The first of our studio shoots has been completed, we began our shoot by creating the set for Boris' scene in which we see Boris taking a shotgun from his cellar via a low angle shot from inside said cellar and one more shot of him cocking the gun. In order to get this shot we created a rig with a box on top that our cameraman could set up underneath, from there we could get the low angle shot seemingly from a basement without having to find a location with a hatch basement. We then added a ceiling tile to disguise the studio ceiling and lights and set the scene as Boris's house.
There were two issues with this rig that we discovered only when using it. Because the box was quite tall we had to raise the height of the false ceiling, the lights and the actor. This meant taking the extendable height of the light stands to the limit to ensure there was enough light in the scene and having the actor stand on a table, it took us quite a while to get the shot right because of the difficulties with
the lighting.
The second shot was much easier to complete, it consisted of Jordan having to come up into the frame as if standing, and cock the shotgun while looking at it. The only issues we had with this one was trying not to laugh while he repeatedly bowed at the camera in a grey suit that hung off of him as if it were his dads and he a small child (it was my jacket).
The second part of the shoot is probably the best looking shot so far, from day one Louis was suggested to play Franky Four Fingers and it's easy to see why, he's got that Vegas look. While this shot was fairly simple to set up it is one of the only scenes that is one continuous shot and so was slightly more difficult to get right every time. There were some more difficult camera movements that required getting the camera from an extreme close up at the centre of the table, back to a mid shot then back in for another close up. The only problem with this was having the rig get close enough to the table without hitting it as the jarring would ruin the shot, to combat this we had Damon steady and stop the camera from underneath while Peter made sure the shot was looking as it should through the viewfinder.
The lighting for this piece was nice and simple, the dedos were placed directly at the table and high over to cast a few shadows and get that Ritchie look. The original setting appears to be an old warehouse or otherwise empty space composed of mainly shadow (makes sense for a dodgy poker game) so the studio was a great setting as we could use the space and the black curtains to get the shadows we needed. The closeness of this shot meant we were able to get the lights in really close as well and get their full effect, that and we were able to bring a tv close to the set so the actors and cinematographer could study the movements and other aspects of the scene such as prop placement.
TEAMWORK!
The thing that stood out most in this shoot was the level of effort everyone was willing to put in and how well we work together, sure there were moments where we disagreed or felt something could be done better but we were always keeping to the task in hand and making sure we were working to the best of our abilities to make sure our clip was the best it could be. It was lighthearted and fun working with these guys and I'll definitely think about shooting with them in the future (after this project is finalised of course). Peter was invaluable as a cinematographer and cameraman and always made sure the shot we got was the right one and matched the original clip in as many ways as we could manage. Damon was handy once again with costume and props just making sure we had everything we could need as well as a few options. I made sure we were well organised and not running over our time in the studio without getting what we needed, all of the actors were really accommodating and took direction well, they all got stuck into their roles and had some fun while doing so. Everyone else in the crew was always ready to help and pitch in wherever needed, we always had plenty of help on hand for even the smallest task. Though we took our time with this shoot and could have potentially got more done, we may not have ended up with such high quality footage and we wouldn't have been so relaxed and enjoyed it as much. Great job team!
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