On-Set Production – ‘One More Day’ Filmed Rehearsal

01-11-2023

On Sunday 29th October, we had our filmed rehearsal for the short film ‘One More Day’. For this project I have the role of DP, so the filmed rehearsal presented a prime opportunity to test out ideas for shots and lighting and see how that interacted with the actors and rehearsal space. It was also a low-pressure chance to figure out our dynamic as a crew and find my communication and working style as a DP.

We were situated in 1/100, which isn’t the easiest room to work in for creating a sense of depth and dynamic lighting due to the flat, white walls. Regardless, we recreated the dimensions of the room in the bunker we will be filming in using tables turned on their side, added some props to the scene, and began to set up our shots and lighting.

The filmed rehearsal went smoothly, but highlighted technical areas we needed to consider and revisit. For the final shoot, we need to plan our shot list based on the location and have a clear vision for the lighting in terms of motivations in the story world. For some of our more elaborate shots and lighting plans, we will need to test them out prior to our shoot. For this purpose we have scheduled a test shoot on-location before the actual shoot a day later.

We worked well as a crew and were able to move from setup to setup seamlessly and troubleshoot quickly. We shot mainly low angle and with a narrow depth of field to create a sense of claustrophobia, and despite lacking the right tripod to achieve this properly, I managed to make it work.

I am unsure of the red lighting we opted for as it created visual interest but also made the shots look flat and washed out with low contrast. For the final shoot, I want to prioritise creating dynamic shots through use of practical lamps and layered lighting from the foreground to the background.

Draft 1 of ‘One More Day’ Filmed Rehearsal

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