Documentary Unit: Filming Workshop

On Friday we went out on location as a group of 6 (in the end) and had a day of filming in Rochester. As a group of three, Mary, Dannie and I filmed in the Guildhall Museum. As there was a school trip, we were assigned to the meeting room where we filmed children taking part in activities with the staff.

Before filming, Mary and I came up with a shot list consisting of sequences, establishing shots and actuality shots and filled out a risk assessment form. We then decided that Mary would be director/producer, I would be the camera operator and Dannie would be the sound technician. For filming we used the Sony EX2, a clip on mic for Jeremy (staff) and a rode mic to pick up the rest of the sound in the room.

We later moved on to filming outside of Rochester Castle and Cathedral. I thoroughly enjoyed this as we were able to get many beautiful establishing/sequence shots of places such as the river, bridge, and building exteriors. We also used the rode mic for this, so that we could pick up ambient sounds.

I found the workshop very helpful as it was great practice for finding impressive establishing, actuality and sequence shots. I also found it helpful that Mary and I decided to work together. Because it gave me a good insight to how filming with her will be. We both had a lot of ideas and worked extremely well as a team, so I feel confident when it comes to filming our documentary as a pair.

Above: Internet images of the museum, castle and cathedral.