PLANNING
Putting together the plan to deliver the proposed sequence by the deadline whilst including all the necessary support material.
With location access being a considerable factor the schedule remains flexible regarding shooting date but all other expected development continues ahead of it.
Permission
By going through the official Media relations page I am able to gain 'Provisional' permission to film on the Leeds University campus.
Schedule
Schedules always change and being autistic guarantees it. I like to create 'stepping stones' or checkpoints. Rather than micro-managing each job I set a date when several jobs need to be updated or completed but, I am free to switch between those jobs just as long as those deadlines are met.
Concept
Based on my first choice I took a frame from a promotional video then went into Photoshop and painted in possible changes to the environment. This heled sell the idea but also I could could narrow down what might night be built or collected.
The plan is to deliver in classic widescreen aspect ration (2.35). Plates will be shot full frame, with on screen guides. This way I get the maximum quality from the camera, extra image data for tracking and reframing. This of course means larger file sizes, slower playback and longer render times but, I believe my system can handle it.
Just how much of the environment will be replaced and what will be enhanced?
This is a quick exploration.
Reference
Researching the star wars aesthetic.
Gear List
Gear list is an estimate based on shooting needs and the fact that I want to be able to move quickly with minimum disruption to the venue.
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Production camera
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Stills camera
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Tripod
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Gimble
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Macbeth chart
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Tracking markers
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Gaffer tape
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Camera slider
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Lenses
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Memory (SSD)
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360 camera
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Permission form
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Shot list
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Laptop
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Hobo light
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Notebook
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Multi-tool
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Props
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Wardrobe
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Snacks
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VFX supervisor sheets
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Tape/laser measure
Camera Specs
The Blackmagic 6k Pro has a super 35 sensor with a crop factor of 1.558. This alters the affective focal length and thus the field of view of any lenses.
•14mm - 21mm
•24mm – 36mm
•35mm – 52.5mm
•50mm – 75mm
•85mm – 127.5mm
The standard battery is terrible. Thankfully we have external V-mount batteries. They add to the bulk of the rig but two to three hours recording time is worth it.
Then we have bitrate;
Constant bitrate can save on file size but you can loose quality if the shot gets busy, like lots of motion/action. Not something you would notice but for VFX better image quality matters.
Constant quality has a variable bitrate to preserve the image quality. Larger file sizes but if everything else is done correctly, gives you the best footage to work with.
Camera slider
The camera slider is to add a little life to some shots and also to subtly direct the audiences eyes.
360 Camera
The Ricoh Theta SC2 360 has been around for a few years. It came with the ability to shoot bracketed shots. It made shooting HDR light probes easier. Though it was a bit difficult to connect to the camera via the phone app with Bluetooth..
Then, in February Theta updated their app and firmware,
removing the bracketing feature. A simple case of
retiring functionality on old equipment to encourage
you to upgrade. The workaround is simple, manually
adjust the shutter speed per image from darkest to
brightest (approx four stops per image).
Doing it manually doesn't really add any additional
time but, the Bluetooth connection has improved.
Then simply go into Photoshop and combine the images
into a radiance image for use in Maya.
Data Management
With my plan to shoot in 6k I needed to check the available hardware could handle it.
My Sony T7 portable SSD is one recommended by Blackmagic so, no issues there. Just assure a secure connection. Transferring from SSD to my laptop presented an issue. Five minutes of 6k footage took fifteen minutes to transfer. Getting it onto my M.2 card on my PC was the same so, possibly a cable issue? Yet writing from the M.2 was almost five times faster.
Blockout
After playing with some of the photos I decided to build a mock-up of the location in Maya. I guessed the scale based on an average human figure.
The I took the camera sensor and lens crop info to set up the cameras in Maya to better match what it should look like live.
The actual aspect ratio of the frame is set in the render settings.
Shot List
Each shot comes with a description, Shot type, gear, lens & potential vfx.
