Preparation and Flexibility Are Key!
This blog entry goes to show that preparation and communication well in advance is key to shooting a good film and mastering the art of a student film. Especially, when it comes to creating a reliable shot list and storyboard.
Yesterday, on an extremely short notice, I was told that we would be shooting today since an unexpected time window opened up. With that, the actual shoot has been advanced by more than a week and I was not yet prepared to work reliably as a camera op. So I sat down in the evening with the shotlist and storyboard and tried to understand what the director wanted to have shot.
The storyboard, while incredibly detailed on the characters’ appearance, completely missed its surroundings and did not follow the 180° rule which rendered the control freak in me helpless. When I appeared on set the next day, fetching equipment and setting up, I talked to the director about the actual storyboard just to find out, that the actual plan had changed tremendously and that we were left to improvise on the fly.
I did my best to implement the changes and to adapt to the new scenes as fast as possible, but to be honest, I do not think that I did a good job on camera that day. We were set to shoot a cafeteria scene on an incredibly dark day and whatever I tried to do – decrease the number of the isis/f., I whitebalanced (which did not work due to the generally low light), moving closer to a more natural lightsource with the camera – all attempts seemed futile. Since we also lacked additional lighting equipment and our producer pressed on, we had to make the best of the shots I took.
Midway through our first couple of shoots, our directional Røde-mic seemed to slowly give up the ghost. While the recorded voices in the first few clips were still fine and audible besides the standard static noise, the more the sound levels in the cafeteria increased, the less I could hear the actual voices. We sent for our technician and asked him what might be wrong, and with just a short glance at the equipment, he realised that the sound channels were all wrong. So much for that. After he adjusted the right sound channels, it was very audible that the Røde had not yet commanded its spirit into mic-heaven and we continued to shoot.
When we shot a tracking scene outside, the lighting situation somewhat improved, but another problem ensued: The stability and smoothness of the camera movement and the resulting shakiness of the footage. In the first run, I tried to steady the camera by holding it on the side and on the bottom, with angled elbows, but I was not satisfied with my results. In the second run, I tried my best to hold the camera in front of me with rather extended arms since I hoped that my elbow and shoulder would somewhat even out the shakiness. The second result turned out to be somewhat better, I was still not happy with the result. In retrospect, I think I should have insisted in taking out a monopod so that I would be able to steady the camera by a second axis pressed against me. Well, that’s how you learn.
Finally, I realised that you should never trust the camera’s display fully. We shot a birthday scene in the studio, this time also with lighting equipment and while I and another course mate adjusted the lighting, I was able to whitebalance successfully and even doublechecked with the image on the display. All looked fine and well. We shot the scenes and finished a long and unexpected day of shooting.
Until I saw the footage back. Once uploaded and replayed, the footage was way darker and the framing was a bit off, which is why I suspect that the display
has a backlight installed that brightens the image on display but naturally not on tape and
that there is some form crop-factor activated.
Whether I am right with my assumption, I need to find out as soon as possible. So to sum it up, I desperately need to improve the following issues:
read the manual of the AVC Panasonic and understand its settings (and the laws of optics in general) better
exercise using the AVC Panasonic in handheld mode to reduce shakiness of the footage
understand and exercise light settings and setting up light quickly and more effectively
find out how the display is set, whether a crop-factor applies and how to either change the settings or understand the discrepancy between the display and the actual footage
To make it short: If I want to become a successful cinematographer, I need to buckle down. Quickly.
