MAJOR-PROJECT UNIT: Promo Photoshoot

For the promotional poster of VET-MAN, I was in charge of capturing the images to be used.

It made most sense for me to take the pictures for the poster as I have been the DOP throughout the project and, therefore, know the visual tone of the production better than the other crew members. Being in control of capturing and tweaking the colours of the images means that I can ensure the visual tone of the promotional picture matches the visual tone of the production.

Whilst the production is all naturally lit, I decided to artificially light the image for the poster as this fits the convention for film posters - the posters are usually of high production quality and by lighting the images artificially, I ensured the characters could properly be seen and that the detail of their costumes / props were apparent to the audience so that the veterinary theme of the production is established. The lighting also makes it clearer to see the expressions of the characters which helps to suggest their characteristics within the production (i.e. Tim has a superior look on his face to reflect the high view he has of himself in the production, whilst Luke's expressions are either that of shock, happiness or confusion which, again, corresponds with how his character acts within the production).

The bright look of the images also helps to establish the medical / veterinary theme of the production - this helps to establish the theme of the sitcom whilst their facial expressions work to suggest that the production is in fact a sitcom.

A section of the original images I took are shown below. They were taken on a Canon 700D with an ISO of 800, aperture F/7.4 and a shutter speed of 1/60. They were lit by two aputure LED lights with a cool colour panel on the front and at a power of 80. This works to give a professional studio look:

I then edited each of these photos so that the colour tone of the production continued through to this promotional material. To edit these photos I altered the following settings (I used the same settings for each photo as they were all taken with the same settings so the same look could be achieved by applying the same adjustments):

Brilliance: +0.45
Exposure: +0.25
Highlights: -0.04
Shadows: -0.23
Brightness: +0.13
Contrast: -0.13
Black Point: +0.24

Saturation: +0.33
Contrast: -0.48
Cast: -0.08

I then adjusted the RGB curves subtly give the photos an orange and teal tone (like the production).

As well as adjusting these curves, I adjusted the different colour hues, saturation and luminance in order to add to this orange and teal tone whilst retaining the definition of the details within the images.

Altering the settings as such has produced the resultant images:

The following images show the before and after shots:

I have shared these images with the rest of the crew. Alex will be creating the poster and will make further alterations to the look of the images so that they fit with the style of the poster - my alterations are just a starting point / base for the final product. Alex will need to ensure the image fits with the graphics that will be going on the poster - we have mainly used black, red and white in our graphics so this will carry over to the poster and the images used will need to be consistent with this look.

MAJOR-PROJECT UNIT: Shoot Day 6

Following the production schedule, the scene to be filmed today was Scene 2. Due to the majority of the scene taking place outside, I decided to check the weather prior to the shoot day as I have been relying on natural lighting for the majority of the project so ideally I wanted to continue this natural look by not using any additional lighting equipment - this also aids the consistency of the piece as there would be no sudden introduction of artificial light which would have a distinguishably different look to natural light. The weather forecast showed the weather to be 14º and continually sunny - the weather was true to the forecast, meaning no additional lighting equipment was required to light the scene. I still brought the reflector along with me in case I wanted to use it to boost the brightness of the scene within the van as this is naturally more shaded due to the roof of the van blocking some of the direct sunlight. I used my lighting maps that I created during the pre production process to work out which direction the sun would be coming from. In this scene, the sun is approaching from the south east direction, meaning the part of the scene where Tim sits within the side of the van would appear quite shaded. This did appear to be the case when filming. I did attempt to use the reflector to boost the brightness of this shot, however, it is only natural that this would appear more shaded as it is clear that the side of the van would be blocking the natural sunlight. Therefore, not using the reflector appeared to be the better option as this helped to retain the natural, observational feel of the production, instead of artificially boosting the brightness by reflecting the light back onto the scene. This also helped to retain the element of continuity as none of the shots used any artificial lighting techniques.

To film this scene, I followed my shot list to ensure all necessary footage to make up the storyline was captured. As we had a lot of time for this shoot due to it being one small scene and having all day to film it, I was able to film additional / alternative footage than what was listed on my shot list (i.e. I filmed the wide shot of Tim's arrival from a couple of different angles to give options when it came to the edit). Filming additional footage for this scene was very beneficial as there is one complex sequence when Tim gets out of the van to observe the slogan which no reads 'We love large cock' - this is complex because it involves crossing the line in order to capture Tim and Luke's reaction to the slogan. To cover this slight crossing of the line, I captured Tim's movement from getting out of the van to observing the slogan from a wide shot showing the scene side on, a medium closeup shot facing Tim's original position within the van and a medium shot of Tim's position outside of the van where he observes the slogan. Filming from all of these angles means these can be cut between in the edit to show Tim's movement to the audience so that it makes visual sense as to why he's suddenly facing a different way as the audience are being shown exactly what is happening.

Like with all of the other scenes, I used the time in which the director blocked and rehearsed with the actors to set up the camera angles and practice the zooms to be used within the scene. Once the director was finished blocking the actors, I checked my planned shots with the director to make sure we were both happy with the visuals I set out. At the end of the shoot day (and all of the other shoot days) I confirmed with the producer that I captured all the shots set out in the shot list. This shows how production is a collaborative process and requires constant communication between team members in order to get the best outcome. If I had not checked the shots with the director prior to shooting, I may not have captured the best visuals to achieve both mine and his vision, I would merely be satisfying my own vision - but the director needs to have his input to ensure his vision for the project is being realised through the shots and is communicating the desired narrative. It also helps to have another person’s input on the shots because as a director of photography, my main concern is the look of the shot and not necessarily the storytelling within the shot (although the storytelling does play a part in determining which shots to use). By discussing the shots with the director, I was able to see where slight alternative shots to my planned shots would be better suited to portraying the narrative because the director could guide me on what is most important within the storytelling of the shot to capture. If I had not checked the shots with the producer at the end of the shoot, we may not have captured all necessary shots to make up the narrative. Although I feel that I am good at following my shot list and ensuring all the shots are captured, it is good to have a second set of eyes check that the shots have all been captured as to avoid having to reshoot due to an avoidable error.

I filmed this scene in chronological order, beginning with the wide shot of Tim approaching Luke and the van. The director blocked sections of the scene to shoot at a time and I shot these sections from all the different angles required to make up the storytelling within these segments of the scene. We ran through these broken down sections of the scene multiple times so that I could film them from multiple different angles, occasionally having to do multiple takes of the same angle to make sure the zooms were in exactly the correct position to emphasise the humour. The segments were pretty straight forward to film as it is mainly comprised of shot reverse shots between Tim and Luke apart from the complex movement of Tim getting out of the van and observing the slogan. Once all the segments of the exterior portion of the scene were filmed, I moved onto filming the parts of the scene that take place within the van. To film this, I cross shot each medium closeup single of the characters through the opposite open door to where they were sitting. I had to be careful not to capture too much behind the metal grate of the van as this is where the sound assistant was positioned and would, therefore, lower the production quality of the product if the sound assistant was seen in the footage. As well as these shots of the characters, I had to capture the glovebox full of drugs. As this was all listed on my shot list, this was a very easy segment of the scene to film as there were only 3 angles I needed to film and they were all straight forwards to capture. This meant doing multiple takes of these shots caused no fuss as it was simple to run through the segment until the desired shot was captured.

The settings I used for this scene were; ISO 500, an aperture ranging between F/7.6 and F/6.3, a shutter speed of 1/50 and an ND filter ranging between no ND filter and an ND filter of 1/4. I will only talk about the change in apertures and ND filters as the ISO and shutter speed remain constant between the shots. The ISO of 500 allows for a good exposure whilst ensuring there is as little noise in the image as possible. The shutter speed remains set at 1/50 throughout the scene to ensure the motion blur is constant between the shots to allow for this visual consistency between the shots and between the rest of the product as a similar shutter speed has been used throughout the rest of the production. I began by using an aperture of F/7.4 for the wide panning shot of Tim approaching the van and Luke. I used this in conjunction with an ND filter of 1/4 as the bright sunlight created a naturally bright filming atmosphere. This aperture when combined with this ND filter helps to bring down the brightness of the bright sky and other highlights within the image (i.e. the white van in the background) which helps to maintain a correctly exposed image where all the detail within the shot can be seen instead of it appearing overexposed. I retained this aperture until Tim climbed into the side of the van. I then widened the aperture slightly to F/7.3 (and kept the ND filter at 1/4) as Tim becomes slightly shaded by the side of the van blocking the light from the south east facing direction. By widening the aperture slightly, more light is allowed to enter the lens which makes the image appear brighter - this allows for the detail within the image not to be lost by underexposure. I widened the exposure again to F/7.2 (and kept the ND filter at 1/4) for Luke's medium closeup. This again was with the reason of exposing the image correctly so that all the detail within the image is retained - this makes it easier for the colour grade to be applied as I will not have to compensate for incorrect exposure. I then narrowed the exposure to F/7.4 for Tim and Luke's medium two shot. The reason for this was to let less light into the lens as the characters are positioned against the bright sky which appeared overexposed at the wider aperture. I then widened the aperture again to F/7.2 (and again kept the ND filter at 1/4) as there is less sky apparent in the image and less elements to overexpose. This exposure allows for all the details within the highlights, midtones and shadows of the image to be distinguished. Within the van, I narrowed the aperture to F/7.4 and removed the ND filter for Luke's medium closeup single shot. The removal of the ND filter brightens the image by allowing more light into the lens - this shot required more light to enter the lens due to taking place within the van which is more shadowed from the south east light. I used a similar aperture of F/7.6 and no ND filter for Tim's medium closeup single shot. I chose to narrow the aperture as there was slightly more natural light entering through the window so I was at risk of overexposing the window within the shot. The narrower aperture reduced the exposure slightly to ensure that no elements appeared overexposed. For the closeup shot of the drugs in the glovebox, I used a wider aperture of F/6.3 as there was less natural light shining onto this area of the van. Therefore, the wider aperture allowed more light to enter the lens and brighten the look of the shot which allowed for all the detail within the shot to be seen. The final shot I captured was the long panning shot of the van driving off the drive and down the road. For this I chose an aperture of F/7.2 and an ND filter of 1/4 as this was shot outside with the natural light rom the south east shining on the location. Without the ND filter, the image appeared overexposed with detail being lost in the bright sky and the white of the van. Therefore, these settings were necessary to retain the detail within the image to allow for a better colour grade in the post production process. Using these settings allowed me to capture the best quality visuals possible.

What went well

- The bright sunlight did not interfere with the look of the shots too much. As the light was coming from the south east direction (and I had planned for this) it meant that we could shoot in a position where the sun wouldn't directly be shining on the actors and causing harsh light and shadows whilst also making sure the sun wouldn't be directly behind them which would cause a silhouetted look. This planning allowed me to shoot the best looking visuals where the shots were correctly exposed without any harsh lighting conditions (which is always possible when shooting in natural sunlight).

- Due to my detailed shot list, I knew exactly what needed to be captured which allowed for a smooth shoot day as I could tick off the shots I captured as I shot them. This meant that all necessary footage to make up the narrative was captured.

- All the images were correctly exposed which will make the colour grading process a lot more effective as I will not need to adjust the exposure and colours within the image prior to applying the colour grade which will allow for the best quality product in terms of the visuals involved.

What didn’t go well

- For the interior section of the scene, the van needed to be moved back slightly due to access being needed to the garden gate. This means that what can be seen through the windows of the van is slightly different to what would be seen if the van was still in the original place. However, as the van wasn't moved a great distance, this is unnoticeable to the audience who are unaware that the van has moved at all.

- In a couple of the interior van shots, the sound assistant with the boom pole can be seen slightly in the shot. However, this can be cropped out due to filming in 4K resolution. This was part of the reason I chose to film in 4K - it allows for more scope during the editing process. As I have always intended to export the project in 1080p full HD, by filming in 4K I have more scope for errors such as this as I can crop the image without losing any quality.

MAJOR-PROJECT UNIT: Shoot Day 5

Following the production schedule, the scene planned to be shot today was scene 1. As this scene takes place entirely indoors in a dark living room (with the curtains closed to block out the light), I did not check the weather as this would have no bearing on the visuals involved within the scene.

I used no additional lighting equipment to light as the scene required a dark atmosphere to compliment the sneaky behaviour of the character Tim. The only light is coming through the south east facing double doors (which do not appear in the scene) and the north west facing windows with the curtains drawn so the natural light diffuses through. This produces a dim but not too dark look. I didn't want to make the room to dark as this would potentially lead to underexposed shots where the detail within the images cannot be distinguished - therefore, I kept the curtains open on the south east facing double doors to allow for a little bit of natural light. I can them dim the footage to the desired level in the post production process. This means that all the detail will be available in the shot and the desired look will be achieved - ensuring the highest visual quality possible. From the moment Tess walks into the scene and flicks on the light switch, the scene is lit with the practical lighting which is positioned overhead in the form of two lamps. Whilst this created a slightly more orange look than desired, the lighting level is consistent, so this can be easily rectified in post-production.

As this scene involved a lot of different types of shot and a lot of complex movement, I made sure to discuss the blocking of the characters with the director and which camera positions he felt would work best with my shot list to ensure that the product makes visual sense and also conveys the narrative effectively. Whilst the director blocked the actors, I set up my shots and then checked them with the director once he was happy with the blocking. This worked well to ensure both my vision as director of photography and his vision as director were being fulfilled. One of the important things I had to keep in mind was the 180 degree rule as there was a lot of movement of the characters, including times in the scene when the characters would cross and end up on opposite sides of frame (which could confuse the audience if this movement is not clearly displayed as otherwise the characters appear to have just switched sides). I ensured to stick to the 180 degree rule by clearly displaying when the characters have switched sides (i.e. when Tim crosses behind Tess to retrieve the vet bag at the end of the scene, he switches sides of frame when talking to her. To avoid this being visually confusing to the audience, I made sure to use a wide shot to capture Tim switching positions so that it is clear to the audience why he is suddenly facing a different way when talking to Tess).

Like with the other scenes we have filmed, I followed my shot list to ensure all the shots required to make up the narrative were captured. Due to having no time restrictions on this shoot day, I had time to capture additional coverage shots that were not on my shot list so that these could be used in the edit if wanted. Although, not too many additional shots were required as my shot list is thorough and lists all the exact shots needed - meaning there shouldn't be the need for additional shots. Therefore, I only felt the need to capture a few additional shots such as additional shots of Tim studying the photo frames of Tess from a slightly different closeup angle and additional shots of the vase being knocked off the table. Doing this allows more scope for creativity and storytelling in the edit as these shots may add something that I had not originally considered when constructing the shot list. This shows the importance of staying alert during all production phases and not just becoming complacent and blindly following the planned shots - being alert allows for you to consider shots when in the actual environment of the shoot that were not original plan which has the potential to enhance the end product.

Due to there being quite a few reflective surfaces within the location (i.e. the mirror in the cabinet, the glass in the door and the glass in the photo frames), I had to ensure that neither myself of camera or our sound assistant (with the boom pole) could be seen in these reflections as this would immediately reduce the production quality of the product. Another element I had to consider when thinking of production quality was continuity. Although a small detail, I ensured that the light switch was facing the same way when shooting each take so that the takes could be cut between if certain actions / dialogue were better in one take. As the room has dual controlled lighting and Tess uses one of the switches when entering the room, it seemed easy to reset the scene by turning the lights back off with the light switch that was closer to the crew, however, this would have meant that the light switch in shot (which Tess uses upon her arrival) would be inconsistent between shots (i.e. appearing in the on position in some shots and in the off position in other shots). To eliminate this error, when resetting the scene, I made sure to turn the lights back off with the same switch that Tess uses so that it constantly appears in the same position when its supposed to be off and it constantly appears in the opposite position when its supposed to be on.

The settings I used for this scene were; ISO 500, an aperture ranging between F/7.4 and F/6.3, a shutter speed of 1/50 and no ND filter. I will only talk about the changes in aperture as the other settings for each shot remain constant. The shutter speed remains at a constant level of 1/50 as this ensures the motion blur between the shots is consistent which aids the visual consistency of the whole product. I opted to use no ND filter on all the shots as this scene occurs in a dimly lit interior location and I did not want the scene to appear too dark as this would lead to underexposed images where detail within areas such as the shadows would be lost which would decrease the overall visual quality of the product. Instead of dimming the scene with the ND filters, I will dim the scene in the post production process by using colour correcting techniques and the colour grade - this means the raw footage could be captured in a correctly exposed manner, ensuring all the detail within the highlights, midtones and shadows of the shots were captured, and then the desired dim effect can be achieved through post production whilst retaining the visual quality. For the first wide shot of Tim snooping around the house, I used an aperture of F/7.4 as this was a narrow enough aperture to create a slightly dim look whilst still maintaining a good exposure where no detail is lost in the shadows of the image due to underexposure. When exposing this shot, I had to consider the backlight coming from the window behind Tim (despite the curtains being closed, there is still a fair amount of light protruding through). This backlight produces a slightly darker image because Tim becomes slightly silhouetted against this light coming through the window, therefore, the aperture of F/7.4 felt appropriate to expose Tim (and the whole shot) correctly where the detail within the shot can be seen but there is still an element of darkness throughout. For the next medium closeup shot of Tim, I used a slightly wider aperture of F/6.8 due to the backlight coming from the window to prevent Tim appearing underexposed. For the closeup shots of the photo frames on the cabinet I used an aperture of F/6.3 due to this being shadowed by the curve of the cabinet. Therefore, this wider aperture allowed more light to enter the lens, making the shot appear brighter to match the brightness of the other shots. I then narrowed the aperture slightly to F/6.8 for the closeup shot of Tim's dad in the photo frame on the fireplace. I used this slightly narrower aperture due to there being no shadow on this fireplace, therefore, I did not need to compensate for a lack of light caused by shadows. This aperture keeps the consistency of the scene as the shot matches the exposure of the other shots within the scene. I then narrowed the aperture to F/7.2 when Tess enters and switches on the light as the practical lighting adds extra light to the scene. Also, neither of the characters are positioned against the window so I did not have to contend with the backlighting silhouetting the characters. As the practical lighting added light to the scene, a narrower aperture was required to allow less light into the lens to prevent overexposing any elements of the shot. I chose to use the same aperture of F/7.2 for both Tim and Tess's medium closeup shots as they were not positioned too far from each other, meaning the lighting falling on them within the location was very similar. Therefore, to keep the visuals consistent, it made sense to keep the aperture the same for these shots. I also used this aperture for the medium closeup shot of the vase being knocked off the table for the same reason of it being in a similar position within the location and, therefore, the lighting being the same which called for the same aperture. Like with all of the other shots, when considering the aperture, I always think of the details within the shot and whether these are exposed correctly so that the highlights, midtones and shadows all show the details within these areas as well as considering what type of look I am trying to achieve within the shot. My priority when exposing a shot is making sure all the details can be seen as I can always adjust the look of the shot with the colour grade in post production, but it is a lot more difficult to correct exposure in post production if certain areas are under / overexposed which would result in a product with a lower visual quality than how I actually chose to shoot the piece. I then narrowed the aperture slightly to F/7.4 for the closeup shot of the vase smashed on the floor as it fell directly under the practical overhead light, therefore, the light was shining directly onto the vase. This created a slightly brighter look on the highlights of the image (i.e. the white of the vase) than the rest of the shots which meant, in order to keep the visual consistency, I needed to narrow the aperture slightly in order to lower the exposure to the same level of the other shots. I then widened the aperture to F/6.7 for both the wide and medium closeup shot of Tim when he goes to retrieve the vet bag from the window. This aperture was required as Tim is positioned against the window, making him naturally silhouetted from the backlight. By choosing a wider aperture, more light can enter the lens which produces a slightly brighter image. This was necessary so that the detail within the darker areas of the image could be seen as a lot of the image is dark due to the backlight, therefore, if I didn't widen the aperture, a lot of the detail within the shot would have been lost as a lot of the image falls in darkness. The aperture of F/6.7 works to increase the exposure of the scene so that no detail is lost which will make the colour grading process more effective, resulting in a product with a higher visual quality.

What went well

- There was good consideration for continuity between the shots. I ensured the light switch was in the same position as Tess uses this as she enters the room. (The lights have dual controls so I had to turn off light from same switch that Tess uses to reset the scene in order to keep this element of continuity).

- The footage is all correctly exposed which will allow for the best colour grade as there will be no detail lost within the highlights, midtones or shadows of the shots. Even though the desired look of the scene is a lot darker than I shot the scene, this was the best method to shoot the scene as if I had attempted to artificially darken the scene by using a narrower aperture or ND filters, I could have ended up underexposing the scene which would have resulted in certain details being lost within the image and, therefore, would reduce the visual quality of the product.

What didn't go well

- It was difficult at times to work out if certain shots would break the 180 degree rule because of the movement of the camera. Although I had planned out the shots I needed in my shot list, I did not plan the position of the camera in relation to the actors - I simply wrote what sort of shot would be needed to capture which piece of action / dialogue. I then planned to use the director's blocking to figure out the camera positions which did work as I didn't break the 180 degree rule, however, it took slightly longer than necessary which made the shoot day feel slightly less smooth. In scenarios where I was unsure whether changing camera angle would break the 180 degree rule, I made sure to film the entire sequence from the different angles so that if a character moves, this is captured and will make visual sense to the audience if they are suddenly facing a different way to the previous shot. For example, when Tim spots the bag on the window, he crosses behind Tess and goes from being on the left of frame talking to Tess towards the right of frame to being on the right of frame talking to Tess towards the left of frame. To ensure this made visual sense to the audience, I filmed Tim performing this movement on a wider shot so that his medium closeup makes visual sense when cut to in the edit.

- The practical lighting from when Tess enters the scene gives a slightly warmer tone than ideally desired. However, as this is a consistent look (as the practical lighting remains the same throughout the rest of the scene), this will be easily rectifiable as I can reduce the colour temperature slightly in the edit.

MAJOR-PROJECT UNIT: Shoot Day 4

According to the production schedule, the scenes to be filmed today were the pub scenes (scene 12 inside the pub and scene 13 in the pub car park). Like with the previous shoot days, I checked the weather forecast so that I would have an idea of how this would affect the visual look of the product. For the interior scene, this was not too important as I would be lighting this scene artificially anyway and the light coming through the windows does not affect the shot too much. However, the weather would affect the lighting for the exterior scene. The forecast showed the weather to be 10ºC with a mixture of sun and cloud which would make lighting the outdoor scene a little tricky as the lighting conditions were due to be changeable meaning there would not be a consistent look throughout the scene. The weather was true to the forecast which meant the sun kept coming in and out for the duration of filming the exterior scene. I decided to bring the reflector for the shoot to bounce the sun light from the west back onto the actors faces when the sun light made an appearance - this worked well as, due to filming this in the afternoon, the sun was soon setting so the light was coming from the optimum direction. I did not use the reflector for the shots taken when the sun was hidden by the cloud as the lighting looked natural and effective without. I did all the shots both in the sun and when the sun was hidden by the clouds - this gives me the option in the edit to choose which looked better.

For the interior scene, I used two aputure lights to light the actors - I tested this in this location during the pre-production unit and found that using one light on a medium setting of 60 and one light on a high setting of 80 both with an orange panel over the light to produce a warm colour temperature gave the best look. I chose these settings to emulate the light of practical lighting within pub settings which typically is dim and warm in tone. I placed the lights at varied distances from the actors - one further from the actors and one closer to the actors. This helped to diffuse the lighting so that it fits with the natural feel of the entire product - this is essential in maintaining the continuity of the sit com as all other scenes are filmed with lighting which is appropriate for the natural lighting within these locations in reality.

I used the condensed list I made from my full shot list to check I had all the necessary shots to make up the narrative of the scenes - this was essential as we found we only had a limited time in the interior pub location so it was imperative that I shot all the necessary footage so that all the action and dialogue was captured and there would be no gaps in the storyline.

When filming both scenes, I ensured to use the correct camera settings and to continually review these camera settings (and make any needed changes) to make sure the exposure remained constant throughout the scenes. This will prove useful in the post production of this product as little colour correction / manipulation to the exposure will be required before the colour grade as the shots throughout the scene already have a consistent look.

Scene 12

Prior to beginning to film the scene, we requested that the music be switched off and some of the screens to also be switched off so that these did not interfere with the shots. We decided to keep a couple of the screens switched on but muted to make the environment look as natural and appropriate as possible as a pub setting - pubs usually have screens showing different things so it made sense to keep a couple on to emulate the environment of an open and populated pub.

Myself and a runner set up the lights as outlined above - this worked to emulate natural pub lighting whilst also helping to illuminate the characters slightly better as a lot of the natural lighting came from behind them which produced slightly silhouetted images without the additional lights. This helped to keep the natural look of the product whilst brightening the actors to a more visible level which helps to visual quality.

Filming this scene took a while to set up due to having a lot of cast and background actors on set for this shoot. Whilst the director blocked everyone from the main cast to the background actors, I set up the shots required for the scene. I had to ensure to capture the required shots for the narrative and dialogue of the scene but I also had to make sure to capture other elements within these shots (i.e. Tess' entry to the scene is seen through Tim's medium closeup so for this shot I had to ensure that this shot was framed well for its main purpose of capturing Tim's dialogue but to also make sure there was enough room to see Tess enter behind him). For Tess' medium closeup I had to make sure that only the area of the pub with the background actors populating it was visible to make it seem like the whole pub was full. I also had to ensure Mark was hidden by the wooden beam as the reveal of his character takes place on a closer shot of him and Sheila. For both Tim's and Luke's medium closeups, I had to make sure that the neither the lighting equipment nor myself with the camera equipment were visible in the reflective surfaces seen behind them as this would break the natural, observational illusion of the entire product and decrease the visual quality.

The majority of the scene was simple to film due to capturing it mostly through shot reverse shots and wide two and three shots. Like with all the other shoot days, I practised my zooms whilst the actors rehearsed so that I could zoom in when felt most natural with the actors' delivery of the dialogue rather than my planned zooms as zooming when feels most natural will help the natural feel of the product whilst also emphasising the humour to the desired extent as the zooms will compliment the actors' delivery.

The most complicated part of the scene to film was the moment where Tim stands up to confront Mark thinking its Sheila. This was because several different angles were required to capture the build-up to this moment and they all needed to make visual sense as Tim ends up facing the opposite way to the way he had been facing for the rest of the scene - so this needed to be communicated through the shots so that it did not look like the 180 degree rule had been broken when in fact the character has intentionally switched positions. This meant that within the different shots used, I needed to capture Tim turning around to confront Mark so that it makes visual sense about where the characters are positioned to the audience.

The settings I used were ISO 500, an aperture ranging between F/6.4 and F/5.6, a shutter speed of 1/48 and no ND filter. The reason the settings don't vary as much as the other scenes I have shot is because I used controlled lighting in this environment whilst most of the other scenes relied entirely on the natural light which then affected the exposure of the shots. For the two shot of Tim and Luke, I used an aperture of F/6.4 so that the characters were appropriately lit but the window behind Tim and the light coming through it did not appear over exposed. I then had to ensure the medium closeups of the two characters matched the exposure of this wider shot which meant slightly different apertures were required. I used an ever so slightly wider aperture of F/6.3 for Tim's medium closeup as the window behind him makes up a larger portion of the shot than with the wider shot, making Tim appear slightly darker, therefore, calling for a slightly brighter exposure. I used an even wider aperture of F/5.7 for Luke's medium closeup to make up for the dim appearance of the shot - this is only slightly wider than the aperture used for Tim's medium closeup but is called for due to the lower level of lighting where Luke is sat. I then used a similar aperture of F/5.8 for Tess' medium closeup due to the level of light shining on her being a similar level to that of Luke's medium closeup. I then used an aperture of F/5.6 for Tim's closeup as this appeared to be the naturally lowest lit shot so the exposure needed to compensate for this so that it matched with the exposure level of the other shots within the scene. I then used an aperture of F/5.8 for the two shot of Sheila and Mark as this was the widest aperture I could use for this length of shot (as the widest aperture you can use changes with the zoom used within the shot) - ideally I would have used a slightly wider aperture to increase the exposure of the shot further, however, this can be fixed in post-production by artificially increasing the brightness which I will do by increasing the level of the highlights and midtones of the shots. Even though this shot is slightly dark and underexposed, it is in-keeping with the natural nature of the product as this is a more shadowed area of the pub which would naturally be darker. I used the same shutter speed of 1/48 throughout the scene to keep the motion blur throughout the scene consistent - furthermore, due to the consistent lighting, I did not need to change too many settings as the light levels did not vary greatly. I also used no ND filter due to the location already being dim so I did not need an ND filter to decrease the exposure.

Scene 13

Shooting the outdoor scene in the car park was simple in terms of the shots required for the narrative (wide three shot, two shot of Tim and Luke and then medium closeup singles of each character), however, the weather made capturing all of these shots a bit tricky. As there was a mixture of sun and cloud, I had to make the choice about whether shoot the scene with the sun shining or wait for the cloud to cover it. I started shooting in the sun as this appeared to be the condition that presented itself for longer periods of time, however, once I began filming, the sun disappeared behind the clouds. I then made the choice to film in the more shaded conditions as it was uncertain when the sun would appear again and the light was slowly fading so it seemed more sensible to film the shot filmed in the sun again but in the shade followed by filming the rest of the scene in the shade.

This worked out better visually as the lack of sun meant there was no harsh light or shadows being cast on the characters faces. Whereas, when I shot in the sun, this overexposed the highlights within the image which meant some of the detail within this area was lost.

Filming the scene all in one lighting condition also helps to keep the sense of continuity throughout the scene as any dramatic lighting changes would immediately disrupt this. We had to watch out for movement of cars in the background as if any of these changed position between a wide shot and a medium closeup shot, that would affect the continuity of the scene. This only happened once where a car arrived in a spot just behind the van, but the director dealt with this and ask them if they could park in a different space - this meant the continuity of the scene was kept, allowing the product to flow effectively.

Although mainly filmed from stood on a flat surface (so there was little to trip over and damage the equipment), there were a couple of kerbs and edges to watch out for - so I had a runner spot for me to ensure I didn't trip and injure myself or damage the equipment.

To capture all the necessary shots to make up the narrative of this scene, I made sure to follow my simplified list made from my full shot list. This gave me a good reference of what sort of coverage I needed which will make the edit a lot smoother as there will be all the coverage (and more) which will mean we won't need to hold on certain clips for longer than necessary if we were missing a clip as I captured the whole scene through all the different angles so can be inserted where required. As with the other scenes, I practiced my zooms when the actors were rehearsing to make sure these zooms were at exactly the correct moment to emphasise the humour.

The settings I used for this scene were; ISO 500, an aperture ranging between F/7.2 and F/7.8, a shutter speed of 1/50 and an ND filter ranging between no ND filter and ND filter 1/16. For the shot filmed in the sunny condition, I chose an aperture of F/7.8 and an ND filter of 1/4. If I had continued to shoot in the sun, I would have opted for a more dense ND filter of 1/16 as the highlights within the image appear slightly overexposed, losing the detail within these areas (e.g. Tess' face, the side of Luke's head and the van). I thought the aperture of F/7.8 would have worked well to bring down the exposure of the shot but this still appeared to produce this slightly overexposed image. I wouldn't have narrowed the aperture as if this is narrowed further than F/10, it produces a slightly blurred image due to diffraction. I could have increased the shutter speed, however, the rest of the product is shot with a similar shutter speed to keep the motion blur within shots constant, so increasing the shutter speed may work to reduce the exposure but it would create a different motion blur which would affect the continuity of the product. Once I had decided to shoot in the shade rather than wait for the sunny condition to reappear, I changed the aperture for the wide shot to F/7.2 whilst keeping all of the other settings the same. I chose a slightly wider aperture as the more shaded condition produced a slightly darker image due to the light diffusing through the clouds as opposed to shining directly on the scene. This aperture, when combined with the other settings, produced a well exposed image with no parts of it appearing under or over exposed so all the detail within the shot is retained. For Tess' medium closeup shot, I kept the settings the same as this appeared to be the correct exposure for this closer shot as well. The white of the van, the sky and Tess' face (which are the main highlights within the shot) do not appear overexposed yet the shadows within the image do not appear under exposed, producing a well exposed image. For the two shot of Tim and Luke, I narrowed the exposure to F/7.4 to esnure the highlights within this image did not overexpose. I then widened the exposure back to F/7.2 for both Tim's and Luke's medium closeup singles as the natural light was fading further which meant these shots called for a slightly wider exposure to brighten the image slightly. I did not want to remove the ND filter of 1/4 as this would have brightened the image too far which would have meant these shots would not have been consistent with the look of the other shots within the scene. For Luke's closeup single in the van, I used a narrower aperture of F/7.4 but removed the ND filter. This was necessary as the filming inside the van meant that some of the sunlight was blocked, making the conditions naturally a little darker. Removing the ND filter brightened the image slightly too far for Luke's closeup so I decided to narrow the aperture slightly to reduce the amount of light entering the lens, thus darkening the image. For Tim's closeup, the aperture of F/7.2 (with no ND filter) worked well to expose him correctly which allowed for all the detail within the scene (and in Tim's makeup) to be captured. For the establishing shot of the pub, I used an aperture of F/7.4 and an ND filter of 1/16 as the sky behind the pub appeared very bright and overexposed. Therefore, this more dense ND filter was required to bring down the exposure of the sky (whilst making sure the pub itself did not become underexposed). As with the majority of the other scenes within the product, I used an ISO of 500 as this produced a well exposed image with little grain - I decided to keep this element consistent for every scene (apart from the night scene where it was necessary to increase the ISO so that the characters would be visible in the darker conditions) as this will mean that the level of grain in each shot will be consistent which will help with the visual continuity of the product.

What went well

- For a complex scene (scene 12) with a lot of cast involved, it ran quite smoothly which allowed me to capture all the necessary footage to make up the narrative of the scene. As there were a lot of background actors, there was a higher possibility of something going wrong within the shot (i.e. someone looking directly into the camera which would break the natural, observational feel of the production) but as everyone was well directed, this problem did not occur.

- The lighting within the pub scene was particularly effective in emulating the natural pub environment. I felt the aputure lights worked incredibly well with the orange panel over the LEDs to give a warm light like those found in most pub establishments. This really aided the natural look to make the look of the scene consistent with the other scenes filmed.

What didn't go well

- Something we were all unaware of was that we only had the pub location until around 11 O'Clock, which is when customers would start to arrive. We only found this out when the landlord asked if we could only film one more shot as we needed to be wrapping up. This added an element of time pressure as there were still a few more shots to film in this time. I had already filmed the scene up until Tim goes to confront Mark (thinking its Sheila) but I still needed to film the wide shot and medium closeup shot of Mark when the landlord asked us to wrap up. I managed to film these shots quickly as I knew exactly what we needed and the director had already blocked the actor - so we were able to get away with quickly filming these additional takes. However, due to this time limit, there was no time to get extra shots which could be used for more coverage of the scene. This is not a massive issue as I managed to capture all the shots to make up the narrative of the scene, but it would have been more ideal if I was able to capture a few more shots so that we could experiment with them in the edit.

- The weather whilst filming scene 13 presented a little bit of an issue as the sun kept disappearing behind the cloud and I had already opted to film in the sun and had begun shooting in this condition. However, as the sun refused to reappear quickly, I decided to switch to shooting in the more shaded condition which meant reshooting the shot that had already been filmed in the sun so that the element of continuity was present between the shots. The sun did reappear a few times whilst attempting to film in the more shaded condition, which meant filming had to be paused until the sun disappeared again which made the shoot slightly longer than strictly necessary. I did attempt to use the reflector to block out the sun but this created a harsh shadow on the scene, so the best option appeared to be waiting for the sun to disappear behind the cloud again before continuing to film. This ended up working well and I managed to capture all the necessary footage in the shaded condition.

- In the footage, the red in Tim's makeup seems slightly exaggerated for someone who has only been punched which makes it appear slightly unnatural. I will attempt to resolve this in the post-production process by decreasing the saturation around that area slightly (but ensuring that I don't decrease the saturation too much so that these shots look washed out when compared to the rest of the product). I will then also adjust the colours and apply the colour grade with the aim of softening and blending the red into the shot more seamlessly.