In week3, we went out to shoot still frame videos about a place. After shooting we need to write down all the parameter of each 30 seconds’ shooting. For our group, we chose to get some footages of Old Melbourne Gaol or something near it. Finally we get four footages, the shot of the gate, the wall with door and window of the gaol and the open window that is blocked by a tree and with a view of far distance building. We felt that a place can be so different and beautiful than we thought when it’s on a frame. I think recording a place without any sound, and putting some music or monologue is one way to make a documentary film, at least I think so by now.

The aim to write down all parameter is to get an awareness about lighting (I think). Gain, white balance, colour temperature, f stop and ND filter, all these parameters are about lighting and colour. Paul said that he prefers to call white balance colour balance. There are several kinds of colour temperature, 1600k-candles (very yellow), 3200k-film lights, 4000k-fluro, 5200k-sunny, 5600k-cloudy, 6000k… Gain is usually on ‘low’, and white balance is usually on ‘A’. When there is not much sunshine, ND filter is not that much needed. ND filter is like a sunglass to the camera. When we do this we paid attention to lighting, choose the spot where there is a good light, and do the white balance there. And we did lots of thinkings on framing, we are trying to get interesting composition, for example, the one with shooting through a window. Also we actually removed something from the frame to make it look better. When I did the shot of jail wall, I used my phone to frame up and found that it looks better for me to shoot it at a flat level.

When we doing the shots, we worked like a team, a director, a director of photography and a camera assistant. Director is the one who comes up with ideas, DOP is the one who operate the camera as the way director wanted, camera assistant is the one who helps DOP.