Today was a lot more productive than my last attempt at filming some of the skating sequences with my friend. This time I had three friends who were all available to participate in the process. I went to their house and we just filmed relatively short clips of them coasting down the street and doing a few tricks. I had them hold the GoPro whilst doing a few tricks which looks pretty similar to at POV shot, so that’s been incorporated – so I am happy about the fact that we trialled that. I really like the way the GoPro footage looks stylistically, I thought I wouldn’t be into it as much. I feel that the difference in footage from my Nikon D3100 and the GoPro could look a little weird when edited next to each other but I may find that I actually like the contrast. Might make for a more interesting viewing experience.

Although today was a lot more successful than last filming session, we did not have a lot of time to film as the friends involved had band practice and recording to get through as well. I think I will aim for another shoot and this time I may wear my rollerblades and see what it looks like when I film skateboarding from them. I’d also like to trial attaching the GoPro to a skateboard while following another, we got some shots from low-down following, but it would be interesting to see from the exact view of the board.

I’m looking forward to sifting through this footage and putting something together, I don’t really have a storyline to go with it at all but I’m not sure that it really needs one… with my work in this project I’m trying to heavily focus on being creative with the angles I use and gaining more ideas of how to film differing motions, rather than creating a set storyline to follow.

Today was a disaster. Went to my friend’s place with the intention of getting a lot of filming done. Started filming him skating down the street but realised that it’s really difficult to film someone who is skating when you don’t have a skateboard to use and therefore, cannot follow them at the same pace. The camera work also looks really shaky because I had to walk by him. This could be an interesting effect for some parts of my filming but the footage I have doesn’t look great with this film style.

When we left to head to my house via bus, we were also gifted with lovely Myki fines so were pretty annoyed about that, definitely altered the mood. When we got to my house we were going to film more and head to the skatepark, but the skateboards we had weren’t suitable for bowls and ramps. By the time we thought we may be able to film some more on the streets, a cloud rolled over and it started getting pretty dark. I decided I’d rather get more on a nicer day when we actually had a good chance of filming more fluidly where we could take videos where the camera followed the skateboarding smoothly.

Next time I’m going to make sure I have more than him and I, so that there’s someone to film whilst on a board too. I’m sure I could do it, but directing my friends who are actually experienced in skating and filming it will make it easier for me to see my artistic filming visions play out. I’m looking forward to having a better and more productive day of filming than this one – I feel like it was a big waste of my one day I had to film.

Hoping to get my bike tyre fixed soon as well, excited to film some stuff from my bike. I may just use myself as the subject in this sequence of shots, but I may have my mother to help out in this department as well. Making times to film is proving very difficult when myself and everyone around me is so busy all the time!

Last year in my final semester, I was in a studio called Specific to Site where Robbie Rowlands was our tutor. This class really inspired me to make film and sound works which had my own style to them, rather than sticking to specific guidelines – I think this is when I realised it was more important for me personally to turn the task into a creative project, rather than to very plainly adhere to the task and make something basic with nothing to say for it. It was more about trial and error to see what looked good, what didn’t and what you liked, or did not like.

In this class I was particularly drawn to the sound aspect of it. I had never used any software to make sounds from before, so it was a challenge at first, but I ended up playing around making soundscapes for my work and found it really interesting. I think I will use this again in the filming for this project, as I feel like it doesn’t really tie in with your typical skate video at all, so there’s beauty in that as it is.

This clip from Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park (as well as the one I showed in class), has a very eerie feeling to it which is not typical to skating per se, but more to the film itself. The setting of both of the clips are still typical to skate culture, but the music does not allow for the skateboards to be heard, and creates a detachment from this culture – changing the atmosphere.

I think I want to use solely the sounds I pick up with my Nikon D3100 and the GoPro of the skating. I like the way the GoPro captures a sort of muffled sound when it has its case on. I want to alter these sounds in Garageband and warp them into something that does not correlate with the movements of the boards – manipulating the sounds so you cannot easily pick up that they’re skateboard noises. I will also try altering the sounds so they are warped with effects, but are the same sounds from the filmed clips.

Today’s lesson allowed us to trial and explore manipulating the depth of field when filming. We learnt how to mark the points of focus on the camera and manipulate them as we were filming. This meant that we could change the focal point on demand. Particularly helpful when actors move around the frame or are the central topic within a scene. The depth of field can be controlled and manipulated through three technical adjustments; lens focal length, lens aperture and the positioning of the camera.

Using camera tape, we marked the places on the camera’s focus ring which correlated with the appropriate focal lengths we needed for the subjects in our scene. This meant we had to map out where each character would be positioned and would move within the frame, deciding on what needed to be in focus, and when. We numbered the points we marked with tape, so that we could change the focus with the appropriate timing to relate to the movement within the frame. Everyone in the class was able to try out the adjusting of the camera’s focus in pairs. This meant one person would be checking the framed imagery and one would watch the action whilst moving the focus ring with the movement in relation to the numbered marks.

I look forward to using this skill at some point in my filming endeavours! I don’t think I will need it for the idea I have for my project this time around. This is mainly because I’m filming rather active movement and will be doing this alone. I can see what I can do with my Nikon D3100 and have a play around though – will be using this to film as it’s not bulky and I can travel with it easily.

While I was on the bus today, I realised that it could be interesting to film the motion of the bus and possibly team it up with the skateboarding clips (or possibly the cycling/rollerblading if I decide I want to look at those too). Where I’d switch between similar shots, maybe POV, but of the very different modes of transport. To show a contrast, yet enforcing that they are both valid ways of transporting oneself via wheels.

As I am very busy with both work and uni, I can actually get some of this filming done on my way to both of these commitments. At this stage it’s important that I utilise my time well as I feel I will fall behind if I don’t take advantage of these moments that I have which can aid to my final work(s).

Arranging times to film will prove a little difficult as well, as I am either at work when my friends who skate are free or my friends are often at work, band practice or recording. I’m hoping that there will be a day where we are all free to film, soon! I don’t want to end up in a position where I am panicking about getting all of this done on time.

I’ve been trying to find some readings which are relevant to my work from the RMIT library, possibly about contrasting shots in the editing process. It’s proving kind of difficult, I feel like maybe some video research of people discussing and explaining ways of filming skateboarding and also someone discussing editing contrast/parallel choices might be something I could look for…

Very excited to get this all underway, I look forward to working with my friends in the filming process as they’re interesting people and will probably have some good ideas to contribute to the project.

Découpage: Investigating the Meaning of Mise-en-scene and Montage

découpage
noun

1. the art or craft of decorating objects with paper cut-outs.

mise en scène
noun

1. the arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a play.
   • the setting or surroundings of an event.

montage
noun

1. the technique of selecting, editing, and piecing together separate sections of film to form a continuous whole.
2. “montage was a useful device for overcoming the drawbacks of silent film”
   • a sequence of film made using the technique of montage.
   • plural noun: montages
   • “a montage of excerpts from the film”
   • the technique of producing a new composite whole from fragments of pictures, text, or music.
   • “the art of montage in theatre and film”

In this semester’s studio, The Scene in Cinema, our focus seems to often come back to the notion of ‘découpage’. After reading related assigned excerpts on the topic, I have managed to collect a much better understanding of the word. The French word, in its initial state, is relevant to paper craft. “Decorating objects with paper cut-outs” as the definition reads. In a cinematic sense, the word’s relevance is not strictly of paper art. Decoupage is considered to describe the construction of everything that makes up a filmed piece – not to be confused with the editing choices in post-production (Barnard, 2014). From the planning on paper, to the correct positioning of elements within the frame, to the process and changes when filming. Connecting the word to the notion of organisation; what is to be shot and what is actually shot over the entire filming process. Two very important elements help us to understand the concept of decoupage; mise-en-scene and montage.

What interests me about film terminology, is the seemingly ever-changing meanings its words have. In French the word for decoupage is just that, and in Spanish, recortar (Bunuel, 2000. pp. 131). Because the word is translated, it will change in regard to the translated definition the word comes with. Yet, in English, we do not have a word for decoupage – so we must borrow terms and build definitions for the use of it in its new environment – new country/culture.

Mise-en-scene is an overarching title which accounts for everything which is placed within the shot of a film. Montage in film is relevant to explaining the technique of gathering, selecting, editing and piecing shots of a film in a particular order to create an entire film – or a sequence of shots. Mise-en-scene applies to decoupage closely as it directly relates to the elements and composition of shots in a film. Renowned and influential French film critic and film theorist, Andre Bazin (1918-1958), stated “if depth of field interests us it is only incidentally as a technical progress of a shooting style and, essentially, as a revolution of mise-en-scéne or, more precisely, decoupage” (Totaro, 2003). This comment alone expresses that the term decoupage can adapt and adjust to incorporate new elements of mise-en-scene. The word ‘revolution’ projects this notion. Montage is considered more, an afterthought of formal nature. The editing decisions take place, but the images have already been constructed.

Decoupage seems to be a title which appears to be both vague and precise depending on what piece of writing you read on the topic. The further knowledge you gain, the more confusing it becomes. Yet, there is a point reached where you understand that the term has altered over time. Through different countries and cultures, as the word we use is French, the meaning varies as its translation cannot be perfectly pinned-down. To me, mise-en-scene and montage are both very clear notions, unlike decoupage. The reason being, is that their definitions make sense in formal English translation. The words both grant solid explanations of film elements.

I suppose that the view of what decoupage means to any filmmaker as an individual, must adhere to the basic knowledge of the word. However, may be altered to include elements of constructing film which have not yet been considered by other filmmakers. Mise-en-scene choices by directors seem to remain of importance to those who understand the term. Those who think through the representation of all that is within the frame – historically and quite generally speaking, these are the type of directors who become a well-known success. As an example, Michelangelo Antonioni is considered at that level of expertise in the field. The blog post drawing information from the week six reading about Antonioni discusses my thoughts on his detailed and focused approach to cinema.

Cited works:

Barnard, Tim. (2014). Découpage, Caboose, Montréal, pp. 3-8

Bunuel, Luis. (2000). ‘Decoupage, or cinematic segmentation’ in Bunuel, Luis & White, Garrett, An unspeakable betrayal : selected writings of Luis Bunuel, University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 131-135.

Totaro, Donato. (2003). Introduction to André Bazin, Part 1: Theory of Film Style in its Historical Context. [Blog] Off Screen. Available at: http://offscreen.com/view/bazin4

Word count:
Body: 631
Total: 810

Today’s class was really useful as we had two guests, Mark and Louise, who are affiliated with the film industry in some way. As well as being lucky enough to have these guests give us feedback; we also had our tutor and the rest of our class to chime in. I was first up today and was actually a little nervous, even though I was well prepared with a page of notes and a compilation of clips I had put together.

After presenting my idea, followed by my clips and my brief comments on what I found captivating from each shot in the clips, I was given praise for my idea by all who spoke to me which was a relief. I also managed to gain a few new ideas from this discussion.

Two ideas really stuck out for me. One was to craft these wheel-object scenes by imagining they were actually part of a storyline – one either already established, or one I create as a framework. The second, looking at the culture of skating/rollerblading/cycling, the differences between them and how I may film these cultures in a way that is cohesive with each group’s vibe.

I’m really looking forward to beginning the filming process and I have a few friends in mind who will be able to help me by being skating subjects which is ideal. It’s something which they do almost everyday, so there should be enough opportunities to plan filming days.

Here’s an old video of one potential subject: