On my third day at work with RedEye, Laura says we are going to shoot interviews which will be used in a special tribute for Friends of Cancer Research founder Ellen Sigal. This is a very good opportunity for me to see what is going on in the real world. In addition I have been assigned to shoot behind the scenes footage that will be used in an upcoming RedEye demo reel. “What? It’s my third day and I have to shoot for our demo reel?!” I have never experienced filming such a huge thing for ‘a real company.’ However, this is the best time to test myself and see what I am made of.
The RedEye team heads off to the first location, a private home. Upon arriving with the crew, we unload gear, and begin to set up in the living room. It takes quite a lot of time to set everything up. We have to move furniture to make an optimal background for shooting. Laura is very careful, taking photos of “before” so we remember how to put it all back, and she is careful to prepare the location for just the right look. She points out that even the lamp has to be placed in just the right spot. During our team’s set up, I was shooting the Camera man, Sound man and Grip setting up the enormous amount of equipment, camera, audio, drapes, reflectors and lights. When I was filming this set-up I wanted to show how active it all was but at the same time, careful and delicate. (Close-Up shots showing how they handle the equipment and lots of them to show how much work went into the preparation of each shoot.) I also got wide shots showing both the crew and of interviewee getting ready.
(Wide shot of Valeria sitting in narrator’s seat to adjust the camera to her)
Our key narrator for this tribute had quite a lot of copy to present to the camera. First, we recorded her voice over as a safety. Then we shot the interview. There was so much text we had to use cue cards to help our narrator remember all the important points. Wayne who was in charge of the camera filmed her at different angles sometimes using the camera dolly.
(Wide shot of Laura, Wayne, FOCR preparing for opening shot. They are checking the camera movement.)
During the interview, I tried shooting Over-The-Shoulder shots of Laura so that people who watch this scene will know what Laura is doing at this point. At one point Laura came to me and said she wanted me to take shots of the lights turning on/off so it could be put into the video. So, I learned how to direct the grip so I could get the shot I needed from different angles (without interfering with the rest of the shoot of course). It took all morning to finish shooting these complicated scenes and our team worked professionally to get nice shots.
(Wide shot of monitor and light)
Next, we headed out to our second location, The Brookings Institute in the middle of Washington, DC. It was interesting because at the Brookings Institute there was so much activity going on beyond just our shoot. Diplomates were coming and going for special conferences and lots of media was swarming the building. It kept us on our toes as we had to unload the media van fast.
Up in the conference room, we rearranged it from a cold sterile environment to a classic and elegant space, combining artificial light and real sunshine. That’s what professionals are doing! Our team shot several more interviews in this space. Our preparation made the interviews go smoothly and quickly. It was rewarding to hear the compliments from some of the interviews they said on their way out..”That was it? You guys are prepared and fast!” I shot the crew wrapping up while they were chatting. Even though set-up and wrap-up can be hard and take time, they all did it with a smile and never showed weary faces. I can see that they are all enjoying what they are doing and it makes me think seriously about my future job and myself. I really appreciate this moment 🙂
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