'Wish I Didn't Miss You' Music Video

May 18, 2021

It was so exciting working on a music video again, after more than a year since the last one. This was also directed by Alex Fountain, and made for Emilia Tarrant’s cover of “Wish I Didn’t Miss You”.

The shoot was only 9 hours long, but regardless, the thrill of being on set was there! The video was shot in such an expansive and beautiful space, inside Kings Theatre, and it was great seeing DoP Adam Prosser at work, observing his creative process and collaboration with gaffer Ryan Wilson. While Adam was operating the A camera, a Blackmagic Ursa G2, my role was B camera operator, using a Blackmagic Pocket 6K. We also had a Blackmagic Pocket 4K on a Ronin S gimbal as the C camera, brought along by camera assistant Oliver Mills. The multi-cam setup was essential as we had a limited amount of time in the location. We used vintage Nikon AI-S primes, paired with Tiffen Black ProMist 1/4 filters on all three cameras to maintain a consistent soft look.

While Alex and Adam had certain shots planned out, it was nice that I got the opportunity to get creative, as well, when they were focusing on the main shot and gave me free reign on my framings and compositions. The gimbal shots were also interesting to experiment with, as one of them involved following Emilia from backstage onto the stage, and looping around as the spotlight went on, and another one had to be programmed for repeatability to be used as a VFX shot in post.

It was so great working with such a fantastic crew and I think it shows in the quality of the final product!

Fashion Photoshoot on Film

May 15, 2021

I only took a small break from work after all the graduate film shoots, and went up to London for a fashion photoshoot. I shot stills on digital and 35mm film, for Bianca and Theo, final year Fashion Design students at the University of Brighton. These pictures would be used for their submissions for Graduate Fashion Week, as well as part of their coursework assessments.

The location was an apartment building close to Barbican Centre, and we had three different setups, and for all of them I used an Aputure 120d Mark II, softened with unbleached muslin for the corridor and white diffusion paper for the stairwell.

As far as the cameras went, for digital I used a Nikon D90 paired with a Sigma 18-35mm and a Tiffen Black ProMist 1/4 filter. For analogue, I had more variety: a Nikon TW2 point-and-shoot with Kodak Gold 200, a Nikon F301 with Kodak Portra 400 and a Nikon FM2 with Kodak T-Max 400. The lenses I used for the F301 and FM2 were Nikon AI-S primes: 24mm f2, 35mm f2 and 50mm f1.4.

Maisie modelled two white garments from Bianca's collection and two black garments from Theo's.

I was pleasantly surprised by the results from the T-Max, as I had never used that film stock or that camera before. The FM2 felt so organic and was such a joy to operate, being fully mechanical, but the built-in exposure meter didn't seem accurate enough so I used an external one, a Sekonic L308S. The only other black & white film I shot previously was Ilford HP5+, which seemed to be more contrasty, while the Kodak has more dynamic range and finer grain. And the same goes for the Portra, as well, but that is no surprise: the skintones are really nice and the overall look is very soft and natural. I also snuck in a few shots from the Gold shot in the TW2, but I can't bear to put the digital side by side with these!

This was a really interesting experience, shooting film for someone other than myself, and there was obviously the pressure of "What if I didn't load the roll properly and it comes back blank?". Luckily, the nervousness didn't last for long as it only took 3 days to get the scans from the lab after I sent off the rolls, top service from FilmDev!

'Sleuth' Short Film

April 19, 2021

'Sleuth' was another project that I worked on recently as a Gaffer, and it also came with its own unique aspects. The majority of this short film directed by Jaspar J. Cumiskey was shot on a built set, inside a studio, and in noir style!

There were many considerations to keep in mind given the approach of this film as far as lighting went. Being shot for a monochrome look meant I had to focus on creating the right atmosphere and depth through light intensity and shape alone since colour contrast was out of the question. Having a constant level of haze in the space also helped with adding volume to the light. The built set was roughly 4 by 4 meters and throughout the film, the camera would see every corner of the room. This would normally be an issue, but thanks to the fact that we were in a studio, I was able to place the lighting fixtures behind walls, or rigging them above the room.

The main source was a 1.2K Arri HMI going through some Venetian blinds, acting as a far side key for the protagonist, while a 150W Dedolight on full spot, rigged above the desk, emulated the desk lamp and bounced some light back off the papers, filling in the shadows on the actor's face.

The evidence board was lit with an Arri 300W, boomed over the wall and acting as if a practical lamp was there, while in the opposite corner another Dedo was doing the same with the antlers mounted on the wall. The third Dedolight of the kit was used to amplify a lighter's effect as the character was starting to smoke, and for added realism, I created a flicker using the dimmer.

There were two doors on the set, one to a bathroom behind which I placed a KinoFlo DivaLite with tungsten bulbs, and another which was leading to a corridor. As this second one had a window in it and the director wanted a silhouette of the character walking in, I created a fairly sizeable bright source by bouncing an Arri 750W Open Face into a polyboard. Also outside the room, there was another Arri 300W that I would pan around as if car headlights would pass by and shine in through the window, giving the room some extra dynamic and depth.

Just outside the studio, we shot a day for night scene where I used the HMI as close to the talent as I could get it to make it look like a street lamp. Even though we shot while the sky was still bright because we were in the shade and the HMI created a harsh light, the effect is really sold when you see the scene in black and white.

On the last day, we went on location where the setups were more improvised on the spot. Because the building didn't have any windows, I needed to create big sources to sell the look of daylight, so I used the HMI and either bounced it into a mirror, or shot it through a 3 by 1.5 meter sheet of unbleached muslin. As the bathroom scene had to cut with the fake bathroom in the studio, I used the same KinoFlo and boomed it above the mirror to make it look like a fluorescent fixture was in place. The final setup was probably one of the most interesting ones, as it had gone dark outside and I once again had to create a street lamp look. I put the HMI up as high as the stand would go and angled it down towards the actor. Probably the most difficult part about that was hiding the leads as the only access point to power it, was through the same door that was being filmed.

This was another great experience on set with its own challenges imposed by its visual style, and I enjoyed it as it's something different to add to my gaffing portfolio. I also got to shoot some Ilford HP5 black & white film using my half-frame Chaika, which gave me exactly the negative size of a Super35 motion picture camera, really helping me create that noir look in the photos.

'Show Us Your Jewels!' Short Film

April 06, 2021

'Show Us Your Jewels!' was such a fun project to work on, thanks to a great camera team and especially writer/director Oliver Mills! I was so pleased to see my good friend and long-time collaborator come up with this anthology type short film which could subvert expectations, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the final product.

At its core, the film is made up of three vignettes that present very different characters, with the common element being the daytime antique TV show, 'Show Us Your Jewels!'. I was immediately drawn to the idea of turning three mundane stories and environments into something visually interesting, and that's how I came on board as Gaffer. DoP Charlie Price staged these three single perspective shots, where the camera only pans and tilts while the audience is invited to take the space in as a whole, as an extension of the characters. For me, this meant I was limited to where I could hide the lighting fixtures, so I had to be very intentional with my choices. The kit I used for this project was an Arri 750W, two Arri 300W, an Arri 150W, a KinoFlo Freestyle and a pair of BlindSpot LEDs. The film was shot with an Arri Alexa Plus, and each segment was shot with different glass: Samyang, Xeen and Sigma respectively.

As far as lighting went, the running theme was using the KinoFlo's built-in TV effects, motivated by the TVs themselves which never emitted light, in fact, as they were never on.

The first vignette was the most complicated one, as it involved about 5 lighting cues, including powering the TV on and switching channels, faking a corridor light as the door opened, the character turning on a lamp and a kettle. I also took advantage of a fake window and put an LED panel behind it to make it look like daylight was coming through, just as a nice background accent.

The second vignette was shot in a smaller space so I used a plain wall to bounce light and create the illusion of a window, while the on-screen window was actually filling in the kitchen area. This was still controlled through the angle of the blinds and used as motivation for the hair light hidden on camera right.

The third vignette had an even more restrictive space, which meant crew numbers had to be limited, as well, so I also took over focus-pulling duties from 1st AC Lucia Clements. Because this was shot at 18mm and the camera saw almost every corner of the room, I was only able to put a light on top of the cupboards, and another outside, on the balcony. I brought down the brightness of the window which was on screen using some ND gel, which allowed me to balance the lighting ratios.

All things considered, the best part about this was Oliver describing his excitement over the fact that he was finally able to see this project materialised just as (if not better than) he had imagined it! And even on a personal level, it was really enjoyable to work on a short film with such a unique concept that provided me with such interesting challenges.

'Crowded Town' Short Film

March 29, 2021

It's good to finally be back on set! I think the last time I was on a film shoot was in early 2020, what a year it has been! But now, after months of pre-production, all the student films are beginning to take shape as restrictions for education have been lifted. 'Crowded Town' was the first project that went into production and it was no easy feat for me. After this long break from working on set, I came on doubling down on roles, as 1st AC and Gaffer, because the crew had to be as minimal as possible to keep the set safe. This sensible approach is one of the many reasons I always enjoy working with producer James Reilly, who actually got me on board for this film, too.

The first part of the shoot was in an empty apartment in London, which came with its challenges. No furniture meant there wasn't too much depth to the space, there weren't many practicals that could motivate lighting, and the plain white walls were just bouncing the daylight everywhere. The DoP, Ina Dungyova planned out her shots and lighting, but on the day we had to work around with the unpredictable amount of sunlight that was shining through the windows. The film was shot entirely with a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and a Sigma 18-35mm lens on which I was remotely pulling focus using a Tilta Nucleus M and a pair of Hollyland Mars 400S TX/RX. The fixtures I used to light this flat were an Arri 750W Open Face, three Arri 300W, two Arri 150W and an Aputure AL-M9. Most often, however, the most useful tools were the polyboard, 5-in-1 reflector and gels which allowed me to control the light. Here are some still frames from the film, that I applied a LUT conversion to, along with my light breakdowns.

The second part of the shoot was a single character in a car, which may sound simple at first. But you also have to take into account the fact that the time of day was supposed to be early evening, and we were filming in the middle of the day. It was a bright day, so the car was parked in the shade, away from any direct sunlight, but I was still limited in what I could do. I advised Ina to underexpose the image and use a 3200K white balance, so we would have a good base to begin with. I then used a 1.2K Arri HMI, a KinoFlo DivaLite and an Arri 150W to create a three-point lighting, and at times panned an Arri 300W across the frame to imitate headlights passing by, all of them set at colour temperature around 2700K.

Overall this project was a good experience which helped me get back into the pace of working on a film set, and it was interesting to observe the minimalist approach of the producer, the DoP and the director Benedict Webb.

My first experience on a Feature Film

February 26, 2020

In January I had my first experience on a feature film set when I went out to Morocco for 3 weeks. I jumped on this opportunity back in October when we got emailed about it, saying they had a few openings for students on a film that Ben Hodgson was Director of Photography on.

Director David Batty (right) discussing a scene with DoP Ben Hodgson

The role I applied for was Camera Assistant/Data Wrangler, and until we got to set I was still unsure what duties I would take on. I’ve worked on shorts and music videos as an AC before, but nothing of the scale and professionalism of a feature. This film was shot with two camera units: because Ben is the cinematographer he operated the A camera, and Mark Moreve the 2nd Unit DoP was in charge of the B camera; and each of them had a pair of camera assistants (a Focus Puller and a Clapper-Loader each). With that being said, my place in the hierarchy would be at the bottom of the camera department, as a Trainee.

Setting up at Atlas Studios as the sun was rising

On the first day we got there, Ben went on a tech recce with the producers and the director, while Mark and I, along with the Moroccan ACs were tasked with testing the equipment: two Sony F55s with Zeiss Super Speed primes, kitted with Tilta Nucleus-M and Teradek wireless systems. In addition, we had some smaller cameras which could be used as ‘crash cams, or on rigs that couldn’t support as much weight: a Sony FS5 and a Sony A7SII which would go on the Ronin-MX, and a Z-Cam E2 which would go on a Ronin-S. The tests involved shooting colour charts with every combination of the A and B camera and the primes and setting up the additional cameras on gimbals and a cable cam.

What followed on Monday was the start of three intense weeks (we only had Sundays off), with long days shooting from sunrise to sunset. In the beginning, the idea seemed a bit daunting, but I got used fairly quickly to waking up at 6am and returning to the hotel in the evening after 12h workdays. Something I couldn’t have predicted, though, was how I would cope with the weather: the mornings and the evenings were freezing cold, but anytime between 10am-7pm was as hot as the UK gets in the summer (around 25°C).

On set my role was a bit clearer in terms of what responsibilities I had: helping the ACs switch lenses, filters, and batteries, prepping any rigs with the additional cameras on the gimbals, setting up video village and generally being quick to help the camera department with whatever was needed. As far as the data-wrangling side of the job went, that wasn’t as extensive as I had expected because the editor was on set as a DIT. Therefore, I only had to ‘assist’ him by delivering the media from the camera to him (so he could back up the footage as soon as possible) and by keeping reports with details on which lens was used on each camera, as well as what card he could find each shot/slate/take on. The most ‘demanding’ part in that sense was when they shot an establisher that was sectioned in camera to make it look like they had 4-5 times the amount of extras. For that, they filmed 6 different plates and I had to wrangle a card for each of them because the editor was compositing it already on set, to ensure it would work as planned.

Another highlight of this experience was seeing the great collaboration between departments and seeing exactly how Ben works as a cinematographer with help from the Gaffer Driss Marzak and Key Grip Lahcen Herraf who have some incredible titles on their portfolio such as Spectre, Game of Thrones, Babel, Black Hawk Down. It was really cool seeing how they lit day-for-night, how they used a 12K HMI as a moonlight and how they even created a sandstorm inside a building, and I particularly liked the use of volumetric light.

Controlling the harsh North African sun with butterflies, bounce and silk parachutes

The rigs were very interesting, too, especially for how quickly they were able to build a dolly, but I was especially impressed by the combination of the jib and dolly, and how much movement and flexibility that offered. Obviously, these seem like intricate and heavy builds, but nothing stopped the grips from taking them up the rocky hills/mountains where we were shooting. And speaking of bulky equipment, the cameras also came with an Angenieux Optimo 24-290mm T2.8 zoom, an amazing lens, which you could, in all honesty, shoot an entire film with that range without needing other glass.

Some days were more difficult than others, for instance when we had to shoot at night or when I went separately with the 2nd Unit for pick-ups. It was never fun being in a car on unpaved roads, but when we actually had to climb over hills carrying the equipment, it was on another level. However, about half of the shoots took place at the Atlas Studios, so it wasn’t always that bad. It was quite impressive seeing all the built sets, how real they seemed, and finding out what films had actually used them before including The Mummy, Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven.

I definitely learned a lot being on set, especially in such tough environments and weather, even when I was just shadowing the ACs and offering them a hand whenever possible taught me quite a bit about set etiquette, too. The fact that it was a multi-cam shoot was also new for me, so taking part in it and observing the different workflow was very valuable. There were also a few times when Ben was kind enough to let me operate the A camera for a few rehearsals while he was behind the monitor watching the feed with the Director.

It was a great experience overall that taught me a lot, opened my eyes about what the industry is like, and further convinced me that I want to pursue filmmaking as a career.

“I love taking Film Students onto a professional set. They get to see how all the Departments work together, to experience the sheer pace of professional filmmaking and are thrown in at the deep end being expected to use their initiative and keep their work ethic as well as their sense of humour right from the off. Often it’s not easy, especially with very long days in a harsh environment. Cristian really pitched in and I’m looking forward to him instilling more professionalism into his fellow students when he gets back to Film School - thanks Cristian!”

— Ben Hodgson, DoP

'Throwaway Generation' Music Video

January 16, 2020

First shoot of this year came early on, as it was actually planned from December last year. I've really fallen in love with shooting music videos, and this one is by far my favourite. Director/editor Alex Fountain got me on board as the cinematographer for the Flowvers 'Throwaway Generation’ music video after I worked as a camera assistant on a couple of other projects of his before.

I shot this video using a Sony FS7 with a wide range of glass including a Sony PowerZoom, a Sigma 18-35mm, Samyang VDSLR Primes, a vintage Helios 58mm, and a fisheye lens for the skateboarding segments. At times there was another FS7 as the B camera operated by my 1st AC Oliver Mills, and a Sony a6300 as the C camera for the 3D parallax effect (which can be seen in the video at 0:59).

The whole video is full of energy which perfectly fits the youthful feel of the song, hence why I shot most of it handheld. It was such a fantastic experience just running around with the camera around the band performing, riding the motorbike and skateboards... so much adrenaline! And during this whole time, I knew I could rely on Oliver pulling focus remotely using my setup with the Tilta Nucleus Nano and the Hollyland Mars 400S TX/RX, props to him for keeping the subjects in focus with so much movement involved!

For the most part, I shot this with available lighting, thanks to the weather being overcast for all our exteriors! The moving portraits of the band members staring down the lens were lit with a small RGB LED panel. The most exciting part light-wise was the performance segment which we shot in an empty warehouse. Luckily, there was a scaffolding tower which came in handy when we rigged some Arri 300W lamps to the metal structure above, creating this spotlight-type pool of light. That whole look was completed with the whip-pan dolly move that introduces the space, and the Tiffen Warm ProMist which softened up the image and gave it a retro feel.

The experience as a whole was amazing, creating this over the span of two days, working with such great crew and talent. This was such a fun project to shoot and I think it's some of my best work!