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Filming Futuricity took place over two days in the Department of Electronics Green Screen studio. Before each shoot the green screen and associated equipment had to be set up and configured; several elements were critical at this stage. The first was to ensure that the green screen cloth was as flat as possible. Every crease would cause problems at the editing stage and so it was essential that these were removed before filming could begin.
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The second critical aspect was the lighting as shadows cause the same problems as creases. Therefore each scene had to be staged and then correctly lit to eliminate them. The third critical aspect was the correct sound set up; we needed the end product to appear as professional as possible, thus it was essential to eliminate any hissing or crackling from the recording.
Once the screen and equipment were set up the actors had to stand in front of the screen in order that the scene could be correctly lit. This process involved moving lights around and adjusting the brightness of some to ensure that no shadows fell behind the actor. It was also necessary to adjust their distance from the screen to give the best possible results.
Each actor also needed to undergo a sound level check to ensure the best possible audio quality was achieved. This would normally involve them reciting a selection of their lines to ensure that the levels were both audible and not too loud to cause distortion. As soon as all the preparation was complete we were ready to begin shooting the scenes.
Martyn (News Reporter) was the first to record his scenes and due to time constrains we used a blue screen as the green cloth had not been smoothed out. Because of his role as a news reporter Martyn used a hand held microphone instead of a lapel version used by the other actors. To maintain constant sound levels he had to ensure that it was held at the same distance from him at all times. He achieved this by noting the proximity of the head of the microphone to the top button of his suit jacket.
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Once each scene was complete it was played back on the monitor to check for any errors that had not been noticed during the filming; these could include sound level fluctuations or actors moving slightly out of shot.
When Martyn's scenes were complete we were able to finish the set up of the green screen and remove the temporary blue one. The next actor to record their scenes was Lizzy she would deliver lines in a similar manner to Martyn, directly to the camera but she would wear a lapell microphone. Lizzy's scenes are set in a news studio and she would need to appear to be sitting at a desk. To achieve a natural pose, with her arms resting on the 'desk' we had to place a suitable object underneath the green screen - in this case stools stacked on top of each other. In the finished scenes it appears that Lizzy is sitting behind the news desk when in fact she is nealing behind a stack of stools!
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