cameras rolling

Right, it seems like its been a long time coming but we got our footage down today!

In all we took 5 takes, each time, I believe it getting better, and noticeably too.

(Word of warning: This features all the shots we took. It will be the fourth draft/take we will use for our final edit.)

I'll start with the tiny amount of downsides experienced during our filming. Firstly, it did seem to be a case, unfortunately, of too many cooks spoiling the broth. This was in terms of when we were initially thinking about how we should direct the piece, where the lights should and shouldn't be, and where the camera should be positioned. Definite areas for focus in the future.

We could have improved this by just having rigidly defined roles, or, being adament on what was set out in the storyboards, after all, thats what they are there for! Also we could have done more extension planning, where we would set the lights up and so on, exactly where the camera would stand. But being new to it all, it's something we're learning along the way. Also, to a degree, we wouldn't have been able to definitively specify lights, because we wouldn't know how it would look.

We had issues with trying to get Davids eyes in shot at the start, as when praying, naturally, you look down and close them. We omitted the close up of his eyes, instead, showing his bowing head and then slowly getting up, but the mishap can be put down to theory clashing with the physical reality, the film logistics. It may not be clear what he is doing at the start, due to the restrictions on how we could move and position the camera, so this is a slight shame. Hopefully not too much of a downside. :(

After faffing around with different gels on the lights, we realised that the mood we wanted (dingy, dark, shadowy) could be achieved by just having one key light. Taking this simple approach worked out well, creating shadows where we wanted them: cast over half of his face, and body.

Lastly, we could have made more an effort with the costuming. Adding some dirt, or grime, and screwing it up may have further pointed out the nature of the man. This is something that if we were to do it again, we'd take into consideration even more.

Nevertheless, once we started filming, it really was an enjoyable process. We had fun, we were also officially "working" and learning on the go. Nobody argued, it was actually a case of us wanting to do more more more shots!

It started off with a really wide shot, taking in the background, and really, alot of unneeded image. However, paying attention to what we had learnt previously in our seminar, about increasing tension, we likewise, tightened the shot, bringing it alot closer and thereby adding some intensity (hopefully!)

One possible problem we were initially met with was that David was wearing a white shirt and coupled with the lights, may have been over exposed. Furthermore, the pillowcase he places over his head, again, was white and may have been hard to distinguish from his normal clothes. However, when acting it through and seeing it on screen, this didn't prove a problem. The plus side to the white pillowcase issue, I believe, was the contrast created between pillowcase and the black gun. It is probably something nobody will notice, but it struck me. You cannot get any stronger a contrast than that: black, and white, good vs bad.

Also, in terms of the pros, we had it so the barrel of the gun appears into the screen, so that we are more or less looking down that barrel. Zooming in with the movement of the executor adds a dynamic nature, whilst also drawing us in very close to the headshot coupled with the gun. Sort of perfectly setting up the final and ending scene.

The scene ended up being 1min 9seconds, so shows that our planning, through the summary of action, was correct for the set length of the piece. We didn't have to ad lib on any sections, nor speed any up. It all fitted nicely, not being rushed and showing a progression through the piece, in the allotted time.

When it comes to our final editing of the piece, the heavy breathing we picked up using the mic will usefully play a part. However, being able to introduce extra sound effects should as a heavy thumping heart beat should add another convincing element, hopefully helping display that the man is under pressure, and creates a sort of rhythm whilst watching the one minute piece.

In addition, we will be able to alter the colour settings. We are looking to achieve the film noir styley; another symbol of the dark tone intended. It should look quite arty as well, what with the shadows.

For now, it's off to the editing suite, to nail our final piece. Although not finished, this whole process has been highly enjoyable, and once we complete the piece, ive expectation for it to be a rewarding one as well.

@

stop [nintendo classic in] motion

Just found this on a site. Personally I think it's brilliant.

Compare this to our first attempt at stop motion and you can see the difference. They obviously took ALOT more shots, which makes the piece flow smoother and also, last much longer.

What makes this great is the attention to detail - it's what makes the piece. The spark signs that they add to each vehicle as it goes round the corner, the retro sound clips which are easily identifiable to nintendo fans, and also, the way that when one of the players hits a box, he gains speed and this is represented on screen by either taking more shots and having him blast off, or leaving more gaps in between their shots.

Either way, very impressive and probably appreciated all the more so by Nintendo fanboys (me one of them!)

That's all for now...

@

lights, camera... no action

Unfortunately, we weren't able to secure the booking of a studio room for today, meaning we couldn't film, as scheduled.

Whilst this is frustrating, it also means that we won't fully be able to make use of the seminar session tomorrow either, but there is now nothing we can do about it.

It isn't and won't be too much of a worry though - David is confirming a time and date when we will be able to set up and film the piece, hopefully now Thursday 15th November, when all members can attend and be in full form to 'nail it'!


In the meantime, as I've had a free day, I've been sharpening my video editing skills making a fun 3 minute piece about one of the girls in my flat.

I've learnt how to get the images on screen to match that of the sound playing, its simply a case of looking at the peeks and troughs of the sound wave of the music file. It now is much easier, and a lot less tedious than having to play through a piece 10 times to get it in time, as I've previously done in the past! Also, the way I chop the frames in turn with the music I think I've bettered myself with. It's just a case of playing around with several different techniques and finding the best one, a more effective and productive one.

So today hasn't been a complete waste, I've learnt something new today!

Over and out...

@

'one shot' #6.5

Right, now for the updated storyboards. Many thanks to Leanne for the quick turn around.

As can be seen, they now reflect the adapted story and omit the hooded figures. Hopefully this will work out for the better... only time will tell once we get to the shooting part on Monday!

As can be seen, we've taken on what we learnt from our irritation piece and included a couple of tight, close up shots to add intensity. It's totally befitting of what we are trying to represent - an anxious and intense circumstance - and just really, in terms of the composition of the shot, it shows that you do learn from your experience, as we probably wouldn't have been aware of this without doing our seminar with Deb.

You should be able to notice the alterations we made to the staging/placing of the character, towards the end of the piece. This, in my opinion, is for the better. Although a glimpse of the executors lower body may come into shot, no faces, or anything personal/human will be displayed of this figure. I think this will make it a lot more grim and unsettling. This lack, again, leaves something to the audience's imagination, and means they themselves will create their own fear in their own heads.

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I've managed to collect some royalty free sound clips and have been editing them on a program called 'audacity'. I've had to change the speed, frequency of ticking and so on. (Its a shame blogger doesn't let you load up sound because could have sampled the edits I've made.) The decision to which ones we'll use will come into play Tuesday onwards, where we have a seminar devoted to the editing in Premiere.

In all, things are looking good!

@

'one shot' #6?

Right, we're coming very close to filming, hopefully this taking place on Mon 12th as I mentioned in the schedule post.

We had a group planning meeting today and it was worthwhile, as we've tightened up on the story, in terms of the action that will take place and its specific order.

Notably from the last synopsis and action summary posted, we've removed the hooded figures the main character joins. Not only will this make it easier in filming terms, i.e. not having to ask people to pose in our film, but also, it should make the impact of the execution more noticeable. The man is up against a gun - quite a haunting prospect. Leanne is currently doing a second version of the storyboards, and I will post as soon as they come through.

David is also going through with booking out a studio, and all the equipment we'll need, for example, lighting kit, so we can set up some moody shots with heavy shadows to create a murky, shady image on screen. That sort of effect fits in with 'One Shot': the prisoner would be found in a dingy cell and wouldn't be looking his best/polished for the camera. It also should add the right edge to the piece from the off, concreting the unsettling tone of the piece.

In the meantime, I'm set to work on finding or making some ticking clock sounds and heartbeats, as well as a gunshot noise - Leanne had quite a few random sounds but they didn't fit exactly what we were looking for.

@

look into the light (safely!)

Just had our second seminar with Deb, this time introducing us to the wonders of light. The three point lighting system in particular, used for example on an interview sort of scene, or newsreader type behind a desk.

What we learnt was really interesting, but also really hot under the lights! In a group of four we then had to set up our own shot, taking into consideration things like aperture, shadows, the background and so on.

We used the key light, at almost the highest setting on the tripod. This provides funnily enough, the 'key' light, or is the main and strongest beam directed onto subject x. The shutters on the front of the lights are called barn doors and a small grill that covers the actual glass bulb is known as the scrim.

Next up, we used a mid height 'fill' light positioned at 45' to the subject. You can attach different sheets in front of the lamps which either diffuse the strength of the light, a blue tinted sheet alters the colour temperature to that of daylight, whilst an amber does the opposite. We used a diffuser to reduce the strength, as well as putting it further away (every metre closer creates up to 4 times the strength!) as intitially we found that it created too much a glare on the face.

Lastly, we added a back light positioned, surprise surprise, to the back of the subject, yet again at an angle so to light the background wall as well. This was the lowest in our set up, and oncemore to reduce the strength of the beam, we chose to add a diffuser.

It required a toning down of the brightness settings on the camera, which gave a really well lit shot of subject x (Kane!), but noticeably also, pointed out a really dull/plain background. This could be altered next time, by opening, closing and angling the light and barn doors so it casts a different beam of light on the back wall.

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Health and Safety is also v. important - death being the worst case scenario!

Common sense is pretty much the way to go, but for those not in the know:

- Check the cables when renting them out, to make sure no holes and so on
- Have the light tripod firmly and steadily based, so that it limits the chances of it falling. If it does appear to be such a position, get an extra pair of hands to hold it
-Wear the gloves when handling all hot lamps. If any holes, discard immediately as they are useless and in fact, would form another hazard if there was to be another user.
-Have the cables tidied away if at all possible, so that it limits the chances of tripping. Add a rubber mat to create a walkable gangway if too many cables become an issue.
-Run through the fire exit procedure to all crew members, confirming the doors to be exited through and ensure these remain clear throughout the production.
- When cooling down after production, ensure the lights are in a suitable place, facing the wall for instance, so that they do not get in anybodys way. Also, leave adequate time for the lights to cool down afterwards, so it is safe to place back in the casing boxes.

But after all that, lighting is something defintely of use, and something definitely I will use in future. It really makes all the difference as video is rubbish without it! Furthermore, careful planning and setting up of the light rigs can make the difference between an amateur shot and that of a professional.

@

'one shot' #5

Communication

To ensure an efficient and fluid film process from start to finish, our group members will keep in regular contact, having regular face to face meetings, in addition we will text and email each other. The bonus with email is that we can attach various forms of our work which the recipient can then read, comment and even adapt, and then return this - furthering a team involvement with our work. Lastly, posting on our blogs and regular updates will in all mean the group are in regular contact with one and other.


Scheduling

To structure ourselves and to ensure maximum effectiveness of what we produce, we began the film making progress from the word ‘go’.

Initially we started off with an afternoon working on genre analysis; that is, looking at relevant examples of single shot films.

From this, we separated to brain storm ideas that could make up the main idea or theme of our piece.

This was then followed up the day after with a group meeting for a couple of hours to present our various ‘sketches’ and discuss the pros, cons, and reality of the individual ideas. The benefits of this are that the ideas were still fresh in our mind and we could toy with them a little more, with contribution from all the group members.

From this, we then chose our final idea and assigned individual tasks, which split up the workload but also provided focus for each member of the group to work on.

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From here on in, we will be meeting at seminar sessions, and more independent group meetings (Thurs 8th, midday) in our self directed study time, to ensure everybody is afloat with the production of the piece and committing themselves to their duties. Furthermore, everything we do can be analysed from four different perspectives in these group sessions, meaning a greater crit.

Filming has been pencilled in as taking place on Mon 12th. We will have to spend time setting up the location, be that light, props, time of day and any extras. The actual filming of the piece will take a few rehearsals and then no doubt a few takes to ensure the best is captured for the final edit. We will leave plenty of time is available to get everything right and not have to rush ourselves.

The final edit will comprise of a full group’s involvement: to add titles, adjust colour levels, include and perfect the rhythm of sound with the visual footage. All the group members opinions will be considered, so that everybody is happy and confident with the piece. We may even do several drafts of an edit, meaning that each re-draft we are tightening up our piece, ultimately bettering it’s quality. A test audience could prove worthwhile.


Assigned roles

Ashley took on the writing role for the synopsis and production notes, such as ‘Summary of Action’ and ‘Reasoning behind the Piece’. In addition, Ashley will write the communication and scheduling information.

Leanne decided she would like to create the storyboarding which we will refer when we come to filming. In addition, from previous Media experience, Leanne has a collection of sound clips we could use for our piece, so will be checking through these for items we may need, such as, a ticking clock and heartbeat sounds.

Andria showed an interest in wanting to film the footage, so alongside this, volunteered herself to write a short bit on the mood, tone, colours and general visual makeup of the piece we will produce.

David meanwhile was assigned the task of sourcing a location and bearing in mind all the needs for the idea. This will be documented with pictures and an explanation of the suitability, availability of the location. David has been hoodwinked as the main character and therefore actor, in the piece as well!