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!
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