Echoes of Silence - Shoot 1 - Scene 1

Yesterday we had our first official shoot for Echoes of Silence. For good measure, it's the opening scene of the film. Going into shooting this scene as a director I was faced with a few of the challenges I have previously been faced with when dealing with a scene of a large scope. We required around 20 extras, as well as the 5 crew members to be on shoot, all in one location. To bring this altogether we needed to exact the camera blocking we had practiced in the test shoot last week, and to improve the lighting based off the negative aspects of the same test shoot. Thankfully we went into this shoot having already understood the do's and dont's, thus perfecting what I will refer to as the 'nuts and bolts' of a scene; lighting it and organising the camera blocking. The challenging aspect of this shoot was very similar to that which I experienced whilst directing the party scene within ALICE. With a large amount of people in one place, you will inevitably be faced with a lot of questions. Questions you must ask yourself but also questions in real time, with people coming up to you and asking you for this and that, all relating to their job role. At this point it's something that you have to grasp. People aren't there to pester you they're there to do a job, so I've found it's all about maintaining composure in your own creative headspace and also dealing with the technical aspects and logistics of being on a real set with real people. Fortunately this wasn't as overwhelming as it would have been when everyone turned up and looked at me with the 'what now?' face, as I had already been in that position, as I previously stated in regards to ALICE. 

Some of the shots from the shoot; before and after colour correction:

We got to work, setting up between 2-4PM, which was the call for all extras to arrive. That two hour window was incredibly valuable as it allows us to map out the scene from start to finish, as well as setting up our first shot ready to go straight away once we have everyone there. Another thing we're doing differently with this film is having two camera units. This was the first shoot we were able to fully utilise the two unit system to full effect, essentially turning a six hour shoot into a three hour one. We were able to film the same shot from two different angles if we weren't breaking the line with the other camera, and aside from that we were able to set up one camera whilst the other was rolling ready to jump straight back in without changing lenses/tripods etc. This was one of the things that worked out really well in retrospect. The turnaround was swift and effective and allowed us to stay on track. 4PM came around and we had about 15-20 extras turn up to act as crowd fillers. The primary focus on having a large crowd there was to use a large quantity of people to block the camera as they passed it. I wanted the scene to have that end of lecture feel where loads of young people surge for the door, leaving the lecturer standing alone and unfazed by their disinterest. It's was also the perfect way for me to introduce that character, someone who is completely alienated in the world, with little to no human contact. These kinds of decisions you pre-plan and mull over as a director in every day life are the hardest things to hang onto in the hustle and bustle nature of a shoot. I find that I have to protect my creativity by taking just 10 or 20 seconds here and there to get in a head-space where I can make the right decisions for the film. If I was to say so, this might be the most important thing I've learned as a student filmmaker altogether. When I began, I would let the stress consume me. I would let the methodical nature of the shoot take over the creative part of my brain and I would end up with something that wasn't my vision at all. Over time I've learned you have to balance the two. I don't think you're ever going to get to the point as a director where you're able to completely phase out what's going on around you, but you do develop a filter where you're able to make the right decisions that will benefit the film. I got to a point later in the shoot after we had finished the shots with the extras (which went exactly as plan) where I found that what I was shooting just wasn't what I wanted. For months I had went on about wanting this shot that resembled the zoom shots of Kubricks 'Barry Lyndon', in which the camera would zoom out of a smaller detail to reveal the world around it, therefore telling a story in a single movement. It turns out that I overestimated the focal length of the zoom lens we had. 70-300mm was nowhere near enough to get what I wanted. Myself and the cinematographer went away from the shoot to find out what I would need is a 200-700mm, which cost between £2000-£3000. Simply isn't going to happen. Getting back to the point, which is sometimes compromises need to be made and it isn't the end of the world. We left the shoot around half 8 knowing we would have to come back for that shot. 

Despite all of the blocking plans we did and all of the thought behind what we were going to do and how to achieve it, we still came away short. This is no ones fault, and it's a shot we can go back and get at a later date. I did come away feeling more confident in myself ironically. Despite finishing the shoot with a shot left to get, I mulled over it and found that there are many a filmmaker who would have accepted the shot they didn't actually want, but figured it would be fine. I'm not willing to compromise so heavily, especially during this Final Major Project. The people I have learned from over my three years at CCAD have not been the successful people. I have learned from the people that have failed, and the people  who walk away from shots with a lazy 'that'll be fine attitude'. As brutal as it is there are a lot more lessons to be found in failure, either in yourself or in others. My job now is to go away and to find another way to get that zoom shot and to make it as effective as I had originally planned. At the moment I'm considering a track out from close distance. 

Here is a BTS video of the crew at work, mostly planning before the shoot and a little of me directing the actor within the scene.