In preparation for beginning the creation of my Sound Piece based on the Photographer Gregory Crewdson's piece of work; "House Fire", I decided to do some research about the man himself, so that I may possibly gain a better understanding about what exactly goes through his head when he takes his photographs.
My hope in doing this was that I would somehow be able to take any kind of vision or idea he had about what story was being told at the time and make it a semi-reality by adding pieces of sound and in effect re-telling the story.
My research mostly consisted of reading articles and interviews online from sites such as The American Reader. Although these articles gave me an idea about how Crewdson operates when deciding to capture an image, and the process of choosing shoot locations and such before actually creating any pieces of work, I couldn't find much in terms of any ideas for a story he had going through his head when doing so. Although I do have an idea as to why this is.
In the linked article I have provided to The American Reader interview, Crewdson uses phrases such as;
"I don't want there to be a conscious awareness of any kind of literal narrative. And that's why I don't really try to pump up motivation or plot or anything like that."
and
"That way, the viewer is more likely to project their own narrative onto the picture."
What I can deduce from statements like this is that Crewdson doesn't really have any desired plots or story-lines when he captures his images, and instead simply creates surreal and strange environments for his subjects to exist in, and leave the actual interpretation of what is going on to the viewer.
In a way, this lack of plot information with his photographs is a good thing for me, as it allows me a lot more creative freedom when making my sound-piece as I am not restricted by any set story-line.
Relating this back to the photograph I will be working with; "House Fire", I have not actually come up with my own plot or interpretation of what is happening in the photograph, but I am hoping that through the editing process and the sourcing of sound effects to use I will be able to use for this project, more ideas will come to me.
I have also learnt from an online article that there exists a documentary about Crewdson and his work called; Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters. I am hoping to get a copy of this documentary or view it online and see if I can learn anything more about his work that way.
Friday, 17 January 2014
Directions Unit- Practice with DSLR video recording.
Today I attended a workshop where our technician Fergus was teaching us how to effectively use a Canon 7D DSLR camera to record pieces of footage with depths of field and edited focusing. I was personally very interested in learning to use these cameras, as I have had experiences using DSLR cameras before in the past and have found them to be very practical pieces of equipment with many benefits.
The things about these cameras that appeal to me are their small size and the high quality. The downsides are that the DSLRs can only record up to 15 minutes of footage, meaning there would have to be several re-shoots in order for me to collect all the footage I would need to create my 4 minute film. I should be able to accommodate for this problem however with simple preparation, such as purchasing additional SD cards for the camera, and preparing additional batteries so that I can gather as much footage as possible. Should it come to it, I should be able to simply have more shoot-days if I am to begin filming a substantial amount of time before the projects deadline.
All in all, I believe it would be a much better idea for me to simply weight up the pros and cons of using a Canon 7D for my film.
Pros-
The things about these cameras that appeal to me are their small size and the high quality. The downsides are that the DSLRs can only record up to 15 minutes of footage, meaning there would have to be several re-shoots in order for me to collect all the footage I would need to create my 4 minute film. I should be able to accommodate for this problem however with simple preparation, such as purchasing additional SD cards for the camera, and preparing additional batteries so that I can gather as much footage as possible. Should it come to it, I should be able to simply have more shoot-days if I am to begin filming a substantial amount of time before the projects deadline.
All in all, I believe it would be a much better idea for me to simply weight up the pros and cons of using a Canon 7D for my film.
Pros-
- Lightweight and easy to carry around.
- High Quality.
- Easy to use.
- Uses easily affordable media to save to (SD Cards).
Cons-
- Only 15 minutes of record ability.
- Less stability on uneven surfaces or in windy conditions due to it's light-weight.
The pro that stands out to me most is the fact that the Canon is a much smaller device than the Sony cameras I normally use, and so I will easily be able to transport the device from set to set and still have the ability to carry other pieces of equipment too, such as lighting, props and perhaps a jib etc.
I have found todays workshop to be very enlightening, and using a Canon 7D camera to record my 4 minute film is something I shall seriously consider.
Monday, 6 January 2014
Directions Unit- Footage Coverage.
I have recently returned to Rochester to continue my Television Production course after the Christmas Holidays. As soon as I returned, I and my fellow classmates were split up into groups of 3 and required to create 3 short films. One member of the group would direct one of the films, one member would operate the camera in one of the films and one other member would actually appear in one of the films.
The idea behind this exercise was to simply showcase the importance of "Footage Coverage", meaning to learn how important it is to have a variety of different shots and angles of a particular action so that when the editing process begins, there is plenty of material to work with.
I was tasked with creating a short film about a person sat at a desk beginning to write a note, and then screwing the piece of paper up and throwing it into a bin.
Here is the film:
The idea behind this exercise was to simply showcase the importance of "Footage Coverage", meaning to learn how important it is to have a variety of different shots and angles of a particular action so that when the editing process begins, there is plenty of material to work with.
I was tasked with creating a short film about a person sat at a desk beginning to write a note, and then screwing the piece of paper up and throwing it into a bin.
Here is the film:
Sunday, 29 December 2013
Directions Unit- Idea development over the Christmas Holidays
Over the Christmas holidays I have spent a lot of time developing my previous ideas about my 4 minute short film about "A Journey Through Freedom."
In my previous blog entry, I briefly discussed an alternative idea I had come up with about a character living life in the same way as a character from George Orwell's classic novel "1984". I have since decided that this alternative idea would in fact be a much easier film to create, as well as a much more effective story overall.
I have also been thinking about camera styles and how exactly I would like my film to be shot. I have recently been watching a lot of the films from the "Paranormal Activity" series, and although the acting and storytelling in those films isn't anything stellar, or something I'd like to emulate, I must admit the idea of the camera being a physical object in the film as opposed to some omnipotent eyepiece is something that interests me.
If I were to tell the story of somebody living their life while constantly spied on by hidden cameras (ala The Truman Show) I would be able to express the character's need to break free from their life, and show the story of a character trying their best to escape from a life which they have no control over- a life where they are simply a subject to be spied upon and watched.
This would be great for the theme of Freedom.
In my previous blog entry, I briefly discussed an alternative idea I had come up with about a character living life in the same way as a character from George Orwell's classic novel "1984". I have since decided that this alternative idea would in fact be a much easier film to create, as well as a much more effective story overall.
I have also been thinking about camera styles and how exactly I would like my film to be shot. I have recently been watching a lot of the films from the "Paranormal Activity" series, and although the acting and storytelling in those films isn't anything stellar, or something I'd like to emulate, I must admit the idea of the camera being a physical object in the film as opposed to some omnipotent eyepiece is something that interests me.
If I were to tell the story of somebody living their life while constantly spied on by hidden cameras (ala The Truman Show) I would be able to express the character's need to break free from their life, and show the story of a character trying their best to escape from a life which they have no control over- a life where they are simply a subject to be spied upon and watched.
This would be great for the theme of Freedom.
Paranormal Activity
I have attached a screencap of one of the paranormal activity films here to demonstrate the kind of shot I would want my film to be filmed like in terms of camera placement and such. You can see clearly that there is a timestamp present which suggests that the camera is a physical object in the scene, much like a CCTV camera.
I believe this sort of feature is something that would be a great thing to insert during the editing phase of my film, giving it a sense of it being "found footage" or security camera footage.
I am still undecided as to whether or not my film will be shot in this way in part or whole, but I expect it will most likely just be sections of my film that is recorded in this way.
Sunday, 8 December 2013
Directions Unit- More development of 4 minute short film idea.
I have spent some time recently developing my idea about my 4 minute short film which has already been scripted ( I only have to direct.)
Since the theme I chose was "freedom" my original idea was to base the story on a prisoner in jail who meets with another character who provides them with some kind of object which will allow them to escape from the prison (such as a file or a crowbar of some kind.) The only problem with this would be the inconvenience of having to create a set that would resemble a prison cell, and also a set which could represent the outside of a prison.
Baring this in mind, I have been developing an alternative idea, which although revolves around the same idea of a prisoner not being able to leave an area and another character giving them an item to help them escape. However, instead of the character being in prison, the setting could be some kind of post-modern "Big Brother" type scenario, where the "Prisoner" is kept hostage and monitored in an everyday house, similar to the George Orwell story "1984".
Although with the second story the setting would not be in a prison, the theme of "freedom" would still be present.
I will continue to generate more ideas for stories, and will probably decide on which one to use for my project over the Christmas holidays.
Since the theme I chose was "freedom" my original idea was to base the story on a prisoner in jail who meets with another character who provides them with some kind of object which will allow them to escape from the prison (such as a file or a crowbar of some kind.) The only problem with this would be the inconvenience of having to create a set that would resemble a prison cell, and also a set which could represent the outside of a prison.
Baring this in mind, I have been developing an alternative idea, which although revolves around the same idea of a prisoner not being able to leave an area and another character giving them an item to help them escape. However, instead of the character being in prison, the setting could be some kind of post-modern "Big Brother" type scenario, where the "Prisoner" is kept hostage and monitored in an everyday house, similar to the George Orwell story "1984".
Although with the second story the setting would not be in a prison, the theme of "freedom" would still be present.
I will continue to generate more ideas for stories, and will probably decide on which one to use for my project over the Christmas holidays.
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Directions Unit- Gregory Crewdson Photographs and Planning to Direct a 4 Minute Short Film.
I have recently begun my new unit at university, which is entitled "Directions." This unit mostly focuses on moulding me into a better director, and seems to target my skills as a director, as opposed to script-writing, camera work or any form of editing.
The first part of this unit involves me creating a 1 minute sound design piece featuring a photograph by the photographic artist Gregory Crewdson. The aim of this project will be to tell a story using a photograph using only sound. I will not be able to manipulate the photograph in any way, and the only visual enhancements I may use are to zoom into certain parts of the photograph when I wants to show that a specific sound is playing from a specific area.
The class has been given a choice of which Gregory Crewdson photograph they would like to work on, and one that I am particularly interested in using is his "House Fire" photograph shown here:
The reason I am planning on using this image as opposed to the others is that this is definitely the scene which has the most "action." I believe there's potential for me to make a much more interesting sound design piece if there is a lot going on in the image.
The second part of my project involves me creating a 4 minute short film based on "A Journey Through..." The catch with this project is that I can only operate in a Directors capacity. This means I cannot write my own script, film my own scenes, appear in my own film or do my own editing. For this project, I had to choose what my journey would be through. The choices were:
The first part of this unit involves me creating a 1 minute sound design piece featuring a photograph by the photographic artist Gregory Crewdson. The aim of this project will be to tell a story using a photograph using only sound. I will not be able to manipulate the photograph in any way, and the only visual enhancements I may use are to zoom into certain parts of the photograph when I wants to show that a specific sound is playing from a specific area.
The class has been given a choice of which Gregory Crewdson photograph they would like to work on, and one that I am particularly interested in using is his "House Fire" photograph shown here:
The second part of my project involves me creating a 4 minute short film based on "A Journey Through..." The catch with this project is that I can only operate in a Directors capacity. This means I cannot write my own script, film my own scenes, appear in my own film or do my own editing. For this project, I had to choose what my journey would be through. The choices were:
- Sorrow
- Love
- Anger
- Freedom
- Loneliness
Storytelling unit: Critical response and trailer feedback
I have recently completed my 2 minute trailer and uploaded it to the UCA TV Production YouTube channel, (here) and have since received critical feedback from both my course leader as well as my class-mates at a screening that was held at the Maidstone TV Studios where we are based.
Firstly I found it to be a very valuable and interesting experience to have my work critiqued by people who had also completed their own projects, as opposed to randomly chosen viewers, as my classmates and course leader had a better understanding of the amount of work that had gone into making said trailer, and would therefore take small mistakes and inconsistencies into account when watching it. I believe people that hadn't completed the same project as me may have critiqued the work more harshly.
The majority of the actual feedback I received was positive, with the main criticism being that the "eviction" notice that appears in my trailer was a hand-written one as opposed to one that I had created digitally and printed off.
Looking back however, I have a few criticisms of my own, mostly about the ways I shot the film. I feel like I should have made more use of the cameras focusing features, to create good depth of field. In my trailer however, all shots are perfectly clear, which although gives my film the look of perfect quality, makes it lack the depth it could have had if I had made more use of the focusing as opposed to using autofocus.
I have thoroughly enjoyed working on this unit, and I feel I have learnt a lot about what it takes to script, film and edit a trailer, as well as what it takes to perform in front of a camera. As such, I will be able to control my actors in later film pieces in a much more efficient and effective way due to my own experiences in front of the camera.
Firstly I found it to be a very valuable and interesting experience to have my work critiqued by people who had also completed their own projects, as opposed to randomly chosen viewers, as my classmates and course leader had a better understanding of the amount of work that had gone into making said trailer, and would therefore take small mistakes and inconsistencies into account when watching it. I believe people that hadn't completed the same project as me may have critiqued the work more harshly.
The majority of the actual feedback I received was positive, with the main criticism being that the "eviction" notice that appears in my trailer was a hand-written one as opposed to one that I had created digitally and printed off.
Looking back however, I have a few criticisms of my own, mostly about the ways I shot the film. I feel like I should have made more use of the cameras focusing features, to create good depth of field. In my trailer however, all shots are perfectly clear, which although gives my film the look of perfect quality, makes it lack the depth it could have had if I had made more use of the focusing as opposed to using autofocus.
I have thoroughly enjoyed working on this unit, and I feel I have learnt a lot about what it takes to script, film and edit a trailer, as well as what it takes to perform in front of a camera. As such, I will be able to control my actors in later film pieces in a much more efficient and effective way due to my own experiences in front of the camera.
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