Lessons

Lesson Info

Setting up for the B-roll Shoot

All right, so we're back and obviously we couldn't talk too much during the last piece because we're recording live audio on the interview subject were very clear and clean audio uh in this next process yeah it's still there still there we're going to be I'm gonna be a lot more off camera and asking questions as we go all right, so I'll be kind of your vanna white walking you through what's going on steps are as well as being able to pull off if you have any technical issues or if you guys have questions that are kind of bombard again we want to do is just ask suze and cannot what some of the questions are the most common questions were relating back to our last segment got about five minutes to do that and go ahead and fire off okay, I'll start with a question from brandon center, who asked, can you talk briefly about the twelve minute limit with h d d s l ours and using three cameras staying sink hitting, start stop at the same time or staggering? Okay, so the twelve minute limit is ...

a limitation of fat thirty two the format that these air recorded in uh because I'm going to record four gigabytes at a time and twelve minutes is kind of a guideline it go up or down depending on how complex or sena's uh it's me just cannot get around right now so many other manufacturers found a way to get the cameras start automatically instantly but the cannons don't have that function in terms of starting and stopping your sink if you do not have to start all in the same time is completely irrelevant as long as they all see the marker on air all recording the same scenes refusing time code that's the whole purpose of time code they could start you know a minute later as long as they all catch that slate with sound to elisa work on as long as they all say the time code we're good yeah, the only reason we did it this time is that we knew that our interview was going to be somewhere in the twenty minute range and then as vince pointed out really, really smartly like if you're interviewing somebody the last thing you really want to do is cut them off at some point so we knew we had twenty four minutes of video roughly give or take or something like that so why not run all the way through? And then just as a cz was explained really tail slate the second one and we're all good I mean that's what we needed that's not going to be always in circumstances that you're in but we I think that worked pretty well we had a great flow is a great interview it worked right I mean I didn't hear a word of it but I hear it's very good and you know it's not uncommon for interviews to be an hour an hour and a half um subjects so special documentary next question next question tio both of you okay ron and a couple other people had missed what dan had said about the discussion around room tone and could you explain the theory about that again please yeah basically when you're working in any environment I mean this is true for documentary this is true for any any time you're going to be rolling any kind of audio every room every environment does have ambient sound with it whether it's whether it's a low rumble from something down the street whether it's your h fax system that you can't turn off whether it is a refrigerator that you can't turn off so one of the things that's during is when you edit audio together from potentially that's from different from you know there's different tones in it you're going to hear that tone it's going to really abrupt so what an editor or sound designer can do depending on you know how many people you have working in your post working group is they can take bits and pieces of that room tone and they can conduct quietly ramp it up underneath the audio and then cross it over to the next one and ramp it down and the ear gets trained to that sound so they don't hear it anymore okay you're just now able to focus the ear on the the audio that you intended and it's a trick does it always work no but it's a really powerful piece of of of strategy in your editor's post election it's a base layer like a buzz it's always there but the moment it drops it's going towards the ghost where if you do changes if you do a voice over or you have to add something in you don't have that to sandwich with you're in trouble forgiving the editor or thirty second piece to kind of work with because you're rarely find thirty seconds and any shoot with theirs you know sound nice question we do it on every single set up on commercials or films every single room and set up trying not to forget it never forget trying not to forget it ok, the next question is from cameron what are the lights using the set up? And they said they know you mentioned the general function key phil etcetera but what are the specific types and why were they chosen? Okay, so in this particular course we're not going to get too deep into lighting because we've got a kind of choose what we're going to focus on uh in this case I have no idea what these lights are called crash there's stellar stellar three thirties uh, basically, you know, they're fluorescent lights that air have diffusion on them. I know you've got a brown color eight hundred back there. It was some gopal diffusion and those air a gym eyes. Whenever you do work with lights, always make sure you're working all hmm. I or all tungsten don't make some up. Unless you're looking having artistic effect, we're going to bring in light panels pretty soon. So are some of my favorite lights led lights. They're going to be just that their limit in this room, in terms of how strong they are powerful, they are, but indoors, they're fantastic. Um, and we'll get into that a little bit. Cool. Thank you. Question from c glade wass would there have been any benefit to providing the questions to miguel in advance of the interview? There can be. I don't think so. I think that if you provide questions to the interview e, then they become a robot. They overthink it. Uh, they end up trying to perform the answer, and you lose any sort of spontaneity, originality. In fact, he asked if he could see the questions of my answer was no, because I, you know, in this case, you know, we're not doing a dramatic documentary we're trying to get people to get emotional or you know, I'm not asking him to talk about some like big moment in his life that's going to make him tear up or get very serious it was a pre straightforward interview, but if you are going to be talking to someone especially someone where it might be adversarial, you might be in your being someone that you know is not the good guy in the piece you don't want to give money for warning you just want to you know, have them kind of react to the questions naturally because their reaction to the question even if they don't answer it says it all you can read a lot in their face. Another question from enlightened can you talk about one hundred sixty multiples? S a I s o talked about it yesterday we get another question just shoot everything in multiples one sixty one sixty three twenty six forty twelve fifty you'll get the best results on your eyes so on these candid cameras, how are you monitor this is a question from tina b photo how are you monitoring sound through the dslr while while filming? We're not the you can't the five days etcetera, our recording for their little mike, which we can use to single floor lives the realities there two engineers in the back that air working on both sound for you guys live and our final peace and their constant monitoring those sound levels and they're going to have some work set up for them a cz we go now service machine was going to super loud you need to make sure they pull those levels down yet you can't even monitor with headphones with any of the ecosystems right now so again, external audio think we're moving on we're moving on I think before we get anything started in his b roll you're gonna go back off and start putting this together for us thanks man we'll see you at at three o'clock right um or three fifteen something like that like that be there will be going to the edit uh what we're going to do first is miguel is going come up here. Um dan, if you want to have your mic over to miguel I think he's already laughed right? So come over here, miguel and we're going to go ahead have pin give us what we call a safety briefing. Obviously one of the primary concerns on any film shoot any should period is safety on as I just go when hadn't poked back of my calf and one of the sculptures um we'd know what's dangerous what to watch out for we've got a lot of people moving around he knows the equipment uh and what the dangers are and he's the best person to explain it but whatever you do stunts or pretty much anything involves a moving vehicle you always have a safety briefing so go ahead and fire off um so it's not two days around here the biggest thing for all of you is going to be when I'm actually welding it's not only very bright but it's also really, really high you ve so you don't want to stare at the light at all um I'll be doing a little bit of grinding and that will be some sparks she goes that way really your biggest dangerous tripping over something um but there are eyeglasses and your blood if you want it's really body s o we have air plugs for everybody we have ah eye protection don't put your finger in the song yeah on dh the main rule is if any time is any chance of danger or anything anyone's not sure or you are worried if you just think it just yell you know hold no to stop the shoot make sure that no one gets hurt you know I'll tell you what I'm what I'm about to spark it up all right? Cool. So let's bring the group together all around here uh uh with justin and we were given a list of um key points that dan may during the interview so obviously we had the luxury of having dan on set azi the editor a cz we were shooting he's the person is going to be editing the piece that's like the best case scenario because he's got in his minority piece together he's giving us a list of what he needs to kind of complete his little package. Um, anyways, uh uh, so sorry, dan. Uh, some of that list is our starting off point. Uh, we're going, tio kick us over. Tio justin, we've taken behind the curtain, right amount toe life. Uh, we're going to talk for different shots and discuss amongst the group uh, the gear that we have at our disposal, this position at our disposal and, um, what? We're going to kind of set us far schedule. We got an hour, probably in thirty minutes now, so we're gonna make sure that justin keeps us on schedule and fire off. You know what? The shots are first. Want to go ahead and read him off? And then, uh I want you guys discuss the best way we can walk around, talk about why you picked which basic here. Okay. Um, so to support the plm icon, I don't hear you guys picking up his audio mike where's that had held like, um, so some b roll that will support the interview and everything that gilson, um let's we have here is a medium flat of all the art on the wall is a photography who wanted to get some close ups and mediums of tools in the sculptures that aaron laying around the studio, what is the medium medium and be someone between close up in a wide what's a close up on why? Well, if you're close up on something, you're, uh you're in with usually long wins, uh, fine in here. Yeah, I've always found that closely. This is easy. Whatever you say close up and you're here with by yourself, people who are around you have no idea what this means to your eyes when you walk rights of subject could say this is a close up. This is a medium it's, a much easier way to communicate very directly people. So I want a medium shot from this high from this distance and people everyone around you gets the ideas keep going, okay? We're also hoping to get some close up close ups of some cool stuff like sparks from the tools we got was saying that his sanders gonna create some sparks, and that creates a visual interest getsem mediums and close ups of miguel working mostly on his hands, the different things that he's doing and then you might also want to grab some exterior b roll space needle to kind of set the setting of seattle that's where miguel does his work and then also some wides on a wider lens is fourteen to twenty millimeters of miguel working so we can get the full picture um we're going to start with the close up mediums of the tools and sculptures um I talked to the guys here and I think it's um slider shots and mason shots just on sticks with some set shallot at the field. Teo capture that. Okay, that's our first it does not involve miguel it is not right so miguel can show out for a little bit. Well, they could start setting up here once set up in the background interviews uh is sound important in these shots sound ones where he's gonna be crafting and stuff like that? Because obviously, you know, we don't need sound discipline on stages they're shooting stuff of, you know, stationary objects just keep that in mind so it's a good time saying miguel, do whatever you want to do. So what's what's the first thing I'm going to shoot you guys decided we have decided we're gonna walk around and try and find some objects interest that we do want to shoot ok where were they unless we're gonna start with rules, tools, that's working okay wait sound doesn't matter way moved to him we're going to talk about you know what he's grinding we want it to sound a little more important because you might want to have a little bit okay all right. All right. Well so what's the first picture you go for three guys three what do you what do you think it is interesting of the girls who like to shoot too wass or sculpture wise will cool off something like a versus slider maybe down you know starting at the bottom of the rung coming up yeah there are also used the horizontal one you know, sliders maybe that yeah, I think into the empty views boom down all right let's grab the one to the vertical slider the horizontal slider let's did you guys discuss the need to perhaps have the meat of your documentary in the can before you get all the secretaries and tools before we go back and do that if he has a random stuff of tools on you spend all day on it you know have a single shot of him actually working we're cool of the documentary yeah, I think we should just go right and get a crafting and then if we have time after we get that you know that's kind of like a really important but basic things like they're going to start spending an hour you know, doing is really cool slider shots uh and realize you know that they go over schedule whatever kind of all this random artwork shot but you know we've got a lot of talent here we can also take advantage of him being here and release him you know take you know respect his time so what I would suggest is let's start with miguel let's go right into the process and the petting a harbor going we can then splinter off and do what we call second unit so if we see that this is going very slowly you know I could start to say all right the two of you come with me and you start working with slider on a stationary piece of artwork and you go take a pair of sticks and you go rack focus on that piece on the wall that okay with you that's great cool so why don't we differ than to miguel what's the first action you'd like to do seven soften angle here cut cut some little bits than all uh sandy berger's so saw first saw first and so this is also where as a director you're going to make sure miguel is an artist he happens to be a photographer et cetera let's assume he's not and I'm gonna solve its ok show me exactly the piece you're going to use where it's going to be so there'll be some adjusting so first you're gonna just these pieces in here okay adjusting this they'll come up but this will not be diagonal so my body will come over here right? And then I'm gonna cut fighting crime and walk around pick it up so there's three or four actions there what's the quickest way for us to get three for actions in you know quick succession just work one camera time what platform sticks her hand held right so make a decision on what you want um you know, hand held me much cleaner uh it's a little hard to set up so I go ahead and said that and see, like when I was standing right here every one of those actions seemed to work nicely from this angle you know and definitely from overhead doing overhead from sticks is going to be a bit of a challenge because you could have a thing you know falling over so might be just start off with handheld get going easy do this whole siri's you know in three or four shots and move the next one right? Cool. So go ahead, pick an operator. Pick a lens. Yes. Here, let's go ahead, right don't worry about him. I'll take care of him. Okay? Okay, I want you have someone grabbed that uh five d ok the seventy five five d with twenty four seventy and just bring it over here and kind of start framing a shot that's what also are you doing that? That's what it is that work for you? Fifteen it's a it's. A little tight. Well tight. That's on a five d, right? Yeah. So, you more some seven? I kind of think thirty five, some a little wider sea and get more could've died. Comes down on these guilty. Ok, I I'm leaning towards tighter. Yeah. You want to go straight down the middle? Yeah, I would just kind of do like detail shots like way get down here way don't really need to see, you know, the whole action. We need to see, like, little pieces of, like, geometry. Make it much more graphic. Yeah, I probably stick. Is that is that a fifteen? A seven? This is a five year seventy. So that's a seventy. So probably the fifty on the seventies going really good for you. All right. So exactly. Whatthe okay, right. Wait, wait, wait. Banana flavored ones. Wait. I have an assistant, so we should have your protection for this one. No. Ok, thank you. We'll really let's have someone else. Yeah. That's. What? I would recommend justin as let's immediately assign roles. Like you're the operator. You're the focus puller, and you're gonna control lighting. And marcus is gonna make sure that um there's a seven inch through on that one is great okay, I'll go start taking questions while they get set up. All right, all right, I can take questions cannon susan while they get ready. All right. Uh, question from nano ritz as well as brian center can the high uv levels affected damage? The u s sensors how the you can can the high uv levels affect or damage the u s sensors? I've never had it because of the well I'm not speaking for a place to experience uh in that I don't the scientific answer to that but I've shot plenty of welding and I've never had a problem a question from labarga as the director while you're multitasking to organize your crew dude take notes for your own reference. Oh, absolutely I mean, the idea is during this workshop I'm doing so many things simultaneously between trying to teach the students as well as trying to make sure they're shooting a product and trying keep an idea of what they have in the can as well as making sure the people that are watching are also seeing stuff that's working a lot of things going in my mind andi that's not the best situation ideally, you know, as a director you want to be sitting at your seat watching that monitor and taking notes the whole time so that you have a good frame of reference and your whole crews working around you it's a very complex type of deal like as I talk to you I can't help to think that that that camera three director behind you so I can talk to you and you're looking at the audience well so they kind of set up for that um but you know you are always thinking about this stuff you can't help it so let's go ahead and reset that camera if that's cool um just a little more personal yeah it's your nature you know I'll keep talking to that as she readjusts her camera okay, but thie idea is that there is always someone on set called the script script supervisor or a script e that is taking notes on every single thing as we go from what lens is being used the aperture uh the actor of the wardrobe all those different types of notes um so that if the director is not paying attention and not able to take notes as long as says that was a great shot script is gonna write that down and you're gonna reference or that didn't work you kind of happens seamlessly question from our man in saigon how about safety instructions right before the shoot what's recommended by the insurance insurance companies or generally the insurances not going to get you know driving that you're going to have professional first aids professional stunt coordinators who give those briefings because they tend to know a lot more about that than the then the insurance companies. So, you know, work with professionals, I mean, safety here is basic, you know, there's, there's, heavy machinery and on any shoot, you want to make sure that you know what the danger areas are, you know, if you could get electrocuted, cut hurt, then can fall on you on also thinking damage something, um and obviously if you go and do any car sequences with moving objects, that's a whole other thing you know, thie coordinator will tell you this is if I'm going to have to crash, this congressman goes wrong, I'm going to veer left, so I need the entire left side clear, not a single human being there. Ah, and the stunt driver will know that if anything goes wrong, your left it's pre plans that if and when something does go wrong, which, you know, doesn't almost you got expect it to happen all the time, you know, but never does professionals, you have a predetermined escape plan, you never want to be the situation. The driver realizes what is going wrong, and he doesn't know which direction to go to because either way he goes or she goes, they're going to hit somebody a question from adam h any chance we can see you do some of the shooting or set up at least one of the shots rather than the students doing everything and there was a quite a few people are like we want to see vincent I can and there's a little bit of me in every shot um you know that there's there's this then the whole question is why have students here it all you know part of the reason we have a students doing this so that you can see them make mistakes and I can come and hopefully help them fix them um if all you see me do it you know is how to do it right he learned less uh it's more seamless it's easier uh definitely for me as a teacher sarah and going from here to here to here to here and here is the finished piece thanks very much the problem is when it comes to being your turn to do it you're going to make a lot of the same mistakes that they're going to be making and you're going to be scratching your head and saying why is my stuff not look like what vincent did and the idea here is hope that you can see them make the mistakes and help me help correct those mistakes you know so for example the first gentleman here want to shoot with a wide lands and um you know a little complicated here with game like live camera feeds you know to you but to me immediately it was like no it's already way too wide go the exact opposite he wanted to go wider er and that's where I'm going to fix that so as we go for each shot here we'll be working with cameras do have live feeds coming out and I gotta talk through how to improve that shot another question from you talk about your work with professionals the question was how much freedom do you give your crew? How much freedom do you give your crew a cz much as possible I mean, you want to enable other creative people around you to spread their wings and you know, the better they do, the better the film is in general. That being said, you can't have it, you know, like a a ship sinking with, you know, rats. You know, just jumping off there's got to be some sort of control there's got to be a higher key if someone has an idea or concern, there needs to be, you know, protocol as to who you speak with, uh it's very rare, if not expected, that you'd never would walk up to a director with an issue, so if your grip and you have an issue with some of your gear um, you don't go right up to the director. You're going to go up to. The key grip was going. Communicate up to dp is going communicate up to the director. Ideally, the dp will intercept and answer the question so that, you know the director can focus on his or her job.