Post-Production: Evaluation of the shoot day

Shoot day evaluation by Hannah Palmer

After completing the shoot, I felt the need to ask myself some crucial and important questions regarding the shoot.

What did we do the day before, to set up for your shoot day?
The day before shoot day, we only had to organise and prepare details, such as props, costumes, hair, makeup and accessories, as my group and I had previously spent time setting up our location for our shoot day. Therefore, we had to constructively prepare five individuals with specific, clear and definite instructions of what they needed. Alongside this, my group and I collected all our outfits for our cast and neatly packed them ready to go, so no time was wasted. The day before shoot day, I also travelled to the shops and purchased lollipops and bubble gum; similarly, we made sure the roller skates, skateboards and sledgehammer were in place. Lastly, we updated our cast with relevant, crucial and finalised information, such as timings, hair, makeup and jewellery ready for our shoot day.

How did I feel when I woke up the morning of the shoot day?

The morning of shoot day, fell to a morning of nerves and excitement. For example, I woke up feeling well prepared and organised, however a little anxious for our shoot. My group and I made sure we were fully prepared and well planned for our shoot, including shooting time schedules, makeup, costume and hair plans, props list, crucial camera shots and more. However, as we wanted to achieve the best results we could, nerves creeped in as our standards were reasonably high and we wanted all our pre-productive plans to pay off.

How well prepared were my group and I when we arrived for our shoot, what did we have to do before we could start shooting?

As our location for our shoot was an hour away, we had a long period of time to fully prepare ourselves before arriving at our shoot. For instance, during the journey, we reassured ourselves of our intentions and scheduled plans. Similarly, we made sure our cast was prepared, for example, allowing our main casted girl to finalise and practice the lip sync and our other cast members to mentally prepare themselves by rehearsing proposed positions. Therefore, when we arrived, we were ready to begin. For example, our actors were suited and ready in costume and their hair and makeup were successfully done. Alongside this, my group and I knew exactly what we wanted to film first as we followed our planned tables, such as beginning with the lip syncs.

As well as this, before beginning our shoot, we instantly turned the heating on in the house, so our cast were comfortable and happy. Alongside this, we allowed our main cast member to rehearse and go over the words a few times to feel comfortable and confident before turning on the camera. Similarly, we also prepared the specific lights and set up the camera appropriately for the shoot. Similarly, we also positioned our cast members in the correct places ready for our first shot; this was of ease as all our actors were organised and acted like mature professionals.

Describe what the location looked like when we started to shoot, how well do we feel we managed to create the look of your concept?
My group and I managed to stick to our planned concept successfully as the location was very similar to what we had previously viewed it as when we completed the risk assessment. The house had many advantageous aspects to it and therefore we didn’t have to create any further designs or aspects to it as it was already similar to our intended idea.

How did we divide the roles on shoot day, what role(s) did I play?

Between my group and I, we split the roles evenly and assigned each other to particular roles. For example, I started by functioning the camera as I was determined to capture successful and effective shots of each element, however throughout the day Fran managed the camera, so therefore between Fran and I, we both captured many shots. On the other hand, Harvey, our last group member, took control of the playback and directing our cast members. These assigned roles were particularly well as no one was confused and everyone was organised. However, if any of us were not dealing with a role, we either managed the lighting or gave appropriate suggestions.

What did I think that I personally did particularly well?

I felt I personally took on the role of the cameraman particularly well as I fully involved myself into the role and took on every opportunity I could. I also particularly enjoyed this role as it was an interesting divide and I felt big contribution to our video. It was exciting to experiment with different camera shots and angles, as planned. When I achieved some pull focus’ and slow pans, they seemed to go plan. As well as this, I made sure our cast members were fully comfortable and confident, offering them food and water throughout and also directed them with appropriate and effective directions when needed.

What problems did we have on the shoot day, how did we solve them?

During shoot day, there weren’t many problems that occurred, however the few problems that arose were minor and easily solved. However, we had one larger issue, consisting of our time management, for instance, we unfortunately ran out of time and had to rush some of our last elements, and we didn’t achieve all the shots we had aimed to achieve. So therefore, if we had more time, we would have gained more footage to work with, although, the day went very fast. This was a good thing as well as bad, as many say, time fly’s when you’re having fun. As well as this, further smaller problems that erupted throughout the day, were small details, such as our main member, Juli’s earrings kept getting tangled, however we solved this by instructing her to fix it in shot but subtly. Similarly, we planned to include a coloured smoke grenade into our video, however they did not work, so therefore we couldn’t use them. Lastly, the battery for the camera kept running low which wasted some time, although we brought replaceable batteries with us as we were fully prepared with any issues.

Which part of the shoot did I think was most successful and why?

There were many successful parts to our shoot, however, I feel the most successful share of the day was the lip syncs we completed. For instance, the mid long shot of Juli lip-syncing amongst the green graffiti background was of most success. I felt the aesthetics and visuals were communicating effectively on camera and this created some visually pleasing footage. The green graffiti worked well alongside parts of Juli’s green outfit. I was very happy with this, as our plans had payed off and everything went to plan in this particular shot. Similarly, Juli performed particularly well in this element and suited this scene.

Which part of the shoot did I wish had gone better and why?

Throughout the day, I didn’t regret anything and everything we had shot went according to plan or fortunately better. However, I felt our time management could have gone better as we would of got more footage and been less stressed. If we had left earlier we could have achieved more elements which we had intended to, for instance, completing the sledgehammer scene, paint and flooding. Although, we knew previously knew our time was going to be limited due to filming on location, however we weren’t aware how quickly our time went. Due to this, some of the last shots were rushed and therefore the camera work for the last scenes could have been better.

How well do I think we managed our talent (actors)?

Considering I wasn’t directing our actors, Harvey managed our cast members particularly well, constantly reassuring their successful performances and kept motivating them. However, throughout the day we all made sure our talent was well suited, providing them with drinks and food throughout the day, but also keeping them warm and comfortable whenever. Our cast seemed to of enjoyed the day and didn’t show any hints of being tired or bored at any time, which was pleasing and relieving.

What was the part of the shoot I enjoyed the most?

Every task and job I took on I particularly enjoyed. However, I mostly enjoyed working with the camera. For instance, I mostly appreciated choosing the correct lens for the camera for each particular shot, as it was interesting seeing which lens to use. For example, either the 25mm, 500mm etc. This was fascinating as I gained a sense of control and enjoyed the choice. Similarly, I also enjoyed instructing the aesthetics of most rooms, for instance, highlighting where the spray paint should fall or where the lights should be placed as I am particularly engrossed and fondest of creating visually pleasing aspects. Lastly, I also really relished completing a hand held camera shot. I found this of most interest as it was a really clever and well positioned shot. I also enjoyed following Juli round the room capturing the best of her.

What am I looking forward to seeing the most in the edit?

As we shot many different lip syncs, I am looking forward to viewing these shots, however I am also longing to see the footage with the graffiti in the background, for instance, the footage being shot with the hand held camera was most fun and when I was filming these shots, I felt it went well and Juli was in focus even though I was constantly following her around the compacted room.

How well do I feel that my production group worked as a team?

I feel my group worked productively and effectively as a team as we all took on our assigned roles successfully and we each made appropriate, efficient suggestions when necessary. Similarly, no disagreements rose during the day, which was very beneficial. As a group we all get on very well and our intentions for our music video are very similar, therefore as a team it couldn’t of gone better.

Are there any lessons I learned today that could help me when making my next shoot even more successful?

From my shoot day, I learnt the appreciation of time as time goes very quickly, therefore I am further educated to always prepare constructively and thoroughly for specific shots and crucial elements to capture. Therefore, I understand time is valuable and previous. However, alongside time, I learnt it is beneficial to stay within your assigned role and engross yourself into your specific role. I recognise this is crucial as no time is wasted faffing about and most things work better with confidence. From considering this, I understand for any further shoots, I will always be aware of time management and possibly create a shot list to prevent time. Similarly, I will research even further into particular roles and gain tips and tricks for specific parts, to prevent time wasting in future work.

Are there any changes we might need to make to your website and artwork, in order for them to fit in with the video that you have shot?

Lastly, I feel the video went according to plan and I am excited to see the results. Due to this, no changes or alters need to be made in preparation for our website and artwork as our footage includes most of our intentions.