R&P Post 20: Test Shoots

Hello there and welcome back! In this post you can read about how our test shoot went, enjoy!

                    
  
                  

Above you can watch a video show how we experimented with different shots and angles one of our first opening shots. During the beginning of our film we are going to have a shot of someone punching the speedball to give the audience a clear sense that this film is about boxing. When we did our test shoot, for this particular shot we decided to test out different angles and types of shots in order to decide which would be best for our film. The first video shows a steady, consistent and high-angle shot whereas the other video tracks around the actor slightly. These are both interesting shots which we could re-create and use on our actual day of filming. 

Here you can watch one of our more experimental shots where we tried a tracking shot. This was our first attempt and it was a very shaky and rather messy shot. However, we have decided that we do want to include a tracking shot in our film because it looks interesting and grabs the audience's attention. Thus when it comes to filming day we will make sure that our tracking shots are less shaky by using the camera on a tripod, and will make them look neater by only travelling in one direction with the camera, as in this shot we filmed in two different directions which made it a confusing and untidy shot.

To the right here you can watch a video showing how we experimented with filming our character of Coach Stiles. This close-up shot shows him in more detail, allowing the audience to gain a wider insight into his character. However, we have decided not to include this type of shot as during filming the punch bag takes up a large amount of the screen and actually covers the actor's face, making it a messy and rather unsuccessful shot. 

Overall what we have learnt from our test shoot is what shots look good on screen and allow the audience to connect with the characters and storyline of our film, as well as which shots are not so good and do not represent anything for the audience. For example, although our first attempt at a tracking shot was rather unsuccessful we know what we have to do to improve it and have decided to include a tracking shot in our film as it gives the film a quicker pace, representing the build-up of emotion in the character of Maya during this part of our film. On the other hand, we have also discovered that shots without any characters or action taking place within them are boring and disengage the audience from our film, so we will ensure that all of our shots are interesting and show the interactions between the characters, in order to keep the audience's level of interest in our film high.

Thanks for visiting, come back soon to read about our filming arrangements and how we are going to plan our set. See you later!