On-Set Production – Class Exercise 3
On-Set ProductionThis week we were tasked with revisiting the dinner scene, only this time around we were to shoot something to be edited together by post-production students – requiring multiple shot setups. We spent the majority of class prepping, setting up, and shooting. We arranged the same props as the previous dinner scene exercise and were given instruction to introduce another character for the sake of having dialogue to edit between and incorporate in post.
Oliwia was DOP as in the first exercise, and I was 2nd AC, but remained hands-on in setting up the camera with our 1st AC Georgina. Oliwia created a shotlist for us to reference and we discussed lenses, shot depth, and her vision for the scene, as seen below:
I learnt a lot from observation of Oliwia, who used CineFinder to visualise the shots so we could save time in setting up the camera as ACs. Below are her shot prototypes that we based final shots on.
Similar to previous weeks, we rehearsed each shot before going for a take in order to fine-tune movements and continuity. Thankfully we were able to get each planned shot, so our ability to set up in a timely manner has improved over the course of three practical exercises.
In future exercises, I hope to undertake a HOD role like DOP or director as I feel I have learnt most of what I can as a 2nd AC. The weekly opportunity to undertake short-form exercises has been incredibly beneficial for solidifying theoretical knowledge about cameras.