Film: RANDWICK SCREEN & MEDIA STUDENTS 'GOING GLOBAL'

Guest blog by Director of Photography ... PAUL HOWARD

Shoot day 4 - Our production team had been working for several days to secure a very special location for our last scenes, The Waldorf Astoria. The stunning Park Avenue foyer has a massive chandelier sparkling above an intricate marble floo

r, surrounded by works of art, plush furniture & brass finery. It seemed an impossible location to get given our limited budget & so we couldn't believe our ears when we received permission to shoot for three hours with a reduced crew.

As it turns out we could be the last film crew filming within the location in it's current state. Management informed us that the foyer was in for a major makeover.

We quickly set about blocking our scenes and shot as wide as we could to take in the beautiful surroundings. Apart from dodging a few guests and shooting with extremely low light levels, we shot the scenes without any problems and very quickly. Once again it seemed we were able to go largely unnoticed due to our small camera and tight crew. Those that did notice, enjoyed the little piece of drama quietly unfolding amidst the ambiance of a by gone era. The Merlin steadicam came in very handy to capture a truly wonderful area of this art deco building that dates back to 1931. Such a great experience for all concerned and a fabulous addition to the iconic NYC backdrops we've captured so far.

Our next two shoot days will be short due to actor availability, which will give us all a chance to visit Columbia University and The New York Film Academy to better understand the film courses available to the students.