Transitions: Cinematography Statement

I started this unit with some kind of idea of what my aesthetic would be and how it would evolve through this project. As the script was quite heavy with the dialogue, it was up to be & the director to try and make it as visually engaging as possible, without disrupting the narrative and taking away from the dialogue itself. 

Choices and why
- Continuous shot: 
This was a decision made by Oliver, but was meant with some controversy over its usage, as some members of the group didn't feel it was necessarily working. However myself and Oliver believed in the shot, and with feedback from Simon saying it was an original idea that did in fact work, made us feel right to push through with the proposed shot. 

- Handheld: 
A lot of the handheld footage was just improvisation, obviously the actors had their blocking done beforehand but it was really whatever felt right we just went with. I felt maybe i wasn't as experimental with the handheld as now looking back on the footage, that i could of been with it. Next time i'll know to not sit on the fence and question it, but just throw myself into the creative rhythm of it.  

- Long take of tying up body:
Not too sure if this really worked but after liaising with the director in regards to this shot, of how it would look post-edit, that i realised that it has the potential to succeed. 

There was some key coverage that was attained through just thinking of the edit, in my mind i'm imagining what Aimee will appreciate, and i'm shooting scenes knowing that she will understand, and bring her particular creative eye and sensibility to the arrangement of the material. Shooting for the edit is always key and especially if you know the person, it gives you more of a target to aim for, in terms of her style and what she would like to edit & how she puts her mark on the end product. 

Working with the director on this project was very smooth in the sense that both of our creative outputs were on a similar wave length, thus not really clashing a lot with the aesthetic of the content. There may of been one or two ideas thrown out there by myself which were shot down but i'm not the director, so i totally understood that. I felt comfortable enough though to speak my mind and discuss with the director about certain shots so the relationship was that of a good working standard.

Transitions: Colour grading

After the first rough cut viewing with Simon i was tasked with the job to colour grade our footage, as the majority of it was fairly yellow and the white balance being totally off in some scenes. 

I've done some exploration into the world of colour grading, but i feel i've only touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of knowledge and experience. Colour grading is a whole skillset on its own and for that reason it needs to be approached with great attention and care. 

(Colour wheel)

This is how the majority of our first half footage looks like, this slightly off yellow colour, especially on the skin tones. This needed resolving quickly as it definitely wasn't the desired effect we were looking to have on our characters since it does not convey the overall tone & aesthetic we were wishing to go for.

Then i began to colour correct it, which took me quite sometime to get it right, but after deep research & a few Youtube tutorials i had began to understand how to remove the yellow-iness and fix the problem. I pulled the colour wheel from central position, towards the opposite colour of yellow/orange, to blue/teal colours, to balance it out. However you had to be precise & accurate as if you pulled it over too much you'd then get a blue tint on the footage.

Overall i'm not massively satisfied with the colour correcting on the footage and i think i'll be correcting it until the last minute, but its been improved upon from the first viewing. Lighting & using the camera efficiently are key and could save us from this trouble in the first place. 

Transitions: First edit review with Simon

The first rough cut review went better than i expected, though there is still obviously lots of work with the footage to be done. Now everything is on the timeline however, we can now begin to delve deeper into the editing process and really play with the colour grading & sound to give it a cinematic aesthetic. 

Feedback - 
- Needs severe colour grading, which will be done by myself. 
- Needs tighter edits, quicker paced through out towards the end of the sequence.
- Needs cutting down, as it's currently too long.
- End sequence needs refining.
- Opening sequence needs to be cut quicker. 
- Sound needs refining & bringing more emphasis on visuals.

I was given the personal task of colour grading the whole sequence, which is a relatively big task as our footage was slightly yellow throughout up until the last scene, as that's when the natural light finally reaches the basement. 

On the whole, i was satisfied with the feedback given to us from Simon, we had clarity on some issues regarding a few shots, resulting in us being able to move and cut some footage out as it was pretty useless. Now it's just focusing on the edit, with colour grading and sound being the main focal point.  

Transitions: Critical Reflection

I can't believe it's came to an end so quickly! To think 9 months ago i was just beginning second year, and now finishing it. This unit hadn't came at the most practical time, starting right before we were about to hand in & complete our 'As Live' production unit, but it's probably fair that we were given enough time to get something done, possibly not what we set out to achieve, but something of decent quality. 

Pre-Production
I felt in our planning/pre-production stage, we were very much on top of things in regards to casting, booking out equipment, camera preparation etc. I was particularly happy with how we all worked as a team, it made things generally smoother, efficient and allowed us more room to manoeuvre if certain things were to go wrong, we'd have possibly more time on our hands due to being very prepared, i.e having our initial first shoot day being scrapped and turned into a test-shoot day. Possibly me and Oliver could of mapped out a complete storyboard for the entirety of the sequence, however it wasn't necessary as the final sequence was less structured camera wise than the rest of the narrative.  

(The Cast)

Production
On the shoot day, everyone was prepared and ready. We got to our shoot location (my basement) for 9:30am, and shooting began roughly at around 10am. We flew through the first half of the script, allowing us to have a quicker lunch. It was a very efficient day, with everyone having such a high level of concentration & commitment as with actors who you've never met before, it's a instinctive reaction to want to impress and show your professionalism. All in all i was impressed with myself and everyone's professional behaviour on shoot, however obviously looking back on some of the footage now, knowing that i was in charge of it, there's definitely room for improvement. I need to be more concise with my shots, more thoughtful, provocative & if i'm going to use handheld i need to fully jump into that aesthetic and not sit on the fence & shy away. Also the white balance in a lot of the footage is way off and i'm frankly quite pissed at myself. The lights within the basement were yellow but the tones were off on the faces, it's not until you get through towards the middle/end of the sequence that the yellow-iness begins to wear off due to the sun creeping in & balancing it all out. Me and Oliver worked very well together, we both had very similar visions in terms of how we wanted it shot, and the coverage we acquired was down to us both wanting to get as much as we possibly could, because we knew when it would come back to the edit, we'd have a vast amount of footage for Aimee to play with. 

(Good Time)

Post-Production
As the filming had only just finished on the 8th, Aimee our editor had a lot on her hands, as deadline was round the corner coming to hit us all on the 16th May. She was very prepared though as on the day of shooting she was already taking the SD Card out of the camera & editing footage immediately. Still, we knew it was going to be a tough edit, so we'd planned to meet up every day we possibly could to get through the edit together and help Aimee out where we could. On the edit viewing, i was tasked with helping her with colour correcting. I've never really delved into colour editing as i know it's a job in itself and there is a vast amount of information you should really know before doing it, but it's all about learning and developing your knowledge on new & existing elements. I'm happy with how the edit has turned out, it's unfortunate we didn't have certain shots to make the edit that bit more eclectic but that's due to me and i hold my hands up for that. Sound is also a key thing with this sequence, and it needs to have the right tone and match the aesthetic which i feel it does on many levels. 


What worked
What i felt definitely did go well through the project was the harmonious team spirit and energy that every individual brought with them. Having never previously worked with any of the members i am currently with, it was a fresh change, and i rather enjoyed it. As well as this, technically, certain camera angles did pay off in the end, like the continuous shot that had some serious doubters. I'm pretty stoked with the amount of coverage that we acquired, i feel Aimee had a fair bit to play with and for an editor i know that's a dream come true. Overall though i'm happy with how well we represented ourselves on set with the cast, it was very professional, diligent and competent.  


What could be improved
With every unit comes looking back at your work and critiquing where appropriate to learn from your mistakes. With being the camera operator there were definitely many aspects that can be improved, one being to have awareness of all the camera presets & settings, to have it on settings that suit you and the tone you're trying to capture. Another issue is making sure you're happy with what you see in the view finder, if you're not sure, get it onto a laptop and see how the footage looks there. With this unit in particular i found it hard to gauge the footage on the view finder as it appeared to be okay. It's beginning to seem that i'm working my way slowly to the more technical aspects of the camera, like the white balance, picture profiling, playing with colour manipulation & all of the other discrete functions within the Panasonic DVX200s, so it's just becoming more observant and aware of the functionalities of them, to become more instinctive with them & for them to feel natural in your hands.

What have I learnt
There are many things over the course of this unit that i've picked up along the way, one being to how to change the presets on the Panasonic's to your preference. This came in handy when i was trying to get Peaking up on the view finder just so i could tell what was in focus or not. I really just began to get very familiar with the Panasonic, figuring out more and exploring with certain settings that i wouldn't of dared to do before. My confidence with camera operating as a whole has definitely  increased and that's down to just using the camera's more and having more awareness visually of what looks aesthetically pleasing. 



Conclusion
Overall, i'm pretty satisfied with how this whole unit has went in terms of all the technical aspects and production planning. It could of only been done with the team around me as each individual brought a special something to the group that no one else could of. I did worry about this unit if i'm being honest, as my feelings now are still pretty conflicted, as in many respects i feel it came at such an awkward time it's tough for us to get out of this unit what we should of realistically got out of it, and that will be evident in our work. However saying that, i think it is a great eye opener for next year, and if we're already focusing and honing in on our individual roles now, then we've got the whole summer to plan and prepare meticulously for when 3rd year comes along. I can see the benefits to the unit massively, but it was also a burden. 

Transitions: Research into Sean Price Williams

It is my desire, after i finish this course to pursue camera operating in some form or shape, so for this unit i wanted to take up the role of DOP, and further develop, focus and critique my skills associated with the role. 

So i decided to do some exploration and research into certain cinematographers that i feel have a distinctive style, technical competence and an aesthetic that i really enjoy to watch. One of the cinematographers that i have chosen to explore further & take inspiration from is the super talented, Sean Price Williams. 

 (Sean Price Williams) 

His work on his latest film, Good Time, was an electrifying and exceptional piece, shot on 2-perforated 35mm kodak, giving that eclectic & visually powerful aesthetic.

“I have an abiding love for film and love watching films shot on film. It’s a flexible, versatile recording medium that you can use to create very nostalgic or naturalistic aesthetics. But I also like to electrify the filmed image and colors, especially strong colors, look great on film. Combined with its grain structure, film is made for a stimulating picture that is easier to create on set and more interesting to watch than a digital interpretation. Film sees what is in front of you on set; it’s alive.” 

Sean Price Williams - May 22nd 2017

The film Good Time is shot so beautifully, with its colours popping out, high saturation, and grain to give it that film texture feel, every shot had it's own narrative and that's why i found it so special and engaging to watch.

 (Good Time)

 With the films use of low light being heavily utilised, to create such powerful visual imagery, it puts focus on the characters and the chaos surrounding them. It also puts great emphasis on the psychology perspective of each character, as each character has different lighting staged behind them, evidently conveying a clear indication to the mind of the character at play. 
                                                                                                                                                               

       These two single shots, are actually both of these characters having a frantic conversation about what there plan of action is in regards to the plot. (How to get Robert Pattinson's brother out of hospital) - Pictured left, is Robert Pattinson, pictured right, Buddy Duress, both characters are in totally different psychological states and that is beautifully captured by the lighting within this sequence. Robert is in a state of panic, desperation and rage, whereas Buddy is in a state of hopelessness, shock & confusion as this is at the point in the narrative where he has just been mistakenly taken out of hospital as Robert thought that he was his brother. (That was a major spoiler so to whoever is reading this, i am deeply apologetic). These images put into simple terms how effective lighting can be for a scene and how they can be pivotal to the narrative plot, adding a deeper layer of structure and meaning that couldn't necessarily be captured by other ways so subtly. 

“It’s a pretty crazy movie, and we made it in our normal gonzo style – no marks for the actors, dark and difficult exposures, always chasing the action around. Essentially, we make production as hard as possible. And the immediacy of this punk style of filmmaking translates into an unmistakeable on-screen energy.”

Sean Price Williams - May 22nd 2017

I've always been super keen on shooting with film, be it super 8, or 16mm, but its always been the issue of money & how expensive it is to buy and then get developed. I love the textures that you can achieve and the overall aesthetic, something which you can't really capture on digital, unless you have some super kit, and lots of post-production effects. I think potentially in the summer i'll invest in a 16mm, or go for the Panasonic GH5s, as it's low light performance is that of similar ilk to the Sony a7s ii, but again money is always an issue!

All in all, it's been an interesting read up on this guy, and i'm sure his work in the future will be even more mind-bending and visually compelling just like his work has been up until this point. A lot has been taken away from his work, like his interpretation of how to manipulate low light situations, to the hand-held anarchic character led sequences, he is a very talented individual to say the least. 

- https://www.kodak.com/GB/en/motion/Blog/Blog_Post/?contentId=4295002297

(Link for quotes)

Transitions: Research into Emmanuel Lubezki

Another cinematographer i've decided to research for this unit to give me a better understanding of the discipline, is Emmanuel Lubezki. 

Lubezki began his career in Mexican film and television productions in the late 1980s. His first international production was the 1993 independent film Twenty Bucks (1993), which followed the journey of a single twenty-dollar bill. 

Lubezki is a frequent collaborator with fellow Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón. The two have been friends since they were teenagers and attended the same film school at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Together they have worked on six motion pictures: Sólo con tu pareja (1991), A Little Princess (1995), Great Expectations (1998), Y Tu Mamá También (2001), Children of Men (2006), and Gravity (2013). 

(Emmanuel Lubezki)

I decided to research Lubezki, due to some of the shots created within our project as i felt they were of similar essence to him. Also, one other major reason i decided to delve into his work is because i find it so aesthetically captivating and pleasing to the eye. His distinctive style within close vicinity, capturing pure emotion so close to the characters, it's a very interesting way to capture such pure authenticity. 

(Children Of Men)

His work on the film Children Of Men will always be remembered for breaking the boundaries of camera work, especially the infamous car sequence which was taken in one shot with a few magic edits. This in my mind was some sort of reasoning to justify to try and pull off our one shot sequence, it was an audacious shot but if it was convincingly shot then it would seriously pay off.
Link - 

(Car sequence)

You feel as if you're there, within the confines of the car, next to all of the characters, unable to escape the terror that unfolds around them. It puts emphasis on the action, increasing that intensity of the world that they're trapped in. It's such a distinctive style and i've never watched anything so captivating visually in comparison to that sequence since.  

(Revenant) 

His cinematography work regarding Revenant was in some respect very similar, it gets close and intimate with characters, allowing the audience to feel as if you're sharing this experience with them. It allows you to kind of imagine what the character is going through and how hard they're suffering throughout the gruelling narrative. Its use of wide angle lenses allows for that, as you can get in seriously close, which sometimes throughout the film would have the audience be able to see the breath coming out from Leo's mouth. It's a very immersive way of filming which i find extremely intriguing & beautiful to watch. It uses a lot of immense handheld footage, throwing you right into the action again allowing for that immersive experience, i.e when he is being chased by the native american group, it adds greater emphasis on the intensity, location and aesthetic. 

All in all, researching this guy was a lot of fun, from a few interviews he seems like a really down to earth character, with a vast amount of knowledge on cinematography and film in general. His work will always be remembered for sure, having won 3 Oscars, i think it's safe to say he has been cemented in the history of cinematography & film forever. 

Transitions: Shoot day

On the day of the shoot, which was postponed originally and moved to the date of 8th May, we met up at the shooting location which was my house.

Callum and Aimee had picked up a few of the actors, whilst the other member of the cast made her own way to the filming location. We had set the time of initial shooting to be for 9am. We roughly started shooting at about 9:30am due to traffic delays etc, but as we had already blocked out the majority of the script on our shoot day, we were extremely efficient as a team and only really were waiting on the actors/actresses to be comfortable with the script. 

(Shoot day)

As the blocking had been done, it was just down to how the actresses/actors were delivering the script and their general performance that needed to work now. We'd run through shots, i'd recommend some spontaneous shots that i felt may work, trying to capture the rawness of the tone we were going for. Overall the shots up until the scene where we come back from outside, (when will has just been taken hostage), i felt i had done relatively well, listening to the director and capturing what was asked of me, and giving my own creative input too. It came to most definitely the defining moment of the day, in where Oliver (director) wanted a whole one shot sequence, but to capture it, i had to swivel/pan the camera on the tripod several times, i struggled immensely trying to get this shot as the movement was technically very challenging. It took us about 7-8 takes, and if it wasn't me who had messed up, it was one of the actors, and if it wasn't them, it was the lighting. 

(Attempt 1000 of pan movement)

After eventually capturing the pan shot, which was the main shot of the sequence, we then moved onto wrapping up the rest of the shots which was pretty straight forward as they were just MCUs, CUs, singles and doubles. With this script being quite a heavy dialogue based script i knew that i had to liaise with Oliver to get the best out of the scenes, creativity wise, so we could make it as engaging and aesthetically pleasing as possibly. I felt with the team that we had, we all contributed massively on the shoot day and it went pleasantly well. There may of been a few disagreements with certain shots but that is to be expected when we all have different visual interpretations of the script and how it should be fitted together. 

As we filmed chunks of the script, getting through it segment by segment, the SD card would be passed to Aimee who would then quickly put it on her laptop to begin the edit immediately, this was due to time constraints and to maximise our length of time we had on the post-production side of things. I'd then get the SD card back, format it and continue with the shoot. 

(Cast)

Some of the issues that we had on the shoot day were not having one individual specifically monitoring sound, so looking back on the footage, we've discovered that there is a relatively low humming noise coming from an unknown source. This is evidently a big issue but thankfully we'll be able to rectify our mistakes in the post-production side of things, however i know it shouldn't of happened in the first place. Also sorting out the white balance in such a terribly lit room is such a pain, that took a good 10-15 minutes to get to adjusted to an acceptable tone. However again we will have to colour correct it in post as it was slightly off on the skin tones, creeping more towards the yellow side of things, this became an issue as we needed to go outside to shoot a piece of the sequence that forced us to, so readjusting the white balance to outdoors, seemed to work pretty well, but then going back in was a nightmare to readjust and that took for what felt like 20 mins. 

I've learnt that you've got to get to grips with the white balance sooner and have an overall better understanding with it and colours/tones, as it'll be evident to everyone when your piece of work is finished. Lighting is also a element that needs serious attention, care and concentration on to really maximise your creative output and the aesthetic that you wish to capture. Finally, nailing my camera movements, that will only come with constant practice, determination and competence. I'm pleased with how the shoot went, but there are some shots within the sequence that i wish i could re-shoot, but that's the nature of the beast and ultimately why you have to get it done to the best of your ability the first time round, no second chances. 

Transitions: Research for Role

So as my designated role for this project is to be the camera operator, i decided to do some researching into what really i should be focusing my attributes towards and where i should be looking for some wisdom & overall advice. 

I know that to be a camera operator you do need some essential characteristics and traits if you want to succeed, these are a few too bear in mind:

• have good working knowledge of all camera systems, lenses, support equipment and accessories
• provide creative input
• have artistic ability
• be patient
• have a good sense of visual composition, perspective and movement
• have physical co-ordination and strength
• combine creativity with technical skills
• pay precise attention to detail
• communicate effectively
• be able to collaborate and work as part of a team
• be diplomatic and sensitive when working with artists and crew
• know about health and safety legislation and procedures

This list is a quick mock up of quintessentially what it takes to be a professional camera operator. It offers the attributes, characteristics and general mind set of what a camera operator should have, and it's so important to take everything on that list into consideration.  

I know for this collaborative project that I had to bring my own creative element to the table, and with myself and Oliver already discussing the general aesthetic to be of similar ilk to that of films such like Good Time & Neon Demon, in terms of a visual comparison, I had to begin researching the DOPs of those films and ones synonymous to them. 

 (Good Time - DOP - Sean Price Williams) 

Transitions: Pre-production for Shoot day

Our group had been very organised running up towards our shoot day, working within a document on google docs, and conversing over facebook with the latest updates regarding cast, equipment and call times. Callum had created a call sheet for the shoot day, finished scripts had been passed over to the cast, and a shot list had been curated by myself. 

(Shot list)

Me and Oliver worked very closely coordinating the blocking and camera movements/angles on the test shoot day so that when we came to the official shoot day, it would be a smooth transition and we'd be able to hit the ground running.

Overall i was pleased with the level of competence and commitment shown to the pre-production side of things as it gave us confidence & insight going into the real shoot date. However if there was something to improve on, maybe it would of been to use the lights in the test shoot and to see how they would benefit us. 

Transitions: Test-shoot day

So on the Tuesday 24th April, we had planned this day to be the official shoot day for our project. However, due to one or two actors dropping out, we had to completely scrap the shoot date and find new actors & a new date to film on. All was not lost though, as we then decided to use this day as a test shoot and lay out in person our vision, so Oliver being the director, began to block out scene by scene using ourselves as stand ins. 

Having a shot list already made for this official shoot day, we then decided to go off key, and explore a bit more with the camera shots and how it would actually be filmed. Also as the script was not fully finished by this point it was just about getting a rough concept about how the shots were going to be pieced together. Furthermore we still used the bones of the script to block out each scene, so that when the official day of shooting did commence we were going to be able to hit the ground running, and hopefully the new set of actresses/actors knew their lines accordingly.

(Test-shoot day)

Overall it was a very productive day, we got through 3/4's of the script with blocking and camera work all agreed on. There were a few scenes where we thought we wouldn't necessarily need massive amounts of blocking as we wanted it to be captured as natural and fluid as possible. It was kind of a blessing in disguise, managing to take advantage of a day in which we had all thought was that of a bad one.