Major Project: my role on Rosie's shoot

My role as cinematographer/camera operator on Rosie shoot.

During Rosie's shoot, I was appointed to be in the camerawoman. This was such an eye-opening experience and a really  helpful yet fun one as well. During this time I was able to really improve my ability as a camera person but I also learned a lot from her and how she structured her shoots.

What I learnt

Since Rosie  spaced out her shoots over the course of six days, she allowed a lot of time in between scenes and days, this meant that on each shoot day there wasn't a lot of scenes to go through. She was allowed herself to have time to go through it and make sure she got everything. I saw how pleasant your shoot day could be if you're not rushed to get so many shots all in one day. I generally think I will now implement this into my future projects because I really preferred how the day felt. But, the only thing is when you're not paying actors you can afford to have so many shoot days, but when I was paying them £30 minimum a day, I couldn't really afford to have so many shoot days. To me it made sense to shoot all the shots in that one location instead of revisiting and spending more time. But from working on Rosie shoe I learnt that this isn't always necessary.

It was interesting, during my shoot Sam Creamer was the one to set up all of the equipment and I would sometimes lend a helping hand, however I wasn't really hands-on with the equipment as I left him to do his job. It was interesting that now I was now in this position and all eyes were on me to know how to fix the equipment when it goes wrong, set it up correctly, and just be able to produce good content. I must admit the pressure was on and I was really scared at first, simple things like just hooking up the F and V monitor correctly was a challenge. I had to FaceTime Sam Creamer to help me as I did not remember how to do it. After that, all the shoot days went smoothly because I became much more comfortable behind the camera and behind the set up in general. The first day was a little bit rough but after that everything felt smooth sailing for me.

And another thing I realised during Rosie's shoot  is how my fatigue can really mess with my ability to perform well as a director. During her shoot I was really well rested due to the short shoot days and that meant I was really on the ball with camera work and I was able to pick up a little continuity issues and suggest better shots for Rosie's shoot, I was really proud I was able to do this because I really wanted to meet her shoot good.  In the same breath, I was also quite disappointed in myself at the fact that I did not bring the same energy to my own shoots. Had I have been well rested, I don't think I would've had so many mistakes in my shoot. But as Simon says I should not look in the past and I shall look at what I have right now so I won't dwell on it, However I will understand that in the future I need to be well rested to perform better on projects especially when it's my own.

Overall

The main thing to note about this whole experience is the fact that my confidence has really grown and I no longer doubt myself and my ability behind the camera. I learnt there are better ways to structure your shoot and to be more efficient. I'm really thankful for Rosie choosing me to be her come person as it's giving me great insight into the creative world and make me think about what I really want to do after this uni course is over. I really enjoyed the experience.