Shooting ended a while ago, but I’m still mulling over my experiences working on an actual film crew. Being in control of what the set looked like really went beyond what I expected. It helped develop the character’s personality into something more concrete. I never considered how connected a personal space (such as a room) is to how people might view you. Tyson did some awesome drawings of what he imagined Rohan’s room would look like. I brought in some philosophy books (with a huge thank you to Russell’s Books) and various old cameras and rodent bones. The camera’s weren’t originally in the script, but Tyson and I agreed Rohan was a visual person, and liked documenting things in his life. It brought the room together quite nicely. It was cool bringing another layer to the character.
I also was amazed how much you could alter the set during shooting. We moved the whole set back a few feet when the camera was in front of the desk, but it still looked realistic. When we changed angles, Tyson and I simply pushed everything to the wall where the camera was before. Looking over the footage, you would have no idea that we had to change the whole set. It was a neat trick, and I’ve been looking for it in movies ever since.
More musings to come!
Nicole