Major Project - Karting Sequence Shoot & Brands Hatch w/ Alex's Dad
Shooting The Karting Sequence
This weekend was an eventful one, Saturday afternoon we spent time at a Go-Karting track that Alex has frequented since he was a child, this being Filching Manor Karting Circuit just outside of Polegate, SW England. It was interesting to me as someone who's never had much of an interest in Go-Karting to dip my toes in the water by getting behind the wheel for the first time. We were also filming this sequence as part of our documentary.
The basic idea behind this sequence was to have Alex record a PTC on the Panasonic DVX200 mounted to a tripod in front of the Go-Karting circuit, in which he would detail what it was about Karting that appealed to him from such a young age, why it was that the sport has maintained his interest for such a long time and of course what it was that made him want to transition from Go-Karting into the more traditional GT based style of racing he'll be participating within in just a few weeks time. The PTC was recorded after our Go-Karting session which lasted a total of 30 minutes give or take. During this session I was also out on track during the latter portions with the shoulder-mounted Sony AX53 in order to capture mobile footage of Alex out on the circuit.
In addition to my own camera and the go-pro's that are mounted to the top of each of our helmets, we were also able to get drone coverage using Alex's DJI Phantom drone, operated by George as well as stationary footage from various cameras we had set up around the circuit before the session began. We had the Lumix G7 positioned towards the bottom end of the track, and the FZ330 at the top end. Both mounted on tripods to adhere to the shot list comprised by Alex.
Considering the small group that we had, we were overjoyed with the amount of coverage we were able to get of this entire sequence, which ultimately makes my job of editing the karting sequence far easier now that I have such a selection of material to pick and choose from. We also incorporated some of the birds-eye view drone shooting style we had during the South Downs sequence earlier this week, which resulted in some stellar looking shots.
Brands Hatch w/ Alex's Dad
Given that we were shooting first thing the following morning, it made little sense for me to travel all the way back home to Crawley from the Kent area, therefore it was decided that I would sleep round Alex's house that night in order to be up and out as early as possible the following morning. We left the house around 07:30 this morning at which point we were picked up by Alex's Dad and taken to Brands Hatch. Here we were filming the sequence where Alex would talk to his father, both of whom were mic'd up with clip-mic's using the same technique we've been utilising during all of our shoots that require clip-mic audio. The topic of conversation was the memories that they had of Nick (Alex's dad) bringing him out to Brands Hatch to watch his first Motorsport race and what his feelings were on that day. They also discussed what his dad thought of Alex being out on track and whether or not he ever wondered if it would get to this point all the way back then.
It was actually a really great opportunity to learn more personally about Alex's upbringing and where that passion he has for Motorsport in general originated from. As for the camera set-up, we were fortunate enough to have two guest camera operators helping us this morning - Connor Winfield once again, along with returning operator Jon Simes (Alex's friend and photography professional). Connor was operating the Panasonic DVX200 mounted to the track and dolly rig in a vertical position. This way the camera would slowly approach Alex and his father from behind as they sat on the side of the railing overlooking the Brands Hatch pitlane. This allowed for a great looking cinematic shot of the two that will likely open and close the sequence.
I was on a shoulder-mounted Lumix G7, focused on maintaining a front-facing T.S. (Two-Shot) of both Alex and his father, with Jon besides me operating the Sony AX53 hand-held, aiming for a C.U. (Close-Up) of whoever it was that was speaking at the time of recording. We also had my FZ330 mounted on a tripod further to the right of Jon, capturing a M.S. (Mid-Shot) that could be cut to in the event of having to cover something else up on another shot. Having more cameras as we have learned maximises our ability to put together a great looking sequence.
I think the weekend went incredibly well! We spent a large amount of time collating the footage together and reviewing the answers that Alex's father gave and thoroughly believe that it'll come to comprise yet another emotionally impactful sequence for the audience - further developing Alex's character as the viewer watches him adapt to this journey throughout the course of 'DreamChaser'.
This weekend was an eventful one, Saturday afternoon we spent time at a Go-Karting track that Alex has frequented since he was a child, this being Filching Manor Karting Circuit just outside of Polegate, SW England. It was interesting to me as someone who's never had much of an interest in Go-Karting to dip my toes in the water by getting behind the wheel for the first time. We were also filming this sequence as part of our documentary.
The basic idea behind this sequence was to have Alex record a PTC on the Panasonic DVX200 mounted to a tripod in front of the Go-Karting circuit, in which he would detail what it was about Karting that appealed to him from such a young age, why it was that the sport has maintained his interest for such a long time and of course what it was that made him want to transition from Go-Karting into the more traditional GT based style of racing he'll be participating within in just a few weeks time. The PTC was recorded after our Go-Karting session which lasted a total of 30 minutes give or take. During this session I was also out on track during the latter portions with the shoulder-mounted Sony AX53 in order to capture mobile footage of Alex out on the circuit.
In addition to my own camera and the go-pro's that are mounted to the top of each of our helmets, we were also able to get drone coverage using Alex's DJI Phantom drone, operated by George as well as stationary footage from various cameras we had set up around the circuit before the session began. We had the Lumix G7 positioned towards the bottom end of the track, and the FZ330 at the top end. Both mounted on tripods to adhere to the shot list comprised by Alex.Considering the small group that we had, we were overjoyed with the amount of coverage we were able to get of this entire sequence, which ultimately makes my job of editing the karting sequence far easier now that I have such a selection of material to pick and choose from. We also incorporated some of the birds-eye view drone shooting style we had during the South Downs sequence earlier this week, which resulted in some stellar looking shots.
Brands Hatch w/ Alex's Dad
Given that we were shooting first thing the following morning, it made little sense for me to travel all the way back home to Crawley from the Kent area, therefore it was decided that I would sleep round Alex's house that night in order to be up and out as early as possible the following morning. We left the house around 07:30 this morning at which point we were picked up by Alex's Dad and taken to Brands Hatch. Here we were filming the sequence where Alex would talk to his father, both of whom were mic'd up with clip-mic's using the same technique we've been utilising during all of our shoots that require clip-mic audio. The topic of conversation was the memories that they had of Nick (Alex's dad) bringing him out to Brands Hatch to watch his first Motorsport race and what his feelings were on that day. They also discussed what his dad thought of Alex being out on track and whether or not he ever wondered if it would get to this point all the way back then.
It was actually a really great opportunity to learn more personally about Alex's upbringing and where that passion he has for Motorsport in general originated from. As for the camera set-up, we were fortunate enough to have two guest camera operators helping us this morning - Connor Winfield once again, along with returning operator Jon Simes (Alex's friend and photography professional). Connor was operating the Panasonic DVX200 mounted to the track and dolly rig in a vertical position. This way the camera would slowly approach Alex and his father from behind as they sat on the side of the railing overlooking the Brands Hatch pitlane. This allowed for a great looking cinematic shot of the two that will likely open and close the sequence.
I was on a shoulder-mounted Lumix G7, focused on maintaining a front-facing T.S. (Two-Shot) of both Alex and his father, with Jon besides me operating the Sony AX53 hand-held, aiming for a C.U. (Close-Up) of whoever it was that was speaking at the time of recording. We also had my FZ330 mounted on a tripod further to the right of Jon, capturing a M.S. (Mid-Shot) that could be cut to in the event of having to cover something else up on another shot. Having more cameras as we have learned maximises our ability to put together a great looking sequence.I think the weekend went incredibly well! We spent a large amount of time collating the footage together and reviewing the answers that Alex's father gave and thoroughly believe that it'll come to comprise yet another emotionally impactful sequence for the audience - further developing Alex's character as the viewer watches him adapt to this journey throughout the course of 'DreamChaser'.
Comments
Post a Comment