The Walking Shot

After capturing the first interaction between Eva and the stalker, we moved on to the next important scene: when Eva and the stalker walk toward his car, having a conversation. The goal of this shot was the keep the stalker's face hidden while also revealing the setting. Specifically, the path down the parking garage and where they were heading. We intended this to be a tracking shot that followed them from behind.

At first, this seemed like a great way to keep the tension between the two characters. But after reviewing footage, we saw several problems. The first issue was the audio—since we were following them from behind, it was difficult to hear their conversation clearly. Not only was the audio bad, but the shot itself looked very unprofessional. We couldn't see any facial expressions, and the shot of them just walking looked very boring. This lacked the emotions we were aiming for. 

Me filming the new shot idea

To fix this, we decided to try something different. Instead of shooting from behind, we switched the camera angle to follow them from the front. This allowed us to focus on Eva's expressions and the dynamic between her and the stalker, all while keeping the stalker's face hidden. However, this came with more challenges. In order to keep the stalker's identity hidden, I had to lower the camera to a level that kept him out of frame. While this change improved the quality of our shot, it required me, as cinematographer, to walk backwards while filming. 

Our editor stepping in to get the shot

Walking backwards and trying to keep the shot steady was very difficult for me. I was constantly worried about tripping or accidentally bumping into something. As a result, the shot ended up looking shaky and inconsistent, which was not what I wanted. At this point, our editor stepped in and offered to try capturing the shot himself. He suggested taking longer strides, which would help keep the camera steady, while he walked in front of the actors. This solution turned out to be the most effective. With his longer strides, the shot became very stable, and we were finally able to capture Eva and the stalker walking and talking. This gives us the perfect shot to transition into the next scene in the story.