Problems on
shoot
When filming, it is imperative that you and your group are
fully prepared and organised to the utmost standard otherwise potentially challenging
circumstances may arise. Some variables can be easily averted by planning to do
filming at certain times of the day, evaluating the surroundings and checking
weather forecasts. However, other variables can be unpredictable and
spontaneous, such as people being present at your locations which may interfere with filming.
People entering
filming area
People entering the area of filming is often an
unpredictable circumstance whilst shooting; especially in areas nearby
populated areas or that attract dog walkers, runners and teenage 'chavs'. When we filmed
close to an abandoned factory in Rochdale, some filming was briefly interrupted
by a small group of teens aiming to loot the place for copper. Later
on in the day, at the same location, a group of men, filming and taking pictures
themselves, inadvertently entered some shots and made noise in the background which
ruined a few shots. We informed them
about our filming and the conditions we needed for it to allow work to progress as planned. This meet proved advantageous as two of the photographers possessed
gas masks and volunteered to be in the production. The same group gave us all
some practical, lightweight respirators which proved useful in the
dustier recesses of the building.
Weather
Though weather can be unpredictable sometimes, such as the
sporadic rain showers we were subject to one weekend of filming that WEREN’T
forecast, it is generally easy to avoid problematic weather conditions like
rain and gusty wind by accessing forecasts. Simply planning around times of bad
weather is a start, but you must also take daylight hours into account. For
instance, with winter drawing nearer, the time we had to film after school was drastically reduced since darkness sets in around 4:30 – 5:00 pm which is the
time we get home on a typical day. Therefore, we had to film at the weekends
when all members of the group were free.
Sometimes it is inevitable facing film-unfriendly weather
conditions which means the group should be dressed appropriately, that means
plenty of warm and waterproof clothing when outside. This was made easier by
the fact that we required coats and warm clothing for our actual production.
Lighting
Lighting in buildings can be a problem; if there is too much
or too little light in the environment it can ruin the mood of the shot, or
even make the shot completely obscure. In addition to this, when rooms are
partially shadowed and then partially deluged with light, the changes needed in camera settings make it very difficult to shoot when you have no lighting rig and amateur video equipment such as our Panasonic HDC. Although this proved problematic we really wanted to use this location so we did our best to prevent these lighting problems
by bringing and using a torch with a wide lighting radius.
