Different stages of the set build. Range from tuesday to saturday. Then the evaluation of the week.
The pictures above show the progression that we had during our week, the build went very well and fairly smoothly. The bank holiday, me, Salvador and Joe B met up with the laminate flooring and spent most of the day painting it. This was so that we would not waste any time waiting for the paint to dry when it came to constructing the set. It turned out the the paint dried extremely quickly in the sun which was great. The reason we were painting the laminate is because we wanted a pine wood look which we had referenced from the nuclear houses in America around the 1950's. The problem with painting laminate is that it doesn't stick very well, so when transporting it from Joe B's house to the studio at uni some of the paint came off. Fortunately though, this gave the floor a much better and natural look. The window had been pre made by Ollie and his Dad, which meant we were able to place that in once the flats had been erected, wallpapered and painted, this also saved a lot of time. Even though Joe B had suffered quite a severe motorbike crash he still made several trips with me to get a few extra things we needed over the first two days. I felt bad as a few times I found myself walking off forgetting that he had to hobble along with his cane.
On the third day of our build I was able to start lighting the set, I followed a lighting plan that me and Salvador had tested several weeks prior to the build in one of the mock ups that we had arranged. It didn't take very long to get the set lit the way I wanted it, the main problem was getting the light on the model similar to the references of Gil Greenberg and Miles Aldridge. This took some tweaking and actually wasn't completed until our second model. We were able to do a few quick tests shots the night before the main shoot which was rather helpful as this gave a much clearer understanding of how the lights would work with the model.
The tests were carried out with the camera being on a tripod, I didn't feel comfortable having the camera on the tripod and so decided on the shoot day that I would shoot free hand as to me it is more natural and doesn't become so static. It also meant that I was able to experiment with the composition and have a better interaction with our models.
On the shoot day, I was the camera master and shot free hand as this felt the most comfortable. Ollie was checking the Mac screen as the photos were coming up, he checked the focus and the framing of each shot I took. This was helpful as it ensured every shot was in focus and things didn't pop up through the models head. I felt a little bit restricted still as I wanted to move in closer and get some close-up shots (as you can see on the second shot below) but was told to get more of the set in shot, which is fair enough as the shoot isn't just about the model. Joe B was also helping with this and every now and then giving some direction to the model. Salvador made sure that the lights were in the correct place and made any tweaks that we both thought were necessary, he also provided some fill light with a reflector once we had sorted everything towards the end.
A few of our images from the day:
We didn't have much time to get the post production on the image done so, half of the group were able to start the selection on the monday after the shoot and the three of us decided on an image. Joe B started the post production as this was one of his roles, while me and Salvador observed and gave our input on what we thought needed doing.
Our preferred image was one of Lara, the first model of the day. We did not have a lot of time to work with her on our shoot day which was quite unfortunate as another hour or two may have given us a much stronger image.
The final image with all the post production:
Reviewing my job role
My role for this project started out as the casting lead, me and Salvador decided to collaborate on our roles as this would make them far easier to complete. We were both very active and keen to work at the roles we had chosen, we both booked time in the studio for lighting tests and to cast some potential models. It took time before we were ready for this as we all had to settle on an idea and have a concept in place before I was able to start to look for specific models. Once we had our concept I started to look for models and cast them, the day that I had organised for casting also gave us a chance to test some lighting set ups that Salvador had come across in his research. The whole idea of the casting day was good, but I have learnt from this whole project that when casting I need to source more than ten models as you get cancellations and there is generally someone out there that is better suited. We were able to get a back up model which the group were happy with, but as our idea progressed it turned out that she was not suitable anymore. We still decided to keep her as a back up, as this has proven to be good practice. Both me and Salvador spent the rest of the time until the day before the shoot searching frantically for a suitable model, talking to many model agencies as well as about 50-60 models. There were a few issues with half the group who kept saying there is no need to go to agencies etc as we had a model, but they didn't seem to understand that our back up model no longer fit the progressed concept we now had. There didn't seem to be much of a strive from them to find someone that would really hit the mark, but none the less we pursued our quest and with help from two friends (Jess and Jessica) who are students on another course, we were able to find a model within the uni. I think that once we had got our concept I should have spent much more time searching for models and maybe printing off an image of each model I had found and laying them all out in front of me and the group, this would have made my job easier as everyone would have said yes or no to certain models and narrowed it down to the ones for me to get in contact with and take a few photographs of.
If I were to do this project again I would make sure that everyone in the group was happy with the project and that more meetings were to be had for these discussions so no tension or arguments were caused. I would also have made sure that jobs were done earlier so that there wasn't any last minute things to be done. There were several occasions were it felt that there was a divide in the group and this became increasingly difficult to work with. There were also points were it felt like we were waiting for others in the group to catch up with what had been posted on the Facebook page that was made by Salvador and several days later things were almost just copied and pasted. I have learnt a lot from this project and will take it with me in to future projects and my own work as it is important to choose the people you are working with carefully.
On a lighter note I am very pleased with what has been accomplished and feel that our final image speaks for itself.
