On-Set Production – ‘One More Day’ Shoot Day 2

19-11-2023

The second day of our shoot was the main day (November 12th). We focused on all of our shots with our actors and worked with them until we had the coverage we needed. Once we sent our actors home we got additional cutaway and insert shots that we hadn’t planned for, but didn’t want to let the effort of the production design go to waste. We were unable to revisit location after our two shoot days, so Alfie and I wanted as much coverage as possible.

Alana in 1st AD mode. As a first time DoP for a university project, I realised the value of a 1st AD for keeping to camera setup and shooting times. She was firm and put the right amount of pressure on the camera department to make creative and technical decisions in a timely manner, which did stress me out, but not as much as it would have to not have her present on set.

Kushal joined Joseph and I on day two as my 2nd AC – which I was very grateful for! Having another set of hands and a third opinion for the camera department (with arguably the most equipment to handle and operate) was a godsend.

The second much needed lunch break. I cannot stress enough how much morale a sandwich, some snacks and a hot drink bring to set.

Duncan and I worked closely to tailor the lighting for each shot setup. Each shot had different light-shadow demands and lighting ratios depending on the camera placement within the room. Duncan was a brilliant gaffer and was able to translate my requests into practical lighting setups and make quick adjustments. I definitely learnt a lot more about lighting through observation and having to communicate what I wanted the image to look like regarding light and shadow.

My favourite corner of set. I purposely got a few cutaway/insert shots to focus on the colourful children’s drawings and the warm colour temperature of the fairy lights in contrast to the colder overhead lighting.

Some of our shots, as well planned as they were, had to be adjusted for practicality and the physical space. Thankfully we were able to adapt and provide alternative shot setups quickly, which I can only attest to a clear understanding of the visual language of the script and Alfie’s directorial vision.

Thank you to our BTS photographer Vanessa! My blog thanks you.

This was a fun shoot and an absolutely incredible location to film in as my first experience being a Director of Photography. I am very proud of myself for trying it out as it is a role I’ve always been curious about and wanted to gain greater proficiency and understanding in. Thank you to the brilliant crew I had to support me and my creative process with One More Day. It meant a lot.