Major Project - Racing License Sequence Shoot Day
Shooting The Racing License Test
Today we shot the racing license sequence at Brand's Hatch Racing Circuit. We wanted to be on location earlier than Alex's scheduled ARDS writing test therefore we got there for 09:00 in order to have time to prepare ourselves adequately, as well as recce the track once more in order to ensure Jon and George understood the locations and framing of the shots that we wanted to get from them during the track test segment.
I had spent the previous night at George's house as to allow myself enough time to make it to the circuit in the morning, without relying on the notoriously inconsistent train service - therefore we left around 08:30 in order to make it to the circuit in time for 09:00. The written test was scheduled for 11:00, shortly followed by the racing test at 13:00, however the practical racing exams began taking place immediately following the completion of the written assessment, leading to a slight panic in getting the equipment set-up and operators spread out around the track in time. The original plan was to finish shooting the ARDS written test, at which point we would have approximately 1hr to eat, brief everyone on their responsibilities as camera operators and set-up the equipment around the track, however due to the abrupt change in scheduling we were forced to organise quickly and adapt to the situation.
The filming of the written test went well, with myself and George focusing on attaining each of the shots on the shot-list and me being the lead camera operator. During these sequences I also had Alex's photography friend Jon using my Lumix FZ330 in order to gather C.U. (Close Up) shots from the side, to be intercut with my own master M.S/W.S (Medium Shot/Wide Shot) on the Sony AX53 that I had rolling on Alex for the first segment of the written test, followed by a C.U. on the ARDS Instructor during the time he was delivering his talk. George was overseeing the shotlist and attending to any of the crew's needs as required.
Fortunately we had previously arranged to have Alex be the last to take his practical ARDS test, as it would allow us some additional time for me and Alex to mount the Go-Pro mounts on the interior of the test vehicle before his test began. Furthermore, we also had fellow 3rd year coursemate, Laura Dagga on site from 12:00 onwards in order to help as a camera operator out on the track. This allowed us to get additional coverage during the practical racing sequence. During the on-track practical test shoot we have more coverage than any other sequence in the documentary (not including the race day itself); This includes 7 total cameras, 3 Go-Pro's mounted to the interior of the vehicle covering a variety of different shots, 3 cameras out mounted on tripods around the track itself, and myself on the Sony AX53 with a shoulder-stabilisation mount in the pitlane area to capture PTC's with Alex before and after the practical test, as well as the occasional shot of Alex driving through the pitlane or on the track on the opposite side of the pitlane.
The shooting itself went well and I was able to efficiently communicate and coordinate with the rest of the camera operators out on track via the walkie talkies we purchased for usage during the making of 'DreamChaser', allowing me to have a constant idea of everyone's status. One of the key benefits of having the walkie talkies was that Jon could signal to me when Alex was entering the pitlane from the other end of the track, meaning I could make sure I was in position to get the footage that I needed. Unfortunately there were some other complications that occurred today that we are learning from for future shoots on this project, one of which was the lack of trackside access. Despite George being under the impression that he had acquired media 'trackside' access for us during the practical test, this was in fact not the case. We were cleared for media passes and to film around the track itself, but not trackside specifically which was what we had planned the shoot for. We believe this to be down to a miscommunication between Brand's Hatch support and George via email and will work to ensure that this is clarified during all future shoot days taking place at Brand's Hatch. What this meant was that the camera operators positioned out on track were required to re-position themselves from their originally planned locations; this was unfortunate as it made a lot of the resources that we had put together and printed out for usage on the day obsolete.
Despite this issue, we were able to get some usable footage from the track, however there is less than we would have initially liked - we're treating the entire incident as somewhat of a learning experience going forward, with our next day at Brand's Hatch being scheduled for the 19th of Feb, we should have more than enough time to ensure that we have full trackside access during those shoots and beyond. There was also light rain during the practical segment of the shoot which made shooting slightly more stressful than it needed to be for those out on track, given that they were battling with keeping themselves dry, as well as the equipment that was out on the track.
All in all though, the PTC sequences shot in the pitlane came out really well, as did the shoots in the written test. Whilst the complications with the schedule were frustrating at the time, in retrospective we're all learning to take it in our stride and utilise the experience as a learning opportunity for the rest of the production on 'DreamChaser'.
I had spent the previous night at George's house as to allow myself enough time to make it to the circuit in the morning, without relying on the notoriously inconsistent train service - therefore we left around 08:30 in order to make it to the circuit in time for 09:00. The written test was scheduled for 11:00, shortly followed by the racing test at 13:00, however the practical racing exams began taking place immediately following the completion of the written assessment, leading to a slight panic in getting the equipment set-up and operators spread out around the track in time. The original plan was to finish shooting the ARDS written test, at which point we would have approximately 1hr to eat, brief everyone on their responsibilities as camera operators and set-up the equipment around the track, however due to the abrupt change in scheduling we were forced to organise quickly and adapt to the situation.
The filming of the written test went well, with myself and George focusing on attaining each of the shots on the shot-list and me being the lead camera operator. During these sequences I also had Alex's photography friend Jon using my Lumix FZ330 in order to gather C.U. (Close Up) shots from the side, to be intercut with my own master M.S/W.S (Medium Shot/Wide Shot) on the Sony AX53 that I had rolling on Alex for the first segment of the written test, followed by a C.U. on the ARDS Instructor during the time he was delivering his talk. George was overseeing the shotlist and attending to any of the crew's needs as required.
Fortunately we had previously arranged to have Alex be the last to take his practical ARDS test, as it would allow us some additional time for me and Alex to mount the Go-Pro mounts on the interior of the test vehicle before his test began. Furthermore, we also had fellow 3rd year coursemate, Laura Dagga on site from 12:00 onwards in order to help as a camera operator out on the track. This allowed us to get additional coverage during the practical racing sequence. During the on-track practical test shoot we have more coverage than any other sequence in the documentary (not including the race day itself); This includes 7 total cameras, 3 Go-Pro's mounted to the interior of the vehicle covering a variety of different shots, 3 cameras out mounted on tripods around the track itself, and myself on the Sony AX53 with a shoulder-stabilisation mount in the pitlane area to capture PTC's with Alex before and after the practical test, as well as the occasional shot of Alex driving through the pitlane or on the track on the opposite side of the pitlane.
The shooting itself went well and I was able to efficiently communicate and coordinate with the rest of the camera operators out on track via the walkie talkies we purchased for usage during the making of 'DreamChaser', allowing me to have a constant idea of everyone's status. One of the key benefits of having the walkie talkies was that Jon could signal to me when Alex was entering the pitlane from the other end of the track, meaning I could make sure I was in position to get the footage that I needed. Unfortunately there were some other complications that occurred today that we are learning from for future shoots on this project, one of which was the lack of trackside access. Despite George being under the impression that he had acquired media 'trackside' access for us during the practical test, this was in fact not the case. We were cleared for media passes and to film around the track itself, but not trackside specifically which was what we had planned the shoot for. We believe this to be down to a miscommunication between Brand's Hatch support and George via email and will work to ensure that this is clarified during all future shoot days taking place at Brand's Hatch. What this meant was that the camera operators positioned out on track were required to re-position themselves from their originally planned locations; this was unfortunate as it made a lot of the resources that we had put together and printed out for usage on the day obsolete.Despite this issue, we were able to get some usable footage from the track, however there is less than we would have initially liked - we're treating the entire incident as somewhat of a learning experience going forward, with our next day at Brand's Hatch being scheduled for the 19th of Feb, we should have more than enough time to ensure that we have full trackside access during those shoots and beyond. There was also light rain during the practical segment of the shoot which made shooting slightly more stressful than it needed to be for those out on track, given that they were battling with keeping themselves dry, as well as the equipment that was out on the track.
All in all though, the PTC sequences shot in the pitlane came out really well, as did the shoots in the written test. Whilst the complications with the schedule were frustrating at the time, in retrospective we're all learning to take it in our stride and utilise the experience as a learning opportunity for the rest of the production on 'DreamChaser'.
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