Problem Solving 2022 FMP.pdf

1. Problem Solving
Lucas Higham

2. Contingency Plan – Technical and Practical Problems
Technical problems Effect onProduction Control / solution Personresponsible
Camera batteries run out​ The interview and any other form
of production will halt
Have all batteriesfullychargedandready, the
day before.Ihave twobatteries,that willlast
me.Will alsohave the chargingpack on handin
case needed.​
Myself as I am handling all the equipment.​
SD card corrupts Possibilityof losingmost/all footageshot.Would
have to reshootthe whole film, schedulinginthe
actors again, potentiallylose actorsdue to
how unprofessionalitwill lookandmess
aroundthe locationmangersagain.
On lunch break, save all the footage to my
computer. ​​Check rushes daily.
Lucas, since I am responsible for all the
equipment.​
Battery for the microphone dies Wouldhave touse the internal microphone built
intothe camera.The audiowill sound severely
worse.
I have a second battery, will use that. Lucas, since I am responsible for all the
equipment.​
Audio problems during interview​ Potentially ruin the interview Before interview,make sure everythingis ok.
Checkthe equipmentandcontinue to check
back duringthe interview
Lucas, since I am responsible for all the
equipment.​
Take doesn't go well, not clear If I do not gofor anothertake and stickwith
a take that wouldmaybe lookoff ora mistake
ismade will resultinasubparfilm.
Go for another take. Lucas, since I am the DP and directing.
Internet goes down In the unlikelysituationof the powergoingoff
or the internetdown,thiswill largelyaffectthe
productionduringediting.Withnowi-fi Iwon't
be able to researchhowto dosomething,if the
occasionarises.Thiswill significantlyslowdown
and disruptthe productionflow of the edit,
where time ismyfriend.If I'munable to
researchsomethingordownloadanaudioeffect
ect,I will have tomove ontoanotherpartof the
filmtoedit.
Download all necessary audio files before
the edit or as soon as possible. Any
complicated edits I need to make will be
researched in advance. Save work as
regularly as possible. Turn on auto-save.
Outside of anyone's responsibility
Power goes down The powershuttingoff shouldn'tbe too
detrimental.Aslongasmylaptopischargedwell
enough,Ishouldbe fine.
Have my laptoppluggedin,soif the powerdoes
go off mylaptopwithbe fullycharged. Save
workas regularlyaspossible.Turnonauto-save.
Outside of anyone's responsibility

3. Contingency Plan – Technical and Practical Problems
Technical problems Effect onProduction Control / solution Personresponsible
Storage of files and footage Needtoback-upworkespeciallyall the footage.
If thisis notdone,potentiallyall myworkcould
getlost/ corrupted.Thisisthe worstpossible
thingtohappenas planningashootisincredibly
difficulttoorganise withpeople.
Aftereachday of shooting,Iwill downloadall
footage tomy laptopanditwill addedtoa
folderandorganisedaccordingly fromshoot
day,scene number.Thiswill make itincredibly
easyfor me to accessthe footage andfindwhat
I needquickly.
Myself, as I am directing the film, so it is my
responsibility to keep the footage safe and
secure.
Contingency Plan – Theoretical Problems
Organisational problems Effect onProduction Control / solution Personresponsible
Forget a small piece of equipment that
connects camera to a piece of equipment.​
If it was for the tri-pod, that means either no
tri-pod shots or have an unstable, potentially
shaking shot.
Make an equipment list and tick everything
off that I need. If I still forget or if it falls on
the floor or something I can quickly go back
to my house however, this would be wasting
time and the production will look
unprofessional.
Lucas, since I am directing.
Location unavailable Have no locationshootthe film. ​If Iturnup to
the locationandit'sunavailablethiswill meanall
the cast and crew will have wastedtheirtime
beingthere.
Organise adate and time toget letinto
the locationwiththe owner,priortothe
shootdate. ​Have a back-uplocationandmake
sure the locationisdefinitelyconfirmedforthe
day.
Lucas, since I am directing. ​The location
manager.
Incomplete planning Possibly slow down production.​ Do all the pre-production and planning
before beginning product. It is vital to know
what you're shooting, when and who with.
Lucas, since I am directing.
Lost equipment/prop or forget something​ Will look unprofessional and, lowers
production speed flow​
Create a check list with every piece
of equipment or prop needed. Check
off everything before leaving to shoot.
Lucas, since I am directing.

4. Contingency Plan – Theoretical Problems
Organisational problems Effect onProduction Control / solution Personresponsible
Time If time runs out during production, it will
mean the project won't be completed on
time and will not be the best standard. And
during the shooting period, if I run of time to
get all the shots this will mean I will have to
organise another days shoot or leave the
shots, meaning my entire vision will not be
fulfilled and the cast and crew will have to
do another day, if they're even available.
Planthe shootextensively,makingashotlistand
storyboardswhichIwill followonthe day.Doall
necessarypreppossible before arrivingonset
(rehearsals,experimentsetc) Iam there toshoot
it,nothingmore.Whenmakingthe schedule
allowenoughtime (will knowhowlongis
neededdue topastexperience) tryandbe as
efficientaspossible inaday,getas much shotas
possible.Include contingencydaysinthe
schedule whichcanbe usedif needed(bad
weather,location,actorunavailable)for
reshootsoras a rescheduledday.
Myself, since I am directing so I will be
planning the whole production.
Personnel problems n/a n/a n/a
Actor / crew member late for the shoot​ Could minor slowdown production or be
significant.Their car could'vebroken down or they
could'vewoken up late? Either way it could resultin
havingto make the filmover the courseof two days if
we don't get everything done in one or have a long
day of shoot, which I would always prefer.
Confirm with the actors the night before, so
they don't forget. The morning of the shoot,
contact the actors. If they're late or in a
problem, try and help them solve it.
The actor ​/ crew member
Actor / crew member has to leave
filming, mid-shoot because of an emergency​
Halt production, will have postpone to
a later date and finish off where we left off.
Postpone the production.If actorisunable to
continue because of unforeseen circumstances, I
have a backupactor butthat wouldmeanI
wouldhave tore-shootscenes.​
The actor ​/ crew member
Actor / crew member unavailable
last minute
Considerably slow down the production. The
date of the production will have to be
postponed.
Rearrangeanother date with said actor, if they
have to depart from the project, I have another
actor who volunteered but at that point I already
confirmed the roles with other actors. I have a
backup actor.
The actor / crew member
Actor turnsoutto be unprofessional anddoes
notlearnthe lines,givesabadperformance and
will notlistentomydirection
Considerably slowdown production.The end result
of the filmwill bepoor- the filmrests on the dialogue
and performances, if one performance is bad itwill
bringdown the film.​
Reason why the actor,if it gets out of hand, ask them
to leave. I would rather have to rearrangethe shoot
and shoot most of the filmagain with a new actor,
than have a filmbrought down by a bad
performance. I've got a backup actor.
The bad actor.​

5. Contingency Plan – Theoretical Problems
Logistical problems Effect onProduction Control / solution Personresponsible
Raining​ The brief outside shots might not look so
good, as the rain cover on the camera will
be on.
Waiting until it stops and quickly shoot it,
look at weather forecast and if there is a day
earlier in the week when it will be dry,
rearrange to shoot on that day. Bring water
cover for the camera.
Lucas, since I am directing.
Location unavailable Have no location shoot the film. Organise a date and time to get let into
the location with the owner, prior to the
shoot date.
Lucas, since I am directing.
Background noise​ The audio of the film will sound bad
and distracted if background noise of people
talking or a machine can be heard.​
Wait for the noise to go away, during the
waiting we will rehearse scenes, be
productive. If it seems the noise will
continue, try to reason with whoever or
whatever is making the noise.​
Whoever is making the noise​
Carbreaks down Will considerably slow down and hault
production. Will mess up production flow
and schedule.
Plan a contingency day, in case of
emergencies such as a carbreaking down
etc
No one's

6. Experiments 1
As well as anticipating all the technical and theoretical problems I could and probably will come across during the production of the film, I also need to experiment with a few techniques now,
before I arrive on set, to take down any potential problems of these proposed techniques not working, which wouldn't be good. If I leave until the day of shoot, that will cost me lots of time
trying to figure out how I'm going to do it and all time it may go wrong. Doing it now, will save me all that trouble.
In the first of my experiements, I'm testing out and getting comfortable with Black Magic Pocket Cinema 6K camera which I'll hopefully be using to shoot the film with. It's a camera I've never
used before by a brand who I've never used so it's very important I go into shooting the film, knowing how to use the camera with its settings etc.
The camera is capable of shooting on 6K and 4K two very high-resolution images, however I don't think it's necessary forme to be using either of one of those formats, they both take up a
huge amount of storage, it will take ages forall the footage to download, render etc and that's time I don't want to waste just so the image quality is good. High def, 1080p quality is good for
me. The camera also has different formats of colour to shoot, for example there's falt mode where (hence the name) the image is very falt and dull which lends itself good for colour grading in
post. All these things to consider when shooting the film. The camera, is like any other with its basic features etc. I also enquired about the best options for shooting in low light, as I know
there's going to be a scene set at night. I was told to stay away from 1600 ISO and have it on either F4 or F5.
My first impressions of camera are very impressed, the quality is very good and unlike anything I've shot on before. This will make my film have more of a professional look, not just on set but
when people watch it. I did some test shooting, just filming anything really, just needed to get a feel for the camera itself.

7. Experiments 2
The next experiment I want to move onto is lighting and how that is used to create mood, style and atmosphere particulary seen in noir films. Throughout
my filmmaking journey I've experimented with lighting on the day of shoot, sometimes I wanted to manipulate light onto the actor's face to create meaning
as seen here. But some certain lighting techniques I have yet to try out. Specifically:
• Casting shadows on actor's faces
• How much light is on their face
• When light enters and leaves the face
These techniques can help mould meaning, especially when done in contrast to other faces in the same scene or if these techniques are altered on the
same face throughout the film.
For my experiment process, I got my younger brother as a model, just needed him to literally stand still, the light will do all the work. I started off using one
light, trying to create something that emulates noir ligthing. Preferably I really wanted the light to go across his face, only shining on his eyes. Since my
lights are square, I tried holding up thick objects to the light, hopefully cancelling out some of the light. This didn’t work. Whatever I tried to get the effect,
wasn't working. I quickly looked up some thin lights that could possibly help me, I may buy them to use them in further experiments.
Back to one of the single lights I was using, I first placed them on the right side of his face. This gave the right side of his face a lot lighter, while also helping
light the room, this is when I tried to make the light go across his eyes, not succeeding of course. I then decided to put the light behind him which gave me
something much more interesting. The light was slightly, gently touching the side of his face. I really like this. While it was something I was not expecting or
wanting to create, what I got is something I can use and expand on.
From8½ (1963)
Fromone of my previousfilmsfrom2019

8. Experiments 3
From this experiment I wanted to try out a camera shot, to see if I could pull it off. I needed to know if this could work. The shot didn’t require
any fancy equipment, it was just a camera move that I doubted. I didn't want to get to shooting day, try out the shot and it go horribly wrong, as
then I would have to resort to a shot I may not be as happy with.
The shot in question is the change of perspective. Going from P.O.V of a character to the objective view of the camera. This is something I
researched from 8½.
I began the shot with a few shakes, nothing too severe but enough to make the shot feel grounded and establishing. It goes from left to right and
as it reaches the right, the camera quickly pivots turning back and moving back to show the character. I feel this test went successfully and I'm
happy with the result, I learnt that to establish each perspective I must maintain a distinct motion and feel.
In the context of my film, I'm thinking of having the beginning P.O.V be of a camera – but not the objective one! A camera that is clearly in the
environment as we see it takes a picture (freeze frame of actor) and then that P.O.V will morph into the one of another character viewing and
reacting to said picture.

9. Experiments 4
For this experiment I looked into using my wide angle (10 – 18mm) lens to make the face look more abstract and obscure. This idea came to
me as I was thinking about some of the more surreal and bizarre elements of the film. Initially, I wanted to emulate something like a fisheye
effect. Before investing into this effect too closely I decided to use my wide angle lens first to see what results I got.
Again, I used my younger brother as a model to test this experiment out on. Firstly, I shot close-ups of his face with the lens at 10mm.
Already I could see how strange this was making his face look. His nose (closest to the camera) feels like it's pushing the rest of his face
back. His face looks puffier yet thin. Rather when I did the same shot but at 18mm it looks a lot more natural and flatter.
I'm a great fan of wide angle shots, when used well. I feel shooting some close-up shots at 10mm will create the desired effect I want. This
short, little test has helped. I am more confident with the shot and I will not need to invest into anything wider.
10mm 18mm

10. Reflective Summary
Over the course of my four experiments I feel I have explored techniques that will become
useful for my film and will help save time and energy when employing said techniques
during the shooting. The most useful experiment was testing out the black magic camera –
this was the thing that I had the least amount of experience and worried about going in,
therefore it was quite important to get right. This is the camera I will be shooting the entire
film on. If something goes wrong, it could bring a negative strain on production and the
quality of the film. My aim, through using such advanced equipment is to establish
professionalism through the image quality therefore, bringing new audience to understand
my film to have a serious tone and edge rather than using a DSLR which brings a student
film image quality to the front. It is important to me that while I am a student making a
film, the film itself is not perceived on an amateur level.
The other experiments were basic tricks I wanted to test out before to gain more
understanding and confidence. While testing the black magic camera was important to
sustain throughout the whole production, these other techniques will only take up
moments of the shooting time. At the moment I have these techniques planned in my
head, to ensure they will be used properly and make it into the film they shall be
storyboarded and shot listed appropriately.

11. Problems I've encountered before
Problems before Solutions
Camera movement can sometimes be shaky and looks too
handheld, amateur.
When needing camera movement I usually have access to handheld so
the movementis not smooth in the slightest. - in this projectI have
access to ronin stabilizer which will help with the smoothness of the
shots, already havehad experience using this equipment so will no need
for much training / experiments.
Trying out new techniques on the day of shoot. Some shootdays I'vebeen inspired in the moment to do a shotthat was
not planned but that takes extra time to rehearse. I enjoy this feeling
however, it takes time out of the day making the schedule expand and
run over. If I plan extra time in casethis happens, it will allow for me to
keep within the schedule. If I don't need the time, I know that extra time
will be used some other way.
Understanding lens type Knowing which lens type to use and why is important, I did a similarthing with the
experiment I did using a 10mm lens to make the face look strange – therefore, I was
satisfied in not needing to use a fisheye camera or something of that nature. Knowing
a good lens focus can help in the look of the image and the effect it has on the
subject's face. Most of the time, I do what looks right but having at least an
understanding will come in handy for making an informed decision.