DRJ#8 - Filming Day!

Introduction

This post focuses on filming day! HOORAY!

Like any project, getting done to actually making something is what filmmakers love the most. I can say with a big smile on my face despite there being a few hiccups here and there, I was happy with the footage that we recorded. I definitely could have been a bit more confident when speaking and this is something I plan to work on going forward!

As stated in DRJ#6 (What Equipment I will Use and Booked for Practice), I couldn't get my hands on a Sony Camera for filming and had to settle with the Black Magic. Whilst I had some experience with the Black Magic filming my horror project "Out of the Woods", it was not a camera I could say I was 100% confident with. However, like most projects there is always something that goes astray and we just have to improvise, adapt and overcome (thank you Bear Grylls).

During set up as I said there were a few hiccups that Matt McNally and myself ran into.

(The Set Up).

The Hiccups:

1. One of the lights I had booked out was missing it's diffusers - Whilst this was a little scary as it made a harsh shadow on the green screen, there were other lights left over from a previous shoot. So I set one of those up instead and tried to colour match it to the Aputure light as best I could. It ended up working out, so we used that light instead as it provided a nice soft light that did not produce any harsh shadows ont he greenscreen.

2. The Audio - This was something that I started to freak out and panic over. No matter what I did I couldn't get the camera to power the microphone and spent a good 45 minutes looking online, watching YouTube videos and asking other classmates for help. Eventually the microphone lived, but it was producing noise. I tampered around with the camera little more and couldn't make any head way. It was recording -40DB and this was a major concern, however Matt had suggested boosting it and using a noise reduction effect on PremierPro. Going forward I will be sure to get a Zoom recorder next time to capture the audio separately, this was a major oversight on my part as I thought I could just plug the mic into the camera just like I did for the set up I used in the emergency services.

3. My Confidence when speaking - Whilst I was excited to film, I had an extremely long week and my energy levels were not there that day. This is definitely one thing if I could go back and do all over again, I would make sure that I try and hit it with more enthusiasm. Whilst I am happy with the footage I got that day, I know for a fact I would have been a lot happier if I pumped that little bit of energetic inspiration into my words as it would have made the world of difference.

Hiccups happen, that is life and film unfortunately. But I am confident I cans till achieve my goal of an educational participatory documentary with what I have. The next step is the edit!

(Backing up the footage in the edit suite after filming).

Thanks for reading!

(Bonus image of my partner Bowie and I).