Lee Cronin about his day at the Vikings Film Set

 

 

"Walking onto someone else's set was a little bit of a daunting prospect, but I was quickly put at ease by the extremely friendly cast and crew, and it helped in knowingand having worked with some of them previously. From the outset it was clear how well an oiled this machine was. The set's were huge and about to be filled withover 100 extras, 10 principal cast and a huge crew - yet it all just seemed to click into gear.

 

A clear indication of the importance of building relationships withthose you work with and gaining vital shorthand within your production team. Once the shoot was up and running it really rocketed along.The set-ups were generally shot off three cameras, usually all moving all the time, something I had never experienced before, so this was a really interesting thing to observe and I was mightily impressed with how director Ken Girotti was able to watch three monitors at the same time.

 

I quickly learned it just came down to knowing what he wanted clearly, finding those moments within the takes and moving on with confidence. He was editing way ahead in his mind, switching his attention between monitors as the moments he needed where about to come to the fore. He had great trust in those around him, and allowed the camera teams the freedom to express themselves in finding the right shots.

He was a pleasure to shadow, and allowed me full access to his monitors, to step in with him as he gave notes, and to join him in the moments of closed rehearsal between scenes.

 

It was amazing how much he shared in just one day, and in turn how much I learnt.Having shot plenty of shorts and commercials, TV was a new space for me to be in, and the key thing I'll take from the day is how fast you have to move, and thatwhen you have three cameras running it doesn't actually mean you move faster, in fact keeping them out of the way of each other can be a real challenge.

 

As withall directing, it's ultimately about confidence and knowing what you want, what you need and what can die within a moment of pressure. Ken was so sharp at knowing when to move on and when to go again. Everybody knew what was needed to make the day and then some. They all did it with a real confidence and calmness and there was never a sense of panic even as the ticking clock closed in on wrap time"