NOTES ON TEST SHOOT
The script/Interview questions. The aim was threefold. Firstly it was to get their personal impressions and pecking order and character traits and personalities of being a sibling. Secondly it was to get them to voice psychologists findings of the same thing and finally the view of parents.
The questions to the boys were.
- Who is the oldest?
- Who is the fastest?
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
The psychologists views of siblings and pecking order leading to personality traits was from researching the subject and common established theories. These were read out loud by the boys each saying the one related to their sibling birth order.
- The first born child is reliable
- The second born child is a peacemaker
- The youngest child is fun loving
The parents views on the same areas were were generated from discussions with my wife. We recorded just the audio for this as I plan to use animated figures to represent the boys as images for this. The audio recorded used the boys christian names and also we recorded the audio together in tandem to see how this affect would work as being the parents we discuss them a lot and generally view them in the same way.
- Isaac is loving
- Jacob is cheeky
- Noah is a perfectionist
Location and MES was OK I used a green backdrop (curtain) and decided to expose the boys for the camera both metaphorically with the questions and physically by having naked torsos. This kept all of the attention and focus firmly on them throughout by not having any other diversions to look at. Issues were the fact that the set was not big enough to film them all at the same time.
Single camera shoot had to be used for the tests due to resources but the eventual aim is to do a 3 camera studio shoot possibly at the university or college. Due to this being a one camera shoot to get the interaction between boys I had to get them in their positions left, centre and right but film them one at a time putting the other boys out of shot in the right positions around them. It worked OK for a test shoot but I feel more natural interaction will be possible with a 3 camera set up recording "as live" so to speak. The edit will tell if this "staged" interaction between the boys works.
Cinematography was a static centred loose MCU a really traditional documentary shot. However with the nakedness of the boys it takes on a whole new perspective. I also allowed the boys to break the 4th wall and directly address the audience a general no-go for interviewees on a documentary. Through this the shots are very subversive but subtly plays on documentary styles, codes and conventions.
Sound was a basic microphone set up but positioned out of view. I did consider putting the microphone in shot and did a test but it was distracting from the main subjects so it was left out of shot.
The lighting was traditional documentary 3 point lighting. Used a 300W light as high key light also spilling on the background creating a strong light source but casting no background shadow and creating nice shading to add depth to the boys faces. A house lamp for a fill and an angle poise desk lamp for a back light to draw the subject out from the background. Worked to some degree but a more professional TV studio lighting set up and greater attention to detail will be needed for the main shoot.
The subjects were OK but the boredom threshold was low and it was easier working with each one individually as staging the three of them interacting with all of them in the same room was tricky. Again a proper 3 camera TV studio shoot would make this quicker and more natural. Costs incurred were a lego mini-figure each as payment for their services!
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