Depth of Field

Ive recently joined a cinematography forum and have been researching the technical jargon associated with cameras, as brought up in my review. One thing that has interested me is trying to get that cinema look, where a background is highly out of focus whilst the object or character is sharply in focus. Having done some still photography for sometime now I know that this technique is produced using f-numbers, affecting the depth of field. The lower the f-number say f/2.8 the larger the aperture would be, this creates a shallow depth of field, giving that blurred background look. larger f-numbers would keep an entire scene in focus, ideal for long shots, however this would give a smaller aperture, therefor less light would enter.

Above is a picture of a redrockmicro system attached to what looks like a sony hvr-z1e, this allows 35mm lenses to be attached to dv and hd camcorders through the use of stepdown rings and lens adapters so long as they arent over 72mm. They can give greater lens control allowing for a more cinematic look to a piece of film. I've seen some videos on youtube of them in action and some of the shots look great and really do look quite like 35mm film. Something I would defintly consider using if only I had the cash!

The Case - Evaluation

After finishing my 6 minute short film I am extremely disappointed in the final product, although I think that some of the shots are to a decent standard and the editing is acceptable the overall feel and direction the film went was completely off track due to actor problems, Unfortunatly I had to change my story in the final stages of completing the project, this proved very difficult indeed and involved me trying to think on the spot as to what to do. This really affected my film.

On top of this I had around 60-70 mins of footage on essentially was around a 30-50 second scene this made editing a nightmare but has also proven to learn me a great deal in AV. I find that I am way to analytical on the overal composition and look of a film and this has defintly compromised my film. I should have concentrated more on the actual story and characters than the aesthetic feel of the film, I've learnt that sometimes its absolutely necessary to cut a shot that looks brilliant but does nothing for the film. Getting this balance right is essential, it just turns out that I am way to fussy over the look of things. I have this trouble when creating anything visual such as production documents, dvd menus etc. anything that is out of line or compositionally looks wrong I will spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to get it to look perfect rather than concentrate on the actual work, thus affecting my work. This is something I certainly need to overcome.

Although this project has been the most difficult thing I have ever done, I would say its been a huge learning experience. It's made me realize that I have a passion for filming more than I thought I did, pulling a shot into Premiere and editing it and see it come together is very rewarding and gives you a thirst to do more filming. It's made me want to get a camera out and start filming because I know from this experience I can do alot better. It's certainly something I would like to do in the future, and working with real professional actors would be a great experience, I just didn't feel confident enough to work with professionals earlier in the project, as my camera experience isn't great, this is something I regret and wished I done, I need to believe in myself more!

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Another film I watched a few weeks back was Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, I wasn't too keen to watch it at first but the first 5 mins got me engaged immediatly, It was totally unexpected and I love it when you watch a film that you don't know anything about at all. The title sequence was something I really liked and it reminded me of the late great Saul Bass. Robert Downey Jr is quality and Val Kilmer is great, he kind of has that Ari Gold thing from Entourage going on a little. The film is very funny and well directed. Quick Synopsis:

"A murder mystery brings together a private eye, a struggling actress, and a thief masquerading as an actor."

Watch it!

Dead Mans Shoes

Recently I watched Dead Man's Shoes, a film by Shane Meadows, I've previously seen This is England and Room For Romeo Brass by Shane Meadows and this one didn't disappoint either. Quick synopsis:

"A disaffected soldier (Considine) returns to his hometown to get even with the thugs who brutalized his mentally-challenged brother (Kebbell) years ago."

The film is very dark and Paddy Considine plays yet another great role. I particularly like the scene where Sonny see's Richard this is where you realize how far this man will go as he shows no fear. The acid scene is unreal and very disturbing as well.

My favourite thing in the film was how natural the characters where and there interaction with each other, I watched the extra features and realizied Shane Meadows doesn't really work with scripts and storyboarding, but relies merely on the improvisation. The film was defintly shot on a small budget and the audio is not of great quality in areas but I think this enhances the film somewhat with the natural dialogue between Sonny, Al and the lads. The locations are fantastic and they reminds me of a few places back home that would make fantastic locations for a film. Which is something that has always inspired and influenced me. It just goes to show you don't need a large budget to make a great film.

Music Production

Below show's a track I have been working on recently, the percussion was programmed with multiple samples edited, messing with adsr setting's and compression. I have recently been trying to learn some very simple piano chords and scales from websites.

I created the piano sound using a plugin called LizardLounge, the chords where played using a midi keyboard this recorded the notes into Ableton Live, this plugin basically replicates the sounds of old Fender Rhodes, Wurli's, and Hammond Organs, as well as standard pianos. This suits the deep house sound, which primarily relies on old soul and funk samples, such as vocal edits and guitar/piano loops. I created the bass using Spectrasonics Trilogy and a basic Sine Wave I programmed in a synth.

I would really like to work with a vocalist one day to get some original material down rather than sampling old records as well. Other software that was used was the Waves Package, which includes compressors, limiters, eq, reverb and various other effects.

DVD Authoring

I have created a few basic ideas in Photoshop regarding layout and design to help me for my DVD Authoring. I want the look of it dark and eerie as the film draws on suspense. The text will float around the screen and fade in and out of a gaussian blur, it will feature animated menus for the extra features content.

Problems

Okay just a little catch up, I have done a thorough shotlist for my coming scenes in The Case, but I have a slight actor problem, my current actor is not available till may 5th this in my eyes is cutting it all to short but there's nothing else I can do. For now I will complete the shots that don't require my actor in the scenes, for instance there are a number of opening shots in the film that I can do.

So I'm planning, May 6th - 9th Shoot final scenes of film, 9th - 11th Edit (long weekend, no sleep). I am currently working on an interactive dvd menu in Adobe Flash, pictures will be posted soon.