The main thing I was considering when observing how the actors delivered the dialogue was where I could position the zooms within the shots. As outlined in my director of photography statement in the pre-production unit, my shooting style for VET-MAN is characterised by its informal hand-held nature and minor zooms which create a natural observational feel. The zooms work to emphasise the comedy within the shots by highlighting certain actions or pieces of dialogue. Although my storyboard and shot list are already in development (meaning I have already decided where some zooms are placed within the shots), I can use my observations from this read through to adjust which pieces of dialogue and, therefore, which shots require zooms to emphasise the comedy.
From this rehearsal, I can tell that the shots that require zooms are likely to change when it comes to filming the scenes in the actual locations when the actors have space to fully perform the scenes. I will keep this in mind when creating the rest of my shot list - I will attempt to position the zooms in the correct positions in relation to where I think the comedy lies within the script. However, I will use the time in which the director blocks and rehearses with the actors at the beginning of the shoot days to make any adjustments to the zooms to make them feel as natural and effective as possible in emphasising the comedy. This rehearsal has shown me that the comedy is dependent on the delivery from the actors which, in turn, determines where I position my zooms to effectively highlight the humour within the shots. This shows to me that my storyboard and shot list will need to be used as a guide and not a strict list to follow - I need to be able to adapt my shots (in terms of where the zooms are positioned) to capture the most successful shots where the comedy stands out.
Further to helping me work out the necessary shot types for the production, this rehearsal was also a good opportunity to observe the chemistry between the characters. Again, whilst this is more useful for the director and the producer, ensuring the actors have the necessary chemistry with each other will help the whole production run a lot smoother as we will not have to waste time on shoot days making the actors re-do certain takes in order to better their chemistry with each other and make the production feel more natural - the better their natural chemistry with each other, the smoother the shoot days will go which will give me more time to capture the necessary shots. Instead of having to re-do takes because of the way the actors bounce off of each other, this time can be spent capturing the multiple different angles required for the narrative in multiple takes to ensure the optimum footage is captured.
As well as observing how the actors work with each other, it was also a good opportunity to communicate with the actors myself as I have had little to do with the actors up until this point. The communication with the actors has been done by the producer - meaning I have not met or talked to the actors before this rehearsal. Meeting the actors has allowed me to get to know them a little which should make the communication on the shoot days a lot easier. Whilst I will mainly be communicating through the director on the shoot days (i.e. if I need to do certain takes again), it will make it a better environment if I can also communicate effectively with the actors. This will hopefully rid any awkward tension on set which will result in a better quality product. By communicating with the actors and reducing any awkward atmosphere, this will aid the natural observational feel of the product as the actors will be more relaxed and, therefore, deliver a more natural performance which will help me to fulfil the desired shooting style.
Overall, I feel the read-through was very beneficial as it has helped me to:
- re-consider where the zooms within my shots need to be
- be open to the idea that my storyboard and shot list may be adapted slightly when it comes to the actual shoot (these tools will be used as a guideline to ensure that all necessary shots for the narrative are captured, but I will allow myself to deviate from them in terms of the zooms used in order to achieve a more natural and effective result in delivering the comedy)
- observe the chemistry between the actors - they appeared to have good chemistry which will hopefully result in smoother shoot days which should allow me more time to perfect my shots instead of using a lot of time to improve the actors' chemistry with each other.
- communicate with the actors to create a more natural and relaxed atmosphere which will, in turn, aid the natural feel of the project as the actors should give a more relaxed performance.
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