Chess Film: Getting the 'Perfect' Shot

Our second day of filming went perfectly, which is what we hoped for. For starters, my group was able to capture all shots with our first actor (the investigator) on day one of filming which was the goal. This is because the actor was unable to make day two. This was a risky decision to make, but ultimately me and my group decided it would be worth the risk to have someone with more experience acting than us in the film. We also included the factor that since the film is only around one minute long, there wasn't many scenes with him in it anyways. One issue we encountered when filming was getting the perfect shot for our closing scene. Since this shot is what the viewers are left with, we wanted to make it a lasting and powerful impression. The shot begins with a few seconds showing the chess board with every piece knocked down but the queen. Then, it pans up to our actor, finalizing the fact that he is in fact the killer. Although this is assumed (because he is wearing the same sweater + distinctive hair), there is never a scene with his face directly in the camera until the closing shot. 

Behind the scenes look of getting the 'perfect' shot

In the picture shown, I tried a few methods in getting this shot. First, we set the smart phone rig on the tri-pod and shortened the legs all the way. We placed it onto the seat part of the bench and tried to zoom into the board, and then zooming out while panning up to the actor. This was a hard shot to film, and when looking back at the videos we decided to try another way since it didn't give the effect we were going for. The next shot we tried was taking it in multiple clips rather than one full clip. So, we started with a close up of the board, then panning up and cutting around the actors neck. Then, playing the clip again and finishing at his head. My editor wanted to try this idea so that he could edit it to be a jump cut, but we decided to scrap that idea also. Finally, we got the perfect shot which was my envision for the closing shot. This shot started with a close up to the chess board, then after a second slowly panning up and revealing the killer. Although it's a very simple shot, I think simple was the best way to go. One issue I faced while shooting this shot was what to do with my body. I wasn't sure how to get the close up of the board without hunching my body over, so I did the opposite and leaned my body back. To stabilize myself, I wrapped my both of my feet around the bench which allowed me to help keep still when filming. Overall, we loved this shot the most!