I have just finished working a pretty interesting week. I have been camera assisting Devris Hasan on a documentry called Bin Appetit. The director and writer was Jenia Ratcliffe.
I think what was most interesting about this doco was the fact that I had never heard of the topic before. Dumpster Diving.
For those of you who don't know what Dumpster Diving is, this movie will open your eyes to a sub-culture I just didn't know existed.
I don't have any pics to show at this point, but it is one of those things that you have to see it to believe it. People don't go through the skip bins because they are starving and poor. It is because day after day we waste so much food and beverages that are perfectly ok to eat, that they believe that someone may as well have it. Even things that are in date and have nothing wrong with them, that people pay good money for are just thrown out at the end of the day to make room for the new days supply to arrive.
It is our consummer driven society that has resulted in food just being thrown away, and not given to the poor as it really doesn't appear to be an economical loss to the business. (its cheaper to disguard rather than feed the homeless) It is crazy, and lets not get into the legality of giving away food with liability. Some do it for a political statement, for religous beliefs, others believe that they are trying to keep a balance in our society that has over-produced waste.
What ever you think of it or who you think are doing it, think again. These are well educated people, who when you hear them, and you see the quality of the stuff that they are taking home and not paying a cent for, you can't help but feel like they are on to something.
Check out Dumpster Diving online for more info.
Now to the shoot!!!
It was a week long shoot. Started approx midday and ending at approx 10pm. We shot on Digi Beta, and ended up with 16 tapes of 40mins footage at the end of the shoot. Did some interviews and dumpster diving, met some fabulous characters.
Dev is great to work with. I find that this being the 3rd project that I have worked directly with him on, that I am understanding how he works and what rhythm he works in. It makes the job so much easier when you can be ready and waiting and know where your DP is at before they ask.
So there wasn't much room for learning focus pulling (we were on a zoom lens and there was plenty of other things that I needed to be doing) and other such tech stuff. However my learning experience was still just as rich. I have discovered how much I am remembering certain things about this camera. (last time I used it, I did a black balance for the first time!!!)
I also learned the value of communication. I saw Dev and Rich work so well together because they had a way of cummunicating without needing to say much at all. It made me realise how much a DP needs to be clear and work well with his soundie.
I was lucky enough to do a little operating on the last shot of the day. I wont get excited yet. I havent picked up a motion camera for ages, and don't pretend to be anything in the same regard as Dev. But it reminded me why I am assisting and that is to shoot myself. I love it.
