Catnip:

As an already huge fan of cats and kittens I got very excited about Amy's shoot. Me and Amy both discovered how much of a good team we make as a pairing on the visual side of things. Both with similar styles and inspirations we bounced off one another with ideas in order to progress the film. Not only is it just visually but when it comes down to planning we work in the same way and think logically of light and time management. We used both a Sennheiser 416 Rifle Mic with a boom pole and Sony Lapel Mics for coverage of sound, as well as two cameras both for interviews and for animals around the cattery.

 

Following Amy through the post-production process as her assistant editor has been an utter pleasure. From helping her with sound levels, tweaking of visuals as well as some Super8 style coloured effects. I am very proud of Amy for all her hard work in the film and planning!

 

In general it was one of my favourite shoots this semester, Amy had a good crew that all worked well together as crew members and friends, was very relaxed whilst still having a structure and planned schedule, had a lovely location and contributors and it all ran very smoothly for everything we were in control of.



The Ultimate Guide To The Oatcake:

As an 'Oatcake Virgin' I was interesting in the film and it's concept as much as I was intrigued by what the oatcake really is and how it tasted. It's safe to say I have popped my 'Oatcake Cherry' and am a fan! It was really lovely to meet the people behind the busy and popular Oatcake shop in Stoke and finally taste one with the favored toppings of bacon and cheese.

 

George was a great director and wasn't shy to get to know his contributors and had real passion for his film, being a true Stokie and Oatcake lover himself. Was a great interviewer and he illustrated a tip to always engage with the contributors before hand and get to know them, allowing them to be more comfortable talking to him when being interviewed, and not put off by the 2 cameras in their faces.



Superhero Dad:

Whilst working with David Kazadi as part of the visual team again was a pleasure. He's a great camera operator, knows his stuff and is good fun to work with. It definitely helps the cast and crew to get along on set when others have a connection and can be socialable with everyone else. This crew most certainly taught me the importance of conversation, socialising and manners with your cast and crew. I have always been a bit shy on crews with people I have never worked with and am always polite and not 'bossy' enough but working with Stephanie she demonstrated that you can be a good director without being bossy or mean and get what you want from everyone. I am sincerely looking forward to see the finished film and would love to work with Stephanie and David again in the future.



Viking School:

Having worked with Josh Arnold over a dozen of times before it's always a pleasure to work with him on crews. It initially surprised me he had written a script with the tongue of Old Norse (Viking Language) but like all of filmmaking it's all about making those jumps and risks that you wouldn't see yourself doing or see anyone else doing for that matter.

 

I know I find myself mentioning planning a lot, and I'm not half bad at it, but I can't stress it enough! I feel if Josh shot all the exterior stuff first and then interior it would have been easier to light and could have even got nicer stylised lighting for the interior shots. 



My Name Is Joel:

Finding out Tom was also acting in his own story was something that I had not expected from a fellow film student. Watching him on set definitely told me he had a past of acting and theatrical like studies as sometimes we did find ourselves telling him to tone down the acting once or twice but overall the film had some raw emotions from both characters, yet we still had a great laugh on set and maintained a healthy level of socialising and work and allowing both actors to compose themselves for the next take.

The location was lovely, in the middle of nowhere mind you, but a quanit wee location. Saying that I filmed in a B&B and did plenty of research for cottages and quanit british homes and found plenty that were decorated in a nicer more tasteful manner, more modern and homely, cheaper and closer to Stoke-on-Trent compared to an hours drive along narrow and windy country roads.

 

All in all the shoot days went very smoothly and got everything Tom wanted and had a great fun in doing it all. One tip I learnt from Tom was not so much the side of filmmaking but the catering. A full and caffeine injected crew is a happy and hard-working, energetic and entertaining crew for sure!



Captured:

As my first shoot using green screen technology, and having an interest in visual effects, I was very intrigued to how everything would work and what was needed of me as a camera operator and Director of Photography in order to achieve what the director was envisioning. After struggles with lighting and set-ups on the first night* we were on full flow the next night and after helping with the overall fun atmosphere I feel it was a successful night.

 

The three things I learnt from this film shoot was to keep a good friendly and sociable atmosphere on set yet still maintain quick and hard-working momentum for the shoot. Do NOT put pressure on the actor(s) and make them as comfortable as possible, and finally... be as organised as you possible can be! Schedule your days and shots by positions and shot numbers down by the minute and get an authoritive Assisstant Director to keep track of time and shoots plan. 

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Pink Mist:

As lighting/gaffer I was excited to be able to control just one thing and have a rest from camera operation and working constantly for every shot. Turns out after running 85m of extension cable around the building of the library to put in three 650W lights ends up in a blown fuse somewhere along the line and therefore ended my job of lighting and resulting in a compromise of no lighting but ended up on sound recording. Sound is not my strongest point by far and am not a fan of it at all! The Marantz PMD661 machines we use are very temperamental and it showed it yet again. There was a horrible constant crackling through both microphone slots and the Sennheiser 416 Microphone through the XLR cables were just choosing to be awkward and not working. This then resulting in using the PMD661's internal mic. which left us with a nasty echo sound but without lapel mics it was all we could manage.

 

Due to this experience I would suggest test shoots in the future for electricity points and easy access for lighting and charging equipments. Always suggest testing gear before it leaves buildings for shoots or even have back-up equipment like seperate micrphones or audio mixers.

 

 

 

 

​Overall Experience:

Every minute of working on crews has been an experience, either learning from others on the crews, always learning from mistakes and misfortunes on set, networking with cast and crews or gaining more skills visually helping me to be a better filmamker. Overall I had great fun and made some amazing friends and contacts along the way! Am always thankful for every single person for giving me the opportunities to work with them and be on set and that does not change. The constant process of learning amazes me and you can always be educated from any set about anything and learn new wee tricks that are unknown and learnt from those with experience, or even for me to find out and teach other people. 





*Refer to directors/film page for more information. (Can be accessed by clicking film title.)