Week Long Workshop BSA 101 (Intro to Film) Week 4
This week was spent with the guys from SIT pro who taught us how to work with the equipment by having us make a short film. This was definitely the most fun and productive week yet, we got to see the entire process from writing the script to rapping up the shoot in the course of a week. Not only have we learnt all of the important gaff and grip equipment and been certified on them, but we also got to make an entire short film - however bad the final product might end up being.
We went into this week not knowing each other well, having no knowledge about how a professional film set functions and having no experience with any of the gear. Coming out the other end we were certified to handle the equipment, we had a good idea of what to expect on a real film set and we had worked together to make something.
The best part about the week was how we got to experience the different roles present on a movie set. The first department I had the pleasure to be a part of was sound recording, and while it has some good points it also definitely had some bad ones. The thing I enjoyed most about handling the boom mike was the fact that I had a front row seat to filming process. I could enjoy watching the actors do their job and see how the different interaction on set worked. The bad part about being a boom op was holding that stick for the amount of time I did, but it comes with the job. The worst part about recording the sound was that we couldn't turn of the refrigerator which continued humming incessantly throughout the shoot. It did however teach me a valuable lesson in sound, be aware of the environment and the sounds within it.
The second role I played was as part of the gaffing crew, this was probably the most un-enjoyable part of the experience for me. The responsibility that came with boom operation was gone and suddenly everything seemed very boring. I was only needed occasionally and there is only so much involved with putting up a redhead. Most of my time was spent sitting around waiting for someone to need me to do something.
The last role I played during the workshop was as director, a role I was very lucky to have the chance to play. The biggest issue I had with my time as director was taking over for the person who was directing before me. I had to finish their scenes and my creative input during these felt completely wasted. I couldn't change anything in the performances for continuity sake and I was basically just filming someone else's scenes from different angles. I can't imagine ever having the desire to be a second unit director. Once these scenes ended I enjoyed my time though, I had control over the final scene of the film and while what I ended up producing was nothing to be proud of I did enjoy getting to work with the actors and develop the scene. My time as director also made me realize how much of a pain in the backside an AD can be. We were running out of time and the first half of my directing experience was spent being rushed along, I also realized how helpful a good AD can be. I asked for a classmate to be my AD and he did a great job taking care of everything while my time was spent solely with the actors and the DOP.
The whole experience was amazing, I got a much clearer idea of what film-making is really like and learned what I liked doing and what I didn't like as much. Producing something even on such a small scale was a great experience and I look forward to working on more quasi-professional film sets throughout the rest of the year.
We went into this week not knowing each other well, having no knowledge about how a professional film set functions and having no experience with any of the gear. Coming out the other end we were certified to handle the equipment, we had a good idea of what to expect on a real film set and we had worked together to make something.
The best part about the week was how we got to experience the different roles present on a movie set. The first department I had the pleasure to be a part of was sound recording, and while it has some good points it also definitely had some bad ones. The thing I enjoyed most about handling the boom mike was the fact that I had a front row seat to filming process. I could enjoy watching the actors do their job and see how the different interaction on set worked. The bad part about being a boom op was holding that stick for the amount of time I did, but it comes with the job. The worst part about recording the sound was that we couldn't turn of the refrigerator which continued humming incessantly throughout the shoot. It did however teach me a valuable lesson in sound, be aware of the environment and the sounds within it.
The second role I played was as part of the gaffing crew, this was probably the most un-enjoyable part of the experience for me. The responsibility that came with boom operation was gone and suddenly everything seemed very boring. I was only needed occasionally and there is only so much involved with putting up a redhead. Most of my time was spent sitting around waiting for someone to need me to do something.
The last role I played during the workshop was as director, a role I was very lucky to have the chance to play. The biggest issue I had with my time as director was taking over for the person who was directing before me. I had to finish their scenes and my creative input during these felt completely wasted. I couldn't change anything in the performances for continuity sake and I was basically just filming someone else's scenes from different angles. I can't imagine ever having the desire to be a second unit director. Once these scenes ended I enjoyed my time though, I had control over the final scene of the film and while what I ended up producing was nothing to be proud of I did enjoy getting to work with the actors and develop the scene. My time as director also made me realize how much of a pain in the backside an AD can be. We were running out of time and the first half of my directing experience was spent being rushed along, I also realized how helpful a good AD can be. I asked for a classmate to be my AD and he did a great job taking care of everything while my time was spent solely with the actors and the DOP.
The whole experience was amazing, I got a much clearer idea of what film-making is really like and learned what I liked doing and what I didn't like as much. Producing something even on such a small scale was a great experience and I look forward to working on more quasi-professional film sets throughout the rest of the year.
Good reflections - thank you, Bo!
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