BMX filming done and dusty!!

First day was the Olympic development programme, again a long drive to film at Manchester. Gaining access in though felt slightly overwhelming but the riders were nice and we just let them continue on whilst working with them. I struggled this day the most, the tripod was stiff and the handle didn't work so any movement caused big jolts in the footage. As well as that using the 70-200mm lens made it harder for my depth of field and I am always wanting to push myself but had focusing issues at the start and didn't know about the image stabiliser button which is normally on. After a day of defeat I felt very deflated as my work has been consistent. But with the support of the director without mistakes I wouldn't have learnt more about the equipment.

Saturday we spent the day at Peckham BMX track and then off to visit Flo our young rider. Peckham initially was something I was worried about, after the dilemmas of the other production company filming their riders I felt nervous. The production company was there, well students working for them were. To start off with I felt I was stepping on peoples toes but out of all the time filming I had the best time there. I filmed actuality of Quillan coaching and the riders practising whilst the other cameraman filmed interviews. I knew what the director wanted so used my initiative and got on with it. The riders made me feel welcome and you could tell the coach and them were one big family trying to make the best out of an area known for being rough. Spending time with Flo was enjoyable, she was much shyer and often when I filmed her she went the other way. To relax her as well as testing out other shots I got into a tunnel to film, which made her laugh but got her use to being told where to ride her bike and the camera being on. Whilst the cameraman was interviewing her dad, I spent time with her recording her playing on the swings, showing her as a normal 12 year old girl. By the end she was more relaxed and I even joined in with her doing cartwheels.

Final day was with Rob which was a short day filming. All we needed was some nice visuals for an opening montage and an interview. That day I felt a bit like a spare cog as this didn't require two camera operators and felt this day a 2 camera set up was too much. But on the one hand having 2 meant capturing him on the track meant we spent less time filming. All in all a busy couple of days.

Here's me filming Flo:-