Friday, February 21st

We had our first meeting with Maynard yesterday, who so graciously came down to Victoria to meet with us on campus. We pitched our ideas for the film to him, and he seems on board with everything! He's very open to what we want to do, and he's glad to have us figure everything out in regards to content, but obviously, we still leave the final say with him, because the film is about him and his art. Just from the discussion we had with him, we can already tell that he will have no problem talking on camera about his work and about his role as an educator. We also noticed that he talks with his hands a lot, and moves around in a way that really animates what he is saying, so we'll be sure to shoot him in the interview in a way that encompasses all of this movement. The actual filming should take place in a week or two, and Maynard will bring down some pieces of art that he feels represent him and his process.  Things are happenin' people!

Last night, we also had a little class on editing. We used the footage that we took over Reading Break of Shawn and the rice cakes, and we managed to produce a pretty great project. Amanda seems particularly adept at using the editing program, so she will likely take the lead on this aspect of the project. We managed to incorporate a variety of different types of shots, which demonstrates our understanding of them, and we can use a lot of them in Maynard's film with a great deal of confidence. Besides clip editing, we also practiced using transitions to create different effects in our film as well. Overall, a very productive and educating experience!

Here is the little film that we produced out of our practice. It's kind of a masterpiece... so enjoy!

Wednesday, February 12th

Yesterday, the group got together to film some shots that we can use to practice editing. It was delightfully fun, I must say! We managed to come up with a silly little story line that we can cut together when we edit, and we may even make Shawn internet famous! Even just with this practice, I've already noticed a few things in regards to film technique that we'll need to look out for.

 First of all, white balance!!! It's challenging remembering to white balance each time we move into a different space, but it makes a huge difference. We shot most of our footage in three different settings indoors (the classroom, the hallway, and the lounge), and then I ran outside to take some footage through the window, but forgot to white balance! So when I looked at the film from this part, it was very yellow. Luckily it was about five seconds of footage, so it didn't make a difference in this instance, but if this were to happen during our only filming session with Maynard, we would be hooped!

Another important thing to consider is lighting. We shot our footage at night, so there was absolutely no natural lighting coming in from the windows, making everything darker. Because the lights are spaced apart in the hallways of Cornett, different points have different levels of lighting when no natural light is coming through the windows. We shot one section near one set of garbage cans, and another near a different set, and the difference in lighting was drastic; the second set of footage was incredibly dark. If we had that level of lighting while we were filming Maynard, we wouldn't be able to use our footage. So scoping out our filming space ahead of time and ensuring that the area is properly lit will be vital to our project.

For this practice run, we decided not to bring the tripod along, and boy, does it show! When I was holding the camera, I thought my hands were steady, and watching the footage on the camera screen, it didn't seem so bad. But when we quickly looked at a sample of it on the computer while it was being imported, we saw that it was much shakier than we had anticipated. Obviously for sit-down interviews, we will be using the tripod, but if there are instances where we need to move the camera, have it follow Maynard while he walks or something like that, I will need to figure out the best way to hold the camera so as to ensure the footage is steady.

I can't wait to edit this film together and show the rest of the class! The end product will be hysterical, but of course, we will approach the actual filming of Maynard and his work with the utmost seriousness. This practice has been very useful, and I'm excited to start working with Maynard in the upcoming weeks!

Happy Reading Break/Valentine's Day!

Friday, February 7th

Last Thursday, the team got together to work on the treatment for our film with Maynard. I think we came up with some pretty solid ideas. We thought it would be a good plan to structure our film in the tripartite style of the actual piece Maynard created for Cornett. We would divide the film into three sections; the first would be about Maynard as an artist, and would reflect the right-hand side of the piece, which represents Indigenous people; the second section would be about residential schools and the disastrous impact that they have had on Indigenous peoples and communities, and would reflect the left-hand side of the piece, which represents the Church and the Canadian government; and the third section would represent Maynard's role as an educator, and his ability to reach out and connect people with his artwork, and this would reflect the center portion of the piece, which represents coming together, solving these issues collectively, and working towards a positive future. We thought that the overall theme of the piece should be education and outreach; he teaches students about his artwork in classroom settings, we met Maynard in a classroom, Maynard's piece will be displayed in the school, and it is ultimately about sharing the knowledge of residential schools with audiences and trying to create a better future for both Indigenous people and Canadians. So the education theme just naturally seemed to fit!

We also started planning for our first meeting with Maynard, which will hopefully happen next week, during reading break. We will ask him about shooting the interview in his home, because he doesn't have a studio. We'll also run our ideas by him in regards to the structure and content of the film, and hopefully he approves. This film will be a reflection of Maynard and his work, so obviously we are giving him the final say for anything and everything that we do. We also began to brainstorm some of the interview questions we will pose during our filming session. Maynard is a very enthusiastic and competent speaker, so we are pretty excited to get him on camera talking about his work!

In class yesterday, we had a lecture on the Human Research Ethics Board application, which we don't need to fill out for this project (Andrea has a class-based approval for us), but it is useful to know these things for any future projects we may do. We also were taught the various types of shots that we can utilize in our film with some handy videos that Andrea played for us. These shots include:

• full shot:
• encompasses entire figure
• use for establishing shot (entire story)
• something significant about the entire body
• medium full shot:
• cutting out a bit more of the distracting elements, focusing in more on the character
• still showing almost as much as the full shot
• cowboy shot:
• closer still; very tops of legs and up (like an old-timey cowboy standoff!)
• medium shot:
• at eye level, looking at torso and up
• remember to be mindful of headroom (not too much; just a little above the head)
• also, remembering to keep eyes in third of frame
• close up (CU):
• cutting off the top of head
• getting into "emotions" and facial features of the character
• much more intimate and focused
• where the action takes place; story is being told
• extreme close up (ECU):
• extremely focused in; completely consumed with one spot

We will begin shooting our practice footage on Tuesday and playing around with the different shots. We'll figure out the different positions that each of us will fill as well (camera person, interviewer, organizer, and director). The distribution of labor should go pretty smoothly; everyone in our group is hardworking and dedicated! Our first film session is sure to be tones of fun!