After we had a finalised script, we agreed it would be beneficial to test out our equipment and confirm we knew exactly what we were doing before our shoot. On the 6th of November, we booked out equipment and headed to the photography studio to practice. Our main concern was how we were going to light our shots, so we spent the majority of the time experimenting. We initially tried the conventional set up (with the key, fill and back light) which, despite its undoubtable glamour, didn’t quite match the broody atmosphere we had envisioned. Not only did this style look too polished and ‘nice’, but due to shooting in a small student house we didn’t have the space for 3 lights. Therefore, we opted to use just one LED panel and any practical lights we could find to create a more shadowy, dingy feel.
In this practice session, I also experimented with the Zoom F4 Audio Recorder/Mixer. I felt comfortable with the responsibility of editing, but the added pressure of doubling as a sound recordist made me feel apprehensive about filming, especially considering I’ve had no experience with this position! Finally getting hands-on experience to test it out is something that really boosted my confidence towards our shoot.
The Tentacle Timecode Kit was another aspect of audio recording that intimidated me, as I already experienced how this seemingly small piece of equipment can have much larger implications in post-production. During my boot-camp film, a problem with the Tentacles meant that the editor was unable to sync the visuals and audio, resulting in her painstakingly matching the soundwave patterns between the in-camera and microphone audio. This is clearly a problem I don’t want to happen again, so I made sure to practice using the equipment multiple times.
So, we had a script, a storyboard, a shot list and experience in using the equipment. It was now time to find the right actors and get to filming.
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