Directing Practise with Steve Finn | Workshop

In our second workshop with Steve Finn we learnt some more information and tips on blocking a scene, but we also learnt that the first thing you should do in a shooting environment is talk to the actors and give them instructions.

As a small group we were given the same script and were asked to block out the scene the way that we would if we were directing the scene. We went away, blocked the scene, and came back ready to direct the scene. Steve picked a few people in the group to direct their scene and each time the scene was slightly different. In this workshop I was the sound operator as well as an actress for two different directors.

Through this workshop I realised that it's important to run through the scene with the actors before moving the equipment. This is because it gives the actors time to rehearse the lines and the actions before the shooting starts. At the end of the workshop we all got given different scripts and we were asked to block out the script and plan what shots we wanted to shoot when directing these scripts in the next workshop.

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I had the '2 women' script. In this script the two females are best friends and one of them thinks her  boyfriend is having an affair with the other girl. They argue and it ends up with them making up but the assumption of her friend seeing her boyfriend is revealed to the audience. Before the workshop I blocked the scene and planned how I wanted the scene to look in terms of furniture and camera shots. I then made notes on the script so  I would know what to do within the workshop.

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When it came to the workshop I was one of the first people to direct their given script. In my group I chose to have Nisserin, Laura, Troy, Sam, Ellen and Sammi as I work well with them. Nisserin was my camera operator and Sam was my sound operator. Troy and Ellen acted as runners and kept the sound lead away from the drama to keep the area safe while Laura and Sammi acted as the lead roles in the script.

Before we started moving the props and getting the camera set up I wanted to talk to the crew and tell them how I wanted it to look like and roughly what my idea for the scene was. We went through the script with Laura and Sammi reading their lines as I read the stage directions. Then we got the 'stage' set up and moved the chairs and table around to suit the way I wanted the scene to look like. Once that was set up I told and showed Laura and Sammi what I wanted the scene to look like and then they rehearsed.

I told Nisserin where I wanted the camera each time I wanted a new shot and I gave her clear instructions of the angle I wanted for each shot. The shoot went well and I feel like I did a good job of directing the scene. I'm happy with how it has turned out, but I would've liked to do a few extra close up shots. These weren't filmed due to time restrictions.