A few days after collaborating with Ali I once again worked alongside Brydan for his project. In this instance I took on the role of sound recordist whilst also helping to set up the camera. Like the time spent with Ali I found this to be a rewarding experience as it allowed me to focus on my specific role and to ensure I was fulfilling this role. Working on my own project demands that my focus shifts between a number of different aspects including lighting, camera operating and direction. In the capacity of a sound recordist, my duty is just to record audio and to observe.

Skimming Brydan’s script before we begun shooting I realised how dialogue driven it was. I believe Brydan’s idea to be quite fascinating and through his dialogue Brydan reveals that his work is driven to exploration of greater themes. The idea Brydan had initially pitched was quite intriguing and although this shifted over time I think that there was still a lot of merit in his script. Due to it’s dialogue driven nature and location atop a hill I knew that I was going to face a number of challenges in recording the audio for this scene. Although I was aware it was going to be challenging I relished the chance to explore the best ways to record audio in an exterior setting. In upcoming vignettes I intend to record audio outside so I learnt quickly about the burden of wind. During this shoot the placement of the microphone was vital and I think that for the most part I was able to capture an audio track that was sufficient. At times a combination of the gusts of wind and actors moving about caused my track to have a poor signal to noise ratio. Ultimately though I believe I did the best I could in terms of my skill level and the space I had to work with. For work on my own vignettes I will need to minimise wind, find an environment that isn’t so open and to maintain a minimal distance between actors and the microphone.

As a director Bryan worked incredibly well with his actors. He was quite fortunate in that they memorised their scripts like professionals and this allowed Brydan to focus upon their deliver of certain lines and to ensure that their gestures and movements were appropriate for their characters. Whilst I helped to set up the gear, attending to white balance, audio levels etc. Brydan was able to take his cast aside for a rehearsal. Observing this process it was clear Brydan had an incredibly clear idea of how the scene should be acted and how it looked. As we begun shooting with a restrictive schedule it became apparent that there was a slight disconnect between what Brydan had envisioned and what was achievable with our skillset, actors and time frame. Although I think Brydan’s choice of using long takes to yield a unique result I think that shooting may have been quicker utilising a number of different shots. Due to the nature of the piece, an analysis of two differing characters against a stark environment, I believe the juxtaposition of wide landscape shots and extremely tight shots of the characters would have helped to highlight this theme.