Production portfolio
Graduate Project
CW3 Critical Production Portfolio
Chung Duy Nguyen
Table of Contents
As a Director of Photography, I was charge for lighting and camera work. I worked closely with the director to transform his visualization into motion picture. I also have another camera assistant and gaffer who help me with lighting and camera work. The following are my key to success at to success at the role and achieve my objectives :
Research
· Lighting research: I have watched many film that have similar theme and happen at the same period such as All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), The Lost Patrol (1934) or Saving Private Ryan (2010). Saving Private Ryan (2010) has mainly influence my low key lighting style. Low key lighting is used to dramatic effect to create stark shadows. Ryan (2010) has stated “In the war scenes the lighting is definitively low key and shot with a slightly blue hue which was effective in setting the tone and mood”.
· Camera research : I have read about the pros and cons of all type of camera to find the one that is suitable to our project the most. There was many hand-held shots so a light camera will be the best choice and we chose the Red Epic Dragon.
Red Epic Dragon Picture
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· Camera angle and composition research: the book “Directing Shot by Shot” by Katz (1991), has provided me with a rich knowledge of framing, composition, camera angle and movement.
Pre-production work:
· Script development: the director wrote the script however we all read and contribute in the development process of the script. We also spot some inconsistency in the script.
· the script breakdown: It was very difficult to discuss with the director as he kept delaying our meeting while I really wanted to have in-depth conversation with him to breakdown the script and understand what he is expecting from me and also his visualisation of the final product. I then suggested on-line meeting which saved us time travelling and also lower chance of meeting cancelation. We eventually managed to interpret character emotion for each scene. This allow me to find the suitable camera angle and lighting effects.
· Create shot list: Eventually we managed to breakdown the script and made a clear shot list which later on helped speed up the production process. By carefully listen to the Director I was able to advice the lighting technique and camera work that could made his visualisation become real. The Director was convinced by all my research material.
· Lighting plan: I have drawn a floor plan for the scene and plan the lighting in advance. I also send the lighting plan and shot list to my gaffer in advance and discussed with him in detailed about the mood of the scene and type of gels that I want for the light. An effective conversation with the gaffer in advance helped to reduce the workload during the production day.
· Teamwork: teamwork was very important as one of our member who managing the production design dropped out. It’s such an important role and require a lot preparation for the shoot. We have collaboratively worked together to solve the problem and out film editor volunteered to handle the production design tasks and we all support her in our ability. I have a car so I helped other to pick-up props. To catch up with other’s pace we also held regular meetings and encourage team member to reach out to the wider team if they have any problem so that it won’t cause delay. This allow us to spot any problem and have early solution.
· Location scouting: We have visited many different places to find the best location to shoot the film. Luckily we have found a place that near to one of our member’s home which made it easy for use to keep our equipment. As we have my equipment with us we minimise the movement from one location to the next one.
· Casting: as we would like the actor to take the project serious and devote a sufficient amount of time and effort, we had saved a budget for actor . The film contains heavy dialogue thus finding a professional actor who can manage their lines will help to speed up the production process. As we would like to hear the view from all team member, we arranged the casting with the attendance of the whole team. We finally found the actors that are most suitable for the role.
· Rehearsal (28th Feb 2020): rehearsal was very important as it allow us to get to know the actors, seeing blocking and spot any potential problem that could occur. The whole team attended the rehearsal day to go through the script and blocking with the actors. It also helped me to plan the lighting and camera angle. The director also had the chance to see who the script is delivered.
Promotional activities/crowd-funding: We have posted the our proposal to various website for crown funding and also ask for support from friends and family. To be honest our fund-raising campaign was not effective. For future improvement we will shoot a better trailer to attach with the portfolio. The audiences are more engaged with an actual piece of work.
We had planed to 4 shooting days. Unfortunately we couldn’t film on the last day due to Covid 19. It was the day that we planned for the battle scene. The team was very disappointed but there was nothing we could do. Before the shooting day I picked up all the equipment and props and delivered to the location. This save us time on the shooting day.
Day 1: Although he had rehearsal and run though the script with actor, the pace was very slow. With effective communication with gaffer and camera assistant ahead of the shooting day, I managed to finish setting up lighting and camera angle quite early and wait for everyone to finish their tasks. The Director was not quite confident however after few hour he catch up with the speed very well. I kept effective communicate with Director throughout the shooting day. In the afternoon the whole team managed to catch up with speed much faster and wrapped up the day at the time planned.
Day 1 scene
Day 2: The shoot went very smooth and progress much quicker than the day before.
Day 2 behind the scene
Day 3: It was raining interval which delayed the shoot. This is also the lesson to learn when shooting outdoor. Weather play an important factor as it may cause the discontinuous.
Day 3 behind the scene
Day 4: cancelled due to Covid 19
In order to motivate the team members in my department through-out the production day I kept consistent communication with camera assistant and gaffer to see if they need help and they are working in the right direction. With other team members I was always willing to help out when I finish my part.
Although we had tight shooting schedule which exhausted the team, everyone was full of positive energy and collaboratively work well together. Especially when it was raining and we had to wrap up and then re-shoot after few hours. Throughout the project we had created a bond between us and will continue to work together in the next project. We have learnt so much from the project as everyone got involved in most of the stage of the production. We value every opinion and always ask for feedback from the team members.
After the shoot I have saved all the footage into the hard-drive and also made a back up copy in other drive. I sat with the director to watch through the final shots. There are also the chance that we have to re-shoot the scene therefore it’s important that we make sure that we got what we expected. After the editor finished the first draft we sat together to review and give constructive feedbacks to improve the film. Although the film was heavy dialog and missing many scenes that we planned, I believe we have made a good team and put all our effort to make the film and overcome all the obstacles. This is a great experience and form a firm foundation for us to work in a more professional film crew. It was unfortunate that Covid 19 interupted the production. However the valuable thing was the experience and lesson that we have learnt. This is what we will bring with us.
Word count: 1410
1. Katz, S. (1991). Film directing shot by shot.
2. Bryce, I. & Spielberg, S. (Producer). (24 Jun 1998). Saving Private Ryan [Motion Picture]. USA: DreamWorks SKG
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