FMP Filming (Production)
Interview With Tim
I had changed my idea of what I wanted to start the program many times and I liked this idea of getting Tim one of the managers to do a section about the college itself. Tim agreed to do this one Tuesday but I only had around 30 mins to set up and film due to Tims’s schedule, we used both the Sony FH5 M1 and the Panasonic Lumix SH1 (50mm Lens) for this to get multiple angles. I was handheld with the sony and Gareth was with the Panasonic which was at a static angle on a tripod.
When filming at the main entrance we had to film at an angle to the main entrance because of the light coming in through the windows and doors which would have over-exposed the shot.
Harleys FMP
Harleys FMP was one of the first projects we filmed and also the first footage I filmed for this project. Really I was just trying to capture some behind-the-scenes to use for a bit of a montage with some narration to show a glimpse into the film course, the reason I filmed this was that I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone as they say. I could help Harley as well as getting content for my own production.
I had many roles in the production as well which can be found on my contributions page but this meant for the most part it was just set up at a shot and press record.
When I was free I would try and get some more variety shots and I think I have plenty to work with. A mix of static and handheld shots especially in the outside section of this production. I used the Sony FS5 M1 for the filming of this section, I had adjusted the settings for some of the shots however I believe that a lot of the time I had it set to automatic because I did not always have time to keep playing with the settings. This worked in some places and not in others, I found in some of the outside shots when it was set on automatic it was way too overexposed. All in all, I think I got way over an hour’s worth of footage so I have lots of useable footage to be paired with the interview I did with Harley on another day in the same location.
Follow with Ben
To start this section off, Ben was amazing to work with! This is exactly what I wanted to do when I first started this project, he had things lined up to do during the day to keep us interested, he gave us a full facilities tour and was always explaining to the camera what he was doing.
We worked together for multiple hours on a Friday following and filming his day, one downfall was that Atilla (Tutor) was using the Sony FS5 M1 for the day but due to Ben’s availability this was the only day we could really do it.
After a couple of minutes of stress and debate, I decided to go and Film on one of the big JVCs we also have at the college.
We did also have the Panasonic Lumix SH1 which we used for Broll, interviews, and darker areas (Both lenses). The reason I used the older JVCs and not the Panasonic was because I still wanted the documentary look rather than the cinema look the DLSR produces.
The photography rooms were very dark and the lighting was poor everywhere which was a struggle to adjust every time we moved rooms especially on the older camera, I did my best but I may need to do a bit more white balancing in post. The low light footage from the JVCs is very grainy but this was to be expected and actually I do kind of like it, I might deal with it in post a bit but it looks pure documentary style as you would expect in low light.
As to be expected the JVCs footage is not as good as the Sonys would have been but I am happy with how it has turned out and actually some of the live lounge was filmed on JVC so the camera difference may not be as noticeable.
All in all, this was my favorite section to film just down really to how friendly and engaging ben was to our shoot. People are a pain to work with on projects like this but when it all comes together and you get the right person it’s great.
Live Lounge Filming
This was also a great experience as a film student but also for the audience and I’m glad I get to show the behind-the-scenes and the talent of the band because they were amazing.
I was able to film behind the scenes and get an interview from Ryley the sound technology student who organized the project. Once again this was kill two birds with 1 stone as I had already agreed to do it and it was for his FMP so I thought why not and it’s a great show of both the music and sound courses because everyone bar 2 people were college students.
The band has also agreed to let me use the final mix of the song in this documentary.
I had also roped Gareth and Ellie (fellow students) into helping me out with this and we ended up with a 5 camera setup. We had the 2 JVCs which they were operating for center and side zooming shots had me with the Sony FS5 M1 doing handheld and moving shots as well as a GoPro above the drummer and my Canon 700D in the corner for behind the scenes. All the footage was great, the footage from the canon was a bit dark but it may be usable, each camera was setup slightly differently however due to the low light the ISO had to be quite high but the lights on the stage highlighted the band nicely. As well as using this in my project I will be editing a copy for Ryley to use for his FMP and for the band to do with as they please.
This took place for a couple of hours after college, we had plenty of time to do setup as they do sound checks and set up themselves. We did record audio via our cameras but once the mix has been finished it will be matched to the footage so we get crisp audio.
B Roll & Transitions
I was very aware that I would want a decent supply of b-roll to use as a cutaway and just generally throughout the documentary. I filmed bits along the way while I was doing the actual filming but then later on I dedicated an entire day just to collecting b roll, we started in the tv studio and gallery and then moved around to the reception and outside areas. I had some ideas of the shots I wanted to achieve, one of these being the timelapse shots.
I set up the sony at the upstairs platform raised all the way up to look over the reception area, I let the camera run for around 30 mins to get plenty of footage to work with once sped up.
I choose to do the time-lapse during my first break as this would be when most students would be coming in and out which would be the most interesting rather than the odd person coming in now and again.
I tried multiple techniques to achieve a cinematic effect this included focus shifts, handheld pans as well as normal static shots. I used the Pansonic Lumix SH1 for this with a mixture of both lenses to create a more cinematic look I wanted for the B-Roll. The Sony FH5 M1 however was used for the time-lapse and reception shots again to achieve the documentary look I wanted as it was more appropriate.
After looking at the footage it all looks great and I had some assistance from Gareth once again who was also collecting some extra footage, I do wish I had collected even more just generally around the college but for the sake of time I made the decision to just work with what I had and I will mention more about this in my evaluation later on.