Coincidence? I think Not!

***Quick context: Last summer, I had to opportunity to intern for BECON-TV, Broward County Public Schools' TV Channel, where they have a full studio environment, props, and professional equipment ready to use. 

Last Friday, my former boss messages in the intern chat we had saying that a small budget production would be filming at BECON and that they were looking for interns to help out on set. I then followed up saying that I would be down to help out for Friday, since I thought it'd be a good opportunity to learn and potentially network. 

When I got to BECON on Friday morning, I was introduced to the producer of the production who then pointed me toward some of the other production assistants. Most them were dedicated PA's who've been signed on to work for the entirety of the shoot, so at the first half, I spent most of my time with them. After breakfast, the producer then asked me if I'd want to shadow the camera department or lighting department, and I told him I'd like to know the lighting department; he then introduced me to the Director of Photography and more importantly, the Gaffer, Aaron Kudja. 

***From this point on, I'm going to the production details vague since it's still being made.

In talking with him, he told me that the scene we'd be filming was going to involve a talk show, and the moment he mentioned that the light bulb in my head turned on. I already had a few vague ideas for how I wanted to shot the Trent Marley Show for What You Watch, but today was going to show me how a proper production would go about filming a fake talk show. 

I believe one of the reasons the production crew choose BECON, was for it's studio space that they use regular to film shows such as School Duel; I've even gotten the chance to film there!

From BECON-TV

BTS Photo during Internship

For this production, they focused on building 2 sets, first for the opening monologue and the second for the proper sit down interview. For the first set they used a C-stand with an arm to hang a curtain from (similar to how they did in the King of Comedy). The actual set wasn't super wide either, since the DP only planned to show a medium shot of the host. For the shot they also made use of a Leko light in order to spot the hot, with a bounce board being used to lift the shadows on the far side of the face. While not as nice as a Leko, I have achieved a similar (albeit harsh) shot with a GVM C.O.B. Light for my documentary, Instilled. The setup gave me confidence that I could achieve a similar look.

Instilled, Dir. Alex Duque & Clara De Luca

For the talk show set, they decided to go with a two seat setup rather than a couch and desk set. While I say the crew build the backdrop, I wasn't quite sure about the rest of the set, so I asked Mr. Guarasci from BECON who then verified with the prop master. Besides the backdrop, everything else including, the chairs, talk, plants, carpet, and decor were borrowed from BECON's props closet. I then went back there to see what other props they have at the ready. While I was at it I spoke with Mr. Guarasci about how I was in the process of planning a short film where part of it would include a Talk Show set, and asked if I'd be able to use the studio space over spring break (3/20/2023-3/26/2023); he said that it should be fine since BECON is pretty barren during that week, but to remind him again since he's busy preparing for his trip to the Student Television Network's National Convention next week.

While on set, I actually got to spend a lot of time with the Gaffer, Aaron, who would guide me through his train of thought when it came to light certain scenes. Based on the given location or direction of the camera, he wanted to make the lighting make sense with how to location looked in camera. He showed me how he made use of negative fills and flags to reduce the spread of certain light fixtures and to eliminate the light coming from a street lamp that the crew had no control of, when they filmed a night time exterior shot. He also showed how he made use of the bounce board he had to still subjects in a softer manner than an unfiltered leko. Aaron was cautious of the way he lit the set, make sure that props and backgrounds still had light to convey depth in the camera. 

There's a lot of other stuff that'd love to share about my time on set as well as some BTS photos I got, but I have to wait until the production is released. As you can maybe assume I learned a lot during my 14 hours on set, including terminology, positions on set, the thought processes behind decisions, and etiquette to name a few. And I feel I got really lucky with the fact that they were filming a talk show. I thought the experience was amazing and I even exchanged contact info with a few of the people on set, so who knows what the future holds.