The film set for "Elephant Sighs" was tucked away in a back road warehouse in High Point. The second floor of the building was overrun with props, lights, and boxes of granola bars, while the set itself was an enclosed makeshift room. I was impressed that the warehouse was still in operation while the film was being produced.
The activity on set was impressive and chaotic. Everyone seemingly running back and forth without many cues. I nestled in a corner to the left of the camera, and then was promptly told to move a bit further to the left so my shadow wouldn't show up in a shot.
While the camera was rolling I wasn't allowed to snap any photos, as the set had to be dead silent. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how accommodating the director, actors, and crew were to my imposition. After getting the invite onto the set, I was treated with equal respect to the production photographer. Being mistaken for a professional photographer was a bit of an ego boost, for sure.
Technically, getting good, crisp shots was difficult. Even with the production lights on, there wasn't a lot of light. My Nikon D40 still gets decent shots at a high ISO, so I decided to risk pushing my luck with ISO1600 for the shoot. F-stops of 4 or 5.6 created the appropriate depth, and brought more light in. Even with these settings, most of the photos were taken at 1/25 shutter speed. I braced myself against the back wall and breathed out as much as possible when shooting. Luckily, the newspaper is decently forgiving of a bit of blur. And, I also captured a bit of the commotion out of necessity. Happy accidents are the best.
Here are some photos that didn't run in the paper.
1 comment:
The water feels good, huh, Devender, Charles and Brian?
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