Depth of Field

Work by: Rosie Acton

Costume Re-Think: Lead Female

This is the outfit we envisioned our lead to wear originally:

An issue that arose when filming, was the bulkiness of the clothing on camera; we didnt get the sleek, smooth, feminine, angelic look we were going for.
Because of this, we had to rethink our costume choices. Despite the cold weather conditions, it was required of our model not to wear her coat during the shots. We also changed her footwear; from clumpy boots to casual but stylish shoes.












Here is her final look; as planned, we removed the coat and changed the shoes from boots to brogues. These are lot more feminine and go better with her outfit as a whole. To counteract the evident issue of cold weather, we had extra clothing waiting for the model (Katie) so she could warm up in between shots.

On top of this, in terms of genre/ resemblance to indie styling, this look is a lot more appropriate; here is an image of the artist Birdy taken from the album cover of which the single 'People Help the People' featured. Evident similarities can be drawn from her outfit in comparison to our own styling:

 

work by: myself

Edited Peices: Test Shots

work by: Rosie

Lighting an outside shoot

Work by: Hannah Griffin

The Golden Hour Photography

The Golden Hour, also known as the Magic Hour, is the first and last hour of sunlight in the day which allows a specific photography technique to be achieved due to the low level quality of light.

 

The light is typically softer and in warmer hues. The shadows are normally reduced as the sun is below the horizon. When the sun is near or below the horizon, the sunlight travels through more of an atmosphere which reduces the intensity of the direct light so the illumination comes from the indirect light from the sky which reduces the lighting ratio.

 

The blue light is scattered so when the sun is present the light appears redder; additionally the sun’s small angle with the horizon produces longer shadows, creating a moody, darker look.

This is especially effective when shooting a ‘romantic’ looking shot. The sun is low and no harsh shadows are created. This prevents any details to be lost because of extreme shadows or blown-out highlights. This technique is particularly useful when shooting landscape or nature related shots although works well when used with a model.

The only limitation with this form of shooting is the lack of time space to shoot in. There is a relatively small window of available to take advantage of in order to achieve the perfect glow. Planning is essential with an idea of the sunset/rise times to ensure the light is used to the maximum effect.

A wide aperture must be used to allow more light to be used in the shot. The lighting, however, changes rapidly meaning the lighting during the first 5 minutes will be distinctively different in another 20 minutes. Shooting for the whole hour is the best way to overcome this so many different variations can be captured. An adjustable white balance is also needed as auto white balance will try to change the light to neutral.

 

 

The 1978 film ‘Days of Heaven’ directed by Terrence Malick clearly shows the effects of shooting in the Golden Hour. The film is shot primarily in the early morning, just as the sun rises, and then in the evening, as the sun sets. This creates a warm, romantic glow.

 

 

Work by: Hannah Griffin



Different Camera Shots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Work by: Katie Murphy 

 

 

 

 

 

Camera Shots: Tracking and Walking Shots

Walking Shots: Stanley Kubrick

 

Director Stanley Kubrick was the first director top use the ‘Steadicam’, a brand of camera stabilizing mount which isolates the shot from the operator’s movements, preventing the camera from shaking. This allows for a smooth shot, even when the camera operator is moving on an uneven surface.

 

Before the ‘Steadicam’, the only form of tracking shots was to use a camera dolly, a wheeled mount that rolls on tracks or levelled boards. This was unpractical and a time consuming set up. The other option was for the camera operator to hold the camera manually.

Having tried the manual way of filming, we came to the conclusion that the shake from the operator’s hands was too much for our film, making it look rather amateur, not the smooth shot we feel our video needs considering it is a music video which is supposed to work as a technique to sell something, in this case a song. 

 The ‘Steadicam’ combines stability, which means steady footage, with the fluid and flexibility of a hand held camera. This was used in Kubrick’s film, “The Shining”; most notably the scene where the young boy, Danny, is being tracked as he pedals at high speed through corridor after corridor on his blue plastic big wheel tricycle.

 

 

 

Kubrick used a wheelchair, to film the tracking shots, pushing this around to gain a smooth shot. The wheelchair also worked well as shot was then shown to be at about 18 inches- which was roughly the height of the small child meaning the shot would look like a child’s perspective as intended. The wheelchair had rubber wheels which absorbed the shock which also ensured there was no sound of the wheelchair which could impact the filming.

 

To achieve this shot a wheelchair can be used and we shall have to partake in some testing shots to try out this technique, seeing if it is viable for our film.

 

Work by: Hannah Griffin

 

 

 

Makeup Testing: Video Edit

Video made my: Rosie
Make-up done by: Rosie, Hannah and myself

Mise-en-scene: Research Part 1

 

Research by: Myself

Story Board: "Birdy - People Help the People"

Agreed as a group
Made by: Rosie

Timeline: "Birdy - People Help the People"

Agreed as a group
Made by: Rosie

Initial Ideas

When first placed into our groups, we were exposed to an array of different ideas and song choices/genres. This ranged between R'n'B, pop, indie etc. Despite this though, we all managed to find ways to incorporate our ideas with compromise.

This compromise was achieved without much fuss; we all have a vast understanding and appreciation of music in all genres, so finding one we were all happy with wasn't an issue.

We discussed ideas such as incorporating a dance segment, what type of effects to use which would be best suited to the chosen song (Birdy - People Help The People).

We are now at the stage where we have confirmed our song and pulled all of our ideas together; further research is now being done to make sure we produce the best end product possible.

A brief of our initial idea:

Song- "Birdy - People Help The People"

Genre: Indie

- dance section

- effects including: black and white fade, fade, slow motion, cutting

Story line:

- tightly based around song title; lead shown throughout "helping the people" as the title suggests.