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IN YOUR SHADOW PRODUCTION FOLDER
MATTHEW’S OFFICE THE HIVE https://thehiveweston.org.uk/ When searching for a location that would be suitable to shoot the scene set in Matthew’s office that opens the film’s narrative, my first thought was to rent an office space from The Hive on Beaufighter Road. The Hive is situated a mere ten minute walk away from where I live in Locking Village which would make transporting the equipment needed for the shoot quick and simple. I had previously worked on a film at The Hive with a crew of third year students last summer. Recalling that experience, I remembered that the staff at The Hive had allowed us to shoot in their office space but hadn’t given us permission to shoot in the corridors that connect to the offices. This would be a requirement for this film as the setting of the scene that follows Matthew’s Office is a walk and talk scene in a corridor within the same building. This coupled with the high rental cost of The Hives office spaces per hour and the fact that they appeared to have been build with presentations and group meetings in mind, rather than smaller personal offices, led to me to look elsewhere for a suitable location for Matthew’s Office. The Hive would offer a location that is too big for the scenes narrative purposes and would not be very cost effective to shoot at. WINTER GARDENS After deciding against The Hive as a suitable location, I then started to look into alternatives at the Winter Gardens. After enquiring about possible locations, I was pointed towards James Hazzard, who was more than willing to let us use his office for the day on the date we had scheduled to shoot. James’ office had the appropriate corporate aesthetic, with little in the way of personal touches, and would be the right size for the scenes needs. The location for Matthew’s Office would need to be relevantly small, housing enough reasonable space for one or two workers. Such a size would be especially important as the film’s cinematography will be captured in a 4:3 aspect ratio that adds black bars to the left and right of the footage in post-production, creating a box shaped image with no panoramic room on either side. Keeping the office location looking small within the confines of the aspect ratio would add to a sense of claustrophobia as the various elements of Matthew’s work and artistic life start to crumble around him. The blinds at the back of the office can be easily opened to provide more light if necessary during production. There are a large number of wall plugs in the room that can be used to plug in lights and other production equipment. As James had agreed to let us use the room for the day, the productions data wrangler and editor would be able to use the office to transfer footage and audio to her laptop for editing while the room was not being used as a location. The key members of the production crew that would need to be present while shooting at this location would be able to fit into an office of this size without being overly restricted in movement. An advantage of shooting in a 4:3 aspect ratio is that there is more space to hide crew members within when shooting at a small location. This office is situated in the centre of Weston-Super-Mare, metres away from the main high street and the busy sea front and Grand Pier. This could potentially be an issue when recording sound as the area is highly populated and close to main routes of travel during the day time when we are scheduled to shoot. Aside from issues with recording clean sound, James Hazzard’s office would appear to be the ideal location for the scenes aesthetic and practical needs. It also has the advantage of being feet away from a corridor that would be a suitable location for the walk and talk scene that follows the scene in Matthew’s Office. OFFICE CORRIDOR WINTER GARDENS As I wanted to give a sense of forward momentum as events quickly move beyond Matthew’s control, the conversation between him and Claudia would be a walk and talk scene that takes place in a corridor. The above corridor leads from the ballroom area at the back of the Winter Gardens to the library on the right. There is no Weston College signage to give away in the film where the location is situated. As we will be tracking backwards with Matthew and Claudia as they walk, the downwards slope could present a problem keeping the two characters framed in the centre of the shot. An assistant camera would be needed to guide the camera operator while shooting, to ensure that they don’t walk into anyone while tracking backwards with the Ronin gimbal. Combined with the gloomy lighting, this corridor, with its low ceiling, would give a strong sense of Matthew being enclosed in a tight situation that is rapidly closing in around him in relation to his work and art. ART GALLERY ARNOLFINI www.arnolfini.org.uk/about/venue-hire-bristol/light-studio The first location I enquired about in regards to the Art Gallery that Matthew exhibits his photo at was the Arnolfini in Bristol. The Light Studio has a very modern, all white aesthetic that would align very well the location being written into the script as an Institute of Contemporary Arts gallery. After contacting the admin staff at the Arnolfini with further details about the project and enquiring about using the Light Studio as a location, I was informed that we would be placed into their kindness program. This would allow us to film at the Light Studio free of charge if the project was deemed to align with the Arnolfini’s creative and ethical direction. I was warned that they have a lot of requests to be placed into this program and that it could be several weeks until a decision is made. I would not hear back from the Arnolfini and can only assume that the themes of the film did not align well with the venues codes of practice. After having no luck with the Arnolfini, I then looked into two other gallery spaces in Bristol. THE ISLAND The gallery at The Island has more than enough space to accommodate the crew and equipment that would be needed for the shoot but lacked a great deal in modern design aesthetic. Having recced this location, I found it to be somewhat uninspired and quite run down looking. This look wouldn’t be appropriate for a successful and established photographer such as Matthew to exhibit his photo as written in the script. The skylight that runs the length of the gallery would provide ample light for the production. Only one of the walls along the width of the space leads up to the ceiling. This I felt could be a visual distraction as I intended to see both walls from behind and in front. The wooden flooring looked very worn up close and betrayed the all-white aesthetic that I was looking for in a gallery space. The only entrance to the gallery led to a flight of steps. Carrying the track and dolly, as well as the other camera equipment, up these steps could potentially be dangerous and would take a lot of time and energy. There would be a rental charge attached to usage of The Island of £210 for six hours, a reasonable amount of time to cover a scene that is dialogue heavy and also set up the track and dolly for two shots. Although I had some funds set aside to pay for locations, I would rather not pay this much for a gallery location as I knew that finding a reasonably sized photography studio for an affordable price could be quite challenging. Steps aside, practically The Island would suit the productions purposes well, if it would not be ideal. I decided to hold off on making a decision to shoot there in the hopes that the last location I had access to would be more aesthetically suited to the needs of the story. CENTRESPACE One of my tutors had been in contact with the owner of Centrespace and asked if it would be possible for us to shoot there on the day we had scheduled. I was informed that as long as it was okay with the exhibiting artist, Joe Fairweather Hole, then the owner had no problem with us using Centrespace as a location while an artist was exhibiting. After emailing Joe, I traveled to Centrespace to recce the location and arrange a the details of the shoot him. Centrespace, with its white walls and grey floor had exactly the kind of modern colour pallet and aesthetic that I wanted for the scene, with more space than The Island and plenty of lights in the ceiling that could be used to augment the Dedo lights we would be bringing with us. The gallery is wide enough for Matthew to be stood a considerable distance away from the photo and for the track and dolly to be laid in front of him. There is two wall plugs under each bay so more than enough power outlets to ensure that camera and lights are catered for. Joe kindly agreed to allowing his art work to be in shot so the gallery wouldn’t look to be completely empty aside from the photo. The lines that mark out each hanging bay could be lined up with the actors to create leading lines that signified the two opposing viewpoints taken towards the photo. Centrespace is down a narrow alleyway off a main road so the equipment would have to be carried there from transport. None the less, I’d would be a lot easier to transport the equipment to Centrespace than it would be to lug it up the stairs at The Island. Due to its location down an alleyway, Centrespace is somewhat out of the way but also right in the heart of Bristol, making travelling there with the equipment simple. Best of all, Centrespace would a very cost effective place to shoot for eight hours. Aside from giving Joe £50 towards his costs for renting the gallery space, there were no further charges for using the location. Having found an ideal location for the Art Gallery, I then turned my attention towards finding a photography studio for the final scene. PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO LOXTON CAMPUS The first location I looked at for the Photography Studio scene was the studio at Loxton Campus. I found this location to be quite small with a white backdrop that would not be wide or tall enough to capture the wide shots of the actors against that I wanted to utilise in the final scene. There is a lot of Weston College signage in the studio that would have to be removed and the overall décor of light grey and white, is very similar to the locations for the Office and Corridor scenes that are also part of Weston College buildings. I know from filming at Loxton Campus in the past that it can be hard to record clean sound while using studios at the college as none of them are sound proof. I wanted a location with more scale and gravitas for Matthew’s photography shoot. As we had a large crew of fourteen people for this scene, I felt we could hire a professional photography studio with a large infinity curve for the day. FARM STUDIO http://www.farmstudio.co.uk/ Situated on the outskirts of Bristol, several miles away from main roads and motorways, in an area known as Failand, Farm Studio is home to a 1350 square foot video and photography studio that features a 28 by 14 foot infinity curve. Such a large white backdrop would allow us to capture Matthew surrounded by a void of white as his photography shoot finds the roles being reversed on him. The black painted walls that line the studio will provide the perfect visual counter point to the white infinity curve. As Farm Studio is located several miles away from any main roads, motorways and population areas, noise pollution will be relatively low, making recording clean dialogue simple. The shutters next to the entrance to the studio will need to be held down to stop them from rattling if the weather on the scheduled shoot day is windy. With such a large amount of space available, as well as a kitchen and green room, there will be plenty of room to fit the 14 person crew into the studio. The green room can double as a makeshift editing suite and area for costume and make up application. The rental price of the studio includes the use of the lighting rig that will allow us to light the infinity curve and Nick Pitt, the studios owner and experienced photographer, has agreed to stay on site for the day to advise the crew on how to best light the scene.
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AuthorMy name is Clay Sandford and I am currently studying an FDA in Film and Media Production at University Centre Weston. I have a keen interest in directing, cinematography and camera operating. ArchivesCategories |