This weekend we had our first three two-minute film shoots. For the two-minute films we shoot on 16mm with sync sound. Earlier in the quarter we saw presentations by Kodak and Fuji, who donated the 400 feet (about 10.5 minutes) of film stock which we use for our two-minute shoots. The seven positions we rotate through are.
- Director
- Assistant Director
- Director of Photography
- 1st Assistant Camera
- Gaffer
- Sound Mixer
- Boom Operator
We are allowed to enlist the help of others and undergraduates in the form of production assistants. The most stressful job is probably first assistant camera, who is responsible for
- Slating each take
- Measuring and pulling focus
- Moving and balancing the camera
- Changing Lenses
- Checking and Cleaning the Gate
- Filling out Camera Reports
- Loading and Downloading the Film
- Setting Up and Shooting a Grey Card
- Doing a Scratch Test on the Film
- Protecting and Standing by the Camera
It’s really more than any one person can physically do. It would have been nice to have second AC on a number of the shoots. No one in the professional world shoots without at least two camera assistants.
This weekend we have the second round of two-minute shoots. There are four shoots, two saturday, two sunday for each for the three groups this weekend. Due to lighting conditions, etc. this is what the schedule for my day of shooting will look like. Keep in mind that another friend from the program is shooting on the same day.
- 6am – 7am Breakfast at Melnitz
- 7am to 11am 1st shoot
- 11 am to 12:15pm crew wraps and travels
- 12:15 to 12:45 Lunch at Jason’s location
- 12:45 to 1:00 Load equipment
- 1:00 to 5:00 Jason shoots
- 5:00 to 5:45 Wrap and load
- 5:45 to 6:30 Travel to UCLA and unload
A 12 hour day is fairly common, although normally we would get more time for lunch.
