SHOOT WEEK

I had intended to shoot ahead of time, but due to restraints on my Cast and location availability, I shot on the final day of shoot week. This did however lend itself to a productive additional week of planning.

CAMERA CHOICE

During this week I made many considerations about my approach to the film and began to explore in more detail the equipment available to me for the shoot. I decided that I'd hire out two different cameras from the Uni store- The Sony XDCam and the Canon 7D- and take them to my location to see which I preferred. I ended up choosing the SONY XDCam for a few reasons. On the Canon, some of the shots were very difficult to get without having the ability to turn the monitor and view what you were shooting, meaning that additional time would be needed when shooting to review the footage each time. Knowing that we were working within time constraints at the location, this was an important thing to consider. I could be more confident in what I had just shot with the XCam, as I could more clearly view the screen while filming. The Sony also had a much longer focal distance, meaning that even in the moving shots, the drop in the quality of the focus was not as noticeable as it was when using the Canon. 

I also found that the footage graded better on the XDCam and it seemed to have more range in the adjustments that could be made and was far more responsive to smaller tweaks. There were some issues with the XDCam, most notably in its portability, with the Canon being a much smaller, more mobile camera. The moving shots were also nowhere near the level of the Canon when using the Ronin, which allowed for super-smooth movement and a great almost ethereal floating quality. This was a trade-off that I was happy to make as I thought that the XDCam was the better choice in most other respects.

Here's a comparison video of the two:

Take me to Youtube.

 FRAMING, COMPOSITION & CAMERA

It became immediately obvious that some of the shots I'd storyboarded were simply not possible inside the physical space of the shop. With one of my Actors, we rehearsed as best possible to work out how each part of the scene would be shot and I assembled a shot list from this.

I wanted the viewer to feel as though they were in the room and aware of the geography of the space. Handheld shots will be used for the most part to feel present as a viewer. Tripods will be used for options for the edit, but used only when necessary and when they don’t feel rigid or mechanical. Camera movement will be deliberate and motivated by the blocking of the Performers. 

LIGHTING & COLOUR

Recessed LED block lights are evenly positioned in the ceiling and provide a cold but consistent amount of light for shooting. I visited the location with filming equipment in advance to see whether the final outcome would be significantly affected if lights were not used. I used Premiere to achieve a draft of a desired final result (below). I didn’t have a concrete idea of how I wanted it to look at this point and decided to be guided by the process in this case, rather than the planning. 

In this example, I crushed all of the whites by reducing the highlights and adding yellow to the midtones, so that they took on a much more subdued yellow tone. The skin tone also remained relatively true while also feeling stylised. (Right hand side is Log footage) 

DESIGN & SOUND 

The location does much of the job by already being a fully ‘dressed’ shop. However, there were more subtle design choices that I wanted to implement to emphasise the tone. I created props such as the toilet key, a shoddily sellotape-laminated namesake hanging alongside the phallic aubergine key keyring. I also created a sign that read “Family planning from only £3”, quantifying the seriousness of the situation and diminishing it down to such a low value. Alongside the pregnancy test that Juno finds in this section are condoms and bottles of Vodka. I wanted to feed into an aura of poorly laid plans and emphasise the underlying comedic tone. The toilet location that I had to shoot in was pristine, so I created a foamboard block to mount on the wall behind Juno, in an effort to recreate the feeling of a rundown public toilet. I screwed into the corners to make it look more realistically mounted and used acrylic paint to create a rust effect dripping from the screws. I then invited others on the course to write on the board before sanding it for a more convincing wear and tear effect. 

 

SHOOT DAY

Things felt as though they were organised as much as possible and I was pleased that we could get into the shop and get started almost immediately. I communicated with all of my cast and crew to confirm times and locations for everyone the evening before and the morning of so that everybody was kept up to date at all times. I began by shooting all of the pre-planned options in my shot list, making slight adjustments for shots that couldn't be rehearsed when planning. The Directing itself was something that felt natural to me and although at times stressful, it was made easier by having a good crew and patient Cast, who were invaluable to creating the final product.