“The Passion, the People, the Process – The Players That Make a Video Come To Life”
September 30th, 2009 - Written by Admin
In the case of To The Rescue’s video, many scenes take place at night; therefore, the lighting had to convey a sense of darkness while maintaining consistency over the four days of filming. The producers decided to film at night for more authenticity and to allow the camera to pull back and show more of the scene in establishing shots without ruining the illusion of evening. Large lights were diffused and fitted with blue gels to set the mood as blue gels help create the illusion of the moon shining down.
There are other considerations too – as much as you need lights, you don’t want the camera to capture them either. It takes a disciplined and observant eye to ensure that the lights are set up outside of the camera’s range and view.
So now that you have the lighting crew in position, making sure that the images shot will indeed be captured in all of their glory, you need an experienced hand to actually move that camera around to get everything in view, exactly the way the director envisions it.
Enter the camera operator…
These folks must know their way around the equipment and all of the related accoutrements. They ensure that the shots are framed and in focus, the white balance is set, the aperture and iris are locked down and the camera is ready to roll as soon as the director yells “Camera!” And this involves planning the shots well in advance of actually shooting the footage. They confirm that the lighting casts the right amount of light on the subjects and that the camera sees exactly what the director wants to see. And believe me, they need to be very much in tune with what the director is seeking from a cinematographic point of view.
On the set of “Are You Bulletproof?”, director/cinematographer ,Andy Morris, and co-director/cinematographer ,David Jaeggin, worked in tandem. In some cases, Andy would direct while David handled the camera and, in other cases, it was the other way around. It takes a great deal of confidence in your crew for such collaboration to work. In this video, it allowed them to capture a different “feel” for different scenes. David’s smooth and steady movement allowed the band and intro scenes to flow, while Andy’s more erratic and fast-paced “run n’ gun” style captured the frantic pace of the chase.
The supreme, the almighty, the all-powerful director!
The director usually does the least amount of physical work, yet still has the hardest job. They have to know everything that the other guys and gals on the set know and, on top of that, they must ensure that the visions in their mind translate perfectly on the screen. Forever in pursuit of the perfect performances from their actors, they guide them through every emotion, every movement and every word…These motivators need a PhD in patience and communications and must be able to pull out the right stuff from their actors, no matter what kind of day the performers are having. It’s really about managing people’s emotions, sometimes being a diplomat and knowing how to talk to your people so that they are motivated to give it their all in front of the camera. It is not about barking orders (which is definitely not the approach that any seasoned director will use), but rather, it is about respect and mentorship, and sometimes forgiveness when things don’t go exactly as one would have hoped. The director is the first one on set and the last one to leave. And let’s not forget that they manage the timelines, the day-to-day shooting schedule and must be mindful of all of the logistics – the locations, the funding and the cast – and correct all of the shortcomings of each of these element as required. This person pretty much has to have a ubiquitous presence during the whole production.
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