I found this week’s consult session to be really helpful in establishing what I want to create and explore over the final 3 weeks of this semester (and the Film3 Studio). I’ve begun to further develop and understand how I can conduct my night-time experiments and the ways in which I could potentially put together the footage and moments that I capture.
Through my first 2 test shoots I learned a lot about the limitations I’m exposing myself to by filming predominantly during the night. However, with these limitations comes both opportunities and interesting technical challenges and so far, these have provided excellent filmmaking experiences and lessons. Through some rough editing of the footage I’ve collected thus far, numerous concepts have sparked into being – confirming one of Film3’s key ideas: being able to ‘write’ and develop a project through all stages of production, not just pre-production.
So, over the next few weeks I want to continue this research and development of ideas, through a number of more specific and planned shoots. I’ve completed the beginning ‘test’ stages of my exploration, and now it’s time to use my tests to inform further shoots, edits & reflections. Below is a list of the shoots I’d like to complete:
1. Collection of (higher) Quality Footage (Video Only)
To kick things off I’d like to again head out to the streets around my suburb and shoot a variety of night-time footage. This time I want to use a tripod to eliminate camera shake and (for the time being) focus purely on capturing interesting compositions, not audio or anything else. Hopefully this shoot will further grow my ideas and influence what I shoot and create afterwards.
2. Collection of AUDIO, using a Zoom h4 Recording Kit
In the shoot outlined above, I will not be aiming to capture high-quality audio. This is why this ‘shoot/recording session’ is needed. I’ll aim to collect a large variety of soundscapes and noises that will complement the video footage I have collected/will shoot in the near future. I think focusing on audio only will let me get more creative and intuitive with my recordings as creating interesting visual compositions won’t be a distraction – this will also let me develop skills in audio recording and foley work. I figure that the sounds I collect through this ‘shoot’ will be useable in pretty much anything I decide to create for Film3 AND future projects.
3. Shooting Street & Traffic Lights
From looking over my existing test footage, I’ve come to really appreciate the warm glow that street lights give off during the dark hours of the day. The new LED street lights also look good, but I find the ‘traditional’, more ‘orangey’ lights to be more visually pleasing & interesting to look at on film – the way they contrast against the black of the night offers a really cinematic look (I think). I’d like to find interesting perspectives to use when filming these available sources, to show them in a more dynamic and intriguing light (yes pun intended).
4. Shooting from the Perspective of a Car
I’ve already tested out using a GoPro to capture exterior POV-ish shots from a car’s perspective however I want to shoot more of this kind of footage, this time using a slightly different setup. I’ve got my hands on a suction-cup mount now and this should let me capture far greater shots, opening up a much wider range of mounting options. The footage collected through this shoot could be intercut with shots of quiet intersections to emphasise the energy and loudness of a car’s engine during the peacefulness of the night.
(MAYBE) 5. Contrasting Day and Night
I’d like to test out a few different ways to contrast footage shot during the day & night. I want to avoid split-screens though, because I think would be the easy option, and one that seems (to me at least) to be overdone. One of my ‘Video of the Week’ posts shared a video which I think will really influence this shoot (this one). This shoot wouldn’t take too long and would only involve the recording of 2 shots. I would shoot 1 shot during the day and then 1 shot from the EXACT same point at night time. I would then experiment with different ways to make the 2 shots interact within one shot.
Anyways, that sets out a rough plan that will hopefully help me continue to form new ideas and develop existing ones. The shoots will probably change as I continue to test out different audio/video effects and techniques and as I pursue new ideas.