Shoot one – check! Our pre-production paid off as our first shoot ran pretty smoothly. As a whole, we were satisfied with the footage we obtained and got most of what we needed for scenes one and two. But what’s a shoot without a few complications? I’ll delve into the positive and negative outcomes below.

1. Casting
We were stoked to have our three cast members actually show up, arrive on time and be totally dedicated to their performance. Christina’s experience really translated onto the screen, as did her attitude and actions behind the scenes (making suggestions, asking questions etc.). Chris and Scott, although less experienced, certainly put their best foot forward and pleasantly surprised us with their performance. Scott in particular, though struggling at first to remember his lines, captured the essence of Ted perfectly. So a big thanks and well done to our wonderful cast!!

Unfortunately on the day we found out that it was our Christina would not be available for a second shoot. While we were informed a few weeks prior that she would be going away in or week or so, we were under the impression that there may be some time before then that we could catch her. We found out on the day that this wouldn’t be possible, which put is in a bit of a pickle as the second part of our concept revolved around her character, Emily. Forced to re-think things after the shoot, we turned the setback around as we decided to transform the story into a ‘missing-persons-unit’ and have Damien as our new protagonist – Psycho style. I was proud of our efforts to come up with this alternative scenario by working with the limited resources we had.

2. Time
Timing wise, our call sheet was pretty much on the money. In saying that, I was secretly hoping we’d get through it quicker than expected so we could do MORE than what was scheduled. In the event of this rare scenario, I had an array of thriller-esque shots planned, as the scenes we were shooting on the day simply set up the scene. As expected though, we ran out of time and only had time to complete the scenes rather than delving into the more intense, thrilling moments. I acknowledge that setting the scene was our priority on the day however – hence why it was only this that I wrote into the call sheet – so I was satisfied that we were able to get that far. Hopefully we get a chance to hone in on the more thrilling content in our subsequent shoot.

Furthermore, due to time constraints we also needed to prioritise the shots with our cast in them, rather than the scenic establishing shots. Christina was of particular concern as she was no longer available for a second shoot, meaning we had one chance and one chance only to film the shots needed with her. We therefore needed to be selective and choose the shots that were absolutely necessary first, followed by those that were less so. Alex went through the shot list to determine the importance of shots listed to guide the order in which we did things. I suggested we put all the establishing shots to the side, as while they are integral to our film, I volunteered to get them by myself at a later date. In doing so, I must be mindful about weather conditions to ensure they mimic those of our shoot.

3. Conditions
Shooting outside is always a risk – especially in Melbourne! We were fortunate on the day however as we were blessed with the perfect mild temperature and cloudy skies. These were ideal conditions for shooting as a) we were not uncomfortably hot or cold; and b) clouds meant we didn’t have to deal with harsh shadows created by the sun. While wind was an issue at times, it was not excessive and we were able to work around it. It was extremely lucky that we delayed the shoot as the previous Tuesday saw constant rain and hail throughout the day. If we were burdened with poor conditions on the day, I feel like we would’ve had no choice but to cancel. Phew!

Shooting in public spaces also has it’s disadvantages in terms of public interferences. As the walking track along the river is a popular spot for Warrandytians, at times we needed to wait for passers-by and dogs to exit the frame. Luckily it was a fairly quiet day and we shot strategically along a stretch of track which is less frequently used, so the disruptions weren’t overly problematic.

4. Roles

Prior to shooting, we had allocated crew roles as follows:

Alex: Director
Laura: DA
Sarah: Sound op.
Bonnie: Camera op.

On the day however, we ended up chopping and changing a fair bit between roles. While Sarah remained committed to sound, Alex, Bonnie and I switched it up between being director, DA and camera operator. I use the term director loosely however as we all worked together to get the perfect shot – each making suggestions and assuming varied levels of creative control. At times this approach led to conflictions of opinions, but at the end of the day we always prioritised what was most logical as we held the mutual goal of producing a high quality outcome. Communication was key in this situation in order to ensure we were each being fair and just, whilst being mindful not to put anyone down.

5. Name
Oh! An exciting moment of the shoot was coming up with our new title! As we were entering the state park via Tills Dr, Alex noticed a sign that said Black Flat – the actual name of the state park our film would be based in. This was so much more fitting than “The Pines” and it conveniently sounded quite dark and mysterious, in line with our film’s concept. Yay for productive coincidences!

Overall, I was very happy with how this shoot went down. We worked well as a team and exerted a degree of professionalism through our engagements with cast and our ability to work under pressure. We relied heavily on our carefully prepared pre-production documents, which effectively allowed for maximum efficiency. For my first formal shoot for a narrative piece of work, I felt as though we collectively had a strong grasp on what we needed to do and how to do it with relative success. Our experience on set certainly will serve as a valuable learning experience for future projects down the track. Hands in, go team!