The Teams Job Roles
Director - Jorn Lovstrom
Producer - Amy Louise Gwynne
Director of Photography - Emily Rose
Tom Paynter - Editing/ Sound
My Role
As I've never been a producer before, so this was a real learning curve for me. Organisation isn't my strong point but I wanted to give myself a challenge.
Since the start of this group project, we have all been considering which roles suited us best. I love directing or doing the cinematography on shoots as I have a keen urge to lead projects. Unfortunately because I am the main source of contact for all the resources needed for our shoot, I was the best person for it and took of the task of producing. I wasn't too keen on this as I felt really passionate about being on the more creative side and I felt like I was completely stepping out of my comfort zone.
My first task as producer was to put together a production pack, this contained the Production Approval, the Risk Assessment, a timed schedule of every location and cache we would be visiting, maps of each location, our Treatment, Shoot Preparation Approval, Location Permissions, Dynamic Risk Assessment and our Equipment Checklist. For someone who has never produced before, this was quite a handful to manage. I was lucky to have Emily in my group to help me out with the bits I was stuck on and as Jorn wanted to be Director he decided to work on the schedule as he was picking out locations.
Once our shoot was approved by Rosie, we could finally start getting ready for our journey!
Whilst planning our idea, I came up with the idea of having matching t-shirts for our expedition. I managed to design them myself and ordered them especially for our project. I feel like they gave our group unity and we really felt like a team whilst representing our course and Geocaching whilst exploring. We decided to wear these through the entirety of the film which I think looks really effective on camera.
Equipment
Organising equipment for this shoot was very important, I had a vague idea of the things we would need but I had to keep in mind this is a very active shoot and our equipment would have to be light and very practical. One of the members of our group Tom owns a Panasonic GH4 which would be perfect for this. After having a group meeting I managed to persuade the group that DSLRs were the way forward on this. Our course happened to purchase another one for students to use and luckily enough we were due for an induction just before our shoot.
We decided to not waste any time and book it out straight away to secure it for our documentary. Unfortunately, 2 days before we were due to shoot we were informed that we were not able to use the GH4 because we didn't have enough experience using one, even though our camera man owns one himself. This threw a massive spanner in the works for us because as we were shooting a documentary, 2 angles would be necessary for continuity and practicality, not to mention shooting on the same camera saves so many issues caused by different sensors and filming styles.
Never the less, I wasn't going to let this get my group down. I'm quite strong willed when it comes to solving problems and I wasn't going to let this spoil all our hard work and planning. I happen to know a few contacts from my own personal film work who own a lot of equipment. I sent some last minute emails and texted everyone I could this of with a camera similar to a GH4.
I was lucky enough to have the choice between a Cannon 5D MK II or a Sony A7S. Although the 5D MK II is a brilliant camera and is still very new on the market, the A7S is more similar to the GH4 and shoots beautifully. After watching a seminar by Phillip Bloom on how to use it (literally managed to get it the night before our shoot) I felt confident to be using one of the GH4's biggest competitors.
Sony A7S
50mm FD 1.4
Organising all the equipment ready for the shoot
Always charge the batteries!
As my team and I were bringing quite a lot of expensive equipment on this shoot, I came up with a system to keep everything in order and so our things wouldn't get lost.
I got multicoloured sticky dots and coloured coded everyones equipment to save any mix ups and wrote a check list of everything we were bringing on the shoot to check after each day. I kept a notebook with me to write any information and details of each person incase of an emergency, this came in very handy on the shoot as I had a lot to keep track of.
Amy's Equipment -
Macbook Pro
Sony A7S
50mm Lens
28mm Lens
64GB Card
Rode Mic
3X Batteries
Charger
Micro USB Charger
GoPro Hero 3+
External Screen + Batteries
Wireless Remote
3X GoPro Batteries
3X 64 GB Cards (Micro)
Monopod
Hand Grip
Suction Mount
Grip Mount
Chest mount
Zoom H4N
External Zoom Mic
Tom's Equipment -
Rose Mics X2
Panasonic GH4
80-210mm
135mm
300mm
External Light
Chargers
External Monitor
GoPro 4
Tripod
Shoulder Rig
Emily's Equipment -
GoPro 3
Charger
Preparation for the Shoot
Before I can take the rest of my team out safely, I need to make sure that the location is accessible and most importantly safe. A few weeks before our shoot, my Dad and I went out to Fort Darnett and made sure that the surroundings on the island were ready for the group to film.
We took out garden sheers and cut back all the overgrown hedges and stunning nettles so no one would get any scratches or cuts. We also decided to take a large supply of wood to make a little fire to make some good which was lovely and warm in such harsh winter conditions.
Health and safety is extremely important for this shoot as there are many dangerous situations we could accidentally get ourselves into. This is why we need to keep warm and safe and abide by any instructions we are given
This trail run went extremely well and I was excited to go back with my group to finally find the Geocache in a few weeks time.
Mode of transport
Important health and safety information
Dad and I trimming the overgrown brambles
Entrance to the fort
After the trial run with my Dad, I had to prepare for the real shoot in the next few weeks coming. Going out in the water this time of year is quite dangerous and I need to prepare properly for any problems that could occur.
My main concern were the tides as they change every week. I did some research and found a website called https://www.tidetimes.org.uk/chatham which gave me an insight into when would be the best time to go out. I made a tide chart for my group to see and we selected a date according to the tide time and the weather conditions. This was a risky move and the weather is very unpredictable this time of year so we were very lucky to have the turn out we did.
The Shoot
Day 1
On the first day, Emily and Tom arrived at our house at 8:30am sharp ready to start our journey. We formatted all our cards, I checked and labeled all the teams equipment. I wanted to make sure everyone knew what they were doing and things were all ready to keep organised.
Once we were all in matching t-shirts and wrapped up warm, we were all ready to go!
A Fine Pair and Excited Boys
The very first Geocache we set out to find was in Puttenham, A Fine Pair. (Post Box)
We didn't really know what to expect as this was our very first Geocache. The clue was about being tall so we sent Jorn to find it as he's 6ft 4. We soon realised that trying to find 15 Geocaches in one day was far too many to do in the amount of time we had.
After searching for a while, we still had no luck so I thought I'd give it a go myself. I wasn't going to give up on our first cache!
I managed to spot it tucked above the door frame. We were so excited to find it and sign the log book.
Our next cache was in the middle of nowhere! When arriving nervously at our destination, the heavens opened and it poured down with rain. Trying to keep in high spirits, we plodded on through the woods following the GPS on our phones, venturing deeper and deeper into the woods. This cache became a little scary as we had to carefully walk down a very steep bank which was covered in stinging nettles as thee was no pathway visible.
After about an hour of searching, caked in mud and completely soaking wet, we found a giant ammo box buried underneath a fallen tree. This one was full of goodies and little trinkets others had left behind. We signed the log book and placed one of the UCA Badges to represent our university and show we had managed to find it like many before us.
Below the Tower
Our next destination was Cobham, to find a Geocache called 'Below The Tower'. We were all very excited for this one as on the app, it shows an abandoned tower in the middle of a large forest. We were finding it hard to receive any signal so we had to rely on our instincts for this particular cache. We checked the app for any clues we could potentially use
Once again, the rain poured but it didn't dampen our determination of find this next cache!
We walked very far following a path full of mud up to our ankles.
Dorris' Bough Beech Bench Cache
This was the very last cache of the day. By the time we got to Seven Oaks we were cold, wet and extremely tired from our long adventure but we were determined to keep on going. As we walked through a field full of cows, the sun began to set and we realised our time was running out fast. More importantly the last of our batteries were running out!
We searched through the forest trying to find it but eventually our time had run out. This was a shame because this was the only cache we were unable to find and it was our very last one of the day.
After this, we had a long drive back my house in Kent, there we reflected on our footage from the day, ate fish and chips and watched Shaun of The Dead. I felt like our group had really bonded over this experience and work together really well.
What a lovely end to a long day!
Day 2
FORT DARNETT
At 6am, we were up and ready to take on the day. We'd been planning this for so long and it was finally happening. We ate breakfast and planned what we would do first. After that, we organised all of our equipment and started filming the moment we got out of the front door.
We had arranged for us to meet my granddad (who's boat we're borrowing for the day) and my uncle who was coming along for health and safety.
When we arrived at the dockyard, everyone was ready and waiting for us with transportation for all our gear to make sure it arrived safely onto the boat. We unpacked Toms car and loaded everything onto a cart and carefully transported it onto the jetty.
We decided to do an itinerary check and make sure all of our equipment was carefully placed in the hold ready to pull away.
We brought 4 GoPros for each of us to use, making sure we captured everything with waterproof shells on to protect the equipment whilst traveling at fast speeds. I was mostly in charge of the A7S whilst the GH4 was passed around between Jorn and Tom.
My dad joined us on his jet ski which would be our later transport to get to the fort in more shallow waters using a pull rope and a rubber dingy for the crew and the equipment so there would be no risk of it getting wet. Once dressed in our wetsuits and making sure everyone was wearing life jackets, I used my jet ski to pull Tom, Em and Jorn to shore where my dad was waiting for me. My granddad and uncle managed the boat and kept us informed of the tides and any rough weather ahead. This was vital because when doing and expedition and complicated as this, it's always a good idea to have people on lookout for any incoming danger or arising problems.
I had to keep in mind of the current when towing Emily and Jorn because the weight of the boat and the current was making the jet ski a lot harder to drive. When I got closer to shore I was able to turn off my engine and pull the others in safely and calmly. This was such a relief and we all made it there in one piece without any problems. I just shows how being calm and safe can make such a different when tacking a tricky situation and it defiantly pays off to be prepared.
Once we entered the fort, the signal on the Geocaching app started to play up, this is where it became tricky. I had a rough idea of where it could be, so Emily and I split up from the boys and tried to give it a go. Accompanied by only my phone and a high powered torch, we set of to find this treasure hidden within the fort. The problem is, looking at it from an ariel point of view, the fort is completely symmetrical. This meant we didn't know where to start.
Eventually I decided to search the pipes along the floor and managed to find it hidden under some branches! What a brilliant result from this.
