Screenshots from my film - 'Hidden Agenda'

On the 9th and 10th of April, I shot my first short film at the Met. I had a 13 paged script and 19 scenes to shoot in 20 hours. Most of my tutors said that I should cut down the length of my script because I wouldn't be able to shoot a 13 paged script in 20 hours. It's not that I was being rebellious and didn't want to listen, and that's why I didn't cut down my script, it's because I felt like I couldn't have told the story the way I wanted if I were to cut it down even more. Well anyways, the shoot was a success and we didn't run overtime.

I planned my shots very carefully so that on the day I knew exactly what I wanted to be done and so that I didn't waste anybody's time. We went through the takes with such ease, and the actors remembered all their lines and movements so continuity was pretty much dead on. I had one of the most paramount cast and crew that I've ever worked with. It was a very friendly environment where people were comfortable to express suggestions and we made compromises to satisfy everybody's needs. Sometimes.

I wouldn't say that I sacrificed anything. When an actor expressed a suggest that would help their performance, I was more than happy to change whatever needed to be done to get the best performances from them. And true enough, the footage I got (thanks to my camera and cinematography team) was a lot more awesome than what I thought my film would look like.

So, here are some still from my film (they're unedited).

"Best shoot I have ever worked on" - my DOP.