Thursday, January 30th

Hi all! Here are my notes and thoughts about the 409 class held last week on Jan 30! Once again, I'll start with the notes I jotted down in class, and then discuss how I thought the class was relevant to our project.

For this class, our professor Andrea Walsh invited her former student Devin Tepleski, who is very proficient in both film-making and still photography, to talk to us about some of the technical aspects of filming that we should be thinking about for our own projects, and to show us his own student film "Mango Driftwood" that he shot in Ghana. First, I will list the notes I took specifically from watching "Mango Driftwood," and then I will list the notes I obtained from Devin's talk.

Mango Driftwood:

• introductory text (what will we use for ours?)
• using simple sounds, or natural sounds; when using music in another language, display translations at the bottom of the screen
• display chapter names in inter-titles (our project is divided into three sections; name each section and divide by inter-titles?)
• zooming in/out >> cheesy?

Devin's Discussion Notes:

• when filming, leave "handles" on each end of film clip for editing
• lack of control in the field
• do I have what I need?
• are there problems with existing footage?
• obtain extra audio tracks; building sense of the environment
• planning the shoot
• start with introductions (not necessarily on film) to make it feel more relaxed and comfortable
• shoot B-roll first (environmental shots; silent scenes); do it while talking to the person
• when going into the studio, establish how to use the space
• shoot an establishing shot (moving into the studio)
• in crowded room, pay attention to intimate details
• what details can tell you about them
• example: shots of drawing/close ups of hands
• casual vs. formal interview shots
• linking different locations symbolically through objects
• following the person through space (line of action)
• good practice exercise?
• be aware of which side subject left the shot
• B-roll must be information about the art (ex:materials) or the artist
• Rule of Thirds/Diagonals
• being thoughtful of horizontal lines (markers)
• challenges involved with shooting in interior spaces
• triangles; grounded aspect to the image
• headroom and nose room
• starting audio a few seconds before next frame, even with pan shots (leads into next shot; not as jumpy)
• point of perspective; where does eye go to in the distance?
• shots: extreme close up, close up, medium close up (shows part of person, objects), medium shot (waist level), long shot (some background), extreme long shot (mostly background)
• lighting
• be aware of competing colours
• use natural light as much as possible
• adjusting white balance (what camera sees as pure white)
• presets vs. custom (using white card)
• check every time you move location
• stay a little underexposed; better than overexposed (can fix)
• be aware of distracting sounds (ex: fans, music, etc.)

I gained some knowledge of photography when I was an editor for my high school yearbook for three years, so some of this material is not new to me (Rule of Thirds, for example), but I can already see how creating this film will be challenging in terms of producing meaningful shots and capturing motion rather than still images. I definitely know this will be a rewarding experience, and I'm pretty confident that our group will create an amazing film!