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rules on set/set etiquette

Rules for behaviour on set/set etiquette  

Being on set can be hard work and challenging. However there are certain guidelines that can help the filming days run smoother and avoid any complications…

1.) Always be respectful- No matter who you are talking to on set, be it actors or runners. Always be polite to the other people you are supposed to be working as a team with, if you are polite and friendly to people you are much less likely to have conflict and disrupt the filming.  If you come across as arrogant or rude, less opportunities may be given to you as you are not a pleasant person to work with.

2.) Be punctual- if you are constantly turning up late on set, you are not showing that you are a professional individual, and you may jeopardise the shoot as you may have an important role and would mean they were unable to film without you. It is likely that they will find someone who is more committed who can manage their time better.

3.) Be organised- if you are turning up on set and are not organized, i.e. bringing in the wrong equipment or are clumsy and making mistakes. It again is not showing professionalism and may lead to wasting valuable shooting time.

4.) Keep yourself busy- if you are standing around doing nothing on set it can give the impression that you are lazing around, so always try help others in your crew when necessary or find other ways to use your time productively.

5.) Always turn your phone off on set- it could cause major disruption if it rings when you are filming it may result into needing to reshoot.

6.) Always be quiet on set - and only ask questions when necessary, if you are constantly asking questions or making noise you could become an annoyance to other people trying to get on with their jobs on set.

7.) Be safe- Always check that you are in a safe environment and there are no health and safety hazards, i.e. making sure wires are not loose laying around as someone could fall. If you are working with lighting, make sure you wear the correct safety gloves etc.

On the set of Cheapskate, we followed these basic rules and it allowed our days filming to run smoothly, we ensured that we were communicating well with each other in order to achieve the best possible outcome for our film. We had to constantly be mindful of the wires on set coming from both the camera and the boom, but we minimized the health and safety risk by keeping the wire off the floor as much as possible in order not to trip out crew members or actors up.

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The work in progress of the short film ‘cheapskate’ that I directed. it is unfinished but the cutting and editing of the raw footage has been done . the WIP is ready for sound editing and remixing with Susan Pennington at Spool.

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in today’s session we’re given talks led by Mike Mcloughin on production design and Rachel Robey on the role of a producer. I was very interested in production design and was fascinated by how intricate dressing/making a set can be. I also got to learn about what a producer does in making a film such as handling the budget and working closely to the Director.

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in this session we had to work with actors from Nottingham’s ‘The Television Workshop’ to film a scene. This was a very useful session as it allowed all of us to try a range of roles, on this shoot I tried the roles of Directing, Director of photography and Assistant director. I particularly found Directing to be a tasking but very rewarding role.

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pictures on set of ‘The Case Files’ by Tricell films, I am playing  the role of a Kreepa.

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script for cheapskate written by both myself and Rory Tasker (director of photography)

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an experimental film directed by Kirsty macadam, a fellow film maker on my BFI film academy course, in this short I play the role I starred as a rape survivor.

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link to a short film in which I played the role of a zombie

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It’s a wrap!

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these photos were taken after we shot our final scene on the set of ‘cheapskate’. After a long but fun and enjoyable 2 days of shooting we were able to have some fun with these final photos that were taken!

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pictures from the first day of our shoot on cheapskate

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some of the pre-production storyboarding for our short film cheapskate!

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Roles within the film industry

camera: director, camera operator, runners, videographer, cinematographer, focus puller, director of photography, creative director, stills photographer

sound: boom mic operator, sound editor, sound mixer, foley artist, sound designer, playback operator, sound assistant, cable puller

lighting: lighting technician, lighting assistant, gaffer, electrician, rigger, artistic director, lighting designer, generator operator, set wireman, lap operator

pre production: location manager, location rece, production manager, casting agent, catering, story board artist, resarcher, casting directors

post production: sound editing, visual editor, marketing, exhibition and distribution, music composor, re-recording mixer, post production supervisor, vfx supervisor

set design/costume: make up artists, sfx make up artists, art director, production designers, production designer, concept artist, prop maker, sculpter, illustrator, extras coordinator

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my role in production overview

My role in the production of our short film Cheapskate was the director. Overall I found this to be a challenging yet very rewarding role to be in. I was responsible for directing and instructing the actors and crew in order to achieve the vision I had in mind for the short film. The original idea for Cheapskate was developed by myself and Rory Tasker who was the Director of photography on our film shoot and so I had a clear vision on how I wanted cheapskate to be executed. Strengths: Overall I did really enjoy the role of directing and would be comfortable if I was given this role in a future production, I found it to be an enlightening first experience. I believe I did fulfil my role as director as I instructed both actors and the crew on set in order to get the look and feel that I envisioned for the shoot. I felt much more confident on the second day of shooting as the first day gave me a very good first practical experience on what my role as a director involves. Weaknesses: Due to not having any experience with directing before I found it quite a daunting role to take on as I had to instruct many people what to do and had to give constructive feedback to the actors who I had to work closely with as they were bringing the characters we envisioned to life. However, after speaking with the actors who were very considerate I started to feel comfortable with giving constructive feedback and thus got a feel for what I was taking on in the role of a director I started to feel confident in what I was trying to achieve. I found the first day quite stressful at times as I had to direct three directors on a very tight schedule but after getting used to the pressure I believe I fulfilled my role of director adequately. Despite minor things going wrong on the filming day, I believe we worked very well as a team and handled it efficiently and so we still managed to achieve everything that we wanted successfully.

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short film review: Head over heels

The short film I have chosen to review is ‘Head over heels’ directed by Timothy Reckart (2012) it is an innovative stop motion short film that I found to tell a very touching.

The story depicts a married couple who have lost the spark in their long term marriage and cannot agree or get a long anymore. The divide between them is shown through the wife living upright whilst her husband carries out his daily life upside down, and when they come into contact with each other conflict is only caused, essentially showing that they have only become a nuisance to each other over time. This conflict is represented through them battling over which way the picture from their wedding day should hang which eventually smashes, which I believe to be a clever and unusual concept to show the how a couple can grow apart and live their lives parallel to each other.

The husband of the marriage makes an attempt to reconcile with his wife by fixing the ballet slippers that his wife wore on their wedding day, the attempt to reconcile is unrequited and only causes further conflict in their marriage and upsets the equilibrium that the divided couple have been living in, as shown by the floating house to come crashing back down to the ground.

I believe that this short film emphasises the compromises and sacrifices that have to be made in order to save a broken relationship. The couple shown have clearly fallen out of love over the years and are struggling to get on. However I believe this short film highlights the importance of showing that putting in effort to try and retrieve some of the spark that has worn away over time can reignite the love that they once had. The small gesture of fixing her shoes is very significant as these shoes are very sentimental and a memory of a very special day. The shoes are almost metaphorical for ruin of their marriage and by mending the shoes, the husband is trying to make the first step to mending their relationship.

I particularly like the ending to this short film as I believe it is a very heart-warming resolution of sacrifice, The wife takes all of her shoes and nails them to the ceiling and uses them to walk to her husband who lives parallel to her, this is a very significant part in the story as the wife has returned the effort that her husband has put in in an attempt to regain their relationship. The reconciled couple are shown to hug each other as they are not at war with each other and are beginning to rediscover the love that they lost over time.

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short film review: Vincent.

The short film I have chosen to review is “Vincent” directed, written and produced by Tim burton (1982)

Vincent is a 7 year old boy who despite being so young has peculiar and dark desires that not your average 7 year old would fantasise about.  Vincent wants to grow up to be just like Vincent Price, the renown horror actor who was also a significant figure in Tim burton’s childhood and there are subtle homages to Vincent Price throughout, such as referring to dipping his aunt in wax, relating to the film ‘house of wax’ that Vincent had starred in. The characterization of Vincent is very cleverly done, when he is in front of his mother he appears as a normal and average boy, but when he is left alone his facial expressions and character changes into that of a more sinister tone and his true innermost desires are revealed.

The signature animated style of Tim Burton was what was striking to me when I first watched Vincent, very recognisable due to the large eyes and long faces with very bleak surroundings and dark undertones. Some of the images portrayed in Vincent are recognisable visions that Tim burton later created, such as experimenting on his dog is very similar to a film he later produced called ‘Frankenweenie’ and so found it quite touching to see some of the small snippets of what Tim burton envisioned in this short film being made into developed films.

I found the use of rhyme in the narrative to be particularly effective; it gave some rhythm to the short that I found to be quite witty and comical despite the dark themes that are being portrayed. At first the use of animation complimented by the use of rhythmic tone makes the short seem like Vincent is a normal 7 year old, but then it is soon to be learnt that he has a very twisted view for such an innocent age. Vincent’s odd persona makes him seem far older than he actually is as most 7 year olds would not be reading Edgar Allan Poe and carrying out experiments, but the use of the sing song like narrative ironically reminds us that he is a still a child even though he is not ordinary

. I thought the switching between his dark fantasies to the normal façade he puts on in front of his mother is comical. Vincent is trying putting his malicious plans into motion but is constantly being hindered by his mother or other family members that expect him to be normal and like other children.

I would recommend this short film for lovers of dark horror or gothic horror. Tim burton is very renown for his dark animations and so this would be a genius short film for anyone who enjoys Tim burton’s more well-known feature films like ‘ the corpse bride’ and ‘the nightmare before Christmas’ as it follows the same dark gothic styled genre.

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Pan’s labyrinth film review

The foreign film I have chosen to review is ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006) directed by Guillermo del Toro.

A beautifully dark fantasy set against the harsh realities of the fascist regime of 1944, the follows a young Spanish girl Ofélia whose pregnant mother married a brutal and sadistic captain of the Spanish Army. Ofelia is visited by an insect at night which she refers to as a ‘fairy’ who leads her into the labyrinth and a new nightmarish realm.

The visual effects of this film are astounding, throughout the film you are introduced to unique and interesting characters that are unlike any others that I have seen in a dark fantasy, I was drawn in by the portrayal of the stick insect that instantly changes into a creature that resembles something much more in the likeness of a fairy when Ofelia questions whether it is a fairy, I thought that this was a clever and subtle hint that things are not all that they seem in this film, makes the audience question whether any of the creatures that Ofelia later sees are being deceitful or even real.

There is a particular scene in Pan’s Labyrinth which I still find very disturbing but has become one of the most profound scenes that I can remember from any film. A scene in which Ofelia’s test is not to eat any of the food that is overflowing on the banqueting table otherwise she will fail and there will be consequences. Ofelia gets tempted and eats the grapes on the table and the monster known as “the pale man” sitting at the table is awakened as shown by putting his eyeballs into his hands and placing them in front of his face. The visual effects in this scene are very nightmarish but the design of the monster was unlike any other that I had seen before in a film and still frightens me even now. For me I see the pale man as a reflection of her controlling and abusive stepfather, as in the previous scene Ofelia’s step father is seen sitting at the head of a banqueting table in a similar room, and find it very clever how the fantasy and reality is paralleled.

I find the juxtaposition between the harshness of real life and fantasy to be very interesting. Ofelia has an abusive stepfather and her pregnant mother is ailing in her real life, but the labyrinth she is also facing harsh and tasking problems such as the faun telling her that she needs to complete 3 tasks in order to meet her real father, who is meant to be the king of a fantastical kingdom. I find this film fascinating as the film is not explicit as to whether the fantasy element is literal or metaphorical. It could be interpreted that the fantasies that Ofelia is experiencing are all real, however it could be interpreted that Ofelia is making up the labyrinth as a coping mechanism to deal with the harsh situation she is in and that the monsters she has to face are metaphorical for monstrous people in her life such as her stepfather. I very much like that it is never specifically stated and the audience is then allowed to interpret the film the way they perceive it.

Overall I would give this film 5 out of 5, Pan’s labyrinth has always been one of my all-time favourite films, I find the film to be a perfect mix of two horrors, both realistic horror such as war and violence to fantastical horror like monsters and demons. I have watched many of Guillermo Del Toro’s films and Pan’s labyrinth still holds the stop spot in my heart as my favourite film that he has directed. Pan’s labyrinth has very dark fantastical themes, almost like an ‘Alice in wonderland’ for adults and would highly recommend it to lovers of horror and fantasy.

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I, Daniel Blake film review.

I, Daniel Blake directed by ken loach (2016) is a heart wrenching and powerful story of a man who despite facing the harsh realities of the society he is living in, is still a kind hearted and generous man trying to bring light into the darkest times. The film has a very bleak story with no real happy ending. I find this particularly interesting and unusual as many bleak stories are often resolved when a resolution is found at the end. I believe that I Daniel, Blake emphasises that not all stories have happy endings and sometimes you have to come to terms with the truth that a resolution cannot be found. I also believe that I, Daniel Blake is used to show the short comings of society and injustice. Daniel Blake is a very clearly unwell man who is only just recovering from a heart attack and is unfit for work. However, he is forced into looking for work otherwise his benefits would be halted and he would not be able to afford to live. I believe I, Daniel Blake send a very powerful message and highlights some of the darker details of being in a disadvantaged position, such as prostitution, vandalism and stealing. I found character development to be a particular strong point of this film. Daniel Blake is presented as a very strong willed character despite the disadvantages he faces even though his efforts may be to no avail. He refuses to give up on what he is fighting for right through to the bitter end. This is also similar to the character Katie that Daniel Blake defends and later becomes friends with. I found their relationship to be very touching, as both people are facing dark times but are still caring for each other despite it all. Katie is shown to even be sacrificing her own meals in order to feed Daniel and her children, showing her appreciation for Daniel and how he has helped her. Daniel is an ordinary man who the audience can relate to, as most people have had to deal with struggles such as grief, health and financial problems and so reinforces the tagline that the film has of #wearealldanielblake. There is a scene in I, Daniel Blake which I found particularly hard to watch in which Katie and Daniel have gone to a food bank and Katie; having not eaten properly in days opens a tin of beans and eats them with her hands in a fit of starvation and desperation. This evoked strong emotion for me and really made me empathise with Katie’s situation and bought me to tears. The scene is very intense and portrayed flawlessly through Hayley Squires’ acting and is a scene I will not be forgetting any time soon. I believe that I, Daniel Blake also demonstrates morality in desperate situations and gives the younger audiences, especially young women who have had problems someone to identify with. Kate is even unable to buy essentials like toilet roll and sanitary products and has to resort to stealing them. While stealing in most cases is illegal and morally wrong, Due to the circumstances it is arguably acceptable as she is not committing the crime out of anything other than sheer desperation. I believe this really brings to light some of the grittier details that many people would forget about when thinking about the topic of poverty. Overall I would give I, Daniel Blake a 4.5 out of 5. Ken loach has created a cynically realistic but very thought provoking film that takes a swipe at revealing the flaws in our society. Both politically and emotionally this film is very hard hitting and would highly recommend anyone to watch this film and consider the bleak position the characters have to face. This film both made me laugh and cry and has reminded me of the struggles that some people have had to face in their lives, and has definitely made of aware of the message that this film has so vividly conveyed through these broken characters suffering at the hands of an unfair system.