Filming

    I am currently writing this to explain the process I went through during filming our commercial production. The day of filming, I was in charge of many tasks. This includes gathering the filming equipment. Specifically, the camera, tripod, and SD card to save our clips onto. When we walked into class, I filled out the equipment takeaway sheet. This is used to keep track of when and where the equipment is during the filming day. After I filled the sheet out, I got together with my group mates and discussed exactly where we should shoot our first scene. My project partner suggested that we go to the auditorium to film our first couple scenes. However, I reminded her that we needed to film in natural lighting. So, we decided that we would film outside, near the track, as this is the best spot to get the brightest natural lighting. Once we figured this out, we headed off to film.

    As we began our walk to the track, my group mate popped the SD card into the camera and checked to see how many minutes were on the memory card. I turned to her as she did so, and I saw a shocked look on her face. She then told me that there was only 3 minutes left for film on the SD card. Therefore, I had to make the walk back to the classroom to retrieve another SD card. My teacher was a little upset that we hadn't checked it before we left, but I eventually did get an SD with plenty of filming time on it. Once I got the new SD card, I walked back to the track to meet with my filming partner. She was already setting up the tripod once I got there, so we could start filming right away. Right before we were about to attach the camera to the tripod, we ran into another problem. The top piece of the tripod that attaches the camera to the top of the tripod was missing. Once again, I made the trip back to the classroom to grab another tripod.

    Finally, after all of the stalling, we were able to begin filming. I set up the tripod in its correct position, and directed my film partner, who was the main star in our commercial, to get into position. Once she was in position, I hit the record button and we began. The first scene involved her walking down a sidewalk, so I had to pan the camera, using the tripod as she walked. The commercial involved her dropping a cup of Dunkin' coffee and spilling it on the ground. This meant that we only had one chance at the shot, since we only had one cup of coffee. The scene did not come out as we wanted it to, so we would have to re shoot it, at a later date. But, the next scene only required me to walk into frame and look at the puddle of spilled coffee. We hit the record button again and I got into position. I then walked into frame and stared at the coffee. After a few more takes of this same scene, we were finished filming our initial shots for the day, so we headed back to class.