I don't like to drive. But this was something i have postponed already too much... so yesterday, at 6 p.m.
i have taked my rig, the car and a friend (yes, a friend... it may sound stupid but i prefer to have someone that in case can help me when driving, because i didn't like do it) and i've gone to Milan (i live near Parma) to shoot some sequences of a thing called Zero Sigma.
Probably i'm lucky, there was not too much traffic on the motorway, but, to stay safe, i'll stick to the "slow speed" lane. We arrive outside Milan, from here is a bit difficult find the right way, but nothing that can't be solved with a road map and the phone help of Alex, Zero Sigma director.
Finally we encounter Alex and the rest of the crew: his girlfriend (secretary-continuity) and Antonio (assistant director, multipurpouse guy and camera operator). Arrive on the location and start prepaing for shooting.
Zero Sigma is a short; "the thing" , something crazy...weird...cool...experimental...innovative... and hopefully good. Alex, the director has already directed Skarr, the first italian full feature lenght, low budget (2500 €) digital movie. A little masterpiece. He's a nice and friendly person (mostly because he don't really know the possiblities of a steadycam...
); but it has clear ideas on how to work and on what he want.
I have to shoot the opening and the ending sequences of Zero Sigma, all the others are brief handheld sequences. We use an XL2.
I must say that i don't have done a very good job. But at least i can say a sufficient work; due to many things: the fact that in the last weeks for various problems i don't have flyed too much the rig; and because the location was very strange. It was a small apartment, with many small passages (50-60cm) and small doors.
The opening sequence was a shot that start looking at a clock, than rotate by 180° and look at the sink, than rotate again and look (in the same direction of the clock, but a meter distant) at a windows. From here, walking backward (don juan tried, but impossbile due to the small passage) for two meters, than rotate the camera by 180° again and look at the stairs, walking backward again pointing the stairs, but also rotating the camera left (looking at the kitchen), walking forward and than re-rotaing the camera toward the stairs again.
It was a weird mix of slow and fast; slow when focusing on object (the clock, the sink...) fast when moving from point to another. Anyway, in the end the sequence went well done enough.
The ending sequence was simple and complex at the same time. Initially it was something like: The camera look toward the ceiling, fast point to the stairs, than to the kitchen, than going backward through the main small door, than outside the house, into the open courtyard. We have tried some time to do it. But it don't came well done enoug (again, here i've tried don juan, but impossible to do). In the end we have shoot the scene "reversed"... we have started from the courtyard, go into the apartment.... In post production Alex will reverse it (and the sequence, in real time is nearly 30 seconds, in the short will be time-remapped to a few seconds.
It is midnight when shooting end. We go to a Pub to eat and drink somethig...not alchoolic obviously; since i have again 120 km to go before get into bed. The weather was clear with half-moon to light our way... only thing we've find a bit of snow 5 km to home.
A good experience. I hope Alex is satisfied with my work (even if i know it was not the best i can do) and i hope we work again in the future....
http://www.progettoskarr.net/index2.aspthis is the homepage of Skarr, Alex's first project.
http://www.videofaker.com/zerosigma/zerosigma.htmhere is the homepage of Zero Sigma. look at the trailer and the video-diaries.
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