PRE-PRODUCTION • Testing a Scene | Development

I was able to plan a test shoot of a specific scene from our most recent script, this was useful in many different ways, including planning the best position for cameras, looking at whether they would logistically fit 3 cameras in one room, how the lighting would work and the flow of the scene. 

The first this I did on this day was set up the cameras in the dining room which is where the scene I had chosen takes place. I chose this specific scene because I felt this was one of the more tricky ones in the room was much smaller than some of the ones we had previously completed test shoots in as also because there is lots of movement in this scene and a need for artificial lighting as well. 

I matched up the cameras with the same settings, these included the white balance, making sure they were set to the same Kelvin and the record settings - for this test I tried filming in Ultra HD at 25fps to compare to my previous test which was done in Full HD. This process was really important and a good chance for me to practice as all the cameras should look the same so when it comes to the edit, the shots flow nicely from different cameras without any obvious differences like the colour or quality.

Testing this scene gave me the chance to see what lighting we would need for this location and how the natural lighting would hold up on its own. This was filmed at 11am where the sun was at a 70-degree angle, shining through the window into the room. Comparing the close up on Becca (Dean) at 0:20 of the video to the close up of Laura (Annie) at 0:15 (stills below), I can see that I will need to plan for some artificial lighting to face Annie's character, as the shot on Dean is much brighter and better lit than of Annie who has her back to the window.

Close up on Dean at 0:20

Close up on Annie at 0:15

Another challenge I found was that in this scene the character Dean is written to leave the room, however, this logistically becomes a problem as there will be camera equipment and lighting in the way of the exit. This is not only a filming problem but also health and safety. This required for some moving of the cameras and careful planning of where the lighting will be positioned to make sure that the exit was not blocked and the actor would be able to walk out of shot. 

Something that I noticed in the edit of this test shoot was that there was not much allowance for a good depth of field as the characters were standing very close to the wall which gave the scene a very flat look. In this test shoot, we didn't have our set design so it is difficult to know if this would have made a difference to the overall appearance. I conveyed this challenge to the director, and we have since found out that the dining room table can be made smaller which would give us more room in the location to move cameras and bring the actors away from the wall. 

Mid Shot (Master) at 0:14