Test shoots

Test shoots for this unit were extremely useful to me, especially due to shooting on my own. As I was directing, filming, and acting, I had to make sure that I had planned every shot in detail and made sure that I knew how I wanted it to be executed before filming. As I knew I would have a lot to consider during the shoot days, I tested all shots that I thought would be challenging to complete. As the adaptation that I am creating is going to be quite experimental, there were elements that I felt a bit nervous about shooting. However testing them gave me confidence and knowledge on how to set up the kit successfully to shoot when filming to create the desired effect. I combined research along with my own knowledge to help me during the test shots. 

USING A GREEN SCREEN

During the planning stages for this unit and idea development I came to the decision that I wanted to be experimental and have the weather reflecting the protagonists mood. At first I did not know how to create this effect and I had a few ideas such as just adding the sound of different types of weather over a shot, or just using lighting or a cutaway to show it. I did not feel that these ideas were experimental enough so I tried to think outside the box, and came up with the idea of placing a green screen on my wall to form a 'hole in the wall' that I can then key an image on to create the effect of having weather showing through the wall. The only experience that I had before with using a green screen was for digital news and that was with the green screen already set up, so I had a big challenge ahead of me. I luckily own a green screen sheet so I nailed it into my wall in the shape of a hole, this made me realise that there are endless opportunities when creating film and you can manipulate tools to create the desired effect. 

To help me out I researched online and first learnt to "light the green screen equally to the subject" (Washer, 2016) Therefore when lighting the green screen I set up an LED panel in front of the green screen slightly to the left, and another one in front of me. I then shot the footage and reviewed it in Adobe After Effects and it was very dark as you can see below. Something that is unfortunate is that my wall is yellow and this blended with the green screen, which then meant that After Effects could not pick up which area is green screen when using the Keylight effect. (Washer 

After the first attempt I knew that I had to brighten the shot and try to light the green screen more evenly. As I was filming this from home I luckily has three LED panels of my own, however I only have one tripod for them so something that was hard was to have the LED panels at the right angle, using the kit that is available to me. I then realised that I could attach one of my light panels to my DSLR tripod and this was a great help as it allowed me to light the green screen, as well as the wall equally. I then shot this and again placed it into Adobe Aftereffects to try again using the Keylight Effect. This time I had unfortunately gone too far with the lighting and had over-lit the shot. This caused a similar problem to before, hence keying the shot did not work very successfully. You can see in the shot below that it is very bright and you can also see the reflection of the main room LED light switched on. Even though it was frustrating to start with, it was also a good learning curve for me to try to get the lighting right and in future I will understand how to light a shot successfully when using a green screen. 

After this I then had the idea to add some warmer lights to the shot and I also adjusted the white balance. I could instantly see a difference and the wall and green screen were completely different colours which made me optimistic already. Using an extra LED panel with a red gel and then using a diffusion just added a slightly warmer tone and reflected the colours of the room accurately, along with altering the white balance. Once I had finished shooting I put the shot into After Effects and added some copyright free stock footage which worked perfectly. I used the Keylight effect and then slightly altered the balance and used the 'Screen Matte' option to make sure that it was as neat as possible. After this I used the 'Advanced Spill Supressor' and then I was happy with the final look. As you can see below the green screen has worked really well and looks very successful as a 'hole in the wall' which was the effect that I wanted to create. I ma so glad that  practiced this during the test shot stages as I did not anticipate how long it would take to get correct and when it came to shooting I knew exactly how to set up the shot. 

RUNNING INTO FRAME

Another test shot that I carried out was for the shots for where I am running. As I am filming myself and setting up the shot myself this was the most challenging one to do. I wanted to be able to run into the shot so that I am in focus by the time that I get to the centre of the shot and look directly down the lens. The aspect that I found trickiest was ending up in the centre of the frame at the end of the shot. I used the monitor to make sure that I was centre however this was hard as when running I ended in a different spot every time and it kept creating a similar shot to below in which my head is out of the frame. 

I had a look through the camera settings and realised that I could switch on the grid markers, this was a complete game changer along with using electrical tape which I took with me to create a marker on the floor so that I knew where to stop every time when running to land in the right space in the frame. I then was able to create a shot similar to the one below which I felt very happy with as I landed exactly where I wanted to be in the frame. It also meant that when shooting for the film I was prepared and knew how to efficiently frame the shot on my own. 

TAP

Another struggle that I faced during the test shot process was with filming a section with the tap. In my adaptation I was planning on having shots of taps as action matches in the frame, hence I wanted to have a practice of it before filming, and also of getting a good focus of the tap. I researched and discovered that "lighting is key" (Brown, 2020), so I made sure that I had the shot lit well by having a blue LED bouncing into a mirror behind the tap which created a blue tone to the room. I then placed a white LED light on a tripod in front of the tap. I feel that this lit the tap really well however it took a while to configure it properly to the point shown in the clip below so I'm glad that I tried it in the test shot stage as it meant that when filming I knew exactly where to put the lights after using electrical tape to mark where they go. An aspect that I struggled with was focussing the shot. As the tap was close to the lens as shown in the shot below there was not much of a depth of field and the tap was quite blurry. I then skimmed through the Panasonic camera guide and found the section on the macro shot button (Panasonic, unknown), using this allowed me to make the shot really crisp when filming with all taps, so again I am very glad that I discovered this during the test shot process. 

EDITING 

Finally when editing there was also something that I wanted to test. As I knew that I would be creating montage and possibly using overlays, I wanted to practice with it. I downloaded some stock footage where there was a subject in the foreground of the frame and placed the shots together. I then tried to match up the objects so that they were in a similar place and add an overlay so that they flow together smoothly. As seen blow they all blend together and I am very glad with how it came out. I am also happy that I tested it as it meant that when it came to editing I was confident with using overlays and creating montaging. 

Bibliography

How to get a flawless green screen shoot in a tiny room (2016) [online video] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jeqx-xoiA8 (Accessed on 9/1/2021)

Brown, L. (2020) 6 Tips for Making Macro Video. At: https://filmora.wondershare.com/videography/macro-video.html (Accessed 12.1.2021) 

Panasonic. (unknown) Panasonic AG-DVX200. At: https://pro-av.panasonic.net/en/products/ag-dvx200/

 (Accessed 12.1.2021)