In class today we learnt about so much, and it was a lot to take in, but I found it really useful to just have everything kind of put out there at once so that at I was learning new things and recalling previous lessons all at once. I think that process of having to recall and apply things to a real situation really helps, especially since I’m pretty quick to forget things, and although its all written down it’s nothing like practising in a practical environment and being tested. Granted, individually I didn’t have to do a whole lot. But even as a part of a team and watching others play out their roles as a ‘crew’ and participating that way, you really do take in a lot. What we did today, for the most part, was learn about lighting. We learnt how to set up the different lights and how they should be placed to light a subject. This of course meant recalling the concept of three point lighting (key light, back light, fill light), and using this to light the subject so that they were still lit offside. Paul gave us a way to help figure this out, which was Camera, Interviewer/Ian (actor), Key light. This means that you need to figure out where your subject is facing (at the Interviewer/Ian), from what direction the camera will be looking at them, and then you need to place the key light on the opposite side to the camera, taking into consideration where the subject is facing. From here you can set up back lighting and fill as needed. To get back light/fill light you can use artificial lighting, or you could use a window or a reflector. We learnt that to stop light, you use black, and to reflect it, you use white. Reflective surfaces actually don’t reflect much light. Also, in many shots in drama and documentary, you will never see out a window. They will be covered, allowing soft light to light a subject. Soft light allows for more of the face to be covered, and can be achieved be some lights, or by putting harsh lights behind a white, partly transparent surface so that the light that comes out is then soft. A simple example of this is sunlight being less harsh on a cloudy day. I remember being told in year 12 media to always film on a cloudy day in order to avoid needing to know how to balance light, and I suppose this is what they were talking about. We did a test run with a crew made of the class once we had a set up on two actors, with our Interviewer/Ian character standing next to the camera (out of shot). We had to pull focus between the two subjects in shot, which was my job, and I learnt that focus pulling is really as simple as learning the two focal lengths you will need for your starting and finishing shot, and adjusting as the shot requires the change of focus between one character and the other. We were reminded that wild lines are something you always need to be getting on a shoot, and so I’m just going to jot that down here as well, as another reminder, and Corey and Mimo took on the roles of director and AD, and I think I better understand the difference between these two now in the context of a film shoot. I’ve been a part of shoots in the past where all the AD had to do was manage the actors and make sure that they were where they needed to be at the right times, and I was AD for In Pit Lane, only all I had to do in that position was time keeping. It’s nice to have some clarification, only now I know that the AD’s job is a bit more involved and requires them to call the shots at times and run through the process of “Quiet on set”, “Going for a take”, “Standing by”, etc. I know that it’s simple, but this is something I have trouble remembering. Practise though, I think, will be the way to best learn those roles/lines. It’s also the AD’s job to keep a shot running if an error is made, if they feel its better to just reset and keep the camera rolling, in order to keep energy up. The camera person should also keep rolling a few seconds after the director says cut, just to ensure that they have everything. Maybe I should have another look at that sheet that outlines the procedure for a video shoot to really cement my understanding of these terms and when they’re used/by who. Overall though, today has helped me on my way to feeling more confident with the equipment, especially lighting which is something I’ve always hated, and that’s really great!
