The Writing Center Shoot

Our first project for the Studio Production class here at Shepherd was to put together a commercial for the Writing Center and its tutors. Having worked as a writing tutor myself, my first instinct was to put forth some of that knowledge in group discussion. For example, when the possibility of using the image of a marked up paper was presented, I informed my peers that writing tutors are actually more than just editors, and work more with developing ideas than just fixing up grammar mistakes. Though we originally planned to use a black background for our shoot, I objected on behalf of the writing tutors, who already worry that they are perceived as being located in the dark, gloomy basement of the library (though it is perfectly well-lit, in reality).

Once we started to put ideas into practice, I had several different roles I filled throughout the week. Although they were not always the busiest positions, I could see how my part contributed to the production as a whole.

PREPARATION

When we began to set-up the studio for the shoot, I was one of the three people who volunteered to work with the script. My job was to make it easy for the talent to read lines to the camera without looking as if they were reading from a prompter. I wrote each line of the script carefully on a giant whiteboard, then made changes as our fill-in talent attempted to read them. Whatever seemed difficult to read in one line would be broken into two or more, until the talent was comfortable presenting the lines to the camera.

DAY ONE FILMING

On the first day of the shoot, I first continued my job of working with the script. As the talent began to read the lines for the camera, there were a few adjustments that needed to be made. I erased lines that were complicated, added some lines when asked by the client, and edited the script until everyone was satisfied with the result. Once the script was in place, however, there was not much more I could do during the shoot.

I was offered the chance to work with audio and immediately jumped at the opportunity. As we set up for a new talent to read lines, I worked in the booth at the switchboard and asked for the talent to read some lines. When I had an idea of what volume the talent might have throughout the shoot, I adjusted the levels on the switchboard accordingly.

DAY TWO FILMING

On the second day of the shoot, I finally was able to work with the camera. I was the first person to do so for the day, so I ran through the entire set-up process. I zoomed in as close as possible to the face of the talent, focused the lens, and made sure we had a clear shot. When the lighting was complete in studio, I had someone hold up a white paper so I could set the white balance. I consulted some others on whether the exposure was set properly on the camera, in the hopes of a second opinion, and when all of these measures had been taken I then began to frame the shot. After some guidance from the director, I altered this slightly, and once the frame was what the director wanted, I locked the camera in place.

A LEARNING EXPERIENCE

The shoot was a great learning experience, as I was able to take on roles that I hadn't in the studio before. I was lucky to have supportive peers who would answer questions when I had them, or would give opinions when I requested them. I also learned that when the talent shows up, it changes everything! The whiteboard that I worked so diligently on the first two days ended up being discarded when it proved less effective than anticipated. Lines were added back to the script that I would have removed, and there were definitely a few hiccups that needed fixing as we looked back on our first day's shoot. All of this, however, was a really positive experience as a whole. We all worked together and did what was necessary to make the shoot run as smoothly as possible.