Body Image Shoot - VT Production

Body Image Production - Research, Shoot and Update

After being given the change of topic, I had to re-read all the updated scripts for the topic. This is so I can keep myself updated to what the Director wanted for the shoot. I was unable to input any creative decisions as the director had already worked on what they wanted for the shoot. However, I was still waiting for the shot list which was not up until the last minute, and there was no storyboard to refer to.

Script

Shot List

I re-booked the camera and a tripod for the shoot day. I read the script and thought about shooting. I booked the heavy duty tripod and the Sony XD-Cam for this shoot. I thought about shots in advance, and as the camera will be heavy, it would be easier and cleaner to keep the shots still. I chose the XD-Cam because I will have fuller control of the shoot.


Body Image Call Sheet 

I arrived the shoot an hour before the meeting time so I can bring the equipment into the university which would be ready to be taken down to the studios when everyone else arrives to share the heavy lifting.

When the rest of the crew arrived, we went downstairs and I had to walk through the beginning of the shoot down the corridoor to understand and frame up shots the director wanted.

The first shot Tim (Director) wanted was a long shot of the participant walking out of the lift. I brought over the tripod and set up the height. We found out the lighting was too dark, so I suggested moving the camera further back under some light, where the camera can pick up light. We did so and the shots were much brighter.

The second set of shots were down the corridor. I had to double check that we were not 'crossing the line.' As we were running through this shot the participant arrived. So we all stopped what we were doing and introduced ourselves.

As the main camera operator I felt it was my duty to introduce myself to the participant. I have not had any contact from him and I needed to make him feel comfortable around me because we both knew that I would be filming him and he would be infront of the camera with clothes off.

We went through the shot list and ticked off each shot one by one. The 'Lift' shot, I suggested shooting a close up shot of the feet as he comes out of the lift. I thought this shot would make the VT different with interesting shots. So I got onto the floor with the camera to shoot it. The lift shot took a while because we had to wait for the lift to come down to the level. We could not control the lift because it was being used by other students from the university. This took up some memory on the card as we had to keep the camera rolling.

During the rest of the shoot I kept the camera on the tripod. This is so I can get some clean still shots which the editor could use when editing the VT.

During breaks every now and again, I spoke to the participant in a calm and friendly manner to check if he was ok and warm enough. We also had Mike (the photographer) who was taking the photos of him for the photoshoot. This was also a great distraction so I can film the participant in his natural environment.

Reflection

I felt that the shoot would have been quicker if I had been out to do some test shoots before the actual shoot. If I went out to do test shoots and to run through the shots with the director before the actual shoot date, I could have suggested and negotiated better shots. We had attained on all the shots the director was looking for. I listened to the Directors commands and shot everything on the shot list. We managed to strike on time.