Upon attending my first 8:30am Friday class, I was eager to have a three hour session in which we could really get some experience working with the equipment. For the class exercise we had to capture an action with three different shots. Initially it felt odd and forced to use proper protocol (i.e “roll tape” and “sound” etc), however I could see the logic in it as it could help avoid disasters such as the sound failing to record. The seemingly extra effort whilst filming would save much more time (and possible heart-ache) in post production. For example in the past, whilst editing I had struggled to find my desired shot, but the use of a clap board would allow me to easily flip between footage. Each group member fell into their roles and I was charged with the task of first AD. For the first action we chose to have someone walk through the door passing from inside to outside. When it came to sound this was quite the challenge. We had set ourselves up for an up hill battle. For each hurdle that arose I had to come up with a solution. For example because our talent couldn’t hear when action was called I’d give a thumbs up as a cue. And when sound was an issue due to the boom being in the shot, I suggested we record inside and outside separately. Whilst I’m not entirely sure my methods are conventional or were even successful, I did discover that I quite liked the role of first AD. I enjoyed organising and coordinating our group and liked the problem solving element. I was always convinced that I wanted to be a director but this exercise showed me that there were possibly other roles I was more suited to. It made me realise that Film 3, due to its practical nature, can help me decide my place in the film industry.