Filming Drama Scene - 'Broadchurch'

On Tuesday, I filmed my chosen scene for the drama piece. I was incredibly nervous beforehand because as a director there is a lot of pressure to organise everyone involved - the crew and actors in my case. I asked Imogen to be my camera operator and Laura to be my sound operator as I thought we would all work well as a team and I felt confident that I would be able to tell them what I wanted to achieve. My set for the shoot was production room 1 in the base room. I chose this location for filming as it made an ideal office space. There are white walls and tables and chairs so I had many of the props I would need in place already. I wanted the office to look quite clinical and uninviting as the scene is an interrogation, therefore I wanted to use the set to create suspense and drama in the scene. Using some props like a clip board and a sound recorder, I added these to the desk to give the room a bit more purpose and make it look realistic to the situation. In terms of actors, I casted from Casting Call Pro which was very successful as I had lots of applicants which allowed me to choose people who would suit the characters well and make it a convincing scene. As soon as they arrived, everyone was getting on well already and practising their lines whilst I set up lighting with Imogen and Laura. I used a lighting kit to allow me to achieve the clinical look to make it seem almost hospital-esque which is an environment no one enjoys being in. Once we began shooting, I had the script and my storyboard and shot-list which I had planned out carefully. I decided to shoot all of the scenes with Nicola and Sue first so I wouldn't need to swap the cast around too many times and alter the lighting too much. I took several takes and covered all of my shots including mainly over the shoulder shots and a medium as well as filming everything from a wide angle two shot to give myself lots of variety when editing. I had also planned to move in closer to the characters as the scene got more dramatic especially for some of the closing lines to evoke quite a tense and heated atmosphere. As the day progressed, I felt more at ease in my role and felt confident when asking my crew/cast to do each shot. As everyone was getting on well, it made the atmosphere on set very casual and friendly. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience and learnt a lot about how to work effectively through a scene, including each shot planned whilst maintaining a good working atmosphere.