A little journey

It’s been a little bit of a journey. I was actually struggling with some shooting skills as it isn’t something I am familiar with, however, I got to be able to learn and get it quite quickly. At the beginning, I couldn’t figure out why the background in the photos did not turn out as blurry as I expected, turned out it was because I set the setting quite low. First photoshoot with a friend, just walking around the city went quite well, however, the quality of the photos are not as I wanted which made me wanted to take more. The shots and everything were great, but they are just not good enough. One thing I learned from this session was that even though the sky was quite cloudy, the pictures actually turn out quite moody as I hoped for. As I aimed to shoot outdoor photos, natural lighting is the most important aspect to be aware of. I have to say the photoshoot went quite well, we went to a bar to take some rooftop pictures and wanted to get the style as Elie usually takes.

So I decided to try again, this time I worked out all the settings and hoped for the best. I solely went to the basketball court behind building 80, hoping to get some good shots in action of people playing basketball and might as well asking people to take pictures of them as a group shot. Then there was a guy came up and asked what I was doing. Told him I was doing an assignment, in photography class, trying to get some shots of people. He was interested and wanted to help so he got to be my model.

And the other guy came along and was also interested in what I was doing, he wanted to me my model as well so both of them were playing basketball for me to be able to get some action. Then one of them suggested to get rooftop shots, which is perfect as it is what I wanted to shoot. They took me to this rooftop carpark in Chinatown, so we began to do some photoshoot. The light was just perfect. Tried to capture all the moments as much as possible. All the shots are great. I have to say I am extremely with how all the photos turn out.

Everything was in manual setting which was a little of a challenge to get all the shots right, some of them were out of focus from time to time. Didn’t have much problem with exposure and the speed of the focus. The natural light on the day was spot on, even the location was just perfect. Have to say that this project brief went quite as I expected. It went smoothly.

Even though the shooting session wasn’t such a struggle for me after all, the most challenging part I find during this project brief is to be able to edit the shots to make it similar to Elie’s style. Basically, he does a lot of high contrast, low saturation, and cool tone. I used Adobe Lightroom to edit the photos, which was quite easy, however, to get the photos to be similar as Elie’s ones is a different story. I tried to do it differently with every photo, hoping to be able to make it close to his style, some of them came out quite similar.

Overall, I am very happy with all the photos and how they are completed. My original aim was to get the look of streetwear fashion kind of shots, which I got them. Then the style of ‘urban’ photography, which I honestly think I still need to work on that more. What I have learned throughout the project brief is how the tone, the contrast, highlight, shadow, and everything else really effect the mood and the style of the picture. Photography isn’t all about taking pictures. It takes a lot of efforts and time and the right skills of editing and shooting to get to the style you’re aiming to. The more time you spend on each photos, hoping to get it right really helps a lot to get to where you’re expecting. Throughout the progress, I have enjoyed the whole process and everything. Hopefully the next project briefs will help me get to professional level and be able to enhance my skills to the next next level.

March 24, 2017 Uncategorized, week 4 No Comments on A little journey

There is no such thing as original

https://vimeo.com/19447662

As the third week of semester goes by, my fear of creating something totally different yet still inspiring was hopeless. However, this documentary called Everything is a Remix by Kirby Ferguson keeps me believing in my dreams of making creative films. According to Ferguson, there is no such thing as original. It is undeniable to say that most of the movies are inspired from previous movies, however, that doesn’t mean those movies are not creative as such.

Kirby Ferguson explains and gives examples why everything is a remix. As he says, 79 out of 100 movies are based on other films, however, it doesn’t mean that they copy each other’s ideas. It’s more about using other arts such as books, music, shows, and films as inspirations. It is interesting how we think that, for example,a movie like Star Wars is original. Yet, Kirby claims that an inspiring movie as Star Wars is also a mix of other movies such as Yojimbo (1961), Flash Gordon (1936), and Hidden Fortress (1958) etc. To know that films are not usually authentic is surprising for me because I used to see films as something creative and original. It makes me to see filmmaking in a different point of view. However, this also gives me hopes that it is okay to pick things up and mix them together to create a piece of art, but again, plagiarism is always something I have to keep in mind. Also, Kirby shows that it is not a bad or wrong thing to use something as an inspiration, thus, it can be another kind of creativity as well.

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Creation requires influence. – Kirby Ferguson

Later in the documentary, Ferguson shows how Kill Bill (2003/4) is basically a mashed up film. There are plenty of scenes that the director used that was inspired by other films such as The Searchers (1956), Gone in 60 Seconds (1974), and Game of Death (1978) etc.

Nevertheless, this leads me to wonder what and who gets to decide whether something creative and fresh or not since everything is a remix. What is the difference between plagiarism and using it as inspirations?

Overall, this documentary by Kirby Ferguson leads me to a clearer view of how former films and arts can be inspiring and influential. However, it is also good to try to imagine and use the pure ideas from your own first, then adapt it with something you see as creative in order to make your art more interesting. It gives me belief that if I am stuck with the same ideas to make a film, it is best to have a look at former films, music, and arts to freshen up my ideas and mix it with something in my mind to create a something. This documentary also makes me look at filmmaking differently, how they put everything together, how they create an interesting storytelling and how they make people unaware that they great film may be inspired and almost the same as other films.

March 31, 2016 initiative post, Ways of making, week 4 No Comments on There is no such thing as original

Three shots

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In this week’s exercise, I got a chance to go shoot something only for three shots. My group, Justin, Allison, Polly and I were quite stuck of what to shoot in three shots and also how to make it relate to what we are studying. Shots I had in my mind were mostly have to shoot outside uni, but unfortunately, we were not allowed to do so. In the beginning of the exercise, it was already challenging in terms of coming up with creative ideas. But finally, I came to a conclusion (Allison’s idea) that we will be shooting a filmmaking technique called Point of View Shot (POV shot) which is quite interesting for me because I did not know much about this technique and I learned so much more from this exercise.

We had our camera, sound recorder, and tripods ready. Now, one of the challenging parts is finding a suitable location to film. I walked around campus with the materials looking for a location and being extra careful holding the camera and everything. Finally, we found our spot.

The location was quiet and suitable for filming, it was new building 9 where people usually go to hang out. Then, we began to plan our scenes, showing how POV shots work, the best way was to create a little conversation between two people and film it in different angles. We filmed in three point of views, three shots each. The result came out quite impressive for us as the shots we clear and apparently show how POV shots do. After this exercise, I have learned how fun and interesting filmmaking can be when you don’t only shoot what you want to show but also include several cool techniques in order to explore the beauty of filmmaking.

March 28, 2016 Ways of making, week 4 No Comments on Three shots

Point Of View shots

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After learning and actually shooting Point of View shots, I found it quite fascinating how unaware of this technique until I tried. There are a lot of movies using this technique, which happens to be one of the interesting techniques and pleasing to see in films as well.

For example, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,  by Michel Gondry, uses a lot of this technique to show different kinds of feeling. It is one of my favourite films of all time in terms of the camera angles and the plot of the film.

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In this scene, Clementine was talking to Joe under blanket having a conversation about her insecurity. In order to make the audience engaged and make the scene personal, the director did a POV shot. Therefore, it brings the audience closer to the characters and feel like they are actually with them. It is intimate. Also, point of view shots make the film interesting because it is rare and it makes the audience feel like they are at the location with the characters. This film doesn’t only use POV shots to engage with the audience, Gondry also makes it even more intimate for the audience by making them hear what Joe thinks in his head.

I found this movie really interesting and for the film I will be making, I want to make it something slightly similar to this film. Hopefully, it is not going to be only a good story but also show some views from the character and make it really personal for the audience.

Further of the research, David Christopher Bell shows 10 fascinating uses of point of view shots. He simply gives ten examples of what POV shots would look like in films. It is surprising how a lot of movies, or directors, use this technique. Also, I have learnt that not only the point of view of a person from the eyes that is called POV shot, it can also be someone shooting a camera kind of thing. One of the movies that did a great job of this kind of technique is Chronicle (2012). 

 

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Overall, after learning this technique and actually shooting it, it makes filmmaking even more fun and interesting. It amazes me how this technique can make the movie different just by shooting different angles. I would like to film my first experiment using this technique.

March 27, 2016 Ways of making, week 4 No Comments on Point Of View shots