Transitions | Shooting

We had intended to shoot the entire film in one day, however due to time constraints on the first shoot day, we ended up shooting over two days.  This was not what I had intended, but it meant that the second shoot was not rushed so we were able to get a lot more coverage for the park scenes.

Katie and I worked on a shot list so that we were more efficient with which shots we wanted to capture and we could mark off exactly what shots we needed to get on whilst at filming:



I also planned out the order in which I wanted to capture the footage - I felt that scene 5 (the consultation scene) was the most difficult to film, so I wanted to get that out the way first before moving on to Dr Stewart's PTCs and the surgery before moving on to the waiting room scenes.  The next day we would shoot Sheila's scenes at home, then end with the idyllic shots of Coco.  I found that writing notes on the script as we went through the day to be very useful, as I could make minor tweaks as and when we shot the scenes, and then keep referring back to the script if we were unsure of anything.

We arrived at the village hall where we were filming the vet scenes, and immediately began dressing the set and ensuring that the rooms looked as much like a vet as possible.  We put the posters and leaflets up in the main room and waiting room and rearranged the tables and chairs to fit in with what we wanted.  It was this attention to detail that would sell the initial 'documentary' feel of the film from the get-go so making sure the set looked authentic was vital.


After we made sure everything looked how we wanted, we set up the cameras and lighting ready to shoot the first scene, which was scene 5.  This scene involves Sheila and Coco coming in the the room to see Dr Stewart as he is looking at pictures of cows on his laptop; he then examines Coco and claims she needs surgery and the scene ends with Sheila looking confused about the prognosis.  This was possibly the most complex scene to shoot, as we not only needed to shoot Dr Stewart's and Sheila's lines, but also film Coco being examined.

I wanted to make the set look quite clinical with the lighting, so Katie and I agreed that we would use bright softbox lights and the fluorescent lighting on the ceiling to achieve the best effect.  We were shooting on two DSLR cameras - my own Canon EOS 60D, and Katie's Canon EOS 700D, both with 18-55mm lenses and lyre-mounted Rode microphones.  We decided several weeks ago that we would be using our own equipment as we wanted to get more experience with using them as well as what the university has to offer.  In hindsight, I feel I would have liked to shoot on a Panasonic DVX200 as it has a lot more capabilities with the larger sensor, but I am happy with what we were able to achieve with the DSLRs - particularly the depth of field.

Scene 5 took longer than we had hoped to film, as Aidan and Samantha were still getting to grips with the script and this was our first attempt at filming with the dog.  I ran through Aidan and Samantha's lines with them and blocked out where I wanted them to move throughout the scene.  I found this to be a fairly simple process as I had made a lot of notes on my script and was taking them through the scene step by step so they knew exactly what to do.  I made sure that we got as many reaction shots as possible as a lot of the humour would draw from how the characters react to certain situations.

I have never filmed with animals before and this proved to be a challenging experience.  I researched some tips online beforehand, and the main thing I needed to make sure was that she was not too hot or uncomfortable and that she was not in the same place for too long as this may distress her.  Coco is my dog, and I know her well enough to see when she is distressed anyway, but these tips were useful in reassuring me on how to approach filming with an animal.  I also made sure that Coco was familiar with Aidan and Samantha before shooting so that she responded well to being near them.  We made sure she had plenty of water throughout the day and I took her out several times so she could get some air and relieve herself as much as possible - the minute we finished her scenes, I called my parents to pick her up and take her home.

We ran through the other scenes in this room over the next few hours before moving into the waiting room.  These scenes were more difficult to block as the waiting room was quite narrow and there was little room to move the camera without breaking the 180 degree rule.  The lighting was also a bit of an issue, as the shadows were moving as the sun did, however the aesthetic of this lighting worked quite nicely, especially as we moved toward the scene where Dr Stewart delivers the bad news to Sheila.  This gave the scene a more sombre feeling which was appropriate to the scene.

The surgery scene was not as difficult as scene 5, however we were running quite short on time and unfortunately ended up rushing it.  The practical effects worked very well but we narrowly missed the actual blood splatter as is in the script.  This was unfortunate as it would have been quite funny to see in the finished film, but we will have to work around it in the edit.  We made absolutely certain that we would not spill any blood on the floor or walls by covering the floor in plastic sheeting and avoiding the walls completely.

After some exterior shots of the vet, we wrapped for the day and agreed to come back the following day to shoot the scenes in Sheila's home and the park scenes with Coco.

The second day of filming went very smoothly.  Samantha's house worked very well as the room we shot in was well lit and we were able to dress the set to add the photographs of Coco and Sheila with her husband.  We did several takes so we could play around with the mood we wanted to achieve through the edit.

We then moved on to shoot the exterior scenes, which also went very smoothly and we were able to get a good amount of coverage for the scene.  Like the day before, we ensured that Coco was well looked after and was not working too hard.

Overall I am moderately pleased with these shoot days.  We managed to shoot almost everything we needed but I feel we were let down by the audio quality and by missing some crucial coverage shots that will make the edit a little harder for Melissa.  As a director, I think I did fairly well with blocking and working with the cast, but the footage is looking more like a drama than a documentary which loses some of the authenticity we worked so hard for with the set and props.  However I am optimistic that we will be able to make suitable adjustments when it comes to the edit and the comedic tone will be able to shine through.