As part of my planning process for my opening I decided that i need to test in advance some camera shots in different locations around school that im likely to film my final in to how they would look and feel on camera. It’s really helpful to do these test shots as it gives me a better idea of what is working visually and also what i might need to change before i actually start filming.
Since part of my film is going to be set which in my instance is in the school I wanted to check how it is with the natural lighting (hoping that I’ll get the same weather outside) and the interior layout of the building. I tried to shoot in some specific areas, like the hallway where i plan to shoot and several of the bathrooms throughout the school in an effort to compare the lighting, room and feel in each. I was especially curious about how the light coming through the windows or from the ceiling affected the mood of the shot.
I am going to focus on:
- How the shadows fall on the subject’s face with different lighting (for example inside the bathroom and in the hallway because I am not quite sure yet if I should cover the windows or not)
- How much space I have to move the camera in tighter areas like bathrooms or bathroom doorway
- Which hallway angles are more dynamic or cinematic
Each space gave a slightly different vibe, and I’m now thinking about using one bathroom for more dramatic and isolated shots.
This test helped me realize that lighting plays a huge role in creating atmosphere in frames even if they are taken in the same building the same building different spots can feel completely different on camera. I’ll continue testing more locations and angles but this gave me a solid starting point for planning out my scenes.
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