News reporter PTC at the location of Ben Wrights "suicide"?
Cast Glen White a close friend and radio DJ as well as a one time stand up comedian who has the regional TV news feel about him. he is a work colleague and happy to help out. We filmed at Aldebburgh as it was a close location. It had the right feel, not touristy, bleak and I liked the stones on the beach. The weather was right too in terms of being overcast but the beach was very windy and this necessitated having the dougal wind-gag on the microphone and close to Glen in shot. There was a wardrobe issue as I had asked Glen to bring a shirt but he forgot so we made do with the one he was wearing and added the sports jacket I brought and a tie from the selection I brought that went best with the ensemble.
Due to conditions and wind noise a walk and talk proved too difficult so we opened on a mid shot for the into and then used a tighter more of a MS-MCU for the outro and a slight change of camera position. As with TV news presenters they get to directly address the audience straight down the lens. These were filmed using a boat as a wind-break that was just out of shot to facilitate good audio recording. I then proceeded to get plenty of GV's for possible use in the piece of the following. Sea variety of shot sizes, lifebelt and signage, Aldeburgh landscapes of sea and beach, flags to show the wind and signage of Aldeburgh.
The kit was a DSLR with TASCAM sound recording unit, tri-pod and all necessary leads. The footage was shot in HD.
News reporter recorded Voice Over VO of the script.
This was done using a voice booth where I work as Suffolk New College for authenticity. It was recorded using Adobe Audition in stereo wav format from the script. This is how it is generally done in industry with the VO added when the footage gets back to the studio editing suite if the reporter is available to do it. A variety of tones, pacing and inflections were tried out as well as tweaks to the script to make it flow better. Glen obviously provided the VO.
Interview with a professor of climatology to verify the importance of Ben Wright and the Global Warmning movements research and, ideas and predictions. Adds integrity to story.
The professor is played by Michael Brown who was a jobbing actor before he started teaching at Suffolk New College. He had the right look and temperament as well as gravitas I felt the part needed and played the part well. Looking back I should perhaps have done more takes as in places he performed a tiny bit too much. This would be fine in a fiction film but when aiming for reality it is not as natural as usual interviewees on TV news although sometimes they are practiced TV interviewees and there is this degree of performance or polish to their performances.
This was filmed in a mini set at the college that I wanted to look like a professors office. I was restricted for where I could shoot and not make it look lime a classroom. So I kept the shot tight and made more authentic with some books on the subject, pictures on the wall and a screensaver on the computer screen. The lighting I wanted to be cold and clinical so i used some CTB gels over the lights to make the light a little bit bluer. Clothing was smart casual with a soft jacket from a wardrobe selection brought in by the actor.
The shot was a loose MCU to allow space for the lower thirds and he is looking just off camera to the interviewer as is the protocol in TV news and documentary IV's. I also shot plenty of GV's of the scene of Michael looking at statistical data on graph, reading and working on his desk, CU of him studying and also cutaways of the books on his desk for use in the package.
Interview with a past "friend/girlfriend" who was also involved with the Global Warmning movement about the fact that he may be back.
The actress for this needed to be in their late 60's as they were a friend of Ben Wrights from back in the late 60's and former member of the Global Warmning movement who knew them from university. I did not want to overplay that they may have been romantically involved but I did want to suggest it from her tone and the old photographs of them together. I used my mum to play this part and not being an actress needed to read the lines from just off camera. This worked well and were only as a prompt but as she was not an actress the IV has a sense of the raw and unpolished and un-performative about it.
I wanted this to feel natural so set it in a home environment but someone who had obviously moved on from these days but remembered them fondly. I used some momento's from the room itself but I had managed to source an old picture of Cambridge university that I added to the background. I wanted the colours to be warm so used some CTO gels to give it a more orangey and that feel. The shot is a traditional MCU and the actress is looking just off screen the opposite way to the professor. I also shot lots of GV's of her pouring over a photo album and sorting it out looking at old photos. I did not have any of my created photos to add into the album at this stage so I shot the CU's of the Global Warmning images of her and Ben at a later date using the same lighting set up but in a different location.
The shoots went well and although short to shoot but the set up took time and they were a good half day each preparing, set decorating and setting up the equipment for. they were also filmed in multiple locations so travelling time was an issue. However I feel that I have some good footage to use. One of the issues is getting it right but not being too crafted. TV news is a sausage factory and it shoots happen fast and the shots and format is very formulaic. Yes they can look good but they are not often great in terms of cinematography. Bizarrely I had to not be too creative too keep the authenticity.
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