Filming the audience

Celebrity Red Carpet

We have now achieved the most important part of the project: The Audience! Without a virtual crowd the project could not happen but we've got that out of the way now.

The Process.

Jenny and I decided on the actions and reactions we wanted the crowd to have and their behaviour: Jeering, cheering, throwing things, holding up placards, booing, disdain and contempt, admiration. We ruled out spitting. 

We needed to have the camera back far enough to a distance that someone could take six full steps in full view. We found an appropriate spot where we could effectively get enough people that looked as though they were part of a much larger crowd. Unfortunately we couldn't use get access to the HD camera but we did get hold of the next best thing, Sony DSR 500, filming on DV. This took up most of the morning. However, the area we were shooting in was very overexposed and the strength of the light forced me to see if I could find another place. An offhand remark by a passer-by lit the light bulb in my skull: aperture and shutter speed. With so much going on sometimes you forget the basic principles. Ten seconds later the picture was perfect.

We got a group of about 30 people together and bunched them up in a 3 x 1m space. Jenny held up the flash cards with the instructions of 'BOOOO' or 'Very Excited' on them while I counted them in and out.  The whole 'shoot' took about fifteen minutes. And everyone, but everyone was happy. One thing I would have liked, however, was possibly more girls in the frame. The few we do have are all at the back!