As I get closer to my last year of university, the pressure to decide what film I'll make for my final project keeps mounting. It's a time where I have to figure out which aspect of filmmaking I enjoy the most and where I shine the brightest. When I first started university, it was clear that many of us were unsure about which path to take in the film industry. Some of us didn't even know the variety of departments and roles available. It seemed like everyone wanted to be a director, wanting to bring their own vision to life. Despite the advice from our tutors, who emphasized the importance of finding our niche and collaborating as a team, I believe each of us has to realize on our own that it's crucial to stick to what we're good at and, most importantly, to identify what that is and stay committed to it.
So, this year, I made a big decision: I'm diving headfirst into learning the ins and outs of actually making films. I'm putting aside the whole brainstorming and writing aspect for now. My passion lies behind the camera, peering through the viewfinder. And guess what? It didn't take long for me to get involved in a really cool project with some super talented and dedicated colleagues with which I wanted to collaborate for a long time. Right from the beginning, we had huge aspirations for this project. It wasn't just about filming in the school's studio and featuring 5 characters; it was also about the storyline and the entire world where the story unfolds.
Because of a no budget short film produced at the university we had to cover multiple roles for this to happen, I ended up pitching in to set up the filming location, which meant turning a boring old corridor into our cozy "living room." It took us a whole week to get it just right before we could start shooting.
Despite facing challenges like health and safety rules and limited studio space, we totally nailed the director's vision for the set! It was a real hustle, constantly running to the prop room and bringing stuff from home, but we made it happen and got our mise en scene just right. After a whole week of prep on the set, we're pumped for shooting week! Our producer totally nailed it with the organization, everything's on point down to the last detail. The schedule's crazy packed, and honestly, looking at it, it feels like the four days we've got for filming might not be quite enough for all the shots our director wants to get.
On the first day of the week, we kicked things off by setting the vibe for our dinner table setup. I had to put my lighting skills to the test to really make things stand out. I was moving lights all over the studio, getting everything set up and then taking it all down again until it looked perfect. Even though I'm not a lighting expert, I somehow managed to create a pretty decent scene. And after all those days of getting everything ready, the moment finally arrived – FILMING DAY! I couldn't wait, and I was filled with excitement to finally get started. Suddenly, there are all these new faces popping up on set, the actors are making their appearance in the studio, and we're there, welcoming and chatting with them. Deep down, you've already memorised every scene from the storyboard and script. So, even before these newcomers step foot on set, you've got a mental map of where they'll fit into each shot. All the anxiety and pressure goes after first day of shooting when you realise that everyone is getting along, and you finish your shooting day two hours ahead.
I decided to film the short film using two Blackmagic 4K cameras. Once I set them up with matching picture profiles, everything went pretty smoothly. The only hassle was that we opted for high-quality raw footage, which meant we had to frequently transfer our clips to Dropbox to free up space on the SD cards. As a result, for just a 7-minute film, we ended up with a whopping 1 terabyte of footage. It was our first time filming in a studio, and it was a wild ride. I learned so much about controlling every little detail – lights, shadows, setting up the scene, and with such limited space, we had to get creative with our blocking. But it pushed me out of my comfort zone, made me try new things, and I did learn a lot from it!
