Studio Production: Shoot Day: Trivia

Today we filmed the third VT, which will be a short film including some trivia facts about famous films. This VT will be used to provide something visual for the audience whilst the crew are setting up for one of the rounds. We have decided to have the host present this VT as we felt that this would make sense, rather than pulling in another character that we wouldn't have met before on the show. In terms of the content, I researched a variety of facts, looking online to find the most unusual and shocking film facts that would be surprising and entertaining for the audience. I tried to find facts that were about popular films such as Jurassic Park and Titanic, as I felt these were a little more interesting than the more obscure films.

In terms of the shoot day, we had planned to film at the studios as we felt that this would be the most suitable back drop and would provide some context for some of the facts. Today was the first day I had met the host George, who was incredibly friendly and easy to talk to. We briefed him beforehand and made sure that he felt comfortable with the script and the actions that we wanted him to do. We also made sure he was prepared to use the props we had provided including a melon and a knife. He was more than happy to contribute which meant that the filming would be simple for us to carry out. We only had access to the studio and gallery for a limited time in the afternoon which meant that we needed to stick to the schedule. I worked with Saskia to decide which areas to cover first to ensure that we made the best use of the time we had. We decided to film the sections in the studio first whilst some technicians using the space were on a lunch break. For this scene we used a party popper which proved difficult to repeat takes. However, we were able to overcome this by having the crew throw the tinsel rather than popping it every time.
Each shot was relatively simple. We had George walk into each frame to introduce each new environment and to make it continuous. We used a variety of shots, both long and more close up to make them look as diverse as possible.
I think in terms of the schedule, we were very pushed for time which meant that some of the takes had to be rushed a little bit. This meant that we had to move on to the next shot before we were totally happy with all of them but the rough cut edit should highlight any changes to make before a final edit.  We will be in the studio with George for one of the rehearsals, which we discussed and decided in hindsight may work for some other studio shots, as it will provide some activity in the background. Overall, it was relatively successful but other footage may need to be obtained on a later date to ensure we have enough shots for the final VT.