Film Workshop – Moving Day Shoot 1 + 2
Film Workshop, On-Set ProductionDay 1 – Interior
As we depended on the car’s availability, we had to shoot our interior shots on the first day. This meant we had to get all our exterior shots on the second day of the shoot on the 23rd. The kit pick-up was at 9.30am the same day, which was stressful, but thankfully, Mara had arranged for her uncle to help us load the kit into his work van, saving us money and time. The location – coincidentally also our actor Michael’s flat – was on the other side of town in Trinity, a good 40 minutes away by bus. This meant it took us a while to all arrive to set up, unload the kit, and get set up for the first shot.
We ran behind the schedule significantly and didn’t have much natural light to work with on the day, so relied almost entirely on the ARRI 1.2 HMI light and the Kino Celeb. We encountered issues with the kit, particularly with the Ursa 12K. It had only one rod clamp on the baseplate, and the rods themselves were longer than necessary. Thankfully the camera team found solutions so we could still use the Nucleus follow-focus and matte box.
Whilst the technical teams were troubleshooting cameras and lighting, I prioritised rehearsals with the actors. This involved us walking through the scenes and making adjustments to blocking and performance before we went for crew rehearsals so everyone could plan for an actual recorded take.
Lewis set up the HMI with an umbrella rigged to the c-stand to protect the light from the elements. Thankfully, the camera and lighting team thought about this possibility as it did, in fact, rain at several points during the shoot. Lewis kept the power bank inside the house and ran the cable out onto the patio through the hallway side door, which meant we didn’t have to worry about getting the power bank wet. It was really windy on both shoot days, so unfortunately, Lewis and Hannah (our production assistant) ended up standing outside with the light so that it didn’t fall off or get wet. They were the true heroes of Moving Day for enduring the Scottish winter in the name of our film.
Lewis and Oliwia also set up the 6×6 Scrim Jim to diffuse the light as it projected a very powerful, stark light into the house, casting shadows. Below is the effect of the HMI in the hallway.
The HMI did not cast enough light into the living room as needed for the medium on Blair, so Lewis set up the Kino Celeb in the living room and oriented it toward the kitchen diner off-frame.
I sometimes found it challenging to work with the actors on a busy film set with many crew and things going on. In future, I would like to designate a space to discuss blocking and performance with the actors so that we can communicate clearly and comfortably.
As mentioned before, we had issues with our kit. The Ronford tripod had a janky leg, so stabilisation had to be carefully supervised. We also found out on location that the Ursa 12K wasn’t supplied with rods to mount accessories onto, meaning the matte box rods for the focus puller had to be used. The length of the rods prevented us from using any lens lower than 35mm as the rods would then be visible, which affected our wide shot and meant that it wasn’t as wide as planned. This meant we could only shoot coverage of one of the characters, limiting our choice in the edit, but it was the best solution available to us. The rod clamp was also missing, meaning we had to get creative with gaffer tape to secure the second rod in place. Because of this, the matte box couldn’t be secured to the camera on the first day of the shoot.
The first day went relatively well, all factors considered. It emphasised the importance of an equipment test and crew rehearsal before shooting, as those issues could’ve been addressed before on set. It was also a great opportunity to focus on directing actors and refine my communication regarding blocking and performance details.
The shot set-ups were simple, so most of the time was spent on lighting. Another thing I learnt from the first day was the importance of allocating enough time to craft the perfect light for the scene, as it’s the difference between something looking cinematic and more like videography. We ran out of daylight due to scheduling and could not get one of our shots. However, we planned to pick this up on the second day.
Our major issue that the first day of the shoot presented was with sound recording. Construction works began in the house above Michael’s, which intermittently carried on throughout the shoot. The busy main road also started to present issues, as suspected.
Between Shoot Day 1 and 2
Our first day of the shoot presented several issues we had to solve before the second day on the 23rd. As a result, we had to make changes to address construction noise, the main road noise, the rain forecast, natural light-dependent scheduling, and no 2nd AC.
Oliwia, Kyle, and I troubleshooted ways to address these issues. We were on a call for several hours trying to reconfigure the script and shot list and schedule the night before the second shoot day to prevent significant creative and technical issues with the film. Robbie was scheduled to be on set for the second day as the owner of the car and to drive the car in a shot for insurance purposes. Robbie graciously agreed to be our script supervisor for the second day, freeing up Kyle to assist Oliwia as a 2nd AC.
We modified the script to write it into the story to account for the construction noise. This was a decision none of us wanted to make, but we figured it would be better to address the construction than to hope it wasn’t a distraction from the film. Kyle agreed to dress up as a construction worker and walk past Blair in the opening shot to establish construction underway in the house.
Kyle also added in a new line to explain it further.
Regarding the main road, there wasn’t much we could do apart from establish it as part of the soundscape.
The weather and tight scheduling were our biggest points of discussion. Oliwia proposed a plan B in case we couldn’t shoot outside due to rain. This meant we had to redo our shot list, blocking plans, camera and lighting plans, marked-up script and schedule a day before the shoot. I decided to set the argument inside the house, having Blair storm out to put the final box into the car and then decide to confront her father, who hadn’t followed her out of the house after she had initially left. This left only one scene outside to shoot, which could be completed even if it rained as it presented no continuity issues.
We preferred our plan B and merged it with our original plan. I notified the crew of the changes and explained why we had made last-minute modifications so everyone knew what we were doing and trying to achieve. We added Esther, our 1st AD, into the call once we had solutions for each problem and discussed our plans. Our changes meant we needed a new shooting schedule in addition to almost every pre-production document.
It was game time. Kyle updated the script and sent it over to the actors, I made new blocking plans, Oliwia created a new shot list, and once I was done, Oliwia made camera and lighting plans… It was all very hectic because we had to finish it in about an hour or so. Once I had the updated script, I marked up the script again for coverage.
Thankfully, Robbie could print out all of the documents for us – an angel, indeed. Robbie also marked up his script for his role as a script supervisor for the second day. We checked Esther’s shooting schedule and all the pre-production documents one last time. Below is the new shot list.
It was pretty intense and stressful to redo everything so last minute, but we managed to get it all done, and it saved the film. It was a great learning experience as we proved to ourselves we could do all of the production documents under pressure.
Day 2 – Interior-Exterior
Our second day went far more smoothly than the first day. We had more time to shoot – starting at 8am – and a solid plan to follow. I found it easier to direct the actors as I’d adjusted to the chaos of the set, and had a better idea of how to direct blocking and performance in relation to camera and the other departments.
We did all of the interior shots first to wait for the sun to be in the highest position in the sky for the exterior shots. Unlike the first day, it wasn’t raining during the exteriors, and we had clear skies, but it was a bit windy. It rained a bit while we shot the interiors, but thankfully not when we moved outside.
The sunlight mimicked the effect of the HMI, much to Oliwia’s relief. The shots everyone was most apprehensive about was the dolly shot, which became the final shot of the film. We focused on meticulous blocking rehearsals to coordinate actors and crew, establish cues for timing, and ensure we had minimal issues. We got a gorgeous sun flare in the film’s final frame and were lucky to have so much natural light available. The dolly shots were some of my favourites in the film, and Oliwia could operate alone whilst Gus focus-pulled.
The Final Shot
This was the most challenging shot for me to direct. I had to implement four cues – two for the actors and two for Robbie in the car. This shot featured a moving car driving away, so to save time resetting the car into the correct position, we rehearsed until everyone was confident we could go for a take. The first take was thankfully a high standard, as Robbie’s car got damaged in the process of reversing back into the driveway for another take. We couldn’t go for another take due to continuity, despite my preference for multiple takes. I made peace with the situation and focused on how much better the second day had gone.
In hindsight, I wish we had kept the argument scene outside as planned to allow for a natural progression from inside to outside. We ended the film outside in the driveway, which still worked with our amendments. It would have been too risky not to create an alternate plan if it had rained, but ironically, it didn’t rain, which was our main reason for plan B. The script modification worked the construction element seamlessly, despite it being unneeded because the sound wasn’t audible in post-production.
This production and shoot taught me a lot about filmmaking and directing. I now know the importance of maintaining boundaries between roles, focusing on my role, feeling more competent and confident to direct actors, and having a greater understanding of blocking and how to communicate it. Moving Day was a difficult film fraught with issues from pre-production to post-production, but I am proud of the final product and the fact we overcame each issue.
In future, I want to focus on the creative aspect of directing and visual storytelling. I also want to learn more about acting techniques and techniques for directing actors. Through observation, I learnt more about camera and lighting, and how to communicate what I envisioned for the film. I do wish our schedule allowed for more creative shot set-ups, but one thing I learned is sometimes it’s best to do it simply and do it well.
