Transitions Unit - Location Recce 2

With a new idea, this meant reconsidering locations. I wanted something that could reflect the middle class background and that would work with the vision I was having in my head. I instantly thought about using a house from a family member as it would be perfect for what I was trying to achieve. The first thought was a converted barn that we could use in East Malling. I went to visit but after I looked around I felt it didn't really convey what I was imagining. practically there were a lot of issues with stairs and the whole house was very open planned, It had a very traditional style as well and I was imagining something a bit more modern.

I next went with the group to a woman I know called Carolyn. We had a look round and took some pictures of different rooms. I got a more modern feel to the place and I started to imagine the scenes in each room. There were also a lot of corridors which I felt would look great to film in and add atmosphere and depth if we filmed it on a track. You can see some photos of the location below:

There were TV's in the 2 rooms (the bedroom, the living room) which would work great, the space was large enough to get the shots I needed but also created a claustrophobic feel when walking down corridors and not knowing whats round the corner. It was also great blocking wise as the house had a really good flow from scene to scene.

Outside of the house was a Lane which is privately owned by the residents of the road. I spoke to Carolyn about the possibility of using it for the outside scenes. She agreed that this would be fine to use if we made sure that it's ok with the neighbours and I feel the lane is perfect visually.

Overall we all agreed that is would be the ideal location and we feel this is the best place for the project.

Transitions Unit - Final Casting Decision

Since the change of the idea that meant we didn't need the character that we had originally advertised for on mandy.com. This meant I needed to have a think about who I wanted to play this new character. Having seen who had applied for the previous role and looking at the showreels, I thought that a woman called Claudia had strong potential. She had a really strong showreel and stood out amongst all of the other people. She also had a lot of experience and had the right look in terms of age and what I imagined the character to look like. I contacted her asking if she would be interested in the new project we were thinking of and explained what it would be. She agreed that she would love to play the new character and after checking the amended shooting dates and discussing with the team, I offered her the position of the role.

Following this, I gave her a phone call explaining exactly what I needed from her and to familiarise ourselves with each other. Immediately it broke the ice of speaking to each other before the shoot day itself and made the whole thing a lot more professional.

Transitions Unit - RESEARCH Track And Dolly

Since I want to create fluid motion, I did some research into using a track and dolly. After looking at several videos, this one really stood out for me.

The video explains the difference between using zoom shots and dolly shots. It starts of by stating that the idea of a dolly shot is to move the camera smoothly through a scene. The first move is a push or pull where the camera is the eyes of the audience looking at a subject and walking towards or away from it. The second is a tracking shot where you are following the subject from the side but also in front or behind them to move the audience through the space. This i found particular interesting and It goes on to state that the these shots make the audience feel like they're there and forcing them into danger with the character. I would love to emulate something like this as I feel it would be really effective with the scene we are doing. With zooms its more about magnification and is not physically moving you through the space but more focusing on certain aspects of a scene.

From this I have learnt that its not just about making the film look nice, but also to take the audience on a journey and forcing them to feel how I want them to feel. If a moment is tense or has a searching feel to it, the dolly would be great to get the audience to feel they are exploring round every corner with the character.

You can also see the differences on this shot below:

Personally I feel this for the production we are doing, the dolly would work much better than a zoom. The zoom, if not used right, can make a production look cheap and with the shots I have in mind and what I am trying to convey, the dolly works a lot better for a cleaner and more suspenseful approach. 

As Live Production Unit - Critical Evaluation

This unit has taught me so much over the last few months. Although I knew I was talking on a big role of the production I couldn't have imagined how intense and how much work was required of me before starting it.

Pitching

We started off in small groups and we were told to come up with an idea for a 30 minute live TV show. Myself, Drey and Jemma first of all broke down the brief to understand what was fully required of us. This was a great move as we could understand all the logistics of what to work out for when it came to pitching. We first of all had the idea of a dating show but after feedback, we all agreed that this show was beginning to become more and more difficult to what was required to get the show commissioned. We decided that the idea was not doable anymore and started afresh. We next had the idea to look at something to do with fear. We have done a few projects in the past under this topic with good success so this was something we felt could progress us forward into a game show. After long discussions and trying to come up structure, we came to the conclusion that this would not be a viable idea and again went back to the drawing board. At this point we had lost a lot of time and needed something that would work. We finally settled on a game show called 'Prove Them Wrong' which we all felt we could work with. We came up with solid rounds and felt the show had a good structure that we developed into our final pitch. When it came to pitching it went very well as we were told we were confident in our idea and very clear as well as a lot of detail that was covered. Although we were not commissioned I am still proud of what we had achieved and feel we all worked hard to deliver a good, strong pitch. My only negative for this part of the unit was I feel we didn't have as much time as we would have liked due to the fact we changed our idea twice but I stand by the belief that its better to change it to something more viable and workable that everyone is confident in than to pitch something we were not happy about. We managed our time efficiently towards the end in order to provide the content and the logistics of the show when it came to pitching.

Studio Pre Production

As director I wanted be prepared as much as I possibly could. I had done a lot of research into what is expected from me for my job role and how multi cam shows are directed. I was very involved in elevating the ideas that the producers had already came up with and putting my vision across. We had several meeting to generate a structure although this was quite difficult as we all kept hitting dead ends about the shows direction in terms of content. When we had our first lecture with del, the structure was put into place and we then knew what bits needed more research to have content for the show. Once this was established we all went away and researched more into fashion. I wanted to make sure that If I was directing a show about fashion that I knew about it as much as I could so I took the time to research its background. I also looked into trends of whats coming up as I know this is a vital part of my show. Through several production meetings and relaying to the group, we were all moving forward and could start piecing a show together. I would have liked to do more research into this but I was trying to concentrate more on the shows aesthetic and how I was going to run it. I feel I contributed a lot to the meetings and was able to lead the team in the right direction. 

Once the show was in place, the producers started to put a rough script together. This was great as I was able to start testing my ideas. I organised with Melissa, Laura, Jason and alex to do a mock up in on of the lecture rooms to go through a basic run through of camera movements and blocking. We hired 3 cameras and tripods as well as taping a catwalk to the floor and moved sofas all into the room so we could get the layout of the set as much as possible. I had also produced a shot list with all the camera movements and the shot types as well as a camera plan for the 3 cameras. Overall I was very happy with how this went as the crew were able to understand where I was heading and we were able to roughly see how it would work. There were a few issues with shot types and the way the cameras moved round each other which I had not foreseen but I was able to see what worked and what didn't. 

Over the next coming weeks I was able to liaise with different departments with the producers and the other director on how we wanted the show to look in terms of VT's, Graphics and promotion as well as talk to the researchers about where they were with contributors and location approvals. I felt I handled this well and made sure each department was happy with what we were going for. 

The next main thing I needed to sort was the script. The producers had finished their dialogue and I needed to put my visuals on the left hand side. I had done a lot of research into the format and how I needed to lay it out and I feel I produced a great script that had all the information on it and to a professional standard. I was also working with a camera plan alongside so that I could visualise the space and where they would all need to go. Another thing I had to think about was the presenters and where they were going to be at each point. This was also added onto the script. After several versions, we were all happy by the 5th one and this is the one we used in the final show. 

Myself and the other director Gavin worked on a lighting plan as this was something that was needed in order to make sure the set would be lit properly. We discussed what we wanted with a professional lighting engineer called Jon who was helpful when we expressed our ideas. Once we knew how everything worked, we sat down together and drew up several plans together including a floor plan, set plan and then the lighting plan of where the lights would go. We wanted it to be as professional as possible so we looked at some diagrams from books showing us what lighting plans looked like. Once these were drawn up and we were happy with them, we sent them off to Jon so he knew exactly what we wanted. The negative to this section was that I didn't really know a great deal about lighting plans and although we had done some research, I wish that I had looked into it in more depth so I could go beyond just what we had planned. 

With casting, I wanted to make sure the presenters fitted the tone that I was envisioning for the show. After Jack had given us profile sheets of all the presenters that had applied, myself and Gavin arrange Skype interviews to see who was suitable for an audition. We went to a coffee shop and Skyped some of the applicants that we arranged for that day. We wrote notes and had long discussions about each one as we was aware that there expenses would have to be paid and it would come out of the group budget so we only wanted people to come for an audition if we felt they had potential. Unfortunately I couldn't make the next day of Skype interviews as I had a family funeral to attend but Gavin ensured me that the remaining interviews would be recorded so I could look at them. Once the interviews were over we decided on 3 boys and 2 girls that we would take forward to the auditions. One girl dropped out and we hadn't planned for a back up so this was a downfall on my part as I should have considered this might happen. When moving forward to the audition it was on the same day as a workshop so we had to split it into halves with myself, Katie and Jemma taking the first half of the auditions and Gavin, Melissa and Victoria taking the second half. We did this so that we would have one director, one producer, and one production manager in each half. This was important as when we came to the end of it we all discussed who we liked and who we thought worked well as a pair for chemistry. We settled on Alfie and Adeline to be our two presenters for the show and I am very happy about this decision as I feel they had great chemistry between them and were the strongest out of everyone. 

Production

When it came to the rehearsals, this is where the problems started for me. Although I knew the script inside out and had matched all the visuals together, putting it into practice was a lot more challenging than I first thought. Multi tasking was the hardest thing I had to get to grips with. There was a lot going on with looking at the monitors to see the camera shots, cueing the graphics in at the right time, rolling the VT's at the right moment, checking the sound was in at the right points and cueing the presenters in. Whilst I was focusing on one thing, I found myself forgetting to remember other bits and this lead to me losing my place on the script not knowing where I was. After several rehearsals I finally got to grips with it and started to get the hang of things but one of the rehearsals near the end became all too much as there was yet more to concentrate on and the script had changed. I became stressed and frustrated with myself which only lead to things getting worse. Although I was still calm and respectful towards all my crew, It took me the time to step away from the whole thing to realise that the stress was only making things worse. After realising my errors I read my script over several times and turned up to the next rehearsal very calm. By the end of the day, the rehearsals were running really well and I noticed a major improvement in my directing. I was being patient and calm but also more assertive with the crew to what I wanted and this helped a lot. 

When It came to transmission day I was a little nervous on the day but I felt I knew the script well and had good run throughs with the last rehearsal. The set had also been rigged at this point so all issues like making sure cameras were not capturing off the set had all been ironed out. When it came to the live broadcast, I felt I delivered a really clean show that looked as professional as I could get it to the time I had. There were a few little errors but everything ran well and to schedule. I also made sure I attended to every department to make sure they were all ready when it came to the transmission. If I had more time I would have liked to have more movement like using the track and dolly or the Jib but I felt I had worked well with the time I had and the standard I got it to. 

This Unit is one of the hardest challenges I have ever had to take on but it has taught me a lot about the role and me as a person. With confidence and commitment as well as patience and perseverance, I was able to direct a something I had never done before and do it to a good standard that I am very proud of. 

Transitions Unit - The Change Of Our Final Idea

After a lot of deliberation I decided to sit down with the group and we all discussed the concerns we were having about the project. We all agreed that we were very restricted with time for the project that we have planned to do. The budget was very tight and we were considering hiring 4 - 6 actors to take part which would be very expensive in travel fees and food. The Permissions were becoming very difficult in the time we had as we were not having people reply to us. We all feel that having more time and money to pour into the project would allow the production to continue but unfortunately this  is not the case as when planning it would take 4 days to film all the scenes we needed. We were also worried that the project would look rushed and we wouldn't be able to pull together to create the standard of work we would all be happy with.

I also felt as a director I was not putting my own stamp on the video enough with the style I want to achieve. The video is already very smooth, cinematic and has all the shots I would like to experiment with. After we all discussed and weighed up the options, I decided that we would have to disregard this idea for the unit and move onto something much simpler that we would be able to create a high quality piece of work and that I could really change and put my own inspirations into.

We were looking around for a new idea and I came across a series on Netflix called 'Black Mirror'. This I felt would be very interesting as it was completely different to what we had looked at before. I found and episode called 'White Bear' (Season 2 Episode 2) that I felt was exciting and gripping all the way through. More importantly, I was watching the opening sequence and really felt I could create my own stamp as a director on this scene. The original scene is very hand held, rough, shaky and bleak.

When watching the scene I felt I could make this really different and my own take on it. I could take the mystery of whats happening to this lower class female and turn her into someone who is more middle/ upper class and possibly from a more wealthier background. With a lot of perception that money brings happiness to an extent and an easier life, and that peoples lives from this class have a lot less problems in regards to the particular crime the episode deals with, it could shatter that illusion. Also I was feeling that I could put my cinematic/ American inspirations into this piece creating smooth tracking shots and possibly drone shots to reflect the background of what we are shooting and to add depth.

I put forward the idea to the group and everyone was on board, the scenes were basic but with my added vision onto the piece we could really elevate this onto a different level. I feel we have made the right choice and will move forward with more of the pre production stage to make it all work.

As Live Production Unit - Final Rehearsals And Transmission

On rigging day, I was in from 8am to be sure I could go over my notes and prepare for our last full rehearsal. As the set was being rigged downstairs Me and Gavin went down to watch the set being built and liased with the lighting team and set set design team to make sure everything was in order. We felt this was important as if there was any questions they needed to ask us then we were there to answer them. By 11am the set was built and we was very happy with the final result and how it looked.

Although it was discussed that at 9.00am was our call time, some members of the team were late due to traffic so the rehearsal got held back slightly as the set design and lighting team were all ready to go. Once the whole team were there everyone was on talk back and we were ready to start rehearsing with the set for the first time. This raised a few issues like making sure the framing was right and that the camera wasnt displaying over the edge of the set. The wall from behind the set into the soft area also had a gap where you could see back stage when the cameras were at certain angles to I had to make sure none of the shots could see this.

I had learnt from the last rehearsal that being stressed doesnt get you anywhere and that remaining calm and collected was the way I had to be. Over the 3 run throughs, everything had gone well. I didnt lose my place on the script, I was hitting all the stings, music and cues at the right time and the show looked cleaner and more professional. I felt alot more confident that I was at a level where I could direct this show to the standard I wanted it to be at.

We all went for an early lunch and then was back in the studio for 1pm where everyone was preparing for the real transmission. I was liaising with all departments over talk back to ensure everyone was on track and ready to go for 2pm. All crew responded that everything was fine and that we were all ready to transmission. We then got the audience in and seated and made our final checks. I was begining to get nervous but I remained calm as I knew I needed to be for the show to go as well as it could do.

When we transmissioned I felt it went really well. I was able to direct all the departments including the lighting, music, cameras, VT's and graphics in a proffesional manner that was on time and looked clean on screen. Over all I am very happy with how my half of the show went and pleased I accomplished what I found very difficult to begin with.

As Live Production Unit - Production Meeting Six: Final meeting

Today we had our final meeting with Jo, Simon and the team to discuss last minute updates before we transmission in 2 days time. We first discussed about the VT's as the department assured that all VT's were cut and ready to go. There is only one change and that is with the VT teaser as the font still needs to be changed for that. All the promo team is up to date and complete with the titles finished and all cut together with the new footage.

We then discussed the running order for the next couple of days. The set is being picked up later today by Ferg and is going to be brought over to the studios from rochester. Tomorrow the set design team will be over early morning and will begin constructing the set pieces together hopefully finished by 11am so we can rehearse for the rest of the day with the set. The lighting team will also be in that day to ensure lighting is set up and complete. On transmission day, everyone should be in for 9am so we can rehearse for half 9 and keep going till lunch time. All crew should be in black except directors  and everyone should have a final copy of the script ready to use.

After this final meeting I feel we are ready as a team and are prepared for the transmission date. All Pre production is complete apart from a few very small things and everyone is aware of the schedule and what is expected of them.

Transitions Unit - RESEARCH Michael Uppendahl (Director)

Michael Uppendahl is an American Director who has worked on films and television drama episodes. Born in New York, he had an education of film and television before getting his first major break through as an assistant director. From this he moved onto Directing and has since directed shows like 'American Horror Story', 'The Walking Dead' and 'Mad Men'.

Uppendahl first started his directing career on the show 'Becker', a sitcom set in New York focusing on the life of a doctor who runs a small surgery and the different people that are in his life. From there he went on to directing episodes for the Hit US TV show 'Mad Men'. This is where Michael Uppendahl really found his feet. He received a huge amount of critical acclaim by the way he had done the episodes and fully projected himself as a reputable director in the industry. After this he worked on more popular US TV shows such as 'American Horror Story', 'Glee' and 'The Walking Dead'.

You can view some clips of his work below:

Glee: Series 3 - Episode 18 (Choke)

The Walking Dead: Season 4 - Episode 6 (Live Bait)

American Horror Story was the work that I was really inspired by that he did. Please look at the clip below:


American Horror Story: Season 2 - Episode 4 (I Am Anne Frank Part One)

Through out the clip you can see the types of shots Michael has used. The camera starts off stationary and then as the characters walk it glides smoothly to follow them. The shot then switches to the front of them continuing in a gliding motion. This is a really nice effect and I would love to do something like this when it comes to making production.

When there are two characters in the scene, the camera cuts back and forth quite a lot depending on who is talking with a range of close ups, wides and mid shots to give variety to the scene. This is something I will consider as it allows the production to flow seamlessly but gives a sense of purpose to who is talking.

As the episode changes to the operating scene there is a change in pace. Shots are quickly cut together with close ups and mid shots to build tension and to heighten intensity. I will be sure to get a wide range of shots if we are doing an intense scene as I feel this works really well. In contrast to the scene before, although tense, its a different kind of tension that uses its progression slowly to make the audience feel more suspense.

Transitions Unit - RESEARCH The Handmaids Tale & Mike Barker (Director)

When looking at TV shows to find inspiration, the first one that really stood out for me was 'The Handmaids Tale'. You can watch the trailer below:

Movement

I watched the 4th episode of the 1st season and the first thing that stood out for me was movement. As the characters moved the camera would track them in a gliding elegant way. It would experiment with all directions from different angles to add really interesting depth to what we were watching. There is one particular shot where the characters are walking and the director uses a profile shot that glides along with them which looked really nice. Some of the tracking movements would be followed with a pan so this was a nice smooth movement that looked really nice and I would love to use that as a shot when I'm directing. 

When panning, quite often it would be used really well to reveal something. The camera would be focused on the character and then pan to something that would be quite shocking. This I felt was really effective and I will take this on board for reveal shots. 

Throughout the whole episode the camera was static on conversation but to elevate and to add drama, the smooth tracking shots really made the piece look and feel high end and this is something I would love to attempt. 

Shot Types

The episode uses a range of different shots to to portray different things and to make the piece more varied and interesting. The shots start with Extreme close ups to the characters faces and then change to wides, mid shots and close ups. Being able to cut to different shots allows the production to flow really well and I will take this on board when writing the shot list to ensure I have enough coverage for each scene. When there is a tense moment in the episode, the shots are slowed down and pro longed to heighten atmosphere and when something shocking and dramatic is happening the shots get faster together. I need to ensure that we get the right shots so that when it comes to the edit the pacing can be created in the edit. 

The Style

The style of the episode is very cinematic. Although its the D.O.P.s job to translate the style, I feel its important for me to know what type of style would work well with the project to relay to them. I feel this style is really beautiful with the colour, tone and movement. I would love for the D.O.P to incorporate this look into their ideas.

You can see a clip of the episode I'm talking about below: 

The Original Director Of The Episode

This episode was directed by Mike Barker who is a British director who has previously worked on TV shows like 'Broadchurch' and 'The Tunnel'. Mikes signature statement is the long flowing shots and Ariel views. He often creates drama and really intense moments by adding a haunting score and slow moving shots to build tension. You can see an example in this clip of 'Broadchurch' at 03.00minutes:

There is also a wide range of shots. From Close ups, long shots, wide shots and mid shots, there is a lot of coverage to allow the clip to flow and to stop shots from being really long when unnecessary. The framing is well thought out aswell as in the conversational piece at the start we see both of them singular and centre frame but when it cuts to the other person you can still see the person they are talking to just in frame. When its important to establish where they are like for example the Vicar, he is positioned to the right of frame so that we can see the background of the graveyard ensuring we can further establish this. 

Transitions Unit - Casting

Since the project has been green lighted, I then got straight on to the website mandy which I have used in the past to source actors for projects. I entered the Location of where we were planning to film, the salary which would be food and expenses, the dates we were looking to film and a brief overview of the project we are looking to produce. You can see this below:

I then created character profiles of what we were looking for so that the actors would be able to apply for each role. Since I decided that the gender roles would be switched, I ensured that each character profile would be described to how I visualised it being reversed so that I can get the right kind of applicants to apply. 

After approval this went out live and people I started to get people applying for each role. I sat down and looked at each applicant individually. As there is a lot of characters for each role, I wanted to ensure I was looking at each show reel and that they would fit with how I wanted the production to look filtering them into yes, no and maybe. I also took into consideration their location due to expenses. You can see a couple of examples below: 

I will continue this process until I have enough for Skype interviews and then finally pick the cast.

As Live Production Unit - Script Final Version

Over the course of the coming weeks I have been talking closely with the producers to finalise my part of the script. As mentioned in a previous post I created a first draft which was correctly formatted and layed out how everyone wanted it to. The visuals of each camera were clearly displayed with the number and framing. It also shows where the graphics come in and out and the stings as well.  There was also camera movement which worked with the camera plan. You can see the first two pages below:

Moving forward with this script we developed this with versions 3, 4 and was able to come to our final 5th script. The dialogue had changed quite a bit through versions 2, 3 and 4 so my side had to be ajusted to make sure it all still married up with the words. Also throughout rehearsals I was able to understand that I was making it a lot more complicated than I needed it to be so taking some shots out were important.

You can see below the first 3 pages of the final script and how its a lot more simpler to create a cleaner look for the show. 

I have put as directed on a few shots incase I want to add any shots in there so the crew can be prepared but I am planning to stick with it being a lot more simpler and cleaner. Once the dialogue had been established in version 4 there wasnt so many changes in my part of the script but from the first version the script has changed quite a lot to help accomodate the show and to make it all flow better.

Overall I am very happy with the final script and feel confident enough if I was to write one again in the future.

Transitions Unit - The Pitch and Feedback

Today we pitched to Simon and the other groups our idea of the music video. We stood up and presented with a powerpoint that we all sat down and created together which you can see below:

With this pitch we started off with our roles that we are going to undertake. This is me as the Director, Drey as the Director Of Photography and George Nicholls as the editor. We then talked about what the project was stating that it was a music video, it's going to be 5 minutes in length and that it's not a typical pop video but more narrative focused. This was important to keep it short, direct and to the point. Next, we felt it was important to show the music video so that everyone could get an idea of what we were looking to re-create following with a slide that explained why we made this choice. We explained that it was unique and something we all had never done before creating a new challenge we could all experience.

Following this, we moved onto our roles in more detail as we felt it was important that everyone was clear who was doing what and their responsibilities for the project. Since we have no producer for the project, I will be taking leadership as I know the director would be involved in the process of pre production liaising with all the departments to ensure his or her vision is being put across and makes important decisions on casting, locations, costume and the aesthetic towards the production. Since this is a big task, Drey and George are also going to help contributing with recce's and research. I explained that I wanted the vibe of the video to still be cinematic but keeping the backwards narrative and reversing the characters genders.

We then talked about the main characters that we are focusing on for the video followed by the casting for the project explaining I will put an advert out on casting call pro once the project gets the green light and I have already been in contact with some previous people I have worked with to get the ball rolling. With locations, myself and the group have already done location recce's so this was good to show exactly what I had in mind for vision. We finally ended on the dates we are planning to shoot as well as answering questions anyone had.

In terms of feedback, It was mainly positive with people asking to explain more about the concept and what we are doing to elevate it further. People were particularly interested in the choice to switch the genders and create a new perspective of whats being done on screen. The project has been greenlighted and we will now work to a tight schedule to make sure everything will be ready for the production.

As Live Production Unit - Third Rehearsal

This will be our final rehearsal before our transmission week. Del wanted 3 full run-throughs of the show by the afternoon so we had the morning to practice on a few things we were unsure about. This for me had to be my hardest rehearsal days.

We had all the real VT's, Graphics, Stings and music and this was my first time tying them all together and making it all work. I struggled a lot with the timings, the cues and getting everything appearing when they were meant to. This for me was disheartening as I had worked so hard on the last rehearsal and felt like it was all coming together. Multi taking was the biggest issue for me as I was trying to do so many things at once and it was really difficult getting it all in the right order. The stings I kept missing and as a result of trying to multi task I was losing my place on the script constantly which then led the show to stop and start again.

With my difficulties this led me into a bit of a panic as I felt I was going round in circles and the show is transmissioned next week. Taking a step back from it, this was probably my main downfall of why the rehearsal did not go as planned. Rather than in previous rehearsals keeping calm and collected, I let stress get the better of me which caused a domino effect for everything else rather than pulling it all together. This is something I have learned and I will not let stress affect me in next weeks rehearsal and transmission day. I have proven in the last rehearsal that I've got the skill and the ability to do it I just need to keep calm and feel confident in myself to direct the show.

I will take a lot from this rehearsal and I'm glad that if its going to happen and highlight anything id rather it be now than on transmission week. I will ensure that I stay calm and believe that I can direct this show to my full potential.

Transitions Unit - Location Recce

In order to prepare for the shoot we all decided to take a day looking at locations. This was important for me as I could begin to visualise where we were going to shoot and what type of shots I could get in different places.

Since the majority of the video was quite rural, we first had a look at a field in a place called Other. The field is large and secluded with a picturesque view of a track and church in the background. Since one of the scenes would be set at a church, we felt that this would work perfectly with what I am looking to achieve. You can view some photos I took below:

Otham Field

The next location we looked at was a park called 'The White Horse Wood Country Park'. This was again rural but had a different look to Otham. The best thing about this location was the view. It had a nice open space and was on top of the North Downs so you could see for miles over Maidstone. This really appeals to me and the sort of shots I would like to get but I also like the look of the location before so I would like to mix the two together. You can see a picture of it below:


White Horse Wood Country Park

I am very happy with these locations and if the project gets the green light at the pitch I will ensure to source permissions for these places. 

Transitions Unit - RESEARCH How To Direct A Short Film

When looking at tips to improve how to direct on a shoot I came across a website called geeks.media that gave some simple but useful tips for any director to take on board. The first was punctuality. It explained that the director should always be one of the first people on set. This is so that when other crew arrive you are there to tell them what you need in order to set up and keep the shoot organised before you even start. It also looks professional for other crew arriving to see the director there and ready to tell information and give any notes. The director should know what is happening throughout the entire day and have a clear schedule of what is happening, how it's going to happen and when.

The next tip was about morale. It is important on any shoot to make sure everyone is in high spirits and to get the best productivity you can out of everyone. If frustrations occur or someone is in a negative mood, the director should try to solve the problem by either taking a break to allow everyone to get back to their highest productivity level or to take a person aside and try and fix the problem. The worst thing on a shoot is negativity or arguments as it looks unprofessional and can let the work slide. Its also important for a director to keep everyone calm and reassure them in what they are doing. Appreciation and being polite about re shooting reinforces dedication and a good work ethic.

The final tip was about working with talent. The article explained that I should be as clear as possible when giving direction. Instead of saying to them "give me more" you should be telling them what more you want them to give you allowing the actors to know exactly what you want from them. Blocking should be mapped out to them in every scene and this will make them feel comfortable and in control allowing them to perform at their best. I will take all of these tips on board when it comes to directing my shoot.

I next came across a video from people who work on productions that gave advise on directing a film.  You can see this video below:

The first person makes a good point that a director should be making a film that he or she wants to see. There is no point doing something if you are not 100% behind it and passionate about what your filming. This can be said about narrative but mainly how you want to convey that narrative by the types of shots you are getting. The next man called Stephen Tolkin who is a director explained that one of the most important things whilst being a director on a photo shoot is ensuring you get lots and lots of coverage. Don't assume that if a shot looks nice, its going to be enough. Getting close ups, different angles, movements and changes in the dialogue can really help when it comes to using takes for the final edit, it's all about having choice.

From a talents perspective, Jennifer Grey explains that casting is a really important factor to any production. Have a good idea of what the character looks like but don't be afraid for that to adjust in some ways to give you better acting and a more solid performance. She then explains that its all about crafting a moment on set, the weather can change, difficulties can arise and things may not be how you pictured it to go but its all about working with the moment you have got and making it work.

Andrew McCarthy gave a really good point about decisions. He explained that in order to be a good director, you have to be prepared to make decisions. When someone asks you a question, rather than sitting there pondering and unsure what one to go with in something like lighting colour or the way a shot moves, be honest with your own vision and then be direct, this will ensure you get the vision you are picturing but it also reassures the crew you know what your doing and what you want out of them.

This insight from industry professionals has really helped me to learn what makes a good director and will help me when it comes to shooting the production for this unit. I understand I need to be clear and direct with everyone as well as crafting the moment onto screen.