Filming Memory Assault Course For 'The Manual'

On Tuesday we filmed the memory assault course challenge for ‘The Manual’. The group met at 10:30 and then we began transporting the equipment to the filming location at Southsea Common by car. When we got to the location we decided where exactly we would position the assault course and where we would film from. It was a nice sunny day, which was good for the general appearance of the shoot, however it made certain shots difficult because we couldn’t film towards the sun.

We then began setting up the course with the cones we had used before as well as the other various objects that would be used during the challenge. I then set up one of the MixPre’s, which I am now much better and quicker at doing.

For the filming, I assumed the role of Samurai operator. This meant I had to hold the Samurai unit, which was attached to the camera by SDI and make sure it was recording when it needed to be.

The Samurai is a portable touchscreen-operated HD recorder, monitor and playback device for video professionals. It captures pristine 10-bit 4:2:2 video and audio direct from any camera with HD/SD-SDI output. The Samurai consumes very little power, ensures long recording times (up to 16.5 hours on a 750GB disk) and the efficient use of batteries. 

Samurai. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://www.atomos.com/samurai/

Atomos Samurai

When holding the unit, I had to work well with the camera operator and sound operator who was also plugged into the camera, because the cable wasn’t very long and we didn’t want our shadows to be in shot. Before the presenters got to the location, we recorded several close-up cutaways of the course stations and the objects they would be using.

The presenters arrived at the location around 12ish. Barry picked them up with his car from the Eldon building car park, which I had arranged with them. We wanted to do this because the filming location was a fairly long walk from the Eldon building and we didn’t want to mess them around more by asking them to walk it.

Firstly we filmed the presenters being told the challenge. The presenters were then walked through the course off camera and informed of what they would need to do at each station. Charlie then had to leave the area whilst we filmed Umby’s attempt and then vice-versa, so that there would be no unfair advantage and so they did not know how the other person did.

When filming we had several difficulties. Getting our shots steady was a constant issue, as we weren’t using tripods because we didn’t want the shots to be too static. Tracking the contestants and capturing what they were doing well proved very difficult. We also didn’t anticipate that the presenters would be as good as they were at recalling the facts that were given to them. This therefore made it harder to differentiate a winner.

The assault course could have been much more difficult to create more of a visual spectacle, and if we were to do this again we would be more ambitious and try to create more stations and tougher tasks.

Once the challenges were completed we finished with some establishing shots of the presenters. After this and when they were not needed anymore, the presenters were taken back to Eldon by car. As a group we then begun packing up all the equipment and then left the location by car.

Here are some photos from the day