Production Blog For Annie
On the 17th of December 2013 i was involved in filming a production of Annie. We used 4 camera and 4 camera operators. It was a overall success.
Set Construction
The set was deigned and built by the production company. this meant that we had no say in how the set was built, how it was constructed and where it was placed. Therefore we had to set up our cameras around the set that had been build for us.
Rehearsals and walk though
We attended a walk though/ rehearsals and then an actual show we did this to see when the show starts, how long the breaks were and also we had to get camera plans and do location Reece's and risk assessment. We had to get risk assessment's and do location Reece's to protect ourselves legally in case of an accident and it is now a health and safety regulation.
When we watched the show we had to look for certain parts in the show for example when songs start so we can get certain shots and put our cameras pointing at the right kind of stuff.
Review of the success of the production and own role
My production day started at 9:15 when i arrived at the theatre. My team were already there waiting. We then met up with our teacher who showed us to the equipment and then we carried the equipment from backstage out into the theatre. I was then told where i would be positioned with my camera and tripod in the position. Only once i was all set up was i told by the steward to move the camera as it was blocking the row and it was a health and safety hazard. Then when i moved my camera along the row i found that people were going to sit where i was set to film, i was then moved for a third time.
The third time i was move i was moved behind the seating into a 1 metre square space. I was then in there for the next two hours. I had no seating so i couldn't sit even during the break. The shots that i got were mostly wide shots and close ups of the actors face this was due to the lack of focus at the start and when i changed from Manuel focus to auto focus this fixed the focus problem but meant that there was a problem now with the high amount of exposure. This meant everyone face was bright white and to solve this problem i found that getting close up shots of the actors.Then in my final problem of the day the handle came off the tripod i was using and this was my last problem.
Once the show had finished we then had to pack away taking the tapes out of the cameras first then giving them to the teacher. Now we gave took the cameras down to the make up room and put them in their where they were being stored. With the film now shot and done we are now ready to move onto the next part which will be vision mixing.
Pre Production blog of a production of Annie by Alex Clinton
The crew roles in this production are Camera operators and all of us in our own right were directors. I'm our team there are four of us and we are all camera operators and directors. While we have the cameras we are responsible in case the camera breaks or goes missing for is even stolen. I would still take blame for it as i was in charge of that camera at the time. A great deal of thought, preparation and hard work is involved in moving and operating cameras in ways that enhance, and do not detract from, what is happening on screen. Camera crews work with extremely delicate, expensive equipment and are amongst the most highly skilled practitioners on any film crew. They work closely together to create seemingly invisible camera moves. As a camera operator it is vital to be artistic and inventive in what shots you get. You have to get good and exiting shots to keep the viewer interested and engaged with the film. Directors are responsible for creatively translating the film's written script into actual images and sounds on the screen - he or she must visualise and define the style and structure of the film, then act as both a storyteller and team leader to bring this vision to reality.
The initial production scenario is about a little girl called Annie who is a orphan growing up in the great depression in 1930's America, when Annie is adopted for a week by a very wealthy man over Christmas she sends out an appeal for her parents. the villains come in to pretend to be Annie's parents they try to take Annie because of a price tag put on her by Mr Warbuck the very wealthy man. First before we actually go to the theatre we have to make sure that all of the equipment is working properly there for we discover any problems we can sort them out before going to the theatre. for the initial shooting of the production we needed a camera plan which we did while we were on a location Reece at the theatre. We had no control over the lighting and over the sound design as this was done by the theatre. Therefore all we had to do is get the shots. We had no specific shot designs we just decided to go with whatever we felt would work well in the edit.
The idea for the camera plan had to be developed so that we had a second camera plan and that meant if the producer and the direct told use we couldn't use our first camera plan then we would have a section on the day in reserve. We used the first camera plan as the template and we worked another camera plan from that keeping camera 1 and 2 (Seen Above) in the same position. The equipment that we used were, 4 Cameras, 4 tripods, two tapes per person plus spares, and cases for the equipment, Before we left for the theatre we made sure all the stuff worked now we had arrived we had to make sure all of the stuff worked again in case any damage occured while they were on there way here. My allocated job role was camera operator a job that was given to the rest of the team i was working with.
Responsibilities of a sound recordists
Sound technicians are required to assemble, operate and maintain the equipment used to record, enhance, mix or reproduce sound. They identify the sound requirements for a given task and perform the correct actions to produce this sound. Sound technicians of different types are required in a range of industries including film, broadcasting (radio or television), live performance (theatre, music, dance), advertising and audio recordings.
Responsibility's of a vision mixer
Vision Mixers must be able to stay calm and react quickly and accurately under pressure. All vision mixing requires high levels of concentration and stamina. They must have the discipline to respond to cues accurately according to plans that were drawn up in pre production, and the confidence to take the initiative and deal autonomously with unforeseen circumstances or problems when they arise.
