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 understandany 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...
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
Hey again, this one is a bit difficult
to do because require a lot of auto critical thinking, working your
mind to revisit the moments during the production (that is not really
easy if your memory is not that great) and reflexion about your work
and the choices you made.
But well, here it go:
First of all, it's kind of obvious but
if you plan to do a documentary, do it about something that is
compelling to you. If you don't have a minimum of interest about what
you're filming, this will reflect on your final product and more
likely the audience will also be not interested.
Always visit location for a general
view not only of the place but the final piece that you're planning
to produce. The preproduction visit should be as complete as the
visit of the shooting day, or even more deeper, since you will have
more time to plan a detailed shot list and manage not to miss
important spots for a “portrait of a place”.
In the visits, try to speak beforehand
with any potential interviewee to clarify what the documentary is
about and to get a prior permission to film in particular places.
Also, try to find potential sources of light beforehand so you can
already plan nice angles with the camera. Even so, it's good to
consider new angles that can appear during the shooting, so be open
minded about changes and see if your DP had developed ideas of his
own of where to put the camera, or different angles for the project.
Just don't forget what is the main idea of the film, the rest is
complement.
Before moving the camera to another
place, take a deep breath and double check your environment: you
might have missed something interesting. I think that there's aways a
small and beautiful detail in every place that could render a
touching shot for someone, if not the general piece. Still, watch out
for your schedule! In the end, its all about the judgment of your
choices because the time is running out and you have to see what is
worth to film in that day.
First, a synopsis by the IMDB: "After
a painful breakup, Ben develops insomnia. To kill time, he starts
working the late night shift at the local supermarket, where his
artistic imagination runs wild."
Cashback is a British Romance/ Comedy. The protagonist Ben working on night shift, falls in love with one of his co-workers, Sharon. At some point in the film, his boss is about to give himself a surprise birthday party and delivers to Ben the job of finding a stripper for the party. Ben doesn't know where he can find a stripper, but his long time friend knows. Here's what follows:
-----------------
Ben and his friend
enters in the strip club. It's the first time that we're in this
place, so the environment is introduced with Wide Angle Lenses
(Deep Depth of Field)
(we can see a slight distortion at the edges of the frame) for our
eyes to catch everything on focus. Still, We can notice that Ben is
positioned in the frame following The Rule of Thirds. Also, the
lighting coming by the windows traces diagonal lines towards Ben. The
cinematography is guiding our eyes to the protagonist.
(Img 1) Medium Long Shot
In
the next shot, with Wide Angle Lenses (Deep Depth of Field) we
see the main attention to the two girls from the club: One with red
underwear that briefly passes by, and the main attraction stripper.
The red underwear girl starts at the Rule of Thirds, but leaves the
frame while the main stripper stays at the center of it. Again, our
eyes are guided by the composition of the frame: the (bored) stripper
has lines granted from the depth of field towards her (both lights
from the window and from the local architecture), not to mention the
disparity of the colors.
(Img 2) Very Long Shot
Next,
we come back to the previous frame, but as Ben and his friend walks
to the bar, the camera Pulls Back
and Pans Left,
resulting in the image below. The thinking is the same as the
stripper's frame, but in addition to the guiding lines, we have Ben
still on the Rule of Thirds instead of a centered, end of Depth of
Field girl. We're also introduced to the bartender, who's Ben's
friend ask for two drinks.
(Img 3) Medium Shot
Next
shot, now the stripper is following the Rule of Thirds and we got
close to her. We're still on Wide Angle Lenses to the details around her, like the public with a lame atmosphere.
(Img 4) Long Shot
Following
Hitchcock's rule with the size, we have one drink delivered by the
bartender. Now we change a Telephoto
Lens (Shallow Depth of Field),
the drink it's the only thing that matters on the shot right now. The
camera Tilts Up
and he asks what was the other drink. This shot serves like a
punchline for a joke.
(Img 5) Close-Up on the drink...
(Img 6) Tilt Up to Medium Close-Up
Ben's friend remembers the bartender that he was supposed to bring
two drinks. In counterpart, the bartender responds and goes away. Ben
and his friend chat a bit and then turn their heads to the right. We
have a repetition of the Image 4, where they're looking at, followed
by a shot of one of the spectators, showing how lame the public is.
We come back to the duo, as they leave the frame.
(Img 7) Medium Close-Up: Telephoto on the duo, we already know the place so lets focus on
characters
(Img 8) Medium Close-Up
(Img 9) Medium Close-Up
(Img 10) Long Shot
(Img 11) Medium Close-Up
(Img 12) Medium Close-Up
We're back again with the image 4, but Ben and his friend enters in
the shot, looking for a place to seat. The stripper has a toy gun,
and shoots to something out of her frame. By the position of the
characters in both shots, we can tell that she could be aiming at the
two, predicting the future conversation.
(Img 13) Medium Close-Up/ Long Shot
(Img 14) Close-Up
They sit and watch the stripper do her performance. Ben is positioned
on the left side of the frame, a little bit obscured and out of focus
while his friend has the center, light and focus in his favor.
They're looking to opposite directions, telling us how much each one
is comfortable there.
(Img 15) Medium Close-Up/ Medium Shot
We
have a Low Angle of the stripper in the center, giving her the
position of power between the three. Overall she doesn't seem to
care. Then we come closer to her, in a MCU shot. With a Tilt
Down
we're supposed to follow her body, but she squats, “cutting the
crap” and facing the duo to the conversation.
(Img 16) Medium Shot
(Img 17) Medium Close-Up
(Img 18) Tilt Down
She enters in the frame of Image 15, on the right corner. We don't
see her face, only her body as she extends a cup of tip towards the
boys. Then, we cut to her expression as she asks for tips in Low
Angle. The contrast between the light on her face with the shadow in
her eyes put emphasis on her skeptical look. She asks a tip to Ben
too.
(Img 19)
(Img 20) Over the Shoulder, Medium Close-Up
(Img 21)
Now we have a really shallow depth of field when Ben gives his tip (Notice his position on the Rule of Thirds stressing his eyes towards the stripper, the light on his face and the line made with the stripper's arm).
The camera pans to the right and we stay on Ben's friend frame. The
negotiation is mainly between him and the stripper.
(Img 22) Close-Up
(Img 23) Close-Up, "Over the Shoulder"
While this happens, Ben has no interest in the conversation and turns
into his own fantasy with Sharon. Ben
is almost in the center of the shot, but his friend is also in the
frame, completely out of focus with the Telephoto Lens (Shallow Depth of Field).
This with the slow motion effect, shows that Ben is in his own world,
disconnected to everything around him.
What we see next is Sharon as a stripper. Wrapped in darkness, it
seems that her only source of light is the pole which she is dancing
in slow motion, revealing a black curtain instead of purple one from
the original stripper. The distant shots shows her form defined, but
the close shots shows Sharon a little bit blurred: as an
illusion/fantasy, we can't get too close.
After the last shot, we come back to Ben from the Image 25 while the
camera does a Character Dolly towards him. We can notice that this
vision has an effect on him as we watch the movement and the light
increases, illuminating his face.
(Img 24) Close-Up
(Img 25) Medium Shot
(Img 26) Close-Up
(Img 27) Medium Shot
(Img 28)
(Img 29) Big Close-Up
(Img 30) Medium Shot
(Img 31) Medium Close-Up
(Img 32) Medium Shot
(Img 33) Big Close-Up
(Img 34) Character Dolly, resulting on a Big Close-Up in Low Angle
I think this scene uses well the concept of Spin Look movement. In the middle of the chaos of a battle, we can’t predict how things will turn out. The camera keeps following Owen’s character all the time, making us have an almost (it’s still not a POV) direct perspective from him. Everything that gets him by surprise, will get us by surprise. The public and the character share the same tension.
2- Cashback
I love this scene. The music, the pace… But speaking about movement, we have a sort of Pull Back reveal, perpendicular camera movements with the drawings, a final dolly towards the character Ben in his corridor, although the main attention for me stays with the movements of the extremes close-ups of the models: sometimes like drawing pencil, sometimes like a delayed glance.
3- The Lord of The Rings
The LOTR is full of panoramic shots and movements but I would also point to the character dolly. There are two kinds: the named Character Dolly and the Contract Dolly. The Character Dolly is more conventional and can be not noticed by the audience, but it definitely helps to create a dramatic tension. The Contract Dolly has more of a surprise effect, but also creates dramatic intensity (in a more immediate way even).
They're not my favorite scenes of all time or something like that, it's already impossible for me to choose consciously the favorite movie of all time! But I can definitely watch these in looping for a while... Ah, before I forget: watch out for...
!!!SPOILERS!!!
1- There Will Be Blood - Baptism Scene
We start with a LONG SHOT of Daniel and Eli in front of the “public", as Daniel is playing theater to get what he wants. This is followed by a DOLLY MOVEMENT to get us closer to the duo.
Then there’s a cut to a CLOSE UP of Daniel. Eli is above him and we only hear his voice, the main focus is Daniel’s expression as he listen to the accusations towards him.
Now we have a Medium close up of Eli, in low angle. The camera follows him (him handheld or stead cam, not sure) as he keep wandering around Daniel like a vulture. He is dominating the current situation, telling Daniel what to say.
We’re back at the CU of Daniel’s expression. He gets angrier and angrier, and looks off frame towards Eli/God until he explodes and starts getting slaps.
With a Big Close-up in low angle, we see Eli satisfaction as Daniel loses his temperament.
Long Shot again. There’s no public this time. This is between Daniel and Eli only. As Eli keeps hitting Daniel, the protagonist loses his anger and regain his skepticism.
CU of Daniel. With a skeptical smile, he accepts baptism. He got what he wanted.
Medium Long Shot: Daniel stands up, greets Eli and comes closer to a CU again as everybody in the church greets him too.
2- Se7en - The Box
Pitt’s and Freeman’s characters are really distant from each other and from the helicopter, so there are many Wide Shots and Very Long Shots to settle point of view.
Before the surprise of Freeman for opening the box, Space’s character is out of focus and almost talks offscreen, but after that, he’s suddenly on a low angle with an aura provided by the Sun (and lot of CU and BCU) . He has control over the situation now.
Then we also have some handheld/steadycam shaky shots in Long Shot, with some Medium Shots.
Before announcement of Paltrow’s pregnancy, Pitt’s has mainly Medium Shots and Medium Close-Ups. With the announcement, we jump to XCUs and BCUs of Pitt’s painful eyes and the serene eyes of Space, as Freeman watches everything in a low angle, impotent.
3- The Departed - Cellphone
The tension already begins with Damon’s BCU, and XCU of the cellphone. DiCaprio starts with a MS but quickly assumes the same position as Damon. And they stay like that for a LONG time. At least until DiCaprio turn off the the phone (!) causing an Arc Movement with the confused/dazed/OMG expression on Damon’s face.
This scene is so absurdly tense that becomes kinda comic!
4- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - The End of All Things
The One Ring is destroyed. We start with a XLS and come closer and closer to CUs of Frodo and Sam stating that everything is done.
We have some more LS and VLS informing their position in relationship to the lava, and showing the solitude. Then we go back to CUs, a Two Shot and XCUs of them remembering the good times at the Shire.
Finally, we have an Arc Movement putting the duo in a Two Shot again, with Frodo’s declaration and a composition of his face in profile and Sam’s on frontal until we fade to black...
5- Oldboy - Corridor Fight
One of the Korean Gangsters stare in BCU. Dae Su stares back with his hostage in CU. Then we have a tilt movement revealing the corridor full of obstacles that he has to face in a High Angle.
Dae Su releases his victim. Some of his comrades drag him outside. Dae Su drops his knife (BCU) and goes towards his enemies with a hammer (MS with Tracking Movement).
We follow the fight in the corridor with only one continuous shot, a LS with Tracking Movement. At the end, we have a High Angle of Dae Su, showing the defeated enemies behind him. Just awesome.
My name Lucas Parente Cruz, I'm a Cinema student from Brazil but currently studying at the University of Alabama at TCF. Well, here are 10 things about me:
Nº 1
My favorite film director: David Fincher!
I've watched all his films, with exception of Alien 3. He's the director of movies such as Se7en, Fight Club, The Game, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and as it goes...
Nº 2
Favorite band: Arctic Monkeys!
Their sound changed a lot since the first album, but I still like the new style, different from other people that got them in the beginning. I also like other bands like Alt-J, Mikhael Paskalev, The Killers... Not to mention artists from my country: Zeca Baleiro, Nação Zumbi, Vivendo do Ócio... etc.
Nº 3
My favorite TV Series: Breaking Bad!
Well, right now there's not much I can say about it besides "It's Awesome!" but I think it's because this show has the biggest "film approach" of all TV series, and it has its own different pace to develop its history. I also like a lot series like Mad Men, Six Feet Under and Game of Thrones.
Nº 4
My favorite Film: Star Wars!
Ok, actually I don't think it's my favorite movie... that's a delicate question. But it's the movie that made me want to go study film in college and make films too. It would be awesome if Fincher could direct one of the movies of this new trilogy!
Nº 5
I'm running out of things that I find interesting... Well, my favorite YouTube Channel?
Kees van Dijkhuizen Jr. is "20-year old film student from Amsterdam" that makes videos for YouTube, editing a compilation of films from a year, director or movie series. I love his videos and the pace between the editing and music, besides some Kuleshov Effects and Faux Raccord that I see...
Nº 6
You see, I like too draw too. It's not a professional level, but there's some good stuff that happens to come out. I like to visit tumblrs and blogs such as THECAB, Clio Chang, Chang Dai and etc, to get inspired somehow.
Nº 7
Speaking of drawing I'm also love animations, the 2D ones. Not that I dislike 3D or Stop Motion, it's that I just see something magic in 2D animation, and makes me sad that today is kinda rare to something like this be released in commercial cinema. At least there's plenty 2D animations on TV...
I can't say that The Legend of Korra is my favorite, but I really like this one. I also follow the tumblrs of the creators from time to time: Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino.
Nº 8
Books! I'm not really a book guy but I eventually read one from time to time. I've already read Harry Potter series, Artemis Fowl, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring... But I think that my favorite one is The Raw Shark Texts:
That's the Brazilian cover of the book.
I know that since I'm not a book guy I can't really tell, but this one is my favorite because it's the most unconventional book that I have read, at least comparing with my previous experiences. It's hard to explain, but reading it felt somewhat interactive... Anyway, I recommend!
Nº 9
Other than films, games are a big passion of mine. I'm not sure if a have a favorite game, but one particular game that marked me is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
On a regular movie, when you feel hopeless in front of sacrifices that the main characters must do in order complete their goal, in MGS3, when you assume the hero's persona the game not only do that but forces you to pull the trigger.
Nº 10
Well, I'll end with what I consider a bit of a fun fact. I ALMOST appeared on the Brazilian film that won the award for Best Picture in Gramado Film Festival last year(it's the biggest film festival of m country) Tatuagem (Tattoo). I started as a movie extra, but in the middle of the shooting, I was called to act with the main actor Irandhir Santos. But some reason the scene wasn't in the final cut...
The story is about a romance between two men in a dictatorial period of my country.
The saddest thing is that the film was launched while I was in US, so I couldn't see... =(
So, that's the 10 things... I hope you find it interesting!
