Supermarket Freedoms

This week I was fortunate enough to be offered the position of runner on a production company’s film shoot on campus at the University of Hertfordshire. Whilst I am unable to discuss the details of the film itself, my experiences on the set were invaluable in developing my skills as a filmmaker, and providing context to all of the work I shall undergo during my MA in Film and Television Production.

Having worked on a number of productions during my undergrad, I consider myself to be versed in the happenings of a short film shoot. My final degree piece, ‘Kill the Director’ was one of the most influential and educational processes I have taken part in, and it taught me a great deal about the process of shooting a film. Whilst my previous films had all been interesting experiences, KTD was (at the time) the most professional procedure I had ever undertaken and was run as close to an industry production as we could. I thought after this that I had a realistic set of expectations as to how my first industry shoot would be, except my experience on the film shoot this week proved just how wrong I was.

Firstly, my time spent on set this week exaggerated a number of my previous experiences. The time spent sitting around waiting to shoot on a set is exponentially higher than I expected, and the amount of effort that is spent on managing the production was also at a degree I did not expect. Catering and resources on the professional shoot were of a significant priority, whereas they had previously been an afterthought on my own productions. On day one, I took a trip to ASDA with a production assistant, where we spent £50 on snacks that didn’t even last the first day. This expense was made without a second thought by the team, and whilst I understand this is something to do with the overall budget of the piece, it still represents a train of thought that was not even present on ‘Kill the Director’.

Secondly, it was interesting to see the amount of liberty that the director and his team took with the script and predetermined shot list. I have always been so afraid to make any changes in the heat of the moment, or stray from the original plan on set, however the team on the shoot this week made changes on the fly, and cancelled entire shots on a whim. My major filmmaking interests are in screenwriting and post production, and so the actual shooting of a film has always felt like somewhat of a formality. I enjoy being on set, however do not find my skills to be best utilised during this time. The creative freedom that was enjoyed by the the professional team was something I look to aspire to on my next film shoot and is now a reason that I look forward more than ever to the next production I take control of.

Placing my previous experiences into the context of the realistic film industry was an invaluable experience that I am certain will inform my next projects. I enjoyed being on set more than I have in the past, and cannot wait to see how the final piece turns out.

#Reflection