Seminar shoot with CPR group

In today's seminar we worked with the Creative Production Realisation group to shoot their sets that they had been constructing for the majority of this semester. Our roles were to think about lighting, shot composition and framing when trying to achieve what they wanted to convey with their script/visuals. We were only given a short time to get an understanding of the scene we were meant to shoot with our group due to communication issues but their director had a very clear idea of what needed to be done so the instructions we were given were very precise and clear. The camera we shot on was the Canon XF100 which we had only used once before which was a small issue at the start when setting it up, but we quickly adapted to it and managed to set it up correctly. We also had a set of three dado lights and one keno for lighting the set which was ample to create the effect that the CPR group wanted.

We positioned the lights to create heavy shadows on the sides of the set which contained a bookshelf with a variety of items on, and a table also with a variety of items on. We had two dado's with minimum fill at a medium-high angle about 45° from the subject with a medium intensity to give the desired shadow on the backdrop. We used the Keno to give the whole set a dull fill by placing it far back at a high angle on a low intensity. We kept moving the final dado around depending on where the actor was in the shot and to make sure it wasn't over or under exposed and to create a sharp shadow on the wall behind him. We also had to light a green screen in the final few shots which required us to move one of the dado's behind the set and position it so it covered all of the screen at a bright intensity.

Floor plan

 Due to the 40 minute turn over time we had to complete the whole scene, the whole process was very rushed and that combined with the small amount of time we had to look over and discuss the shot list meant we weren't as helpful as we possibly could have been. The CPR group however had a very clear idea of what they wanted to accomplish, so they took charge with most of the set up and we just did the technical side of things. The first couple of shots allowed us to really consider the framing and exposure with lighting but due to the rapid turn-over time, we couldn't maintain this level of precision throughout the whole time we had which meant the second half of the scene was very rushed with little attention to detail (e.g. exposure and focus).

Setting up lights. Source: Jay Burgoyne http://creativesem1.blogspot.co.uk/

What I have learnt from this process is that to complete another persons film shot for shot how they want it to be, you need to be given the script or directors notes as soon as possible to allow you to create a story board or personal shot list with carefully considered compositions instead of having to rush it and improvise everything. The time limit was also a big learning curve as it showed be the pressure of working under a strict production time limit as well as being in a studio environment.