I have had to learn rather quickly the happenings on a film shoot and what is needed. It's been an interesting experience and I have enjoyed learning it. I have learnt that in this industry it is good to be somebody who can problem solve on your feet. Sometimes things just don't go according to plan and immediate action must be taken to turn a potentially nightmarish situation into a workable solution. On our first day of filming, we had a tiny hiccup because the van that we were planning on using to transport all the film gear, broke down the morning of our shoot. Luckily, reshuffling people in vehicles and vehicles taking gear out was not a huge problem. The weather however, is a big deal and played a little bit of havoc with our exterior shots on our second day of filming. The whole team was really awesome and pulled together to turn our weather issues into something useful and we even though things didn't go to plan as we had hoped, it was still an awesome day and we got some impressive footage that we are able to use!
The weather forecast is looking like it is going to be atrocious, so we have made the decision to shoot the rest of the film on a sound stage which is just a huge warehouse type space with our portable green screen up and of course all the lights and camera gear. This means that we do not have to contend with weather and that all cast and crew should be able to stay dry instead of battling the elements.
Over the course of the last few weeks, I was interviewed by two of the local community papers, The Southland Express and The Eye. I organised to get this media coverage to let our community know what was happening and what we were trying to achieve, in the hope that local businesses and people would like to get involved and work with us. I was quite nervous, but I think I managed the interviews fine.
The piece written in 'The Eye' about Bones of Essimer. Photo of a Bone Cultist costume.
I have been given the role of 3rd AD (Assistant Director) while on set. As far as I have been advised, this means that I have to look after all the extras. It kind of made sense for me to do this because I have been working with the cast right from the beginning. I called all the actors and actresses to ask them if they would come to our character auditions and then I contacted the people from that group who were cast into roles. I have also liaised with all of these people to get their availability, details of any dietary or medical conditions they may have, calling them in for costume fittings as well as trying to answer all of their questions. All of the people that we have cast are very talented and supportive people. Each one has been patient with us and has been very helpful and encouraging.
There is so much organising and liaising that I have done with people and businesses that I can't remember every detail of it but I know there is a lot! My biggest challenge has been working with heaps of different personalities within the crew and trying to make sure everybody is where they should be, what is going on with everything and also making sure that everybody is happy and to solve any issues quickly. Communication is the key to the success of any project that involves a team. If there is no or bad communication then generally speaking, the project will not be as good as was intended. We have had a few communication breakdowns but it is all a part of our learning!
In my advanced animation class, we have been learning hair/fur simulation. I am due to hand in an assignment in approximately five days on this very subject. I have to do a report on the different type of software available for hair/fur simulation as well as having playblasts of my experiments. The report and simulation is worth 20% of this paper. I will be using the same model I used for my cloth simulation. I am going to give my model an interesting hair cut - a mohawk and weird bits of hair around the ears. I will use Maya to do this simulation. I will put up playblasts of my own experiments with explanations of each one once I have handed in the assignment.
I think I have talked about everything or at least I have discussed everything that I have been able to remember. I will be posting again soon and will have some exciting stuff for everyone to have a look at but for now, I need to get some more rest because I have a class first thing in the morning. Peace out peoples!!!!!
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