Final Major Project Unit: Production

Filming with Dan

Now we're getting to the stage of really getting to know our contributors, we're finding out some really good contrasts between their lifestyles and personalities. So it's becoming more important to show these people as the individuals that they are. For me, I need to think carefully how to show this through the use of shots, the subject within them and what kind of tone this will portray. 

Whilst being at the stage of phone interviewing with Lauren, I can really create more of a picture of how to show these people, the way that they live and how they cope with the disorder, and their background. 

One of the challenges was shooting with our first contributor, Dan, was showing how organised and tidy he lives. However, in the edit, and by contrast with the other houses, this should come across. There are a few extra shots I need to get of the house and surrounding area. There are a number of reasons why: we'd like to get a sense of how everyone lives, and to help the documentary flow. And it can also be more relatable for the audiences, or to get a sense of diversion, to see the kind of neighbourhoods we film in and how they find similarities or differences to their own. 

My approach to filming is to use as much natural and available light as possible. This is how The Imposter was shot, and there are various directors which choose to shoot this way. It is also less intimidating for the interviewee, and I quite like the darkness on people's faces, I personally think it adds to the character and the whole mood of the film. 

I made sure we had the kit we needed to shoot. Unfortunately my own camera was in the workshop, so I was relying on a camera which only had 16GB of memory and no extra cards, which meant we were shooting more than an hour of interview and I had to keep stopping to upload the footage. Not ideal. But luckily I have my own camera back, with a ton of memory.