First Shooting Date - Monday 23rd February

On Monday 23rd February, I completed my first shoot.

The day started at 8:35am with a production meeting. Myself, my Production Assistant Rachael and my client Simon Rogers sat down for a quick meeting to discuss the plan for the day and the scenes we were hoping to complete.

After a quick camera setup, we proceeded to begin filming. We had the storyboard and rough script to hand, deciding as we went along which scene to shoot next. We would choose a scene, with Simon scouting the students to star in the video from their classrooms. Rachael and I would direct the students through the scene and co-operate with the camera, taking turns to shoot various scenes. I felt that directing alongside an experienced director and my client worked really well, and that we all communicated well and used each other's feedback to improve the highest quality standard.



At 10:35am we had a slot booked to shoot the vital opening / closing scenes with the Principal Mrs Sparrow and her senior members of staff. This part of the video was the only scripted scene that would require external microphones. We used the main college camera to shoot the initial close up scenes, and a handheld camera to shoot both a wide shot of the room and the sound. We had a small microphone attached to Mrs Sparrow's cardigan that recorded the external sound. I enjoyed directing in such a real environment - It was fun to experiment with the two cameras and trial different shot types.

Throughout the day we managed to complete nearly all of the required shots which was fulfilling. I felt that through efficient team work, we managed to shoot everything to a near-professional standard and manage our time well. It was a great experience to work in a production team alongside my peers on a project for a real client.

At times I felt it was stressful, but having the assistance of my production team helped to overcome obstacles we faced (such as scheduling conflicts.) I feel that if I didn't have the utmost help and co-operation from both my clients and the students involved I wouldn't have achieved half of what I did that day. The students were always coming up with new, creative ideas to help make the video more interesting from their point of view which was refreshing and very helpful.