First Practical Lesson

So after breaking down and analysing different opening sequences and learning about different camera shots, we where ready for our first practical lesson in the world of cameras.

Firstly we where introduced to the tripod. A tripod is a three legged stable prop for the camera, with the tripod you can determine hight and angle. However what tripods do is isolate the hands from the camera, this eliminates any camera shake. To level the tripod we would ‘bubble’ the tripod head which would create a level plane for the camera. Once we had set up the tripod it was onto the cameras.

We where taught about three different cameras, the Sony NX5, the Sony FS100 (the one we used for the majority of the time) and finally the Canon 5D mark III. I know what does this all mean? Don’t worry to sum it up the Sony’s are ponies… While the Canon is a black stallion of a device, with beautiful crisp image quality toping the majority of cameras in the game… except from the REDs… I apologising for blaspheming.

Anyways, since we mostly used the Sony FS100 we are going to talk about that one. Once we clipped the quick release into place and the camera was secure we begin playing with that tank of camera. We slipped in the battery which the arrow on the battery would link up to what the direction it would go in. Then we plugin in the lens to the body and we where ready. Firstly we zoomed into a static object and twisted the focus wheel on manual focus to eventually it was sharp. Once it was sharp, we could zoom the camera back out and that is how we would get the possibly sharpest image possible. Now the camera is focused we used the white balance button on the side of the camera which looks like ‘WHIT BAL” and we would press that while the camera is focused upon a white static subject. Now it would automatically adjust the settings so that the lighting appeared as it did for our eyes, but know on the camera. We would be able to view this from the LCD display which would flick up from the camera, here we could make all our framing adjustments and determine weather the camera was in focus or not. 

The sony FS100 is a camera that would be mostly used for music videos because it is less run and gun than the NX5 however the Canon 5D mark III is taking over that game.

Till next time,

Ashen

Analysing the opening title sequence to 'Dead Man's Shoes’

In the opening sequence to a ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’, the editing technique used throughout this sequence in reference to the music is that it is cut against the beat, this means the cuts flow, instead of when a cut is on the beat it has a more pronounced feel. Aside from the cuts the director uses a cross fade, which is the technique of merging two shots over each other, this transition can be used to contrast the two realities. The fade begins with the two young children together then ends with two grown men walking, which the audience presume is the young children grown up. The use of this transition could, arguably, emphasise the vast difference between the reality and the memories of the two characters  The director chooses an old-film effect, for the baby videos, which increases the feel of nostalgia, these effects aren’t when the shots change to the men walking, this emphasis the years passed to when these men where small children to now. The final shot is a fade to black, together with the subtle approaching silence, bringing a close to the opening sequence of the movie. 

The movie begins with a close up of two young children filmed in a home-video style, this unique style establishes the past of the two characters creating a nostalgic feeling.The home-videos continues on for around fifty seconds till we get a long shot of the two characters grown up. This establishing shots displays that the two characters are going somewhere, however unlike the home-videos the camera now lacks that previous amateur home-video camera shake, now the camera is isolated. There is a sense of isolation and a feeling of an absence of life that is portrayed due to composition, having only one tree in the centre of the shot as the characters walk from right to left. There is little head room for the characters and more field then sky, this portrays a feeling of claustrophobia, making the audience feel trapped. The two characters are walking, one behind another, along the road, their unique features are unapparent at this distance, creating intrigue. The following shots follow a pattern of the ‘present’ and a flashback home-video style shot, this compares the to realities, building the story creating an interest from the audience.

The opening sequence uses an old folk non-diegetic sound, with an almost melancholic tone of reflection. The artist of the song compares himself to a ‘vessel in vain’, which is a metaphor for feeling lost in life.Therefore, the audience already draws certain conclusions about the characters. This as well is backed by the camera work of the two older characters walking along a road which relates closely to this metaphor, demonstrating that they are on a journey. 

The mise on scene through out the opening sequence is very telling. The remote surroundings could demonstrates the isolation of the two characters, while in contrast to the home videos which are all inclusive family loving, these two scenes juxtapose each other throughout the opening sequence. For example the two young children in the family videos are close together and are having fun while in the ‘present’ picture the two are walking a far distance apart from each other and are looking very serious, complement with the gloomy dark and un saturated colour grade.

Throughout the opening sequence the director is teaching the audience of the past and the present of these two characters which establishes the characters to the audience. The overall impact of the opening sequence is thought-provoking, it leads to an arousal of interest in the film, which results in the viewers desiring to continue watching it.

Pleasantville

As a class we studied the opening sequence to the film 'Pleasantville' starring actor Toby Maguire. In the lesson we went through what the industry standard for the different names of how much something is within the film frame.
Shot by shot we analysed the mise en scene and the positioning of the camera used, and why.
For example at the beginning of the film the camera pans zooming outwards, which finishes as an establishing shot. We came to the conclusion that this was included to allow the audience to become accustom to the surroundings of the scenes, and the characters reality.
Overall this exercise was eye-opening for me, because personally I didn't think that Media Studies would be based on a lot of assumption/reasoning behind each shot, making it very subjective subject.

a bit about me

Media. Yep I chose media. Why media? That’s a good question. So here is a brief explanation why. First of all here is a brief catchup to what type of person would choose media studies. While ever since a young age of was fascinated in story telling. Yes I was a big fat lier… to be fair not a very good one. And filmmaking was the artistic tool that I could create these stories, while not very good ones, it became my passion very quickly. At the age of around seven it was the first time I had properly picked up a camera, directed and constructed a story, however at this point I didn’t realise this was going to be my passion. Throughout the years I made a few travel films and little sketches, and it wasn’t more the process that I enjoyed but the reaction’s I would get from something I made. 

It wasn’t till I was thirteen where it quickly became serious. When in  Arizona, somewhere in the united states, I had a moment of awakening. I had been brought over to do some filming and assist another cinematographer, on a horse racing project… I am not that type of person… I don’t play polo and I don’t like horse riding. Anyways this is when I realised I loved capturing beautiful moving images. I was ready. That whole summer of 2012 I immersed my self in film. Especially visual effects, because to me it was like magic, and magic impressed people. It was a day before I started my secondary school and I quickly made my first visual effects test, check it out.

Now I was at this secondary school I received more work, and my time for film slowly disappeared… Until near the start of the summer of 2013 my mental english teacher who was actually a media studies teacher had enough of the GCSE curriculum and started teaching us film language. He set us on the task to make a film with a noir theme so I made this. He wanted us to make more. So with two other students who wrote and acted in the seven minute short, which I can’t show you for copy right reasons… God damn you Hans Zimmer!

It was the summer holidays and with the kickstart motivation from my media studies it wasn't difficult to shoot out the short fun skit here. But then GCSE’s got real and well… my creativity was shut away. Until I some how persuaded my teacher to allow me to slip in a short video for my Graphic Design check it out here, as well you can check out the creation process here.

And I am working on a few films now.