Posts tagged: research

READING & WRITING:

Chapter Seven – Lighting: This chapter covered the basics of light setup for filming in multiple conditions. As a photographer, light can be a huge struggle depending on location and elements. For example, I shot an event in the middle of a golf course last week which took place directly in the mid-day sun. I took a fill-flash with me, but under the circumstances, there wasn’t much to be done for the sun-produced shadows that lined peoples faces. This is all much easier to accomplish when you can control your environment through lighting and reflectors. Between taking professional headshots and creating more artistic headshots (as demonstrated to the left) I feel pretty confident in how I can manipulate light in most situations.

Chapter Nine – Doing It: It was amusing and coincidental to have this chapter discuss using a slate (and/or shot log) early on because I learned my lesson regarding this two weeks ago. I recorded a LOAD of footage from an outdoor arts festival that I co-produced and wanted to get some video that could later be edited to use in fundraising efforts next year. Excited to have spent the day bouncing around the city, trying to capture as much as I could from all the acts and venues, I didn’t think about the moment when I’d have to dump all of that footage into a folder and actually deal with it. Certain shots that I was excited to see on the screen were difficult to locate and in fact, I still haven’t had the time or energy to figure out whats-what.

This chapter also discussed how to shoot a series of shots that bookend by shooting out of sequence. By filming the opening and closing shots at the same time, you same time and energy moving everything back into place as you would if you shot it sequentially.  I guess this is kind of obvious, but wished I had been reminded of this in certain recent filming situations. It has certainly been put on a checklist I’ve got going for the final project of things to remember while I’m “in the moment” and perhaps, not thinking clearly.

RESEARCH TO INFORM:

I got really into these ’60 Second Docs’ while trying to find inspiration for this project. I particularly like how the video matches the narration beat-for-beat while describing the activity of chase tag.

If you haven’t caught an episode of ‘Documentary Now!’ you should, because they are really amusing faux documentaries that follow an appropriate style for their context. I chose this one for the great visuals at the beginning of the episode that creates a wonderful foundation for the rest of the piece.

I know that Vimeo has labeled this a ‘staff pick’ and it a beautifully composed piece, but the audio is really annoying because it sounds as if the narration was recorded in an empty room and is full of faint echoes.

CREATE:

DHartmann_PreplanDoc

Basically, due to crappy schedules, we will be shooting this entirely on Wednesday morning. I’ve already had to take a lot of time off from work for this class and I’m trying to avoid having to take more since I’m falling behind a bit at work. So, not much to report on progress…I’ve got much of the incidentals out of the way such as having recorded some narration, got some music picked out, intro titles and end credits are all sorted but will likely need a bit of tweaking. I’m trying to line everything up so I’m just left with lining up the video and audio the way I need it.

Reading & Writing:

Chapter Three – Basic Sequence: This chapter explains and outlines the process of sequencing your shots so that your video remains visually interesting, even if the location of the scene hasn’t changed. I struggled with this while editing my montage in the last module because I wasn’t sure how long a certain clip should be visible prior to transitioning to another one. I tried to find a natural balance, but just the simple suggestion presented here of counting ‘one-thousands’ was really helpful when putting this week’s project together.

This chapter also explains the ‘cut on the action’ method of following one motion from start to finish through a variety of different shots. I definitely tried making this work a few times in my how-to video and think that I did a decent job of it.

Chapter Four – Screen Direction: This chapter talked a lot about towing the line…the 180-degree line, that is. Thankfully, the writing was clear, because I found the diagrams to confusing and it was really difficult to orient myself while looking at them and trying to imagine what it would look like on a screen. Basically, the axis of action needs to heeded while recording so that the viewer doesn’t become disoriented by the position of characters or objects on the screen. Such a change can be a massive distraction and can pull the viewer’s attention away from the production since they have to stop to re-orient themselves. I think, that as a viewer of media, this should be fairly easy to avoid since it feels so unnatural, but I guess there is still an opportunity for it to happen. Something I made sure to keep in mind while recording my video this week.

Research to Inform:

The robot invasion of Frank’s house in Tomorrow Land is a good example of a fast-paced scene in a small area that nails smooth transitions while piling in a lot of action.

I liked the long shots of Kevin Spacey walking that were taken from inside the car that’s following him, and the composition of the medium shots taken from the sidewalk and the closer transition of Spacey walking, going from having a crippled foot, to being able to walk normally.

Somewhat similar to the clip above, this scene from Willy Wonka after Charlie finds the last Golden Ticket seamlessly follows Charlie through the streets and the obstacles that he encounters on his path from a number of different vantage points to create a smooth sequence.

Create:

I wanted to shoot something that was lighthearted and fun, and thankfully my husband is a good sport. It was hard to keep this piece short, and I seconded guessed my editing a lot. It was difficult to choose which shots to use when I recorded so much of the activity. Ultimately, I think I found a balance for everything that felt right. Enjoy!