Pre Production: Test Shoots and Preliminary Test Shoots

Preliminary Test Shoot 1: 

This was my first test shoot where my aim was to get an initial idea about the lenses I can use as well as how this will effect the depth of field. I wanted to see if I would be able to capture the emotion of the main character by being within his personal space. How could I make it look as if we are really up close to the character without actually being super close? This is where I made use of my 50 mm lens as I knew it would allow me to get great shots. I also wanted to see where else I could place my character as I realised he spends a lot of time in rural/ areas of greenery. I wanted to see what places I could evoke the same emotion and if it could work better in areas that were more public or generally quite bland. 

I wanted to experiment with placing my character in areas that could have a somewhat aesthetically pleasing element about them. For example, The yellow staircase adds a pop of colour yet the main character and his demise is still central and doesn't really distract from what he may be feeling. And in order to really feel his anguish, I made use of the 50mm lens which allowed me to get up close and personal with the character. 

 As you can see, The 50mm lens gave a good depth of field effect and allows the character to stand out in front of the background. This will be the case for the majority of shots that I use in the short film. I decided to take my character to another possible back up location. This allowed me to visualise what he would look like in the first choice location but also let me experiment with how he would look in the back up, just in case we weren't able to use Mote Park. I really like how the river looked as you get an idea that the water is really deep and also the background is quite pretty. 

Although this location is nice, I still think I will prefer the Mote Park location as it features more greenery that will convey a much more peaceful atmosphere. This location was also noisy as it is based right next to a bridge and a main road. This meant that for the really intimate shots between the two characters, there would be a lot of disturbance which defeats the whole purpose of having them in a peaceful place. 

What I learnt from this preliminary test shoot was the importance of checking the weather before shooting. As soon as we started walking, it started to rain and therefore the camera was getting wet and it became a nuisance to shoot. Even though a grey, overcast setting would fit my character's mood, it is better to be prepared for this. I also learnt how great the 50mm lens is. You are able to get close shots with narrow depth of field effortlessly. I will definitely be using this lens when it comes to the actual shoot. 

Test Shoot 2: Night time experimentation and colour correction. 

The aim of this shoot was to experiment how I could light a scene to make it seem as though it would naturally be coming from the light sources in the scene, when in reality it is artificial light used to enhance the scene. I knew this would be important as my character often finds himself in his bedroom at night, looking at the computer and laying there whilst he overthinks his emotions. I also wanted to experiment with colour correction as I know I want it to have a blue cast to enhance his sad moods. Below are images where I experimented with a 50mm lens and a mixture of light placements to enhance the scene. I struggled with the camera set up at first because even though I kept adjusting the ISO and shutter speed, I struggled to find the aperture control and therefore opted for Troy's Canon 700d which allowed me to easily access the relevant changes I needed to let light into the camera. 

Original vs Colour Corrected Images

kit: Canon 700d, 50mm Lens, ISO 600/800, F-stop range between 3.2, 2.4, 1.8

As you can see I attempted to use the Laptop as a natural light source but it was very dark. It was a struggle to do this without losing detail as you can see there is a lot of detail loss with the amount of black that came through. This lets me know that using this room won't necessarily be a good idea as it doesn't have much room to place lamps. Even if I did this shoot with the light on, It wouldn't have the same darkened effect. Artificial light is definitely needed within this room. 

Below are images that I shot where I used the LED Lights on the lowest setting and faced it against the wall to create a much more subtle effect. Since I didn't have a lamp to make it look like the natural light source, I wasn't able to include that in the shot so it makes it seem a little bit more artificial than I would want for the actual  shoot.

With this lighting set up you can see that you are able to get a little bit more detail come through but it is still too dark. The monitor on the camera made it look a lot better than it actually was so once I uploaded the pictures I was able to understand the actual state of them. Since these are so dark. I now know that I need to pay closer attention to how I light scenes in the dark. This also reiterates the benefits of using a Sony A7s mark 2 because this camera is known for working better in low light situations with it's high ISO capability. So by pairing this camera with a better lighting set up, I will be able to get the desired effect of having the laptop seem like the original light source. 

Below is the video I put together to better visualise how the character would look as he searches for art schools. I thought it would be a good idea to add some mock up effects to get a better idea about how it will look in the final project. I filmed this with purposefully added movement to illustrate his disorientation and I think it came across well.  For some reason the lighting became better once in video mode as I believe it allowed me to go down an F-stop and therefore more light was let in. I also managed to light the scene better for the video so in my opinion the idea became much more workable. 

Test shoot 3: Art Studio Practice set up

I decided it would be a good idea to test out the summer house space as this is one of the main locations in my story. I took a few supplies from my house as I was unable to transport some of the bigger canvases. However I believe I was able to get enough bits together to visualise what it will look like when I fully dress the set. Since this summer house is my friend's, they temporarily had some boxes in there which I tried to hide with a white sheet. When it comes to the actual shoot, those boxes wont be there. Viewing and dressing the place made me realise how long it will actually take to fully dress the set and make it look natural. So now I know to do this well in advance of the shoot to save time and to ensure it gets all the attention to detail it deserves.

As it stands, the set looks very bare. I will have a larger canvas leaning up against the wall as well as sketches pinned against the wall. I also want it to seem cosy so with the use of fairy lights and fluffy cushions, It will give the desired effect. What I loved about this location was it's ability to have natural light as well as the studio spotlight lighting. This made everything look very clean and clear so I will definitely be using this location.

 I also created a video to further illustrate and test out what it looks like in moving image. For this, I made use of both 50mm and the 135mm lens. I used the 50mm to get shallow depth of field on the objects as well as the painting action. I loved the way it looked as the 50mm allows you to get up close and personal with the details of the painting. Each shoot I do I realise how useful the 50mm is for my project.

Test Shoot 4: Mote Park

This shoot was my favourite shoot as the location fit so perfectly with what I already had in mind. It was better than expected. The aims of this shoot was to scout the location and see how feasible it would be in comparison to my story line. Since the script often referenced my character standing at the edge of the river, I was still unsure if this would be possible due to health and safety reasons but also, there might not actually be an edge to stand on. Another aim was to test how daylight would come out on camera. Since I conducted a preliminary test shoot in cloudy weather, I wanted to see if a sunnier day would have different effects. Especially since I knew there would be a river, I also wanted to see if this would have any effect on the shots.

I took both pictures and video in hopes of almost documenting the best parts of the locations so when it came to the real shoot, I would know exactly where to go.  The first batch of images are before I arrived at the main location. The aim of this was to take pictures in a similar style to the preliminary test shoot where I wanted to see if it would look better having my character in more of a grey/ city area as opposed to a nature based location. The pictures are as follows; 

Already I was in love with how the character looked in a naturalist setting and so from this, I have concluded to show my character in a more naturalist setting instead of him being almost like a "inner city" boy. We always see young black boys portrayed on estates act so I want to come away from that portrayal. Even though some would say this is a place that is relaxing, I think it allows my character to become even more singled out because his expressions are not always "relaxed" or "positive" all the time. Thus helping the narrative of his clouded thoughts occurring at times where people would usually be happy. 

The Main Location; 

These are just a few from the main location. What I noticed about here was even though it was aesthetically pleasing, it was very noisy at times because there was a lot of birds and ducks making noise. Thus poses a few issues as my characters have very intimate conversations at this location. However, I am willing to sacrifice this and work around it as I want to use this location. This just means that I will make use of the boom pole and dead cat to try and eliminate as much external sounds. The natural sounds isn't the problem, its the timing in which the ducks may intervene. This means more takes will occur but it is not the end of the world. 

This shot was purely experimental as I wanted to have a play around with the depth of field. This shot became one of my favourites because it's almost as if he's in a cage or nest of some sort. Again, subtle imagery to further enhance the narrative. 

There were a few things that I noticed when shooting these pictures. Since I was outside, I was shooting at around 250 Iso, F.3 with the 50mm lens and often stitched between the 50 to the 135mm lens.  The 135mm lens doesn't allow me to go to a low aperture meaning it was hard for my shots to become over exposed once it was at the correct ISO. But I noticed that although the subject was in focus, the water was also very crisp and clear, The sky was actually somewhat over exposed. 

And once I lowered the ISO to cater to the over exposure, it made my subject too dark and I begun to lose detail. This showed me that for the shoot, I will need to get my hands on some ND filters. 

What are ND Filters?

(Neutral Density Filters) 

All the settings on cameras are tools to create the images that we have in our minds, there are limitations with these tools as we can often alter them to try and fit the setting, but even then we can sometimes still be limited. If there is not enough light, the next thing to do after you've made all the necessary adjustments would be to add external light. So on the other hand, when its too bright and you've made all the right changes on the camera, you then have to use an ND filter which almost acts like a pair of sunglasses for the camera lens.They can help when you have a target aperture that you want to use at a certain focal point for your preferred depth of field, and you're shooting in sunshine, adding an ND filter will allow you to keep you camera's settings. 

Here is an example of when an ND filter is applied. I did not have an ND Filter at hand and therefore this example is from the internet. But it is interesting to know what preparations I will need for my major project shoot. 

Test shoot findings as a whole. 

• After having a nightmare shooting in Troy's dark room with minimal lighting, it is clear that I need equipment that will allow me to have greater range in low light.  Therefore I decided to look at the Sony A7s. Why Sony A7s?

Well, since I was test shooting with the Canon 7d, I was already limited with what I could do when it came down to low light as it has an ISO ranging from 100 - 6400 (can be extended to 12800). The Sony A7s is a mirrorless, full frame sensor camera with an ISO ranging from 100- 102400. (expands to 50409600) depending on what lens is used. Thus meaning some of the issues I experienced when shooting in a darkened room would already be illuminated with just a basic lens. Not to mention I would also be able to use the canon lenses once I purchase a lens adaptor. I will be able to get those crispy depth of field shots with the use of my 50mm.

• The 50mm is almost perfect for when I want my central character to be focused and for the background to be blurred out. I learnt that this will be great for scenes where Isaiah is in distress as I really want the audience to have a greater understanding about his feelings. I will be using this in conjunction with a wide angle lens to make most of the scene setting shots when Isaiah is outside in the park. 
• I Also realised that when scheduling I need to allow time for set dressing the summer house as this is where most of Isaiah and Lily spend their time. It is important for me to get that detail across. 

The final video which will be uploaded onto Aurasma