WEEK 10 – Shooting
2-10-2023
Shooting this film almost caught me off guard as it felt like such a quick turnaround from when we pitched. I have always felt unprepared when going into a shoot but this time it was even worse due to the lack of space between our production and pre-production days. I have never directed something with more than two other people so working with a crew even though it is only a small size which was something that was new and a little daunting to me. I found myself constantly worried about whether or not everything was going smoothly, with both the filming and the crew in general. As someone who usually struggles to divide workloads and ends up as a bit of a control freak, I found it somewhat relieving as everything was going smoothly. Taking turns behind the camera to do different shots and setting up the lights differently was definitely the way to go. Although I personally still found it stressful it was nice that I was able to rely on both Joey and Phoebe who had a good understanding and knew exactly what had to be done for the filming process to be successful.

It felt like a lot of new experiences; using a camera I had never ever heard of before, using a lighting set-up, and working with a crew and a cast. It all felt like the deep end but at the same time gave what we were making a feeling of legitimacy.

I think that the fact that we were shooting a party made it a little easier, as I didn’t necessarily have to worry about whether the extras had anything to do and if they were bored or not. This was obviously because they were able to just enjoy the party. I also like the authentic feel this gave to our party by actually hosting a party scene, rather than just framing it as one and bringing props and set pieces that make it feel more like a shoot to the people on camera. We kept tripod shots to a minimum and in hindsight, I feel like it is because of this. When you think of a house party your mind doesn’t exactly sprint to the thought of intricate locked-off shots.

With this being said I did still have a fairly clear understanding of what I wanted to shoot…