Scene Assignment Reflection

*I was going to post my scene assignment but I cut it in Avid and I need more time to figure out how to export it with the right settings for Vimeo. But I'll be back to do that ASAP!*

In the process of doing my scene assignment, the main thing that I've learned is that I likely need to overcome my scatterbrainedness. I'm good at staying on task while shooting, but I can improve in terms of making sure all of the tasks get done and that I haven't overlooked anything. The thing that I was most disappointed in was not having enough coverage when I sat down to edit such that a couple of times my shots lined together awkwardly and there wasn't any other coverage I had that could go over it to fix it.

As a DP I'd like to improve in almost the same way. Continuity and consistency of shots is I think one of the most important thing to achieve in terms of making a product look professional. The lighting in the scene that I DPed could have been much better in terms of looking consistent from one shot to the next. I'd like to learn how to make sure that that happens on set. It's sort of difficult to look at playback on the monitor and know what will work, so I definitely need to develop some skills and tools for that.

I learned that I feel pretty solidly about directing and envisioning a piece though, and I know it's more of a DP job but I feel really strong in terms of creating a nice/interesting composition. I think my favorite thing about the way my scene turned out  are the shots where framing is really interesting. I love the establishing shot of Claude and Anna with them in the bottom left corner that foreshadows the wall as spot for future action, and the way their shadows bounce off of it. Likewise the shots of Sadie where she's spray-painting and you can only see parts of her and parts of the message.

My small crew of three worked pretty well together. Michael and I had fantastic communication with each other, I thought. We worked together really well in terms of being on the same page and knowing what the other was trying to say. Ted was sort of a gaff/grip/sound combo, and managed to do well at all of it. Everybody showed up on time and was down to stay until everything got done, and everybody was in pretty good spirits and helpful so I was thankful to them for that!