Set Update ROE

This weekend was the shoot days for Roots of Evanescence. This was my first time VFX producing a film, and I learned a lot from being on this set.

Actress Paige blends into the grass in costume, BTS photos from @sydney_culley

As mentioned in my last post, I met with Bella about the VFX shots last week. Before that meeting, I didn't have much knowledge about exactly what the shots were. I was not included in preproduction-- this made my job much more difficult. By the time I was able to read the script and discuss what was needed, it was too late to make any major changes. The team was somewhat receptive to my advice, but also gave quite a bit of pushback on a few of my recommendations. This continued on set as well. In our meeting last week, we briefly discussed what the filming schedule would look like, but I was not given any say in the planned order things would be filmed.

On Friday, the first shot we worked on was the match shot of Paige in her moss costume. I made sure to take multiple pictures and videos showing what position she was in so we could match as closely as possible, in addition to taking references of what the set around her looked like so we could match it. I made sure they filmed a clean plate of where she would be lying just for good measure. I was then informed that it was the only VFX shot for the morning and that I could come back around 1 pm. There was rain on set, delaying filming for about 2 hours. The 1st AD then messaged me that they would be finishing up the non-VFX shots and I could come back to set around 3. I arrived back on set to film the shots of Paige dancing with a broken foot (this is the shot with the bluescreen ballet shoe) a little before 3pm. They were getting the cameras set up. I take a look at Paige's costume and her whole shin is covered in patchy, blueish-gray paint. Her ballet shoe matches in color too. I informed the director that they should reapply the blue paint before filming and in between each take to make sure it was saturated and consistent. I was informed that the art department ran out of blue paint almost immediately, despite me reminding them last week to ensure they have 2x more paint than they think they need, and sending them an example photo of the shade of blue needed. I assisted the director with deciding on a new way to frame the shot so that the leg isn't seen, and it can be faked in the editing. We filmed the final shot of the film around 6pm and went home around 7pm.

Shortly after, I received the call sheet for the next day. My call time was later in the day which I thought was odd considering the original schedule overview we briefly discussed last week. I took a look at the shot list and I noticed that the second part of the match shot (the first part of which we filmed first Friday morning) was listed as the final shot of the day. When I met with the team last week, I reminded them that these shots will need to be filmed at the same time of day and with the same lighting to ensure they match. I messaged the director and producer my concerns about these shots being filmed at two completely different times of day, I received no response. In the morning, I got up early in case the director or producer responded to me overnight, still no response. An hour or so later the 1st AD messages me that they decided to move the shot to first of the day and that I should arrive to set as soon as possible to assist with that match.

When I got to set, I began looking at my photos to help the actress get back into position, and ensure the environment around her looked as close as possible. The script supervisor gloria was also assisting me in doing this. She had pulled up the footage from the day before to use as reference as well. We began comparing photos after a few varying opinions on where body parts going and I realized our photos were different. The script supervisor then told me that they decided to reshoot the first shot they did on Friday when I wasn't there. The script supervisor had only taken one photo to reference her body position. We tried our best to match her position based on the footage from the day before. Another challenge to this: the natural environment had been flattened significantly from the repeated laying down and getting back up, as well as crew frequently walking through the area despite my reminders to keep it clear for continuity. Despite the difficulties, we tried our best to recreate it as close as possible. After filming this shot, I confirmed there were no more VFX shots. During a short break in filming the director informed me they would be filming more shots with the blue foot on Sunday at Forsyth park. She assured me that the art department got more blue paint, and then told me that part of the deal with filming in the park was agreeing to an extremely minimal crew, which meant I would not be able to be on set to oversee these shots. I reminded them to reapply the paint after every take, keep it evenly lit, and ensure the blue is saturated like the reference picture I showed them. I told them to send me pictures and feel free to facetime me before filming those shots so I could double check the bluescreen. I received no correspondence on Sunday and have yet to see the footage.

The next step in the process is to recruit 2-3 compositors and a CG artist to work with our grass/moss asset made by Julianna Klug. I have reached out to a few compositors I know, and they are extremely busy. I sent information about what we need to Professors Patrick Murphy and Mark Lasoff to share with their compositing classes. I also plan to post a casting call to the DFX club and on social media.

A closeup of Paige in her moss costume, BTS photos @sydney_culley

Paige as "the Girl in the White Dress", BTS photos @sydney_culley