Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
Cinematography Basics: High/Low Angle Shots
The idea of a high and low angle shot is mainly used to allow the audience to have different perspectives of a specific subject or character. High angle shots place the camera above the eye-level, and shows a frame that looks down on the character:
Here's a quite extreme high angle shot example. As an audience member, the shot could suggest that the 'looking down' gives the other character and/or the audience more power/strength - like shots of children in this frame, reflects their parents authority within the shot. It's something to more consider in drama works, as in our documentary, we don't want this approach, however it was fun to research once again into different styles of shots.
The low angle shot seems to have the opposite effect. After these shots, I researched and found that it is best to just keep minor adjustments when it comes to high and low angles, because it can become distracting, for example my first shot, your eyes could be distracted by what's around her, whereas if it was a little less steep, we'd be able to focus more on the character. Whereas the low angle isn't as steep, and therefore keeps your focus much better than my high angle example.
Monday, 28 October 2013
My Animals & Other Family - Structure Plan
After the first shoot, Hannah put together a plan on what/how the film was going to be structured together. Here I'm going to quote her structure idea, and include my cinematographic notes, whether I like/dislike, offer changes or ideas myself:
'Scene 1: The first scene is going to be establishing shots of the outside of the refuge, as it's surrounded by fields, this will show how isolated and quiet it is just outside the refuge and we will shoot in the early morning to show it's the start of the day'
Here, I feel it would be nice to get a sunrise shot over the fields, maybe see a lone tractor harvesting in the distance, an empty (or quiet) road, signify quiet, isolation. A pan from the fields to the Pet Refuge sign as a link to the introduction of the piece. Some nice long/establishing shots of the location.
'Scene 2: This scene starts in the monkey kitchen, where we will see Toni chopping up fruit & vegetables for the monkey bowls. We will interview Toni whilst she is doing this to find out a bit of information about herself and her time and role at the refuge. The camera will then follow her as she walks down the monkey corridor and feeds the monkeys. The interview will then move on to the animals, and will be asking her about some of the monkeys and their backgrounds, particularly the ones with the sadder pasts, like the one who was kept in a concrete hide built during the war and the one who was trained to smoke. Included will be lots of shots of the monkeys and Toni interacting with him as she feeds them. This scene will mainly consist of mid-shots and close-ups of Toni and the animals to help the audience engage with them and get fully absorbed into their stories and the emotion.'
I feel to capture this scene successfully, it would be key to have more than one camera operator. I'd like to capture the static mid-shot for the interview, however have another camera for close ups, following around on moving scenes, follow the animals when they move and so forth. I think it would be near impossible with just one operator. I'd like to capture a lot of shots of what the food actually is, close up of hands chopping food, close up of Toni's face as she moves and talks about the animals to capture the emotion, and also want the steady m/s which captures the entire frame, so you don't miss out on something out of frame. Lighting maybe necessary in the monkey corridors, dependent on the time, however lighting should be taken just in case. There should be a range of shots, L/S, M/S close up etc. to capture a range of views on the animals, you want to see close ups of their faces, (e.g. when we saw Cinders with a blanket, seeing it in a close up captures emotion, whereas a Long shot wouldn't have the same effect.)
'Scene 3: This scene will focus on Pam and her animals which is the birds, mainly Parrots. It will be similar to the previous scene with shots of Pam feeding the Parrots and telling us a bit about herself and the animals with the interesting stories. Pam is quite close with some of the Parrots so this will make for some nice shots of her with the Parrots sat on her and hopefully talking as there is one that can talk. Again there will be a mixture of mid-shots and close-ups as this will be in-keeping with the feel of the documentary.'
Similar to my notes above, however, more focus on lighting equipment. If we're inside, we may need support from a Kino Flo or Dedo to ensure a well-lit set-up, as we don't want too much difference in light between the shots, therefore (even though we need to remain natural) need to ensure we don't cause too much exposure outside and too little light inside. Once again, I'd like to have two camera set-ups, one for the static and one for the movement and close up shots. I'd like to explore some research before deciding on a specific style within the work.
'Scene 4: Darren, Pam's son, will be the focus of this scene and his animals are the reptiles. hopefully he will be feeding the alligator at the time of the shoot but if not we can use feeding the large Python or the Wolves instead. We will start his interview outside his caravan where he lives on the site as next to it is a half built house which will be his but will not be finished until next winter. This will be good to show as it shows that it is not just the animals that have it hard but the people as well. It also shows the animals come first, they have food, shelter and warmth while the owners go without. We will then follow him into the reptile house and use the GoPro to get intimate shots of him feeding the alligator and telling us it's story as well'
The reptile house may also require some lighting equipment due to being an interior location, which is lit by warm yellow lights, so I would like to loan a kino and dedo with some filters to be on the safe side. The idea of the GoPro seems like a fantastic idea, to get up and personal where we can't be, and therefore something the audience won't have seen so close before (in regard to the refuge). The idea of starting the interview outside his caravan is good because it's personal. It's outside where he lives, which is still at the refuge, which shows the audience his dedication/the fact that the refuge is a 24-hour, 7-day a week responsibility. In regard to shots, I agree with the idea of the GoPro, and the location of the introduction of Darren, two camera set-ups. Showing Darren working whilst he explains how the animals come first in regard to something like heating will help answer the question of 'why should we care what happens to the animals' we were given in our brief. I'd like a range of shots once again, to capture him working, being stressed as well as his interview shots to intertwine with.
'Scene 5: This scene will be the day coming to an end and will show each person at the end of the day. We will film Toni having a glass of wine stood with Cinders, one of the most friendly and charismatic monkey's at the refuge, a shot taken from outside Pam's house looking in at her sat ith the animals, and then Darren inside his caravan with his girlfriend and all their dogs sat around them. The purpose of this is not only to signify the end of the day but also that it never really ends for them because the animals are their lives and as well as having loads of animals at the refuge, they all have their own animals that live inside with them as well'
I do agree with the structure set up Hannah has created. I feel that the ending is meaningful and emotional at the same time, and would show how important this refuge is. In regard to the cinematography, Hannah has pointed a lot of shots she would like to see, such as Cinders and Toni, which would be great in a L/S changing to a M/S or C/U of the two together. The Pam shot is questioned, just because of the windows in her house (they are quite faded, in the sense that they aren't very clear, so we may run into problems, however we can always do it through the patio, or just inside the house through an open window, it doesn't make this shot impossible in any sense. The one with Darren and all the dogs may need lighting, being an interior (caravan) but may be difficult and dangerous with dogs everywhere, therefore maybe important that both myself and Hannah create a risk assessment especially for this location.
I'm very excited about the style and structure that Hannah aims to complete, and I feel that it's something I can do and make my own in my own style and ideas without changing the aim. I look forward to seeing this structure form in the near future.
'Scene 1: The first scene is going to be establishing shots of the outside of the refuge, as it's surrounded by fields, this will show how isolated and quiet it is just outside the refuge and we will shoot in the early morning to show it's the start of the day'
Here, I feel it would be nice to get a sunrise shot over the fields, maybe see a lone tractor harvesting in the distance, an empty (or quiet) road, signify quiet, isolation. A pan from the fields to the Pet Refuge sign as a link to the introduction of the piece. Some nice long/establishing shots of the location.
'Scene 2: This scene starts in the monkey kitchen, where we will see Toni chopping up fruit & vegetables for the monkey bowls. We will interview Toni whilst she is doing this to find out a bit of information about herself and her time and role at the refuge. The camera will then follow her as she walks down the monkey corridor and feeds the monkeys. The interview will then move on to the animals, and will be asking her about some of the monkeys and their backgrounds, particularly the ones with the sadder pasts, like the one who was kept in a concrete hide built during the war and the one who was trained to smoke. Included will be lots of shots of the monkeys and Toni interacting with him as she feeds them. This scene will mainly consist of mid-shots and close-ups of Toni and the animals to help the audience engage with them and get fully absorbed into their stories and the emotion.'
I feel to capture this scene successfully, it would be key to have more than one camera operator. I'd like to capture the static mid-shot for the interview, however have another camera for close ups, following around on moving scenes, follow the animals when they move and so forth. I think it would be near impossible with just one operator. I'd like to capture a lot of shots of what the food actually is, close up of hands chopping food, close up of Toni's face as she moves and talks about the animals to capture the emotion, and also want the steady m/s which captures the entire frame, so you don't miss out on something out of frame. Lighting maybe necessary in the monkey corridors, dependent on the time, however lighting should be taken just in case. There should be a range of shots, L/S, M/S close up etc. to capture a range of views on the animals, you want to see close ups of their faces, (e.g. when we saw Cinders with a blanket, seeing it in a close up captures emotion, whereas a Long shot wouldn't have the same effect.)
'Scene 3: This scene will focus on Pam and her animals which is the birds, mainly Parrots. It will be similar to the previous scene with shots of Pam feeding the Parrots and telling us a bit about herself and the animals with the interesting stories. Pam is quite close with some of the Parrots so this will make for some nice shots of her with the Parrots sat on her and hopefully talking as there is one that can talk. Again there will be a mixture of mid-shots and close-ups as this will be in-keeping with the feel of the documentary.'
Similar to my notes above, however, more focus on lighting equipment. If we're inside, we may need support from a Kino Flo or Dedo to ensure a well-lit set-up, as we don't want too much difference in light between the shots, therefore (even though we need to remain natural) need to ensure we don't cause too much exposure outside and too little light inside. Once again, I'd like to have two camera set-ups, one for the static and one for the movement and close up shots. I'd like to explore some research before deciding on a specific style within the work.
'Scene 4: Darren, Pam's son, will be the focus of this scene and his animals are the reptiles. hopefully he will be feeding the alligator at the time of the shoot but if not we can use feeding the large Python or the Wolves instead. We will start his interview outside his caravan where he lives on the site as next to it is a half built house which will be his but will not be finished until next winter. This will be good to show as it shows that it is not just the animals that have it hard but the people as well. It also shows the animals come first, they have food, shelter and warmth while the owners go without. We will then follow him into the reptile house and use the GoPro to get intimate shots of him feeding the alligator and telling us it's story as well'
The reptile house may also require some lighting equipment due to being an interior location, which is lit by warm yellow lights, so I would like to loan a kino and dedo with some filters to be on the safe side. The idea of the GoPro seems like a fantastic idea, to get up and personal where we can't be, and therefore something the audience won't have seen so close before (in regard to the refuge). The idea of starting the interview outside his caravan is good because it's personal. It's outside where he lives, which is still at the refuge, which shows the audience his dedication/the fact that the refuge is a 24-hour, 7-day a week responsibility. In regard to shots, I agree with the idea of the GoPro, and the location of the introduction of Darren, two camera set-ups. Showing Darren working whilst he explains how the animals come first in regard to something like heating will help answer the question of 'why should we care what happens to the animals' we were given in our brief. I'd like a range of shots once again, to capture him working, being stressed as well as his interview shots to intertwine with.
'Scene 5: This scene will be the day coming to an end and will show each person at the end of the day. We will film Toni having a glass of wine stood with Cinders, one of the most friendly and charismatic monkey's at the refuge, a shot taken from outside Pam's house looking in at her sat ith the animals, and then Darren inside his caravan with his girlfriend and all their dogs sat around them. The purpose of this is not only to signify the end of the day but also that it never really ends for them because the animals are their lives and as well as having loads of animals at the refuge, they all have their own animals that live inside with them as well'
I do agree with the structure set up Hannah has created. I feel that the ending is meaningful and emotional at the same time, and would show how important this refuge is. In regard to the cinematography, Hannah has pointed a lot of shots she would like to see, such as Cinders and Toni, which would be great in a L/S changing to a M/S or C/U of the two together. The Pam shot is questioned, just because of the windows in her house (they are quite faded, in the sense that they aren't very clear, so we may run into problems, however we can always do it through the patio, or just inside the house through an open window, it doesn't make this shot impossible in any sense. The one with Darren and all the dogs may need lighting, being an interior (caravan) but may be difficult and dangerous with dogs everywhere, therefore maybe important that both myself and Hannah create a risk assessment especially for this location.
I'm very excited about the style and structure that Hannah aims to complete, and I feel that it's something I can do and make my own in my own style and ideas without changing the aim. I look forward to seeing this structure form in the near future.
Friday, 25 October 2013
Production Meeting Minutes
Here are some minutes recorded from the production meeting held today. Unfortunately I was unable to attend due to other module attendances.
Notes from ‘The Refuge’ Production Meeting – 25 October 2013
Attended: Hannah Bushnell, Luke Parker, Paul Manning
This meeting was held in preparation for the first ‘proper’ shoot at the refuge, on 01 November 2013.
Agenda
Our original idea was to split the footage between the two editors by giving them each footage from one camera. Each shoot will have two cameras, so we thought maybe Bex could take Charlie’s footage and Luke could take Natalie’s for example. We even discussed Bex doing the more ‘arty’ poetic footage while Luke does the formal interview footage.
However, after much discussion between the group and Chris, we are all agreed that it makes more sense for both editors to be involved in the reviewing, logging and editing of all the footage. That way both editors know what footage has been shot, and is therefore available, and they can each work on segments of the film knowing what resources they have to hand.
It is important to make sure that Charlie and James don’t get distracted and stick to the shot list. (We remember how distracted we were on our first trip to the refuge!). This short film is about the people as well as the animals.
The target for Friday is to get the three main interviews for the five minute film: Pam, Toni and Darren (or Sandy, the volunteer).
2 x XF100 cameras, 2 x tripods, 1 x Marantz PD 661, 1 x AudioTechnica Rifle Mic, 1 x Tie clip mic set, 1 x Track set
Other equipment will be brought by Paul (as Producer); batteries, DSLR, tripod, GoPro
Hannah has produced a shot list and questions.
Luke is preparing moodboards and storyboards.
Notes from ‘The Refuge’ Production Meeting – 25 October 2013
Attended: Hannah Bushnell, Luke Parker, Paul Manning
Agenda
- Two Editors
- Filming on Friday
- Equipment Requisition
- Workbooks for Assessment
- Two Editors
Our original idea was to split the footage between the two editors by giving them each footage from one camera. Each shoot will have two cameras, so we thought maybe Bex could take Charlie’s footage and Luke could take Natalie’s for example. We even discussed Bex doing the more ‘arty’ poetic footage while Luke does the formal interview footage.
However, after much discussion between the group and Chris, we are all agreed that it makes more sense for both editors to be involved in the reviewing, logging and editing of all the footage. That way both editors know what footage has been shot, and is therefore available, and they can each work on segments of the film knowing what resources they have to hand.
- Filming on Friday
It is important to make sure that Charlie and James don’t get distracted and stick to the shot list. (We remember how distracted we were on our first trip to the refuge!). This short film is about the people as well as the animals.
The target for Friday is to get the three main interviews for the five minute film: Pam, Toni and Darren (or Sandy, the volunteer).
- Equipment Requisition
2 x XF100 cameras, 2 x tripods, 1 x Marantz PD 661, 1 x AudioTechnica Rifle Mic, 1 x Tie clip mic set, 1 x Track set
Other equipment will be brought by Paul (as Producer); batteries, DSLR, tripod, GoPro
- Workbooks for Assessment
Hannah has produced a shot list and questions.
Luke is preparing moodboards and storyboards.
Minutes by Paul Manning
Monday, 21 October 2013
Minutes From Tutorial With Chris
Here are some minutes (recorded by Paul) from our tutorial with Chris
Notes from Tutorial with Chris Hall – 21 October 2013
Chris advised that the brief is to find the emotional centre of the film.
Key emotional elements that we discussed are:
Key emotional elements that we discussed are:
- The animals are passed onto the refuge by zoos, RSPCA as well as owners. They can’t be rehoused. The refuge is their last resort. Without the refuge they would be put down.
- Winter heating. Pam and Toni go without heating in order for the animals (particularly reptiles and monkeys to have heating. Pam and Toni go into the monkey house to keep warm.
- Pam is elderly and not as active as she was. Depends heavily on others.
- Toni has sacrificed having a life of her own to work at the refuge, to live in and be on call.
- Volunteer Sandy is 84 and fundraises every week as well as doing manual work around the refuge. He was told that he wouldn’t walk, yet he keeps himself active by coming to the refuge.
- As much as the animals are in cages, the people too are trapped. None of the staff can leave the refuge unattended.
- Although these are emotional stories, neither of the films will be an appeal. It is a study of real life.
- Need footage of a typical day and the reality of how much work is involved in feeding, cleaning and caring for over 400 animals on a day to day basis.
- Pam, Toni and Sandy to be main characters, but also interview and show ‘orbital’ characters.
- Using voiceover: factual information in ‘voice of authority’ voiceover, emotional content from contributors shown on screen.
- Disconnected soundbites from contributors over cut aways.
- Interview RSPCA person if possible to get their authority: how valuable refuge is.
My Animals & Other Family - Shoot #1 (Open Day) 20/10/13
On the 20th October, we travelled down to Peterborough for our first shoot. This shoot was mainly for me to get a feeling of the place, and understand the layout, and therefore get ideas on some shots myself. We also took the chance to get some general shots and cutaways, and also seeing as it was an opening day for the refuge, it was an opportunity to get shots of the public wandering around and seeing the animals. The reason we did this on this date was because it is rare for the refuge to have open days, and the next one after this day was after Easter next year, so we chose this day to see if we could capture anything whilst the public where visiting.
The shoot itself was also a good opportunity for me to learn the XF100 camera, as I hadn't used it previously. I'd mainly used DSLR cameras within previous projects, however enjoyed the fact I was able to learn about new equipment.
I definitely enjoyed experiencing the refuge for the first time. It had been some time since I'd filmed in a documentary sense, so it was fun to get back into this mind set and capture things in such a style. We managed to capture some shots of the public wandering around, as an extra piece of footage, but not many, as there weren't many people visiting at the time we were there.
The main area we filmed in during this shoot was the reptile house, where we managed to get shots of the smaller snakes, lizards and other animals whilst they were being fed mice.
The shooting of the animals being fed was mainly done on shoulder mount set up because it was easier for me to get up close to the animals as they were eating, and allowed me to work more with the new camera and it's set up, which was great experience. It wasn't too different from DSLR which I found helpful, however I enjoy the fact that it's HD quality, which made the need to capture perfect shots even more exciting.
During the shoot, I was separated from the sound recordist (we had camera sound during this time, which wasn't an important feature to capture at this moment in time, as we were just doing general and cutaway shots which didn't require specific sounds), and they managed to capture some atmospheric sounds with the birds and monkeys, which Hannah stated, would most likely be needed mainly for the major project.
Overall, I feel the shoot went well, it was a nice experience to look around the area, and feel we got some good shots of the surrounding areas. In the future, I feel it would be a good idea to get another camera operator to help with the different range of shots (one with a tripod and one with a shoulder mount) to make the most of interviews, as you can have station mid-shots and movement shots when they are moving around and working whilst talking to the camera.
Here are some screen grabs (from my online Dropbox - therefore not the best quality) of some of the footage we captured on this day:
The shoot itself was also a good opportunity for me to learn the XF100 camera, as I hadn't used it previously. I'd mainly used DSLR cameras within previous projects, however enjoyed the fact I was able to learn about new equipment.
I definitely enjoyed experiencing the refuge for the first time. It had been some time since I'd filmed in a documentary sense, so it was fun to get back into this mind set and capture things in such a style. We managed to capture some shots of the public wandering around, as an extra piece of footage, but not many, as there weren't many people visiting at the time we were there.
The main area we filmed in during this shoot was the reptile house, where we managed to get shots of the smaller snakes, lizards and other animals whilst they were being fed mice.
The shooting of the animals being fed was mainly done on shoulder mount set up because it was easier for me to get up close to the animals as they were eating, and allowed me to work more with the new camera and it's set up, which was great experience. It wasn't too different from DSLR which I found helpful, however I enjoy the fact that it's HD quality, which made the need to capture perfect shots even more exciting.
During the shoot, I was separated from the sound recordist (we had camera sound during this time, which wasn't an important feature to capture at this moment in time, as we were just doing general and cutaway shots which didn't require specific sounds), and they managed to capture some atmospheric sounds with the birds and monkeys, which Hannah stated, would most likely be needed mainly for the major project.
Overall, I feel the shoot went well, it was a nice experience to look around the area, and feel we got some good shots of the surrounding areas. In the future, I feel it would be a good idea to get another camera operator to help with the different range of shots (one with a tripod and one with a shoulder mount) to make the most of interviews, as you can have station mid-shots and movement shots when they are moving around and working whilst talking to the camera.
Here are some screen grabs (from my online Dropbox - therefore not the best quality) of some of the footage we captured on this day:
Sunday, 20 October 2013
Friday, 18 October 2013
Shoot #1 - Equipment List
Here is a list of equipment we intend to take to the first shoot, all will have use for different reasons.
 |
| Canon XF100 Main Camera of use, Interviews & Establishing Shots |
 |
| Canon DSLR 550D Photography Camera & Cutaways |
 |
| Canon DSLR 600D Close up & Poetic shots |
 |
| GoPro C/U P.O.V with animals (especially the ones in cages we aren't allowed in with) |
Tripod
Marantz 661
Audio Technica Rifle Mic
Tie Clip Mic
Boom Pole
Pole Stick (For GoPro)
Camera Track & Dolly
Shoulder Mount
Batteries
Masking Tape
Thursday, 17 October 2013
Cinematic Approach To Project: The Refuge
After receiving our brief for this project, that being:
'Where is the emotional centre of your film?'
'Interview your main three contributors in order to find it. Get to know the animals'
'Establish why the audience should care about their fate'
I decided to research into how I could make this brief from a cinematographer's point of view. Firstly, our emotional centre for this first film is the story of the animals, how they came to be at the refuge, what happened in their past that cause them to be 'left'/brought here in the first place. Also, we wanted an emotional aim from the interview into the struggle of the refuge. Even though this first project isn't going into detail over the struggles of the refuge, we wanted to show that they are struggling to some extent, to show that the animals we are talking about are not stable here, and therefore allow the audience to react to both points; the animals have terrible pasts that can tug on the heartstrings, but also the idea that the place they currently rely on is struggling, and they may end up losing their home once again.
There are some motifs I feel we should include from our cinematic approach to this project. Firstly, when we are interviewing someone, who talks about an animals past, for example, we know of one monkey who got frostbite on his toes and bit them off, we want a repetition, a pattern of shots to show the sadness of the monkey, close ups of it's face and eyes, as well as a close up of his injured foot. We want these close ups to capture the animals emotion to attract the audience to get emotionally involved in the film. The emotional repetition will continue with the contributor's interviews, as they mentioning emotional trials of living and working at the refuge, we want close ups of them as they work and talk, to capture their emotion and feeling towards what's happening around them. I also want to show a repetition of the contributors working around the refuge when they are presenting the interviews, to represent and signify that they are constantly working 24/7 and never stop - there's always work to be done and not many people to do it. In regard to the interviews, some of the questions asked to each contributor will be the same, to capture their emotional response, for example, what they think the future of the refuge will be - therefore we obtain a repetition of close up emotional shots of these people to capture the audience's emotions and therefore understand that we should care what happens to these animals.
In regard to style, I aim to get up close and personal, as one of our main focuses for this project is to capture emotion in the animals, workers and then our target audience. Use a range of close ups to capture pristine detail of the animals and the areas they live in, where it is run down, to create a sympathetic atmosphere for the audience. In regard to the interview, I aim to film them in different ways, one quite traditionally, with the rule of thirds and the character placed in a 'flat cinematic space' so the focus is on them, and other interviews will work with much wider cinematic spaces, as we want to portray their busy schedule, therefore the interviews may be completed whilst they are working at the same time, and we want to expand the film of these shots, because even though the contributor is important (and it will be important to capture close ups for the emotional purposes) the fact they have to work and talk at the same time will signify how busy they are, and we are able to explore their workspace and gain information on them at the same time. I'd like to have the two different styles of space running through the film, because I like the fact we have an interview that solely would focus on the subject, most likely the owner, to capture her emotion, to get a concrete concentrated piece of information, here I compose a beautiful shot, and in the others can work with motion of my contributors and keep more things going on within the frame.
In regard to the post-production approach, I aim to do some grading with the work. As we're in a farm/greenery setting, I hope to make the colours deeper without making them vibrant. This is because even though it would look beautiful, we want the place to still feel slightly run down and cold, and therefore will use this to approach the grading. The dimmer the colours the dimmer the mood and atmosphere of our film, and as we're trying to get our audience to feel sorry for the animals and the workers at the refuge, I'd like the colour grading to match this mood we're hoping to create. However, I hope to capture some scenery shots, such as the sunset and sunrise, which I would like to grade to be warmer, to capture the loving emotion between the animals and characters - there are many emotions we want to represent within the film. Yes, we want the audience to feel sorry for the animals and workers because it's a struggling world for them both, however we want to present the relationship the workers have with animals, add a little happiness, but also show how the animals depend on the workers, and have developed a relationship with them, which will cycle round to the sympathetic emotion when we mention the struggle and the chance that they might not be able to stay here much longer due to struggles. Before I approach grading however, I hope to research further into the process, as I haven't had much experience in this process.
'Where is the emotional centre of your film?'
'Interview your main three contributors in order to find it. Get to know the animals'
'Establish why the audience should care about their fate'
I decided to research into how I could make this brief from a cinematographer's point of view. Firstly, our emotional centre for this first film is the story of the animals, how they came to be at the refuge, what happened in their past that cause them to be 'left'/brought here in the first place. Also, we wanted an emotional aim from the interview into the struggle of the refuge. Even though this first project isn't going into detail over the struggles of the refuge, we wanted to show that they are struggling to some extent, to show that the animals we are talking about are not stable here, and therefore allow the audience to react to both points; the animals have terrible pasts that can tug on the heartstrings, but also the idea that the place they currently rely on is struggling, and they may end up losing their home once again.
There are some motifs I feel we should include from our cinematic approach to this project. Firstly, when we are interviewing someone, who talks about an animals past, for example, we know of one monkey who got frostbite on his toes and bit them off, we want a repetition, a pattern of shots to show the sadness of the monkey, close ups of it's face and eyes, as well as a close up of his injured foot. We want these close ups to capture the animals emotion to attract the audience to get emotionally involved in the film. The emotional repetition will continue with the contributor's interviews, as they mentioning emotional trials of living and working at the refuge, we want close ups of them as they work and talk, to capture their emotion and feeling towards what's happening around them. I also want to show a repetition of the contributors working around the refuge when they are presenting the interviews, to represent and signify that they are constantly working 24/7 and never stop - there's always work to be done and not many people to do it. In regard to the interviews, some of the questions asked to each contributor will be the same, to capture their emotional response, for example, what they think the future of the refuge will be - therefore we obtain a repetition of close up emotional shots of these people to capture the audience's emotions and therefore understand that we should care what happens to these animals.
In regard to style, I aim to get up close and personal, as one of our main focuses for this project is to capture emotion in the animals, workers and then our target audience. Use a range of close ups to capture pristine detail of the animals and the areas they live in, where it is run down, to create a sympathetic atmosphere for the audience. In regard to the interview, I aim to film them in different ways, one quite traditionally, with the rule of thirds and the character placed in a 'flat cinematic space' so the focus is on them, and other interviews will work with much wider cinematic spaces, as we want to portray their busy schedule, therefore the interviews may be completed whilst they are working at the same time, and we want to expand the film of these shots, because even though the contributor is important (and it will be important to capture close ups for the emotional purposes) the fact they have to work and talk at the same time will signify how busy they are, and we are able to explore their workspace and gain information on them at the same time. I'd like to have the two different styles of space running through the film, because I like the fact we have an interview that solely would focus on the subject, most likely the owner, to capture her emotion, to get a concrete concentrated piece of information, here I compose a beautiful shot, and in the others can work with motion of my contributors and keep more things going on within the frame.
In regard to the post-production approach, I aim to do some grading with the work. As we're in a farm/greenery setting, I hope to make the colours deeper without making them vibrant. This is because even though it would look beautiful, we want the place to still feel slightly run down and cold, and therefore will use this to approach the grading. The dimmer the colours the dimmer the mood and atmosphere of our film, and as we're trying to get our audience to feel sorry for the animals and the workers at the refuge, I'd like the colour grading to match this mood we're hoping to create. However, I hope to capture some scenery shots, such as the sunset and sunrise, which I would like to grade to be warmer, to capture the loving emotion between the animals and characters - there are many emotions we want to represent within the film. Yes, we want the audience to feel sorry for the animals and workers because it's a struggling world for them both, however we want to present the relationship the workers have with animals, add a little happiness, but also show how the animals depend on the workers, and have developed a relationship with them, which will cycle round to the sympathetic emotion when we mention the struggle and the chance that they might not be able to stay here much longer due to struggles. Before I approach grading however, I hope to research further into the process, as I haven't had much experience in this process.
Cinematography Recaps - Aspect Ratios
Framing your shots plays an incredible part within your film, and every decision I decide to follow will be first shown by the dimensions of a frame. The most common aspect ratios are 2:39:1 (which is referred to as the anamorphic or scope framing), 1:85:1 (American, which is sometimes called 'flat'), 1:66:1 (European standard), 1:78:1 (HDTV, or 16x9) and finally the 1:33:1 (16mm and 35mm shooting formats)
By viewing the different aspect ratios, I've learnt that it is important to know both the aspect ratio of shooting, as well as the ratio for exhibition to ensure that the compositional choice of aspect ratio is kept throughout the production stages. For example, our work is being presented to European audiences as part of our module, therefore I need to ensure that the framing I choose can work in this format. Another note is I'm using the XF100 for our projects, which is the 16x9 format.
By viewing the different aspect ratios, I've learnt that it is important to know both the aspect ratio of shooting, as well as the ratio for exhibition to ensure that the compositional choice of aspect ratio is kept throughout the production stages. For example, our work is being presented to European audiences as part of our module, therefore I need to ensure that the framing I choose can work in this format. Another note is I'm using the XF100 for our projects, which is the 16x9 format.
http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/filmglossary/web/pics/aspectratio.jpg
Here is an image of the most common ratio's used today.
My Animals & Other Family - Storyboards & Floorplans
Here are the storyboards that the director and I worked on together. Hannah drew up the scene, allowing me to show a floor plan of how I feel we should set up for each shot, and also right any details that both me and Hannah would agree on when it came to the shoot.
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