In Thursday’s class we had our first collaborative exercise with the creative writing students. After writing a script based on a random character and action, the task was to film one single take version, and one shoot to edit. Our script revolved around 18 year old soldier Brody who was ‘waiting for a train.’

It is always difficult to go straight into working with people before you get the chance to get to know them. I for one find it easier to be assertive when I’m comfortable with those around me. Nonetheless, our group meshed well with the mutual goal of producing a high quality product.

In the single take shoot, I volunteered to be one of the characters. I am usually an awkward being when it comes to being in front of the camera so doing this pushed the boundaries of my comfort zone. Anyway, it was relatively straightforward as all I had to do was to remember my lines and gestures (however it did prove more difficult than expected at first – curse my terrible memory) and I let the crew behind the camera direct the action.

For the second shoot, I was allocated the role of assistant director. Due to the casualness of the shoot however, I essentially became an all-rounder. Although I haven’t done a lot of filming for narrative before, I was able to finally put a lot of my built-up knowledge into practice. My understanding of the 180degree rule, framing and shot size certainly became useful, and although it was not my role to control these factors, I feel as though I made some valuable suggestions and offered some sound advice.

We initially encountered some issues when in came to audio due to the signal to noise ratio. To begin, we were using the on shot gun mic mounted on top of the camera. In order to lessen background noise, I suggested we use the extension cord and hold the mic closer to the signal to mimic the function of a boom mic. While this did improve the sound quality to some extent (and Jules got a good ab workout), we could not get the mic close enough without entering the frame. I then suggested that we try the lapel mic – this can be tricky to use when not wireless, but we made it work and it ended up being the best sound out all three options.

While I didn’t get a chance to watch all our footage back and evaluate it properly, I do think we managed to do a decent job. We worked well as a team and I think we were able to execute the script with relative success.