Shooting B-roll

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Today we had the opportunity to shoot b-roll at the monessori school. Umila and I met the rest of the crew at the street where they had rented a van and picked up all the equipment at the academy. It took us 20 minutes, since it was about 5 kilometers away. On the street, just like yesterday, we passed auto rickshaws crowded with people, oxen, pedestrians, bicyclists, and everybody was simultaneously trying to occupy the same space. Entire families on a moped. Five people in a rickshaw. I'm surprised there aren't more accidents. But since no one is going too fast, it kind of works out. It's like how water appears to be one thing, you don't see it as separate molecules, but as a liquid whole, the same goes for the traffic here. It turns molecular people into liquid traffic. As crazy as it kind of is, all the constant noise and jostling is oddly calming. You might almost feel, as you are thrown this way and that, that there is no way that you are in control of your own safety, let alone your entire life, so you may as well just relax and enjoy the ride.

It was a long, but fruitful day. Taking 3 people to go see the location is totally different from taking 7, plus camera and sound. It was never easy to crowd all 7 of us behind the camera while somehow remaining unobtrusive to the classroom, and forget about it when the academic coordinator arrived. He was quick to explain that he has been in the tv industry, doing news, for years. every time I passed him, he'd stop me to give a lecture on how to shoot as little as possible, cut them off if they aren't saying what you want, only take the shots you need, hurry up, don't waste time or film, shoot from here, do this, do that, ask them the question that will give you the exact answer you want. i respected him, but i just have a different philosophy about how to get the subject to open up. i found it difficult to work with him looming around like a hyperactive vulture.

we got so much b-roll. it was so hot. we had to shut off the fans whenever we filmed because the sound of the fans was distracting, so we just pretty much sweated our balls off from 8am to 5pm when we finished. i kept being surprised that it was ok for adults like us, who were pretty much strangers, to just walk into a school and play with the kids, even picking up and swinging around the toddlers. how is this ok? how is no one suing me?

when we got to the older kids, we shot b-roll in one class, and when we went to shoot in the next class, the students from the first class (about 8 of them) all scrambled to pick up their desks and chairs and drag them into the next class so that they could be filmed again. i suppose some elements of this documentary are going to be staged. Raj asked a girl who was drawing, to draw a building and name it with the name of the school. He directed a bunch of students to run into the entrance holding hands with our interviewee. I think it's just fine, but my tendancy is always to just shoot what is there. I don't know if that makes me a purist or if it makes me a wuss.

Tomorrow we will review our footage and prepare for our interview on saturday. tonight I'm meeting everyone for dinner. Then much needed sleep!

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