Professional Advice Session (Director)

In between the process of this research stage, director of leading programmes such as M.I. High, and Hollyoaks (as well as many short films), Simon Hook came to visit the school late last week. Whilst visiting, he got 2 students to act out a scene which would be filmed using a multitude of shots to fundamentally create continuity when it comes to the editing stage and to allow us to later play around with a variety of shots. Lighting was also used which Hook said was important to have facing up towards the ceiling so that the light wasn't too intrusive nor would it blare on the characters' faces. Since I was one of the actors in the scene it was difficult for me to make notes however I did manage to write a few which can be found below.

• Coverage is essential- filming the whole scene every time you record with a different shot means that when it comes to the editing stage you'll have enough footage to choose which shot is the most effective for a particular moment in the scene.
• Angle- if the shot is not straight and even to the smallest degree, when it comes to panning you will soon realise that the camera will not line up with the horizon, leaving you with a canted shot which is likely to be something you will not have wanted.
• Continuous shots- it's good to have one running shot rather than having lots of shots cut together since this will help to then establish continuity and create a flow to the scene. For example, using a tilting shot to move from a close up to another close up/ medium close up shot would be much better than cutting between the two.
• Zoom- Hook recommended that zooming shouldn't be used in a film, rather you should use your actors to 'zoom' for you. Essentially he means the characters should be able to walk towards the camera and this will act as a zoom.
• Think about using a variety of shots and transitions- when the scene was being filmed, over-the-shoulder shots and two-person shots were used as a difference to the bog-standard close up or long shot shots.
• Tracking shots will help to establish a characters' environment also so it's important to consider how you might present this, whether it be a long shot or tracking shot. For interior locations, it's better if a tracking shot is used to pan around the room.