Shoot evaluation
I think I was expecting this shoot to be very different to how it actually was, partly because of my experiences on other people's sets and our madrid set last year. Overall I think that my experience as a producer on set wasn't particularly challenging - mostly because there wasn't really much to do.
I was aware that producers don't normally have one specific job on a set and that they're usually just there to oversee everything that's going on but this was very difficult due to the lack of space in the cottage and there was only really room for essential people to be in the room where they were filming. This meant that the first and second day were mostly just spent sat downstairs waiting for breaks in filming so we could go upstairs and take some photographs of the set. I thought this was a bit of a shame as I had hoped I would get to experience the filming myself but we were told to stay downstairs. Halfway through the second day in the cottage we were told by the 1st AD that we weren't really needed on set and that we could go back to the hostel for the rest of the afternoon.
On the third day we were filming at the harbour so I thought that maybe we would be able to get more involved with the filming but this was also made difficult due to the massive amounts of kit and camera bags which couldn't be left alone. Myself and Emily were asked to stay with the kit while the rest of the crew moved around the harbour to get the different shots and scenes we needed. This seemed like a shame because although we both knew that the role of producer doesn't normally do a lot on set, we were told that because we had such a small crew, we would probably also act as runners on set. This didn't end up being the case because we had two first year students as runners and this meant that there wasn't a lot for us to do. This day in particular was extremely cold and there was a lot of standing around and waiting for things to be set up for each individual shot so the filming took much longer than it should have and the actors were also waiting around in the cold for longer than was necessary. We stayed with the kit for most of the morning and then when we all went back to the hostel for lunch we were told that we could again, stay there for the rest of the day as we weren't really needed. In the evening we heard about an argent which happened after we left the set and it seemed as though a few people weren't happy with the environment on set and perhaps weren't happy with the director's attitude towards them. This meant that the rest of the shoot felt a little strained and awkward which I think brought the mood down a bit towards the end of the week.
I think that perhaps I would have learned more and enjoyed the experience more if I had also been given another role on set such as runner, logger, props etc. Not necessarily a massive on set job but just something that meant I was actually needed on set. I think that the shoot definitely showed me that producing is not a role that I would jump at the chance to take on again. I know that I would definitely enjoy a more hands on job on set on the more creative side of filmmaking such as maybe working with the camera or assisting the director. I really like the idea of directing but I'm not sure i'm confident enough for such a big creative role.
I was aware that producers don't normally have one specific job on a set and that they're usually just there to oversee everything that's going on but this was very difficult due to the lack of space in the cottage and there was only really room for essential people to be in the room where they were filming. This meant that the first and second day were mostly just spent sat downstairs waiting for breaks in filming so we could go upstairs and take some photographs of the set. I thought this was a bit of a shame as I had hoped I would get to experience the filming myself but we were told to stay downstairs. Halfway through the second day in the cottage we were told by the 1st AD that we weren't really needed on set and that we could go back to the hostel for the rest of the afternoon.
On the third day we were filming at the harbour so I thought that maybe we would be able to get more involved with the filming but this was also made difficult due to the massive amounts of kit and camera bags which couldn't be left alone. Myself and Emily were asked to stay with the kit while the rest of the crew moved around the harbour to get the different shots and scenes we needed. This seemed like a shame because although we both knew that the role of producer doesn't normally do a lot on set, we were told that because we had such a small crew, we would probably also act as runners on set. This didn't end up being the case because we had two first year students as runners and this meant that there wasn't a lot for us to do. This day in particular was extremely cold and there was a lot of standing around and waiting for things to be set up for each individual shot so the filming took much longer than it should have and the actors were also waiting around in the cold for longer than was necessary. We stayed with the kit for most of the morning and then when we all went back to the hostel for lunch we were told that we could again, stay there for the rest of the day as we weren't really needed. In the evening we heard about an argent which happened after we left the set and it seemed as though a few people weren't happy with the environment on set and perhaps weren't happy with the director's attitude towards them. This meant that the rest of the shoot felt a little strained and awkward which I think brought the mood down a bit towards the end of the week.
I think that perhaps I would have learned more and enjoyed the experience more if I had also been given another role on set such as runner, logger, props etc. Not necessarily a massive on set job but just something that meant I was actually needed on set. I think that the shoot definitely showed me that producing is not a role that I would jump at the chance to take on again. I know that I would definitely enjoy a more hands on job on set on the more creative side of filmmaking such as maybe working with the camera or assisting the director. I really like the idea of directing but I'm not sure i'm confident enough for such a big creative role.