‘Lure’ – 3rd Year Film Shoot Experience

08-04-2022

From the 28th to 30th of March, I helped out on a 3rd year film shoot as a production design assistant and production assistant. This was a unique experience as the drama-documentary was shot at night – something I had never attempted myself.

Below is the Facebook post inquiring into the stories of street harassment experienced by minorities and women within Edinburgh. The film follows the three separate stories of women who experienced street harassment whilst living in Edinburgh, with narration/voice-over and dramatised recreation.

Once the stories had been decided upon, a casting call was posted to find actors for the story recreations as shown below.

Prior to the night shoots, the crew did several location recces and lighting tests. I thought this was a great idea to do in advance of actual shooting days in order to make creative decisions and troubleshoot without the additional pressure of time constraints. For future projects I would like to do this in order to create a more professional, polished and thought-out final film.

Shoot Experience

There was a lot to learn from experiencing a three-day night shoot located in Granton, Canonmills, and Leith. Listed below are some of my main notes on what I would like to incorporate myself into my own filmmaking and projects.

• Test out equipment and equipment set-ups prior to the shoot itself.
• Consider the weather – the third shoot-day was compromised due to severe weather.
• Be aware of street lights and what time they come on at night for continuity issues.
• Bring hot water to set for coffee/tea, have hand warmers, etc for actors and crew.
• Schedule in turnover – the time when shooting begins, and after arriving to location and setting up equipment.
• Have a monitor for the director to look at.

Overall, I am glad I helped out and met film students in other years on the course. I’m looking forward to seeing the final film as street harassment is something I’ve experienced myself and know how confusing and distressing it can be.