If you happen to be studying at the [email protected] campus, chances are you've accidentally wandered into a film set at least once. Don't worry, just keep calm and carry on it's just our Television Broadcasting students working on assignments and in-class demos. One of the most popular in-class demos is when William F. Whites International, Canada's only national equipment provider, loans the students a truck of equipment to try. With the help of professors Kyle Francis and Glenn Heshka, the students get to learn how the equipment works and what goes into setting it all up for a scene.
This year's demo was designed to have students film several scenes in different locations throughout the day. The campus very quickly came to resemble what you would imagine an indie film set looking like. Since each scene was different, it gave students the opportunity to practice setting up which ever pieces of equipment were required and understand what changes might be needed depending on the conditions. Each location had its own set of challenges. From pulling focus on an elaborate moving track shot, adjusting exposure and directing the best possible shot in the sunny outdoors, finding creative ways to light a dark indoor shot, to maintaining sound in a busy hallway. Let's not even get into the wiring. Our TV students took on different roles they would expect to fill in the industry, and gained a lot of valuable experience. They worked with expert precision, professionalism, and got pretty creative at times to get the shot. We can't tell you all the trade secrets of course - you have to be in the program to know how they managed to pull some of those scenes off. The rest is just movie-making magic.
Special thanks to the talented students from the Acting for Camera and Voice program, who hustled alongside the crew to get the shoot finished in a brisk 7 hours (practically a half day in the filmmaking world).
