Sammie Masters-Hopkins HNC : Location Scout 2 Preparation

Location Scout: Arts Centre/5 Street Park and Equipment List
Monday 17th September

Following our first somewhat unsuccessful location scout, we headed out to a second which we hoped would provide us with far better locations for shooting scenes. The area we went to was a local park/art centre. We felt this area in particular would have the natural atmosphere we are aiming to achieve and with it being next to arts centre we also managed to find a few actors wiling to help us with our camera testing, a definite bonus.
(evaluation of location and testing to come is further posts)

Before heading out, we completed a list of equipment we would need in order to make the most of our time at this location. This included;
3 Canon 600D DSLR cameras - for high quality HD filming, by using 3 we each were able to try out different shots etc allowing us to have a good range of footage from the shoot.
1 small Lumix camera - for documenting the time spent testing and experimenting with technique and framing.
4/8GB SD cards for the cameras
2 tripods - 1 that was fitted with a fluid head attachment, to make panning shots smoother.
1 dolly - again to steady the camera for shots such as tracking.

Health and Safety

When heading out for an on location shoot, health and safety is a vital component to consider before begin any filming. We have to consider the safety of the crew and of the equipment. As you can see from the below images, we were shooting in a park, this is a public area, meaning we had to wary of the members of public around the area. Would we need their permission should they come into our shots? how trustworthy would they be? we would have to ensure equipment is watched and in a safe place at all times, to avoid loss/theft or damage.
We knew that the uneven ground would mean the use of a dolly track would not be possible and therefore opted not to take it to avoid having unnecessary equipment with us. The uneven ground meant we had to take extra care when moving around the area. And also, had to make sure the tripods were balanced correctly otherwise damaged could be caused to them and the cameras and also could have made out footage be uneven.
The was a near by car park, so listening and looking out for traffic was another thing to pay attention to, we would not want to inconvenience drivers by being in the way or cause accidents due to this.