Allison's Blog

During the past few weeks, we had the chance to play around with the dolly, set up multi-cameras and monitors as well as an audio setup.

In one of the class, Paul showed us a scene from Mad Men and we had a go at replicating a particular scene. In groups we set up 3 different cameras with the monitors. This set up allowed me to be able to see the different direction angles at once, and I was able to clearly how the directions affected the way the scene appears on screen.

Something that I’ve always heard about in filming is crossing the line. I think for the first time I was able to see what it meant during filming. The sense of continuity is something that I feel is something not noticed in films, yet when the line is crossed it’s pretty obvious. Another thing I realised was how the slight angles could change the feel in the scene. For example an over the shoulder shots for two people in a conversation. Positioning the camera to match the heights of both people is actually very important. Having the wrong angles could leave viewers confused and could potentially spoil the experience in watching that particular scene.

This exercise made me thing about the preparation that is needed before any filmmaking. I wouldn’t want to make all this decisions on the spot and waste time and effort from both the crew and actors in the future.

In the last class, Paul was showing us how important lighting is to a film and how it affects the whole production. One aspect of video production that is often unnoticed by many people, including myself is lighting. More than often, I find myself banging my head on the wall during post-production. Whether it’s because my footages are over-exposed or there isn’t enough natural lighting or additional lighting for my shot, lighting is always something that I can’t seem to get it right.

Lighting plays a very important part in films because different lighting brings about different emotions and feelings to different people. Lighting in films can help create composition of different shots and to attract people’s attention to certain objects.

The most basic set up used in cinema is the three-point lighting. It can be broken down into the three different parts. Key Light, being the primary source of light. Fill Light, filling in the shadows casted by key light. While Back Light allows an object to seperate from the background. This setup works together to create a fuller image on screen. However, most filmmakers play with the different lights, varying the intensity and the use of the lights to create different moods in different scenes.

While researching, I found a few examples on how cinematographers achieved the lightings in their films and how the light affected the way audience perceived that particular scene.

[ There Will Be Blood 2007 ]

In this scene, a key light and back light has been placed to shoot this scene. The additional lights not only makes him stand out from the background, but it also draws us to the sweat and oil on his face.

In this scene, there is only one source of light pointing directly at his face and he blends in completely with the background. I thought it was an effective way of making the audience curious to want to see what he is looking at.

[Sin City 2005 ]

In this scene there is a strong key light and back light. Thus a dark shadow is casted on his face. The hard lights create hard-edge shadows and this gives off a very eerie feeling in this particular scene. Video lighting can be a lot more complex than just having a three point lighting as shown in the examples. There are so many different areas to adjust and experiment to intentionally create different moods and atmosphere in my films. This will definitely be an area that I want to try and experiment in my videos.

I found this experiment video while researching about lighting and I was so intrigued while I watched it. It was amazing to pause at different parts of the video to see how the location of the key light changed the entire mood of the scene. I thought it was a great short clip to show how lighting is important, even in such a simple frame.

Sparkles and Wine – Teaser from Nacho Guzman on Vimeo.

As with video and audio, lighting is also something that I need to plan properly beforehand. Ensuring that my exposure settings are right before I shoot any footage isn’t enough. In order to improve on my video production quality, I need to consider the different aspects. Through the four weeks of classes so far, I’ve come to realise that video, audio, lighting are all important in their own ways. In order for me to create a good video or film, I need to pay attention to the smallest details.

During our writing exercise in class, we penned down some ideas that we were going to use for our filming. As this point of time, I’m quite interested in doing a short drama series of POV shots. I want to explore different film making techniques while trying this. Not too sure how and what my final direction would be, but hopefully as I go along and do more research, I’ll be able to form a better idea of where I’m heading.

I will constantly be updating this post about new ideas and hopefully be able to come up with a few scenarios for my project.

List of actions

• Running
• Drinking
• Strolling
• Fiddling with phone
• Sleepwalking
• Drumming
• Getting dressed

List of locations

• School
• Library
• Swimming Pool
• Beach
• Home

List of people

• Neighbour who is living alone, treats her dog as if it was a human
• Student getting ready for a day at Uni
• Girl is late and she runs to her bus stop
• Dodgy guy sitting at the bus stop, sipping on his coffee

EDIT//

After my consultation with Paul, I’ve decided to head in another direction for my experiments. As with my second initiative post, I’m interested in how lighting in a film can affect the quality of the production. For now, I’m planning to do a series of shots for two different scenarios. Basically I’m trying to experiment how different a production would look like if I use natural lighting versus artificial lighting.

I found the abstract video and sound recording really interesting. I have to admit I was caught off guard when we were supposed to head out to capture our abstract footages because I wasn’t used to it.

Amy and I headed out to shoot with no plans at all. However not long after we came across a spider web that was swaying about mid-air. Intrigued by it, we stopped to try and capture that particular shot. It was particularly tricky due to the lighting and the movement of the web. In the end, we left it on the tripod and hit the record button. The footage actually turned out way better than what we expected. I realised sometimes the best shot isn’t something that we plan. It was a good exercise to be able to observe my surroundings and to be intentional about the different shots that I can get. Having walked that path almost everyday for the last one and a half years in RMIT, it was good for me to stop and be more aware of my surroundings.

In another class we started learning about sound recording. We used the zoom H4n that I’ve used a long time ago in Writing Media. Fern and I went out to record different sounds around uni. It was a very different experience for me as we had to fully concentrate on getting the sounds we wanted. Having been so used to looking out for framing and shots for videos, I found that having a good audio recording was equally important in making any film.

Through this two exercises, I found out that I’ve always put more focus on the visual side of things and have lacked attention and detail on sound recordings. While looking back at my footages, I realised that even a simple sound recording requires good planning. It’s easier to manipulate a bad footage, but with a bad audio there is simply no way to edit.

Abstract from Allison Teo on Vimeo.

During another class, we had to form a group to start our shoot. I had been toying with the idea of a POV shot before class, and I was glad that the group was open to my idea and even gave more suggestions to further improve the shots. I think this is the advantage of working with people who are able to communicate and bounce off ideas with each other. Working with people allows me to widen my thinking and expand my own boundaries in filmmaking.

The biggest issue was definitely the audio and the movement of the camera, especially for the last two takes. The end product wasn’t as perfect as it was in my brain but I felt like I learnt a lot from it. Moving on from here, I realised that filmmaking isn’t so much a solo thing. Working with like-minded people will allow me to explore different areas in filmmaking and be able to further improve myself.

POV Exercise from Allison Teo on Vimeo.

I was reading up on the different types of filming techniques for this course and I came across one that really fascinated me.

And that is the : The Point of view (POV) shot.

I’ve realised that I’ve always been drawn towards scenes with POV shots when I’m watching films or television series. To me, it gives me a sense of involvement within the film itself. Instead of just watching it as an audience in front of the screen, I’m able to participate in the film, and I get really engrossed with that sometimes. There is also that element of fun in the film, whereby I get to try and figure out what’s happening in the different scenarios.

Typically, a POV shot is when a character is represented by a camera. The POV shot blurs the distinction between those on the screen and those in the audience. The camera is no longer just something that’s presenting a shot, but it allows the audience to experience what the character is going through at that moment. Famously quoted by the COEN brothers, they state that they

“tend to utilize the POV shot to better submerse us in a scene, but the (POV) shot is often used to simply give us a unique perspective that can only be created through cinema.”

I found it hard to exactly pin point when the POV shot started in the world of cinema, but I remember certain scenes that I’ve watched years ago, way before I was interested in films. One of them would be Steven Spielberg’s JAWS.  I remember the scenes when the kids would be playing in the waters and something would be lurking below. Looking back, I realised that it was a perfectly executed POV shot (by the shark). What I didn’t realise back then was that Steven Spielberg did not plan it that way. The mechanical shark that was used in  JAWS was not functioning properly and thus with such limitations, Steven Spielberg had no choice but to adapt and think of a new way to portray that particular scene. Had there been no such limitations, would that scene be as iconic as it is now?

I also thought it was really interesting how the television series “Breaking Bad” used the traditional POV shots on inanimate objects. Instead of doing the usual POV shots for characters, they did different “up-shots” throughout the entire series on pots, duffel bags, etc.  This really got me thinking about how I can challenge whatever knowledge I had before to explore new boundaries in filmmaking.

While exploring the different type of shots in filmmaking, I realised that a lot of thought and planning goes into every single scene that is seen in the films. Understanding the basics shots isn’t enough to make a good film. A great film is when it’s able to bring forth what the director is trying to convey to their audience. This has really inspired me to brush up on my own techniques and to not rush to take any random shots.

Check out this awesome compilation of POV shots by Leigh Singer!

The first two weeks of classes have basically been a revision of the basics of camera and audio recording operations. While this isn’t my first time handling such equipments, it was definitely a good revision. I especially liked the mini “checklist” that Paul provided.

The first exercise we did was to head out and film a short 10 second footage. I was too busy focusing on what I should take due to the lack of time. However when we were reviewing the footage in class, I realised that everything we shot were considered “bad footage”. This was due to the fact that we didn’t do our checks properly beforehand, thus white balance and exposure were not set correctly.

Another exercise we did was to head out and grab abstract footages. This was particularly hard for me as I’ve always followed a set of instructions. However, I realised that this gave me time to correct my settings before taking any shots.

Looking back at both exercises, I realised the importance of ensuring that there is a proper procedure, especially for myself. There is nothing much you can do with “bad footage” during post production. There are a lot of factors that can contribute to a good shot as discussed in the classes. However, without the appropriate technical skills, there is nothing much I can do.

In the film industry, there is no room for such simple mistakes. Forming such habits of checking the settings before any shoot will definitely help my career in the long term. I’ve experienced within the first two weeks of classes that taking time out before any shoot will largely determine how everything goes on.

As this is my last year in RMIT and also, probably the last time that I’ll get to choose my studio, I wanted to make full use of it before I graduate. I was drawn to this studio, Ways of Making because of the promise of a new approach to the conception, development and production of short film projects. While I’ve always been interested in editing, I’ve found it hard especially when it comes to the technicalities of filming. I found myself in many situations whereby my lack of expertise in the technical aspect affected the work I produced.

Through this course, I want to learn the correct techniques used in filmmaking. I want to use whatever knowledge I have prior to challenge myself deeper as I continue on this course. As I do not have much experience in this industry, I want to take this chance to understand more about the film industry.

I am hoping that through this course, I’ll be able to develop and polish up my technical skills. I want to be confident of producing good shots and not having to worry about small technical issues. I’m definitely looking forward to creating a film that I’m proud of by the end of the semester. I don’t think one can ever fully learn what “filmmaking” is. It’s definitely a process of constant learning and exploring new ideas.

While my final goal for now may not be filmmaking, I’m sure that the skills I learn will definitely benefit me in the long term.

Ways of Making, here we go!