As a part of my program in Mount Royal University, Broadcast Media Studies (BMS) students have the opportunity to do an internship with a variety of organizations ranging from production companies to the City of Calgary. I was fortunate enough to be selected by the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) with another student, Miguel, for their internship positions.
A couple of weeks into the internship, Miguel and I were both invited to help out with a commercial shoot for the upcoming film festival. I didn’t really know what to expect – I mean, I’ve shot commercials and promos for assignments but you can only do so much with zero budget in the middle of a global pandemic. Miguel and I were informed about an opportunity to be involved in this production as actors. Nervous, yet intrigued, we decided that this would be a great experience and a neat way to witness how professionals worked on a real set.
The shoot date snuck up on us, and before we knew it, we were standing inside the Globe Theatre with some of the other actors, waiting for instructions from the director. A couple of minutes later, the director, Chris, sat us down in the upstairs theatre for a brainstorming session. Aside from breaking the commercial down scene by scene so we would know what’s going on, he also asked all of us about how we wanted to present our characters in the commercial. It definitely made it feel like a collaborative effort rather than one person dictating all the terms.
I wasn’t sure how many people the production company would bring to the shoot but I was surprised it was only four people: two grips, a cinematographer and the director. Four seemed plenty though, they moved quickly and efficiently. Before we had even arrived, the first scene was already set up. After we had our discussion, we headed back downstairs to the concession stand to shoot the first scene.
The lighting they set up complemented the set, taking advantage of the pink neon lights of the concession stand, completing the scene beautifully. They also set up some sort of black-out curtains to reduce the amount of natural light coming from the outside as well. Near where we were standing, there was an upright LED RGB tube light radiating a gentle magenta to complement the pink. That was just a taste of how they set up one of the shots. Other gear included a dolly system, different types of diffusers and a ton of tripods and lights.
I also had a good conversation with the director, Chris, and CIFF’s production manager, Matt, about what life’s like in production. Throughout the experience, I gained some knowledge that I wanted to share.
1. You can’t fight the sun.
Have you ever shot something outdoors and it came back looking super overexposed? Losing some of those brilliant details really takes away from the aesthetic of your shot sometimes. The reason it’s overexposed is likely because you’re fighting that big yellow ball in the sky – the sun. I’ve been told, sometimes by videos, sometimes by word of mouth, that the best time to shoot was usually around after five in the evening when the sunlight is a little softer. I noticed in one of the scenes we shot at the CIFF commercial, they used the blackout curtains to reduce the sunlight. Frankly, it wasn’t equipment I’ve used or thought about using before. Later, I asked some of the production guys about how to deal with sunlight and if you should even deal with sunlight. They all seem to generally agree that fighting the sun was a bad idea unless you know what you’re doing. But even then, the power of the sun is pretty overwhelming. With the right knowledge and equipment though, one of the grips said, you could technically block the sun off and make your own artificial light for filming. I asked him what equipment you would need and he said big budget movies, over $100 million, might have enough for the equipment needed.
2. Not all productions are done in-house and not all the crew is from the same place.
As a BMS student, I wasn’t sure how many productions for companies or organizations had their shoots done in-house and how many were done through hiring other companies. This commercial was part of the campaign before the actual festival. As the festival gets closer, more in-house productions will pop up but for this shoot, CIFF hired out to a production company called Hidden Story. The crew was also not just the Hidden Story company either. I believe the director and the cinematographer were from Hidden Story but the two grips were freelancers that they had hired. Grips, for anyone who’s unfamiliar with the term, is someone who sets up and moves around lighting. With how small the shoot was, I guess their duties also extended to setting up other parts of the set as well.
3. People love to talk about their work
If you’ve talked to anyone about learning more about the industry, they’ll probably tell you a couple of things. In that cluster of advice, one piece of advice usually rises to the top for a lot of people: Ask questions. Today, I’m here to give you that same advice as well. People don’t really get to speak about their jobs or profession in a way that showcases why they’re doing it very often. You’d be surprised how open people are about their experiences. Chris, the director of Hidden Story, was in a totally different field before jumping into documentary work and media. He got his start with shooting and editing home wedding videos. If you’re interested in any part of someone’s job within your vicinity, find an appropriate time to ask them about it.
CIFF 2022 will be held on September 22nd – October 2nd. If you want a chance to listen to some industry professionals speak about their work, they’ll be hosting panels throughout the festival. It’ll be a great way to hear some great advice from people who are already in the movie industry.
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