Today I filmed all the shots I needed apart from the flashbacks (which will be filmed at a different location another day). These shots mainly took place in Jamie's car and the office in Rochester.
The day started off quite slow as I wasn't fully prepared with my idea, and still had decisions to make. Luckily I thought of this in advance, which is why I met up with Jamie (actor) and Chris (camera operator) in the morning, so we had a lot of time to film. After a brainstorm with everyone, I finally decided on what I wanted to do and gave the brief so everyone was on the same wave length. One positive aspect of this project is the fact the actor doesn't necessarily have to remember lines, which gave Jamie a lot pressure while delivering his performance. This meant he had 100% concentration on his emotions and facial expressions, as well as his actions.
We started off with the car scenes as I wanted to use the daylight while we had the chance. Due to my idea of making Jamie have one arm, I made the decision for it to be his right arm that is missing as this made it a lot easier for us to hide that fact in the car scenes (steering wheel on the right side of the car, therefore camera on the left). Once everyone was in position and knew what they were doing, we cracked on with all the shots. I have learnt from previous projects to get many shots in the same place so I can sequence it nicely in the edit. This meant getting close-ups of all the aspects of a typical car journey including seat belt, radio, gear change and mirrors.
After all the car scenes were finished, I decided to get us all a KFC as working on an empty stomach never goes well. "Food is Fuel" is my motto, and I will always make sure my colleagues and I are satisfied in terms of food and drink as I want the best performance from everyone, including me. We then went to the office, where Chris and I sorted out the desk to make it look as realistic as possible. This involved moving items around as well as tidying. Due to scouting the location beforehand, I knew exactly what props I wanted to use, therefore making the preparation time a lot faster.
We filmed all the office scenes with Chris on camera, and myself directing while also in charge of the lighting. I didn't have to focus too much on the lighting as I wanted the room to be quite dark to reinforce his sense of loneliness. I told Jamie to act more shaken up as I wanted my film to progress in terms of emotions, I wanted it to build up. This turned out great, as he did exactly what I asked and it helped give the film some emotion. Helen told me beforehand that she wanted to feel the actors pain and torment, so that's what I told Jamie and he did it superbly with the use of heavy breathing and facial expressions.
After a long day, it was finally a wrap and I was very pleased with Jamie's performance as he did exactly what I was looking for. I believe this was down to good communication within the team, as well as Jamie's outstanding acting skills. One thing I am worried about is the amount of shots I've got. I won't know how many good shots I have until I sit down and edit. I am also worried about the lighting of the last office scenes, as even though I wanted them dark, I don't want them to be so bad that you can't see Jamie's facial expressions.
Overall I am happy with how it went, and I am looking forward to filming the flashbacks on Thursday.
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