On the first day of filming Mind of Thoughts, my team and I took on daring cliffside shots in France, navigating the challenges of independent filmmaking with resilience, risk, and creative vision.
The location was visually stunning but came with logistical hurdles: limited access, no easy way to transport gear, and the challenge of keeping both crew and equipment safe. Every shot required quick thinking and adaptability to make it work.
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Hi Charlotte Verminck - the location sounds truly stunning (would love to see a picture if possible). Hard to say how to handle it without all of the details but Crew & Cast safety is always the #1 priority and it sounds like everyone made it through the day unscathed.
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Hi Sam Sokolow!
Thank you so much for your reply! Absolutely, safety was our top priority throughout the shoot! The location was breathtaking but required careful planning to ensure everything ran smoothly. Luckily, we had an amazing team that adapted to the challenges on the spot.
You can get a better look at the cliff and how we handled the shoot in the BTS video: https://youtu.be/Hn6580ltFUM?si=gFcQqi6AmRRCarBu
Let me know what you think! I’d love to hear your take on it!
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Hey, Charlotte Verminck !
I agree with Sam Sokolow that the number one priority should be the safety of the actors.
As a VFX supervisor, I could suggest a trick for particularly dangerous shots (like in your project, where the scene takes place on the edge of a cliff). You could shoot these moments separately and composite them together in post-production. The only additional thing you’d need on set is a portable green or blue screen.
For the most dangerous shots, where the actress needs to stand right at the edge of the cliff, you could film the cliff separately and then shoot the actress on a greenscreen in the same location with the same lighting. Then, in compositing, you could seamlessly blend the two together.
With this approach, the shots could be made even more thrilling since you’d have the flexibility to place the actress right at the very edge—creating the illusion that she’s just millimeters away from falling.
In the end, this would be both maximally safe and visually spectacular.