The Bus Stop Part One from Nancy Thanki.
I’m a part of a workshop group of filmmakers in Atlanta called The Sessions. It’s a fantastic place to experiment with storytelling (acting, directing, producing) from the script writing all the way to the final product. Right now we’re playing with other people’s scripts to see what we can see. Each video is planned, shot, and edited over the course of just under 3 weeks.
This is our first iteration of a script, The Bus Stop. As a group, we decided to do it in black and white while also experimenting with music to set the tone.There were quite a few adventures on the day of the shoot and all throughout the edit, but we’re pretty proud of our team 🙂
PS. Please excuse the sound design, had less time than I thought I did…
The scene is (obviously) set at a bus stop. But actually filming at a bus stop is much easier said than done. Also, it’s a pain in the patootie to operate a camera in 28 degree weather while shielding the microphone from the gusting wind. In our defense, it was projected to be 60 degree and cloudy…then the polar vortex happened…
Anyways, the shooting was an adventure, but I learned more about the actual physicality of shooting in those 4 hours than I have in the past several years of just talking about it. It’s all about the experience and learning form the mistakes. The best people in the film industry may have 20 years of expereince, but will still tell you about the new thing they learned that day on set. And this applies to any industry. Reading about a skill is important so you know what to prepare for and what you need to be comfortable doing that “thing”. But nothing replaces actually doing it.
I’m now packing and getting ready to go shoot our second script. More learning awaits! It’s going to be another adventure (thankfully indoors this time!), though I don’t think it matters as much since it’s now a beautiful spring morning in Atlanta, birds chirping, deep blue skies, and a pleasant breeze. You should enjoy it, even if for only 5 mins 🙂
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