Shoot Diary

Whilst on-set I made sure to note down the problems that occurred after shooting each scene. The following is an expanded transcript of said issues. 

Tuesday 17/03/14

Scene: 2

Some heavy rain nearly delayed the initial shoot, but once we got under tree cover and it died down a little. Due to the skeleton crew I had to boom op and mix, which was difficult as the actor started from a distance and got closer, shouting all the while which made levels unpredictable. Manoeuvrability of the boom pole in the trees was also difficult. 

For the first few slates the cameraman didn’t check to confirm the sound was also rolling causing me to miss some of the marking. We also had to pause shooting several times for passing planes.

Dialogue shouted, so levels were unpredictable at times, difficult to compensate w. boom

Nature of shots + tree manoeuvrability meant I was initially distant from actor

Had to pause several times for passing planes

Scene: 7

With a limited window of light remaining due to the scene taking place just before dark there was a hurry to get all the shots in time. I recorded some takes of running, swinging the boom along side the actors feet as he went, but positioning of the camera and crew wasn’t ideal, especially with the cameraman running alongside for a steadi-cam tracking shot generating extra footsteps.

Hope to use Friday to capture properly miced running foley. 

Wednesday 19/03/14

Scene: 11

Set up: x1 boom x2 Radio Mics

Having spent the previous evening configuring radio-mic channels and putting fresh batteries in everything to ensure the day ran smoothly, I was baffled to find the Tascam completely drained when we arrived at the exterior location down the Road. As we were only shooting a relatively short scene here in the morning I hadn't put any spare batteries in the kitbag and had to send someone back to the house to get some. I felt unprofessional keeping the actors waiting, and frustrated since I had taken adequate measures to prevent this exact occurrence.

As the largest day of filming we had extra hands on set, and being relieved of boom op duties was very welcome as i could concentrate on level adjustment. I had the mother and father radio miced up, although in hindsight this was perhaps not the best option as they offered little in the way of wind resistance when they first run into shot. I did make sure to get several boom takes of them also. 

Although I had recce'd this spot it was in the evening, which left me unaware of the daytime activities, so the clank of farm vehicles could be heard intermittently. There was also the usual traffic, plane and helicopter disruptions, but nothing could have prepared me for the inexplicable wailing of a World War 2 air raid siren that wailed out over the hills. Fortunately it didn't last too long.  The Tascam also started getting a strange digital interference, it sounded like a beeping timecode but it was something i couldn't sort out in the time remaining. The SQN also seemed to be draining far more rapidly than it should, which I soon realised was due to the radio mic channels being set to phantom instead of 48v, an oversight I shouldn't have missed given how long i spent configuring them the previous night.

We also had to abandon the main SFX shot of the throat slit due to the time constraints and prosthetic being applied to the wrong side of the neck to the camera angle. 

The change over between scenes was particularly stressful with so few of us, as we had to cater for the actors, take apart the bedroom and replace the bed, put the props and lights in place and also check and maintain our respective equipments in the space of an hour, already running behind from the mornings shoot.

Scene 6

The electrical interference was definitely sourced in the Tascam but I had no idea how or why it was doing it, and so switched to the Zoom H4N I had brought as a spare. When the SQN ran low there was an earsplitting static feedback interference I wasn't prepared for. Though I had a boom op the shouted lines were still difficult to compensate for, I would either adjust the volume dial or attenuate by - 10db.

The cameraman and director improvised some shots based on the available shooting angles in the space, but didn't mark or slate them, which I knew would lead to future syncing difficulties but there was also a rush to complete the scene and get the actors of set so I held my tongue and tried to memorise what the camera set up was for the log sheet.

Thursday 20/03/14

Scene 2 Reshoot

With the director and cameraman unhappy with the footage from the first day the entire scene was re-shot. The impromptu change of location meant I didn't really have a chance to recce it, and it turned out to be an exposed hillside forrest with particularly high winds that day. Though a much more visually stunning set piece than the previous one used, the terrain and long shots required made it too difficult to boom closely. I did try going prone behind some rocks to no avail, and also once the camera was closer up i tried to get in and follow the actor, however walking backwards over rocky terrain whilst trying to concentrate on both meter levels and positioning of the microphone was damn near impossible to do with out falling over or getting the boom in shot so I soon gave up, conceding that ADR would be required for this scene.  

Scene 4

Single mic set up
Though I boomed and recorded this wasn't too problematic as the scene mostly involved 2 characters and I wasn't confined to a corner the entire time. By this stage I was in good practice of turning off my kit the instant it looked like we wouldn't be going for a take right away, such as if the lighting needed adjusting or the director stopped to coach a performance. 

Friday 21/03/14

Scene 1

Hadn't had a chance to recce the lake location so was unaware of the nearby waterfall. The scene did not require dialogue however so I just helped out with applying fake blood and getting the shots.

Scene 11 Pick up

I had hoped to capture some running foley before we got this pick up however the card was full and the computer back at the cottage so I was unwilling to delete anything. I plan to come back at a later date when not pressed for time and capture this location properly. 

The pick up was the throat slit we failed to get the other day, it also didn't require sound, but did require all six of the crew present to get the shot, as we were using a jib, and had a pump rigged to a neck prosthetic to churn out blood. It also started spitting rain so umbrellas were required.

Saturday 22/03/14

Scene 8

Having left the bubble of the set to work the previous night in Sheffield I arrived a little later, to find the rest of the crew making a hasty exit as the cleaner wanted them out of the cottage earlier then anticipated. Though the scene would be non sync sound I had hoped to get a few bytes of bible reading for manipulation in the dream sequences, however due to the situation the cameraman was shut in the lounge with the actors getting the footage as quickly as possible whilst the rest of us packed up and restored the location to its original state. 

Monday 24/03/14

Scene 9

The final day of shooting ran much more smoothly due to having our producer on hand, and the editor there to help out as well. Despite the extra hands i still boomed opped for some of the takes and found myself caught off-guard with shouted lines from time to time. I again attenuated to resolve the levels. 

Very tense scene and immersive to watch unfold, however once again with the rush towards the end the cameraman and director started to neglect slating to get the improvised shots they wanted. Again I wish I had been more vocal about how much of an ache in the collective balls of post-production this makes synching dialogue but alas, I did not. 

After Wrapping I made sure to get foley of all objects used whilst they were still at the location.


Wednesday 26/03/14

Scene 5

Brief dream sequence in the basement that did not require sound, I was mostly just there as a location liason/set hand. As we were using a young actor to be crucified I improvised a measure of comfort we did not offer to our main lead when he was in the same situation by bubble-wrapping his wrists.

All in all it was a challenging shoot due largely to the small crew being stretched too thin. We would find ourselves behind schedule everyday but somehow managed to pull it together and wrap at the intended time. I think Into the Woods left us a little complacent, considering we had all 6 crew members essentially focused purely on the cinematography. I had almost forgotten that no matter how prepared you think you are on set you will always be surprised when a new problem inevitably occurs.