I went to the Orlando Repertory Theater where a music video was being shot for Britt Daley for her newly released song, “One and Only.” Scott Wilkins wrote and directed the video shoot. When I arrived, Full Sail interns were setting up tripods and lighting outside the doorway to the greenroom. Wires snaked everywhere and they had to be ducktaped down so no one would trip. A small SLR digital that shoots high definition video seemed out of place mounted to a bulky tripod. A laptop was also mounted on a tripod so more than one person could see what was being shot. The hall was already bright thanks to large plate glass windows. The lighting was enhanced by mounting lights up near the ceiling.
The story that anchors the music video is built around an audition. Britt is in the audition and shakes things up. In this shot she enters the scene by opening the purple door at the end of the hall. She then struts down the hall carrying a huge 1980’s style boom box. The cameraman told the intern to dismount the camera from the tripod. Instead of a steady shot, he wanted to dolly back keeping Britt in frame as they both moved down the hall. A wheelchair was brought in and the cameraman sat down.
They shot the scene multiple times. Some takes were full body, while others focused on closeups of Britt’s lethal high heels. An intern had to quickly coil in the video cable as the cameraman was backed down the hall. The setup and shooting was time consuming. Everyone felt they were falling behind on the shooting schedule. There was a mad dash to strike everything and they rushed off to the next shooting location.