Tag Archives: infinity cove

Decisiones indecisas… Reunión con el equipo técnico.

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If you want to read the English version, click here.

Cuando parece que llegamos a buen puerto, que tenemos todo decidido, todos los cabos atados, todo preparado para dar el paso final y empezar con la grabación del video, todo se desploma de nuevo y hay que volver a empezar (prácticamente) desde cero.

Problemas técnicos que reaparecen. Contactamos con un director de fotografía muy interesado en este proyecto y que arroja un poco de luz sobre nuestras dudas. Y a su vez, nos ofrece distintas alternativas a problemas que creíamos tener solucionados.

Decidimos reunirnos con él. Es la primera vez que nos reunimos el equipo de producción, los técnicos de CGI y el director de fotografía.

Hay varias decisiones que (re)tomar. El storyboad colocado en el suelo, a la vista de todos, es la referencia sobre la que todo gira. El plan de rodaje es también importante. Hemos hecho una primera agrupación de los planos  que queremos grabar, aquellos en los que se muestra la multitud caminando, el mundo sobre el cristal, el mundo bajo el cristal. Hay que señalar las especificaciones técnicas para cada agrupación de planos.

Hablamos de cómo conseguir esa atmósfera sobreexpuesta por la que todos se mueven en el mundo de arriba. Del tipo de cámara que vamos a utilizar para hacerlo, del tipo de iluminación, del tipo de estudio que necesitamos. Comentamos la posibilidad de grabar los planos referentes al mundo de abajo en un estudio con paredes de color verde que usaremos como Chroma Key. Y grabar los planos de gente andando en un estudio con infinity cove. Se barajan distintas posibilidades, se llega a conclusiones que luego cambian porque todo depende de distintas variables:
A)     Construir una estructura de cristal/plexiglás Vs. grabar en una localización con suelo/techo de cristal.
B)     Chroma Key/Green Screen Vs White infinity cove. Grabar los planos de la multitud andando en un estudio con infinity cove de color blanco o de color verde. La misma duda para los planos referentes al mundo de abajo.

Todas las opciones son posibles. Ahora es cuestión de tomar la decisión adecuada. Y para eso se necesita hacer un poquito de investigación.

Además, tenemos varias opciones de estudios. El técnico de CGI necesita darnos su valoración para saber si es posible grabar en los espacios que hemos escogido. Si la altura del techo es suficiente para la clase de planos que hemos seleccionado y sus ángulos.

El director de fotografía comenta que conoce una localización con suelo/techo de cristal que podría ser lo que buscamos y se compromete a visitarla al día siguiente y mandarnos unas fotos para que nos hagamos una idea de cómo sería la estética del video si usamos esta localización.

Llegamos a la conclusión de que lo más fácil sería grabar en localización y en estudio y ahorrarnos el tener que construir una estructura de cristal.

La reunión concluye. Un millón de opciones distintas es el resultado. Todos tenemos la sensación de que siempre hay más preguntas que respuestas. Estamos en el vagón de una gran montaña rusa que en este momento va cuesta arriba. Situación: esperando noticias del director de fotografía y del técnico de CGI para decidir cual es la mejor de todas ellas y conseguir entrar en el tramo en el que el vagón se precipita hacia abajo a toda velocidad…

Para obtener más información acerca del proyecto “Speak out against discrimination”, pincha aquí.

Para obtener más información acerca de Spectacle, pincha aquí.

Undecided Decisions … A meeting with the technical crew.

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Para leer este blog en español pincha aquí.


Just when we have made all the important decisions and it seems everything is sorted out and we can start thinking about the dates for the shooting day, all our decisions come tumbling down.

Technical problems (re)appear. We speak to the director of photography and he sheds some light on our doubts. At the same time, he shows us alternatives to problems we thought we had already solved.

We decide to have a meeting with him. It is the first meeting that brings together the CGI specialists, the director of photography and the production team.

There are some decisions we need to take up again. The storyboard is lying on the floor. It is the reference everything revolved around. The shooting schedule is also important. We have grouped all the shots we want to shoot. There are some shots in which we need the crowd walking over the glass, other in which we need to see the world above or below the glass. We should point out all the technical details for each group of shots.

We discuss how to get that over-exposed atmosphere for the wide shot, what kind of equipment, lights and studio we will need. There are different possibilities: shots below the glass in green screen. Shots of the crowd walking in a white infinity cove. There are different options…

A)   Build a glass structure/perspex Vs. Shooting in a location with glass floor/ceiling.

B)   Green Screen Vs White infinity cove.

All options are possible. Now, we need to make the right decision. We need to investigate a little bit more…

There are also different studios we could shoot in. The CGI people need to tell us if the spaces we have chosen are suitable for our shots, if it is possible to shoot there, and if the ceiling is tall enough for the shot we have chosen and the angles.

The director of photography tells us that there is a location that might be suitable for our plans because it has a glass floor/ceiling. He will send us some pictures tomorrow so we can get an idea about the aesthetic this location would create.

The conclusion: the easier thing for us to do would be to shoot in a location and in a studio with green screen, so that we do not need to build a structure.

The meeting is over. A million of different options is the result. Everybody has the feeling that there are more questions than answers. We are in a roller coaster going up the hill. We are waiting for the DoP and CGI technicians to decide which one is the best option. At which point the roller coaster will start speeding towards the finish…

If you want to get more information about the project “Speak out against discrimination”, click here.

For more information about Spectacle, click here.

Looking for studio for 13 people. Click here to reply to this ad

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Para leer este blog en español pincha aquí.

When you are working on an audiovisual project there are a lot of overlapping issues, interdependent decisions to take, and this makes things difficult. While we are looking for actors, we are also looking for a studio to shoot the video. This is not easy. We have to remember we will need a green background, for the chroma keys, or an infinity cove, to get that white non-discernable atmosphere. We must also decide how many days we will need, where the studios are, which further services they offer, any possible discounts we may get…

Let’s take it step by step and just grab the telephone- a producer’s best friend. We have to be down-to-earth: our English can be a handicap, and our lack of experience doesn’t help. The best thing to do is to know what information we need to get:

  • Hiring price
  • Dimensions
  • Is it possible to paint it green? How much will they charge for this?
  • Is it available in the shooting days?
  • How many days in advance do we need to book it? Do we have to pay a deposit?
  • Discounts

Eventually we have a list of studios scattered all over the city. As we have a very tight budget we have to focus on to the most affordables ones. Once again we are working with words, suggestions, ideas… everything is too abstract. We need to go and see the studio and decide if it fits our requirements (if we really know which our requirements are!).

Oyster Card is popped in the pocket and we set off to Norh London. There we meet the CGI specialist. Coffees, decisions progressing, decisions going back, redesign of some shots… “We should shoot this with a chroma key. No, this one is better with a white background”. Scribbles, deletions, drafts… This video is constantly changing and sometimes it is one step forward and fifty steps back.

It is midday and we head off to the first studio hoping to find the answer to all our questions.

Its too small! Sometimes it seems that we will never shoot this project and all that we are doing is wasting our time, but we cannot get demoralized.

Hopeful, we go to another nearby studio.  We haven’t made an appointment, but the studio are professional and friendly and answer our questions.

Things pick up, it seems that we have a place to shoot our video. On our way home we write down which shots will need chroma key and which won’t, so we can make the shooting schedule and give them a time and date. We must take the right decisions in order to optimize time and money. We don’t want 13 actors strolling in the studio for 2 days when most of them can do their role in one single morning.

So, what else do we need? Yeah, right, the glass of course…

If you want to get more information about the project “Speak out against discrimination”, click here.

For more information about Spectacle, click here.