2nd camera workshop

 21st Jan 2022

Using the camera and filming

Today we had our first filming lesson where we were taught how to film with a camera and how to perform close ups, mid shots and wide shots. We all got puts in groups of 4 so we could each take turns acting and filming. We decided that we should make the scene simple and not complex as it was our first time filming so we wanted to learn properly. I came up with the first idea which is to to have Issy bending down and tying her shoelace then Mia came up with the second to have us walking into the frame and then doing a handshake. Both Bert and I filmed the first sequence of Izzy tying her shoelace and then I got a chance to act in the second one. It was really fun to film our first sequence. 

We first had to assemble the camera and tripod together before filming. We lifted the Vinten tripod into the place that we needed it. We then screwed in the lever onto the side so that when it came to filming, we could have the camera round smoothly. Carefully we lifted the camera out of the box and slid it onto the grooves on the top of the Tripod and then made sure it was properly attached. After that we bubbled the camera to take sure that it was level and not slanted. I then turned on the camera and saturation of the film to match the light indoors. Issy then sat down on the chair in her first position when I focused the camera on her. I made sure that the camera was focusing on her and not on another object. Bert and I also made sure that the Tripod was level to Issy and we that we didn't leave too much headspace, so that the footage would be correct.

Bert and I then started filming the sequence. We began in a wide shot level to Issy and got her to bend down and tie her shoelace. After we got the camera lined up we then filmed the same thing in a mid-shot and a close up. I then moved the camera in front/ on the side of Issy so that we could have footage of her tying her shoelace. This would made our sequence more interesting when editing. We had to make sure throughout that we didn't break the 90 degree rule by filming on the other side of Issy. This was because it would be confusing to the audience if she suddenly appeared on the other side of the composition. We had to keep checking that our camera was 'bubbled' so that the frame wasn't tilted. 

This is Issy the actor!

Filming the second sequence:

In the second filming we chose another simple sequence. Mia and I were acting in this one when Issy and Bert did the filming. We began by filming a wide shot of both of us walking into the centre composition of the frame and the doing our handshake. We then did this twice more in a close-up and a mid-shot. Then we wanted to create more exciting shots so we focused on one person at a time and we had to repeat the same handshake each time. This meant that we could choose who we wanted the focus to be on whilst editing. The footage also looked very cool as both of us look matching!

The second sequence:

first brainstorm of actual idea

Thursday 20th 2021

brainstorm:

we have decided to come up with an idea. the script in short is a man walking round town remembering an ex, and frequently cuts to him on a bridge remembering and those 'thoughts' we will create. The women will pop up many times in the frame but constantly disappears so the audience gets the idea that she isn't in his life anymore. You also get a glimpse of an intimate moment between the man and women when they were a couple. 

The groups shared notes

first shot, man on bridge, from sky above camera comes down to mine face shot. 

two close up shots of man and women drinking

shot of the whole bar but only he is there, lipstick 

walking down the street background noise etc, puts in headphones and soundtrack starts. 

walking down the street as credits comes up,

he turns as walking past the cafe, 

shot of cafe with ex sat down he staresbody moves in way of camera and she's gone, 

he continues walking unfazed like it happens all the time. 

he continues too walk as the credit roll cuts too him sat on wall, she lights his cigarette, 

In mid shot, her arms are visible only, cuts out too wide shot of him alone on wall, with lighter in hand/next too him

Starts walking down a long road

flashbacks of close up with him and a girl inside - yellow and pink lighting

cuts between him walking and flashback - flashing

walking with no expression - monotone 

cuts to him standing on the bridge again

he screams and the shot freezes on the image of him crying 

mid shot as title comes up into the middle of the composition.

Our initial film inspiration was from Shame

Doug thought that the film Shame would fit the themes, genre and characters that we wanted to portray in our opening title sequence. We thought the use of the rain was a good use of pathetic fallacy and we liked the age of the man. Obviously we won't be using the topics that happened in our sequence but we liked the way it is filmed. 

1st camera workshop

 Wed 19th 2021

First camera lesson in the studio

Today we went into the studio for our first camera workshop and learn how to set up a correctly. We were in the studio with Matt so he taught us how to do this safely and how not to damage anything! We were put into small groups so that we could each take turns setting up the camera and learning so we will have practice before the next workshop and the actual shoot day. Each of the camera's were assembled in boxes on the floor that we needed to unpack and set up.

Step 1:

We first learnt how to set top the tripod. We learnt that you have to make sure to lock all three sides or the camera will fall. The tripod enables the camera to film at different heights and also makes sure that what you are filming isn't shaky. When you have adjusted the bottom locks you can adjust the top ones, this makes sure everything is balanced. You wouldn't put the camera onto the tripod until you are sure that all the sides are locked and won't tilt.

Step 2:

We then learnt about the bubble which shows that the camera is level. To be able to work the bubble you have to undo a screw underneath the tripod and then move the head until the bubble is centre in the yellow bubble. We took turns to tighten the screw underneath the tripod to make sure that the bubble is dead centre. Making sure that your tripod is very important as it could ruin your shots is the frame is lopsided. Another interesting feature in the battery powered light which makes sure the camera crew can see the bubble even when the set is dark. 

Step 3:

The next thing we were taught about was how to make sure that the camera is set up correctly so it is safely used. In the box with all the camera equipment in it you have the camera, lenses, a battery and a microphone with its cover. We took times taking the camera out of the box feeling how heavy it was. I was surprised by the weight of it! We were then taught about the correct language that would be used on a professional film set. We were taught to use "yours" and "mine" whilst handing the camera onto someone else. This was so the person handing the camera over new that the other person was holding onto it and wouldn't drop it. I thought that was very useful as it made sure that no camera were damaged. 

Step 4:                                                                                           We then we taught how to put a camera onto the tripod carefully without it falling. Firstly you have to make sure that the camera is lined up to the grooves that are on the tripod. On the right side of the tripod there is a switch that locks the camera onto it and on the right side there is a button that helps the camera be in the right place. When I slid the base of the camera onto the top of the tripod I felt a click which reminds me that it is placed correctly and won't fall. When the camera is clicked onto the tripod you should turn the switch, further making sure that the camera is secure. We each took turns placing the camera on the tripod, making sure that we used the "mine" and "your's" terminology when passing the camera to each other. 

Step 5:                                                                                            In this picture you can see that the camera has been correctly placed onto the tripod and the pan handle has been assembled on the left side of the camera. At the front of the camera the lenses have been attached. This includes the focus part and the zoom part. We haven't attached the battery and the the microphone part yet. The tripod has been assembled to be nearly at the highest level allowing us to be able to still attach the required parts to make the camera work. 

Step 6:

In this step you have to assemble the battery which will make the camera work. We also were taught about the lexar pro memory card which stores the footage so that you can transfer the shots to an editing suit. To attach the battery onto the camera you have to slide it down the back on the camera into two metal clamps, until you feel a click; that means that it is locked in. We each to a few time doing this to make sure that we all understood how to do this. 

Step 7:

In this step we turned on the camera and learnt how to focus it. To switch the camera on there is a small red button on the inside of the camera. To find this you have to open the screen to the side. Once turned on you will see what is being filmed on the screen on the camera. It was very useful that the screen was touchscreen! To focus the camera on a person or an object you have twist the lenses at the front. One of the rotation lenses were to zoom in and out. The other one was to defocus and focus. To set up to film to have to zoom in very close to a stationary object; that way it will be easier to ficus. Then you have to twist the dial at the front to defocus the film and then twist it again to focus. When you have it perfect you then can twist the dial to zoom onto the object and person to film. 

Step 8:

In this step you have to adjust the lighting on the camera to make sure that the shots to naturalistic. On one of the setting on the camera you have the option to change the saturation of the film. To show you which one to use, each saturation has a different logo. For instance they are clouds, a house, a light and a sun. When learning this step we also got to practice moving the other settings.

Bullet-pointed Action

Tuesday 18th January 2022 

Action List of my idea 1

- mid shot of 2 children playing in field- editing in show motion and slightly zooms in

- close up shot of their upper half of their bodies

- birds eye view shot of children laying in blanket pointing at clouds

- worms eye view shot of the clouds in the sky

- mid shot of the kids cycling down a lane -the camera is at the other side of the lane

- tracking shot side on to the kids on the bike

- wide shot of the kids running over a bridge with paper airplanes 

- tracking mid shot of kids walking out of an ice cream shop holding ice creams

- close up shot of the kids eating ice cream - right and left composition

- mid shot of the backs of the children sitting next to a river

- the scene is edited to now be the kids sitting but more grown up

- the shot pans to the right to be in front of the teenagers

- mid shot zooms into the kids to see him pass a letter to her and her put her head on his shoulder

- cuts to title of the film

Action list of my idea 2

- mid tracking shot moving left - stops of man in middle composition

- mid shot - camera moves backwards and then tracks the back of the man walking - follows to door

- mid shot of the side of the man putting on his hood and walking out door

- close up of his face putting in headphone - another soundtrack starts

- wide shot of him walking to across the village square

- camera pans to the left to see him enter the coffee shop

- tracking shot to the left of him walking through the coffee shop and picking up a coffee - filmed outside

- mid shot - filmed other end of the lane - man walking straight down the road

- cuts to studio shoot - close up shot of the man and a lady hand linking

- cuts back to the man walking down road

- cuts to studio - close up over shoulder shot of man tucking hair behind her head

- cuts back to man walking down the road

- cuts to studio - close up over the shoulder of man putting hand on her face 

- cuts to man walking

- cuts to studio - close up of him leaning into kiss her - left and right composition 

- cuts to mid shot of man walking onto bridge

- mid shot looking at him standing on the bridge - he's screaming

- cut to title of film

Dougs written idea:

we have decided to come up with an idea. the script in short is a man walking round town remembering an ex, and frequently cuts to him on a bridge remembering and those 'thoughts' we will create. 

first shot, man on bridge, from sky above camera comes down to mine face shot. 

in a bar, two people stand up too leave, after drinking etc, man opens door for her, she walks through 

shot from outside shows theres no one there and its just him.

walking down the street background noise etc, puts in headphones and soundtrack starts. 

walking down the street as credits comes up,

he turns as walking past the cafe, 

shot of cafe with EX-M sat down 

he stares

body moves in way of camera and she's gone, he continues walking unfazed like it happens all the time. 

he continues too walk as the credit roll

cuts too him sat/stood on wall, 

she lights his cigarette, In mid shot, her arms are visible only, 

cuts out too wide shot of him alone on wall, with lighter in hand/next to him

start walking 

flashbacks will be some in the studio some in the cafe. 

starts walking and the flashbacks starts happening, 

the flashbacks close ups in the studio with coloured lights *warm toned such as red and orange*

flashbacks start flashing between the mid shot of him walking with a monotone expression

gets faster and faster until it cuts to him standing on a bridge 

shot of just his face as he starts to scream *close up of his eyes as they widen and his mouth opening

freezes on image of him crying mid shot as title comes up

Mia's written idea:

* establishing mid shot of man coming out of a cafe with a large window you can hear the ding of bell as he leaves 

* He starts to walk and we follow him using freehand shot 

* Close up of him reaching in his pocket pulling his earphones out

* Back to mid shot as he puts them in and the music starts playing (background noise cut out)
* It cuts to establishing shot of us looking at him in the cafe with a woman *editing would make it slightly blurry so you can tell its a flashback* the sound would be cut out.
* Mid shot of the woman’s face she is laughing. * Then cuts back to him wide shot of him walking somewhere (starts to speed up). * Then cuts back to him wide shot of him walking somewhere (starts to speed up). 
* Cut back to cafe but different woman, although it cuts a little earlier
* This happens another 3 times the cuts having shorter intervals making it get faster in pace.
* Wide shot of him running flashing between close ups of women laughing and it keeps flashings between them
* The flashing calms down slowing as he slows down
* Mid shot as he takes a step up onto something *the camera fixed in place*
* Wide shot of him on top of the bridge just looking straight ahead
* Close up of his face as it freezes on that image and the title comes up

FIRST GROUP MEETING

mon-17th January

First group meeting

Today we got into groups for our opening title sequence. Adam chose random numbers which assigned our groups. I thought this was effective as we could work with people that we might not of thought to work with. I was assigned to the first group with Mia and Doug. We sat down together and started talking about all of our four ideas that we had planned. The group liked my idea which was set in the 1940s WW2 which would be filmed in Shere. Doug read his idea out about a man who bring lots of girls to the same place everyday and eventually falls off a bridge. We combined ideas and thought that my location of Shere would be a useful location for his scene as Shere contains a pub, coffee shop and a bridge. Mia and I then talked about what sort of music would work with this sequence. We came up with a cool idea that was: the man listening to the radio in the pub and then walking out of the pub and putting on headphones where the same music would be playing but louder. 

Location Inspo:

Extra opening title ideas

Two more working ideas of opening title sequences

idea 3:

The plot of the film is about a boy named Toby who wants to become a famous rockstar however still lives with his parents and cant't get a job anywhere. He decides to ask his best friend Sophie for advice and she agrees to help. In the beginning of the film he finds out that his eyesight has been effected due to his terminal illness and therefore he spends lots of his time in hospital. His dream of becoming a rockstar has stopped as he doesn't believe that he will be able to play his guitar without his eyesight. In the middle of the film a girl around his age is moved into his ward as she has a terminal illness. She also shares Toby's dream in working in the music industry. She is the one to pursuade his to carry on with his guitar and inspires him with the dream of become famous. In the middle of the film Toby is still in hospital and his eyesight has got much worse however he is slowly mastering how to play the guitar again. Sophie is helping him write the songs and decides that she will be his manager. At the end of the film Toby's carrier has vastly increased and his talent has been noticed by many agents. He gets the chance to impress a popular agent which he does by spending lots of time in the music studio. He writes a song about Sophie which eventually becomes a very popular song and he impresses his agent.

The scene will be set in a music studio. An establishing shot will be used to show the audience the location. A tracking shot will be used to zoom closer to the recording booth where a man is sitting on a stool with his guitar infant of a micro phone. In the right composition of the shot, a lady will be sitting at the computer in the room and say the words "ready when you are". At that moment the man starts to sing and play his guitar. A non-diegetic soundtrack will also be overlapping him creating more atmosphere for the audience. The shot will then transition to a few girls in the booth singing part of the song singing and dancing. The man in the booth previously is now sitting next to the lady at the computer dancing. The scene will cut between the man and the 2 girls singing to show that they are making the song. 

idea 4

The plot of the film is about a man who wants to find his siblings to get his parents Will. The family is very well known for its many family businesses and therefore, the family is very wealthy. Mr and Mrs Bowen are the owners of a pub and have a son and a daughter. At the beginning of the film you get the backstory of the family and you find out that there was a fire which meant that their house burnt down and the five children of the wealthy parents were left orphaned and moved to live separately. Mrs Bowen hadnt' seen her four siblings since the day of the fire which was nearly 15 years ago although she knew that they were all very successful and most of them lived abroad. In the middle of the film Sirius; who was the second oldest brother found out that their parents did have a will and it it had to be signed by all of the children for them to get the share of the inheritance. He however, didn't know where in the world his four siblings were so he thought he would never be able to complete it. The first sibling he found was Charles when he was staying in a hotel in New York and requested to see the manager. He found his youngest Sister Mary on a plane over to England as she was the pilot. The next person he managed to find was George who was his oldest brother, Siris and George were inseparable when they were younger but haven't spoken for 15 years. He found his brother when he was in an expensive restaurant in London where George was food testing for his new restaurant. The last sibling Sirius needed to find was Chloe but he had no clue where to look as he knew that she didn't want to work in any big fancy company and have loads of money. At the end of the film his car broke down whilst driving in a town and he had to stop to ask someone if they had a spare tire. He managed to find himself a little pub that he would wait in. He sat down at a table and ordered a beer from the man at the bar but when he settled down he was startled to see the face of the lady working at the bar. His younger sister Chloe. He dropped his beer and Chloe ran to see him.

The opening scene will start in a dim lit pub. A mid shot of people at the bar and people sitting round table. There are diegetic sounds of people talking and the sound of music playing on a radio. To show it is an opening title sequence there will be a few close up shots of items that will have the titles edited on top. The first close up shot is of the radio playing the music, the second one is the Christmas card on top of the mantle piece over the fire, one is on the bottom of the glass when someone lifts it up to drink from it and the last one is on a close up shot of a top secret file on one of the desks. The camera then pans upwards from the table and onto a man who is in a suit drinking a beer. The shot then cuts back to a mid shot of the bar at the pub. The scene seems to have nothing going wrong until a non-diegetic sound effect of a glass smashing is used and the shot pans round to face a man in a suit holding his hand out as he had just dropped the glass and he had a sunrises look on his face.

Opening title sequence ideas

Planning my opening title sequence

Two workable ideas that I can present to the class:

idea 1:

The plot of the film is about a 20 year old lady named Adelaide who has been promoted senior editor in her job and has recently moved into her first cottage on her own. The beginning of the film shows her getting promoted at her works summer party and then move house. She chose the location of her new house as she wants to look into an unsolved murder case that happened 10 years ago in the village. Adelaide believes that if she can find anything about the case she can write about it in the new newspaper article she has been chosen to write. Before she had moved into the house she had published the first article about the case which she had been told that it was a popular read. Adelaide however didnt know that one of the family members in the murder case is still alive but hasn't been seen for many years. She doesn't know that he had read her article and was cautious to let her uncover any secrets about his family. In the middle of the film she works out that the brother's alibi was incorrect and he was actually present at the time of the murder which makes him a suspect. She published her weekly article about it which was read by the brother. She was then kidnapped by the man when she was walking home from work one day and her life was threatened if she carried on writing the articles about him. She was set free and still decided to carry on with her investigations as he was suspicious. In the end of the film Adelaide has managed to solve the case and report everything she has worked out to he police. However, she works out that the brother wasn't the murderer and in fact he had an identical twin brother who framed his brother to make it look like he wasn't the murderer. 

The opening scene will begin with an establishing shot of a cottage with the doorway in the centre composition of the frame. A lady will walk out of the doorway. She is wearing a casual flowing dress and hair is up in a messy bun to represent youth. Her age would be around 20 and has recently moved into her first house by herself. The next shot pans out to show more of the cottage and the lady walking out of the house. A tracking shot is used behind her showing her walking infant of the camera. This also allows the audience to see the small village that she is living in. The lady walks into a small coffee shop and the camera tracks the girl from outside the shop. The audience can see the lady inside the shop walk through it towards the counter where she is handed a coffee by one of the waitresses. The camera then travels backwards capturing the lady walking out of the cafe. In the right side of the composition you see a man dressed in all black sitting outside of the cafe. He watches the girl and proceeds to stand up and follow her. In the background of the opening title sequence there is a non-diegetic soundtrack of the song Stairway to Heaven as it creates an eerie tone for the scene. The music also represents the action as its talking about a lady who is very curious and it leads to her death. To show that the man following her is a stalker there will be a POV shot as the man is looking down from a bridge onto the lady entering a train. The last shot that is used to emphasise the theme of thriller is a close up shot inside the ladies car where she looks in her mirror to see the man standing behind her car holding a gun.

idea 2:

The plot of the film is about siblings who grew up in the 1940s. Bella is a year younger than her 18 year old brother Charles. The film begins when the siblings are younger and they live a normal life in a small village with their parents. The children like to spend most of their time in the fields near their house and normally get told off by their parents for coming home too late. Their Father is an military general and spends lots of time away from home which effects the happiness of the children as they miss their dad. The majority of the film is set when the children are 17 and 18 where Bella is finishing her final year at school and Charles has began work and the corner shop next to their house. However, Germany declares war meaning that Britian has to also go to war. Charles is chosen to become a pilot in the army and promises to Bella; who has to stay at home, that he will constantly write to her when he's away. Bella is sent to the country side to live on her grandparents farm. At the end of the film Charles is killed at the Battle Of  Dunkirk and Bella is pregnant with her fiancés child. Bella chooses to name her son after Charles.

The scene will be set in a wheat field or a field with long grass. The scene will begin with with a mid shot of a young boy and girl playing in the centre of a field. The shot will be edited to be slow motion to emphasise the theme of youth and friendship. A birds eye view shot will also be used at the beginning of the scene where the boy and girl will be lying on a blanket on the ground pointing up at the sky. The blue sky will then be shown which will be full of clouds. To represent that that the film is going to be set in the 1940s, the girl will be wearing a floral dress with knee high white socks and the boy will be wearing a blue shirt tucked into shorts and also will be wearing knee high socks. A tracking shot of the boy riding his bike down a street and the girl sitting on the handle bars on the front is used to show the change in location.  A mid-shot of the backs of the two children sitting by a stream throwing sticks in it. The scene will then be edited to have a teenage boy and girl stitting in the exact same spot. They will be representing the children in the previous scenes however now they have grown up. The girl will now be wearing a tighter dress to show that she has matured and the boy wearing a soldier outfit but will only be wearing his white shirt.  The shot then changes from a mid shot behind the teenage to a mid shot from across the stream looking directly at them. This is allowing the audience to see him pass a letter to the girl and her rest her head on his shoulder as she knows that he is going off to war. Through out the scene there is a non-diegetic soundtrack of an orchestra without any singing in it and the music is telling the story.