loc doc evaluation

Loc doc Evaluation

This brief was too recreate a 2 minute scene from an already existing movie, several movies were pitched but I ultimately ended up choosing the It recreation because I saw the crew that had already signed up and knowing I would work well with them as well as knowing about that particular scene that was pitch so knowing that it was possible built my confidence up higher about this project. With this project I was eager to start off and quickly assigned myself to the roles of Editor and camera operator for the recreational shoot. I choose the editing and camera operator role because they are the 2 roles I believe I am strongest in with the techniques already so I’d be the most prepared for the roles as well as them being the 2 roles I finds it difficult to pick from when working on a project.

I chose to be the camera operator for it because of the passion I have for camera work and the art of making a camera shot beautiful however when I was paired with the director and producer I felt as though that it I was more of a piece of the equipment than a part of the crew, I got the camera where I felt it needed to be and I even got up the source video to reference it but because it is a recreation I suppose that is how it supposed to be there is no dramatic license, we had to make it as spot on as possible and I tried my best on each shoot.

With the first shoot with Conner playing Georgie we all carried the equipment and showed Conner and his mum where the location was, we had previously settled on one location because of the fact with this location if we angled the camera just right and got the gopro in the correct position then we could get nothing but sky behind Conner instead of having roof tops and people’s heads as they walked by. When it came  to working with the rest of the crew it was a mixed experience because ewe all worked well with Conner and his mum but with each other I think we were still getting used to each others roles, I would ask for a second opinion on the lighting so I asked the lighting guy we had on our crew and he agreed but the director seemed to be a little left out that his opinion wasn't asked even though I did ask of his opinion on the angle of the camera see if he was happy with it. However the shots from this shoot were accurate and were good enough there was some noise pollution which couldn't be helped.

With the pennywise shoot I got the actor to sit in the chair getting his makeup done while we set up the shoot, we were waiting on the director when he messaged us saying he couldn’t turn up, so I as the camera man, the lighting and sound technician John and the producer Simon all took a third in the responsibilities of the shoot that day, we got the make up artist too apply the makeup all the time I was making sure to direct her and say where needed to be touched up and making sure the actor was okay and fine, Simon helped with the documentary and John helped me set up the back prop, we placed a matt black curtain over the television so as to seem like he was in the dark gutter and we put a flood light on him to act as the daylight, we got the actor to sit on the floor and read his lines from a hug e piece of paper so it was easier for him. I will admit that we did need to direct his eye movement but we were all too busy making sure that the lighting was okay and that the sound was okay.

With the group shoot with the grabbing Georgie’s hand I felt it had a lack of planning and it was just there to say it was done, I set up my camera and pressed record and after a few takes we were done. The shots were decent I will admit and we did need them I just felt like the entire shoot was just a bit last minute so it needed to be planned a little better.

With the last shoot which was very last minute I as the camera operator was the only one to care about this particular shot, I tried contacting and organizing the shoot with the producer and director but kept being reassured that they would get it done but when it came to Thursday the 8^th and having a full schedule the next day I had to do it all myself, non of my crew even bothered asking if I got the shot done when I came into the editing suite to capture and finalise the recreational shoot  I took the equipment out myself I went to the back garden and I did a small set build where I put the gopro down and used rock pallets around it to recreate concrete floor, I made sure to use gloves and kept the set build away from the camera and equipment to keep safety in mind however  I did set the scene and got an actress too stand in for a scene that need a face, I however could not unless Georgie grew a beard. But I will admit that I was mad at the fact that I as an editor needed this shot and my crew ignored my intentions about the scene that I needed to progress the editing to a final stop.

When it came to editing all of these shots together, the pennywise shots needed to be masked through another shot of the grate to make it seem as though he was in the gutter which was an easy few effects including resizing Pennywise’s original shots , turning them into the right ratio and masking through the George shots. Apart from a few issues including getting used to Avid’s layout and procedure sets with editing certain things, I made sure to change the audio levels so that way some were not low and others were a blistering high which I just used the audio editor in avid for. I will say that I noticed a bit corrupt with the raw film take with Georgie’s arm slightly becoming disjointed however it is not a major flaw.

Altogether I believed we all worked well together, we have had our small tiffs but any good productions team butts heads from time to time but what made us a good production team was that we butted heads then talked and saw how it could be fixed. Overall I would work with this team again since it was a good time and I believe that the final edit was good enough to get at least a good notice from my intended audience. If I were to pick one role however in a film crew between camera op and editing I would most probably go with camera op just because it was more enjoyable with the time frame instead of rushing to get the final thing done within a few weeks with no help.