Directions unit: Directors Task

Posted by : Unknown Monday 6 January 2014

For today’s workshop, we were set a practical directors task. Working in groups of three, the task was to be a director and produce our own version of one of the following scenarios:

1) To sit down on a chair and look at your watch

2) To write something down on a piece of paper, then screw it up and throw it into the bin.

3) Trip over with books in your hand and the books have to slide across the floor.

The two people I worked with were Chris Sarmiento and Ruby Rogers. We each took it in turns either being an actor or a camera operator for our project task, which we had to be the director of for one of the scenarios.

For Chris’s project he choose scenario 2. Ruby was the Actor and I was the camera operator.

Feedback

Had fun doing this, the story was a good concept and set design helped convey this, we even managed to do a cheeky live action FX where we tricked the audience into thinking ruby got the paper ball in the bin without looking. We achieved this by making ruby throw the paper ball as hard as she could in the direction of the bin, while Chris: standing behind me, at the same time the first paper ball went off screen, dropped another paper ball into the bin making it look like an intended shot.

For Ruby’s project she choose scenario 3. Chris was the camera operator and I was the actor.

Feedback

Had fun being an actor in Ruby’s project, where I haven’t done acting in yeaaaars, also, to top it off I had to be a stunt man lol. Count myself lucky that I remembered how to break fall. The story was good concept and easy to follow once organised, allowing Ruby to also feature in her project as the person whom opened the door. To get the books so slide precisely, Chris filmed another take with me sitting up, then roll/break falling onto the ground being weak with the momentum I drop the books, which made all of them fall within frame.

For my project I choose scenario 1. Chris was the actor and Ruby was the camera operator.

Feedback

Had fun doing my own project, was kind of rushed for time but managed to come up with a decent simple concept. I had Chris instead of sitting down and looking at his watch, take a small journey through the studio corridor/lift to outside the television studio and make a phone call speaking in Spanish, then look at his watch whilst waiting around. Ruby was following Chris walking behind him keeping the camera steady, which was a tough task for her as the camera is really heavy but she done it considerably well. If I was to re do this again I would have the frame keep a more consistent flowing tracking shot of the actor, clean the lens as well where there was specs of dust on it, and also view back the camera footage to make sure the exposure on the shots are consistent as some of my shots were under exposed and over exposed.

Here are our projects

The Wait

Directed by Andrei Allen

Starring Chris Sarmiento

Camera operator Ruby Rogers