Over the weekend I attempted the task of moving the gear as a single person. This included the audio mixer, tripod and EX-3. I discovered it can be done on peak hour public transport. Not comfortably but it was ultimately manageable. In terms of what I ended up shooting, I should probably feel a little guilty. I had the full intentions of either coming up with a extra short film I could shoot with my brother and a couple of friends or a documentary that would (unfortunately) be centered around an interview. As the mid-semester break disappeared I found I didn’t have the idea for a short film or an interesting subject to interview. So in the end I managed to get a couple hours of camera experience, interviewing both my dad and brother. The footage is incredibly disinteresting and mundane but I feel that even in the couple of hours I was able to familiarise myself with the EX-3 a little better. Due to the fact I was on my own I had to set up both the mixer and camera. This was valuable because it showed me what it would be like to shoot a documentary on my own. It was good in the sense that I had complete control but also challenging in the sense I had no one to help with any issues or to closely monitor sound as I manned the camera. As it was just a stationary interview I was able to position the microphone close to the subject and just keep an eye on the audio levels. If I was shooting anything that involved moving actors I would have to resort to either on board microphones or to enlist someone to keep track of audio.
Over the next couple of weeks I’m eager to borrow the EX-3 and shoot a short drama piece. I seemed to have focused fairly heavily upon documentary so far in semester. Focusing on drama I’ll be able to see if I have the ability to envision, write and then shoot a short film. What I hope to set out and complete is a fairly rudimentary short film, the process of its creation being more important than the final film.
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