Week 3 Blog Post:

Week 3 Reflection: Depth of Field

Week 4 Blog Post:

Week 4 Reflection: utilising basic cinematography to aid a story

Scene Analysis 2:

Scene Analysis Part Two: Bridge of Spies Scene

This was a shot taken from a scene in the film: ‘Bridge of Spies”. The two men are listening to music whilst they set up another defence in the next hearing. The key light in this scene is coming from the back window. The key light is very soft with a temperature that is very reminiscent of a cloudy day. There is also a soft fill light emitting from the front, which is designed for us to see the subject. If the fill was not there, the subjects would be silhouette. The fill light could also be potentially be caused by the scattering of the key light off the walls rather than actual light source. This wide shot of the two men has been exposed for the subjects, hence the blown out highlights in the back windows. The scene has plenty of contrast between the highlights and the shadows which does the job of separating the subjects from the background.

It is a lot more apparent on how soft the lighting is when we observe the close ups of the two subjects. The fall off in the highlights is very gradual amongst their faces. There is no clear drop off in the highlights. Through the two close ups, I feel as though the fill could be a result of the key light bouncing off the interior rather than the use of a less intense light source. This is because there are plenty of patches of blacks on the fill side in which the key light could not fill on the subject.

The lighting in this scene was very supportive of the dialogue. It made me feel that the Russian Spy (the guy who is not Tom Hanks) was genuinely a good man who was just serving his country. Who did not appear to be sinister in this type of lighting.

This week we got to have a little fun.We had apply all the things we learnt so far about lighting and camera settings to a script. We had to act and film for two different scripts. There were also different parameters that had to be met in order to accomplish the task. These set parameters were designed for us to think and work around potential complications that would may and truly well happen when we enter the industry. I found this exercise to be refreshing, exciting and a great learning experience. I got the opportunity to work along side with my peers, have a laugh (maybe a lot more laughing than there should be) and get the job done (questionable).

We all took part in the project and designated ourselves a specific roll. Some were actors, a few gaffered and the others directed, camera operated or edited. I helped out with the lighting and offered to edit the videos. During the filming exercise, we had the freedom to use the lights, gels and cards.

This was the sequence that we did for Exercise Three: ‘Emmaline Dreams of Play time’

Establishing shot

Emmaline looks off to the window

Front mid shot

Close up detail shot

Close up head shot of Emmaline to focus on her dialogue

We key lit the scene with a 2k and a blue gel to match the temperature of day light. We opened up all the blinds to fill in the light. In terms of aesthetics, there was not anything wrong with them. However if we look at the task, we were required to seperate the two scenes together. We also failed to simulate the sun coming up as well. In the case that we ever needed to redo the exercise again, we should have closed down most of the blinds. In setting up the scene this way, we are able to gradually open up one blind to allow some light on to the subjects to simulate the sun coming out. The establishing shot was also not necessary for the scene as well as the 2k light as it was an option, not a necessity.

Exercise Five: “Mullins Returns”

Establishing Shot

Mid Close Up of Sophie

Mid Close Up of Mullins

In this exercise we went outside to shoot using the natural light that was available near the cafe. We lit the subjects using a silver reflector. One key parameter we did not meet was to shoot Mullins at a different location. This was a test to see wether we could replicate the same look in terms of lighting and colour in a different location. This limitation was designed for us to prepare for potential complications in the future when shoots need to be redone.

I have to admit, I was not present for class during week three. Despite this unfortunate circumstance, I asked my peers what was learnt during that class. The focus of that day was ‘controlling depth of field’. Using my current knowledge through life experience, the first two weeks of classes and experimentation I shall explore the topic of ‘depth of field’ in this blog post.

What have I learnt in class that is related to ‘depth of field’?

1. The longer the focal length; the higher the potential for shallow depth of field
2. The wider the aperture; the shallower the depth of field
3. The closer the subject is to the camera: the shallower the depth of field
4. The bigger the camera the sensor; the higher the potential for shallow depth of field

Using my camera equipment, I decided to conduct an experiment that proves three out of the four points. I only have one camera, so that prevents me from proving the point about camera sensor size having an influence on depth of field. I conducted this experiment using a sauce bottle on a dinner table with a camera and tripod set up.

Point 1:

To demonstrate the first point, which refers to focal length, I took two photos with two different focal lengths (85mm and 28mm) using the same aperture and an almost similar field of view.

Shot taken on the 85mm

Shot taken on the 28mm

Point 2:

As you can see, the objects in the background of the 28mm shot are much more distinguishable compared to the shot using the 85mm.

For the second point, which refers to the aperture, I took three shots with different aperture settings with a fixed distance between the camera and the object.

Shot at f/2

Shot at f/4

Shot at f/8

Judging from the three photos, the the sauce bottle becomes less separated from the background. The objects in the background become more defined as close down the aperture because the depth of field becomes greater (less shallow).

Point 3:

Using the 85mm focal length, again, I took two shots the sauce bottle at two different positions. One shot had the sauce bottle close to the camera, whilst the other had the bottle further the way. The aperture, position and focal length of the camera were the same in both shots.

Shot with the object close to the camera

Shot with the object further away from the camera

The depth of field is significantly a lot more shallow in the first shot in comparison to second.

Conclusion:

In manipulating the distance of subject, changing the aperture and focal length we can change the depth of field. Knowledge of these three things will allow us to control the depth of field in the shot in order to achieve a particular look.

Week 1 Reflection:

Week One Reflection: Natural Light

Week 2 Reflection:

Week Two Reflection: Manipulating Light

Scene Analysis:

Lighting Observation of a Scene: Rooftop scene in Shawshank Redemption

Painting Analyisis:

Analysis of a painting

by This painting is called ‘The Woman with a Pearl Necklace” by Johannes Vermeer. It appears that this was lit during mid day given the white lighting. The only key light was through the window, with a fill light on her back due to the light bouncing off the white walls. I have made the assumption that the only light source is through the window because everything below her waist is dark. The way the painting is composed makes me feel that the subject is preparing for an important occasion.

The scene I have chosen to analyse is the part where the men were able to relax and have a few beers after Andy has bribed the guards. The time of day looks like sunset, and the subjects are lit directly in the sunlight. I made the observation by looking at the skin tone of the subjects and the horizon. It appears as though this was shot during the last minutes of golden hour and transitioning into blue hour. Seeing the men relaxed with a cold beer in there hand sets a moment of ease. The scene makes you feel relaxed after a had days work in the hot sun. This mood was also complemented by the body language and the interaction between the inmates.

Continuing on with Week one’s lesson on the natural light that surrounds us, we learnt about the different tools that can add or subtract light, but also redirect and change the quality of light. Our first day of the week, we redid the first exercise with more emphasis on the composition of the shot, and also with the addition of white and black boards. On the second day, we introduced artificial lighting using various light sources.

The first task of the week allowed us to manipulate the natural light in the room with the use of black and white boards. We were able to bounce the key light and add fill to subject. However, in reverse, we could use a black board and take away light from the fill by placing the board next to the subject. This type of practice of adding and taking away from the light further demonstrates that we don’t need expensive lighting equipment to gain some sort of control over the lighting. Using such inexpensive equipment allows us to manipulate the natural light through changing the direction or the quality of the light. In effect, this will allow for more freedom to light the subject in different ways for different moods.

On the second day of class during the week we were introduced to a type of lighting that is very common in studios. We Used three sources of light which was a key light, a fill light and a back light. We used a 1k for the key light and a red head for the fill. However, we could not position the red head in a traditional three-point lighting set up. The reason being that the light produced by the red head was over powering the key light. The fill light had to be less intense than the key light, otherwise it would defeat the whole purpose of having a key and fill light, which is to make the subject ‘pop’. In order for us to reduce the intensity of the red head, we bounced the light onto the ceiling and adjusted it until we were happy with the amount of fill on the subject. In this process we realised how hard it was to control the bounce light because it became highly diffused by the ceiling, which scattered the light everywhere. The drawback in this technique was not being able to control the amount of spill.

A typical three-point lighting setup

source: https://birtecinematography.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/3-point-lighting.png

Fresh into the new year we started off the class by a simple observation. We saw something that we never really pay attention to. The observation we made was the current lighting situation in the room, which was natural light that was penetrating through the windows and bouncing off the white walls. Despite the fact that there was no studio type lighting used, there was still some kind of lighting used. Using the available natural light in the room, we had to conduct an interviewing exercise composing for one single shot. Through this experiment we were expected to review and have a think about and understand the lighting and the composition of in the shot.

The view finder was set to black and white. The intent of the exercise was to focus on how the subject was being exposed. Visualising the subject in black and white allowed us to appreciate how the natural light was interacting with the subject and the background. Once our group had composed and framed up for the shot; resulting in a medium close up of the subject who was positioned in the top left third of the frame. In terms of lighting, we positioned the subject a few meters away from a window, which key lit the subject’s left side. The fill on his right side was lit by the scatter in the room caused by the white walls.

The Frame found in the View Finder

The resultant image from the interview

After we reviewed our shot, we felt as if we could do a lot better in composing for the shot. It was assumed that because of our focus on figuring out on how to light the subject, we forgot about how we should position the subject in relation to the background. Overall the exercise was a great to understand the lighting is not limited to professional type studio lighting. The whole world is lit in a certain way, and if we can understand the current lighting situation in a room, we can use it to our advantage to maximise our control of the lighting. We want as much control as we can so that we can achieve a certain desired look.