Final Course Reflection

Since the first semester that I got into UA, some people told me about the class of Advance Videography, that I would be able to use every camera from the department. I didn't get to play with all of them, honestly. However, I believe that I did something more important than this: I got the basic knowledge to understand any camera, so when I get something totally new for me I still will be knowing what I should be looking for.

Another important thing that I learned during this class is how to deal with the pre-production part of film. I already knew its importance, but I've never knew how to deal with it properly. I still make mistakes of course, but in the end learning is a constant metamorphosis.

The set. I finally got to know how to prepare the set with all equipment that is not the actual camera. From previous critical studies back in Brazil I already knew the position of the light within the set, but I have never actually used any of the necessary equipment to make these images possible. C-Stands, flags, nets, silks, c-47s... All these equipment were unknown to me until now.

With all this new knowledge that I acquired, I hope to finally step into the work market of filmmaking; to finally being able to reproduce the images in my head; and to finally get out of the paperwork and build something with my own hands.

From someone with a background like mine, I can say that this was the best course I took during my time in UA. And I'm thankful for that...

Obrigado!

Reel & Artist Statement

Director / Cinematographer Reel from Lucas Parente on Vimeo.

As what I consider an “Artist”, I try to see and capture beauty in everything that I can. Our eyes easily can find it in something grand, so I look for it in the small details. Also, this same beauty is not complete if is not meaningful to the major piece. I gather information from my memories, the style of those who inspire me and try to put it at my service, at the service of a major project. In the end it seems that is all about feeling—which it is mostly, but I'm aware of the limitations between my mind and the world around me so that's why each new work is a potential way for me to learn and make the link of these two stronger.

Scene Assignment - Pineapple Express

Pineapple Express - Scene Assignment from UA, Telecommunication and Film on Vimeo.

Visual references and goals for the scene assignment

The scene chosen to be recreated comes from the film Pineapple Express. The original scene has a shaky camera style with a strong use of yellow. My goal is to make the scene with a darker atmosphere, but without losing the humor: more fixed camera angles and less use of back light. Here are some references about framing and the original scene (at 1:03).

Which is the best camera?

We all can say that there's no such thing as The Best Camera but again, we all have our own preferences. The problem is that even with our own preferences, we can't determine which is the perfect camera (at least on my point of view).

The first camera that I really had a lot of contact was the JVC HM100u. People usually say that it has a terrible image quality, something that I disagree in a certain level. That aside, the JVC camera is one that I got very familiar with, although I'm aware of its limitations.

Now I'm entering in the world of the DSLRs, with great image quality, more accessible price, and portability. However with the portability, it also comes the design made for still photography and this makes me forget constantly how to mess with certain options on the camera, not to mention the extreme difficulty to determine with your own eyes if your focus is correct or not.

Not saying that it is the best camera, but one that I had a brief but pleasant touch was the Sony FS-100U. I really liked its design: a mix of the JVC with the DSLRs in a simple and efficient way that made me find what I wanted in just one night with the camera. The only issue is the price, inaccessible for a film student. With that, it leaves the DSLRs as the “winners” of the competition thanks to the easy access.

Inspiring Lighting Styles

Maybe it's because of love for drawing, but overall I'm a big fan of the use of the back light (specially when it comes naturally). The way I see in photography the use of it is like “literally” drawing silhouettes with light. But there's also different meanings behind the use back light or any kind of light for that matter since it all comes on what kind of feel or particular image you want to pass, and how much you want pass.

Smooth sources of light in The Deep Blue Sea show us intentions without action.

In Lawless, the use of... lack of light actually... show us small spots of Jessica Chastain's face and just a small spot of brightness in her eye, telling us that she's uncomfortably awake when she should be relaxed and at sleep.

In Killer Joe, the contrast of temperature in a single framing, details on how the light behaves on the character's eyes and hair strands.

In Brokeback Mountain, there's a sea with waves made of silhouettes of light provided by the moon. It's beautiful and work like a canvas, the man surrounded by the Nature.

Lincoln has a similar effect of Deep Blue Sea, delivering intentions. The action can be happening but its hidden by the light, instead of the darkness.

In The Beasts of the Southern Wild, the contrast of light and dark in the rain creates some kind of mosaic mixing the animal's hair and the raindrops.

In Hannibal (TV Series), the use of back light draws a contour around the character Will, a silhouette of light.

The Forgiveness of Blood

True Detective

True Detective

Finally, The Forgiveness of Blood. I couldn't find pictures that showed exactly what I wanted but this film has a great use of back light as well, can be similar to the Hannibal's case or more subtle like this the first image. The film takes a lot of exterior locations and they balance the light shown in the characters at the same time that they show the beautiful contour of light in the clouds and the environment around them. I didn't find screenshots for this movie, but the TV series True Detective does a similar job with that.

Well, I hope you find this interesting as I did!

Strengths and Weaknesses of DSLR

The first strength to mention about the DSLR is the price. For beginner filmmakers the DSLR cameras are the first access to actually put the hands on a camera and practice the filmmaking process, switching lenses to build meanings to a scene, changing aperture, racking focus, etc... Since the professional cameras are too much expensive. That aside, another strength point is the portability of the camera, allowing the filmmaker to carry it along whenever he is going, or to put it small place to film.

On the other hand, its own design was made for still photography rather than actual filmmaking, resulting in a difficult maneuver by it's operator and lack of stability on the frame composition and to avoid that, some accessories like rigs will be needed. Another problem present on the DSLR cameras concerns about the sound. The microphone in DSLR is often tiny and of low quality, so the filmmaker will probably need an external mic to get a better sound.