance |
|
2 |
MS |
pillows put in position, beat shape, take basket away, leave, come back, place doll |
hands enter frame, creep out, stationary at re-entrance |
Seemed like the session will run smoothly!
Nope.
There was an unforeseen circumstance. In any case, my fallback plan was to direct, act and operate the camera on my own. It was a nightmare.
CHALLENGES:
– sun and uncontrollable change in lighting
– not being able to frame the actor on screen because I could not be in two places at once
– going back and forth behind and in front of the camera to check recordings
– remembering actor’s and props’ first positions
– inconsistent camera operating ritual
LESSONS LEARNT:
- Be honest and professional
I should have said no to my housemate when she brought an unwanted guest and used my film space. Later, I should have not allowed my petty ego to steer me when I lied about not needing her in front of the camera. - Focus on one thing at a time
Do not be overly ambitious. Do not be distracted and go off-track. The doll was redundant and having watched the long scene with it, it seemed very self indulgent and meaningless or in other words, “jerking off”. The idea of having the character’s fixed action sequence backfired. - Significance of a First Assistant Director
I could imagine the convenience of having an AD when Paul shared his experience with us; how working together made the work experience so much smoother. However, based on week 6’s shooting experience, I believed that as long as I was more organised, the presence of an AD is excessive. Then I changed my mind when week 8’s shoot quickly became overwhelming.
a) no one was challenging me about the shots that were redundant or secondary
b) wearing so many caps, I would forget to white balance and check exposure as the day wore on and an AD would help maintain technical consistency
c) maybe the shots list should be organised based on camera location/position as well
d) IT WAS JUST SUPER STRESSFUL. In the end, I did not even bother looking at the shots list.
On the other hand, things got complicated due to personal issues with the actor. Would I still find an AD necessary if things go as planned with actor next week?