Major Project - Ford 1600GT Puma Track Day @ Brands Hatch
Getting Valuable Time On Track
Due to an early start, last night I slept round George's house so that we could leave at 06:30 in the morning in order to be at the track for a 7am start. We wanted to get there an hour before Alex was due to be on-track in order to allow us time to set-up the camera riggings around the track/in the vehicle, and for me to brief each of the camera operators on the shots and framing that I expect from them utilising Alex's directorial shot-list.
We had planned to have a first-year with us helping as a camera operator today, we were encouraged by our course leader to put forward the offer to first-years given the exciting opportunity that being track-side media can provide at a location like Brands Hatch. For this reason George made an announcement to them during a lecture last week and gauged the interest in the project/experience. Our plan was to pick up Gilead Kentoe from Meopham train station first thing in the morning on our way to the track, however despite affirming his cooperation the night before, he didn't show up that morning. Instead we were forced to leave without him in order to make it to the track in-time, and George later received a text message claiming that his phone battery had died and he didn't have a way of contacting us. This was unfortunate as it meant that instead of mentoring and providing support (to Gilead) where necessary, George was forced into a camera operation role which is something that he doesn't enjoy and shouldn't be expected of him as Producer/Editor.
Upon arriving at the track we greeted Alex who was already present and were introduced to Rod Birley, a British racing driver with over 600 wins under his belt. I was personally quite excited to have Rod present as as contributor to this section of the documentary, and while it will likely only comprise of a short montage sequence in the final cut to be submitted for the project, a lot of insight was gained and there will likely be much more material available in the extended cut that we're tentatively planning to do this Summer.
Upon starting the pre-production for 'DreamChaser' this day wasn't in the schedule, however we felt as a group that it would be an opportunity for filming that we shouldn't pass up and therefore constructed a plan for shooting on the day, similar to that of the Racing License, however this time George was able to secure us trackside media access, enabling us to film beyond the metal fencing surrounding the track. This ensured we were able to get much better quality coverage of the on-track segments of the day. We had myself in the pitlanes filming with the Sony AX53 that was mounted to a shoulder-stabilisation rig for less sporadic looking image, coordinating with George (replacing Gilead) on a rented Sony camcorder, Nick (Alex's father) on the Lumix G7. I had 2 separate locations to shoot from as well as filming the main material in the pitlanes and garages. By doing this, I was able to capture on-track footage from the track-side of the pitlanes as well as shots like Alex getting in and out of the Puma, putting his helmet and suit on and conversing with Rod about his performance on track. There was also a lot of opportunity to capture actuality of the garage/pitlane area which will help establish the atmosphere that was present there today.
Alex enjoyed the day and was grateful to get some further experience in GT's out on the Brands Hatch Circuit, the very same circuit he'll be racing on in just under 2 months time. This was one of the main reasons we wanted to take advantage of this opportunity - the more time Alex gets out on track, the more experience he'll be able to put into practice come Race Day on April 14th.
Due to an early start, last night I slept round George's house so that we could leave at 06:30 in the morning in order to be at the track for a 7am start. We wanted to get there an hour before Alex was due to be on-track in order to allow us time to set-up the camera riggings around the track/in the vehicle, and for me to brief each of the camera operators on the shots and framing that I expect from them utilising Alex's directorial shot-list.
We had planned to have a first-year with us helping as a camera operator today, we were encouraged by our course leader to put forward the offer to first-years given the exciting opportunity that being track-side media can provide at a location like Brands Hatch. For this reason George made an announcement to them during a lecture last week and gauged the interest in the project/experience. Our plan was to pick up Gilead Kentoe from Meopham train station first thing in the morning on our way to the track, however despite affirming his cooperation the night before, he didn't show up that morning. Instead we were forced to leave without him in order to make it to the track in-time, and George later received a text message claiming that his phone battery had died and he didn't have a way of contacting us. This was unfortunate as it meant that instead of mentoring and providing support (to Gilead) where necessary, George was forced into a camera operation role which is something that he doesn't enjoy and shouldn't be expected of him as Producer/Editor.
Upon arriving at the track we greeted Alex who was already present and were introduced to Rod Birley, a British racing driver with over 600 wins under his belt. I was personally quite excited to have Rod present as as contributor to this section of the documentary, and while it will likely only comprise of a short montage sequence in the final cut to be submitted for the project, a lot of insight was gained and there will likely be much more material available in the extended cut that we're tentatively planning to do this Summer.
Alex enjoyed the day and was grateful to get some further experience in GT's out on the Brands Hatch Circuit, the very same circuit he'll be racing on in just under 2 months time. This was one of the main reasons we wanted to take advantage of this opportunity - the more time Alex gets out on track, the more experience he'll be able to put into practice come Race Day on April 14th.
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