The lessons this week composed of two parts: professional knowledge and practical exercises. For the former, there were discussions of the control over “depth of field”, which, in other words, is the focus range in a shot. A shallow depth of field means the objects further back won’t be in focus; and a deep one indicates a shot in full focus. One can manipulate the depth of the focus through changing the parameters of aperture and focal length. The wider the opening of camera iris, the shallower the depth of field; while the shorter the focal length results in a greater depth of field. A handout of charts regarding the dynamics between the three values was introduced by Robin; and it is said that the exact focus range, measured in feet, can be calculated once the other two values are decided. Another part to the knowledge was on voiceover. The use of voiceovers is really varied in the speakers and their functions. Robin showed us a fair number of clips of different voiceovers to demonstrate the effects. For example, the voiceover from a scene in Adaptation functions to display the quick inner thoughts of the writer’s frustration. There are also ones used for setting the background information, for telling authoritative facts in documentaries, or interesting dual voiceovers. Love Actually starts with a first-person voiceover narrated by one of the characters in the film, which is intriguing that it is actually of a filmmaker’s point of view, stating the theme of the moving picture. We also watched a clip of voiceover from Confessions of a Cheat by Sacha Guitry that influenced directors like Godard and Truff.
On Wednesday, we spent all of our class time on film clip remaking—as the practical exercise for the week. Being a member of a filmmaking team was really a wonderful experience in learning collaboration and the suitable distributions of work. We must all do our parts to the best in order to achieve a satisfying result. Meanwhile, we also found it not easy to do an almost perfect remake even after carefully analysing each shot of the short clips. The distance of the scene from the camera, the focal length used, the acting, the shooting angle—all sorts of factors affected the results despite trying to copy the exact setting and costumes, which was, almost impossible.
We finished all the filming that day, quite efficiently; and still got a long way from professionalism.
Half a semester has passed. How time flies!
I always loved the technical part of this course. For some reason, I feel I learn more if it were technical. Sometimes, I do wish I can learn more about the cameras, microphones and wires, or even the softwares. I wish to see the different cameras used for different purposes, the stabilizers, the different studio lights, microphones and other equipments. Also, I’ve been using premier for two years, but I haven’t been introduced to the Avid Media Composer. However, I do understand that the purpose of this studio is to translate our ideas to paper, and then, paper to films.
I love how Robin shows us clips of different films to showcase or inspire us. Maybe a few books regarding film can be recommended to read?
The practical exercise was really helpful, though, I sometimes feel that the class is not “together” enough. Maybe it is me who has been too quiet. It’s just that sometimes I don’t feel quite connected with everyone. I feel connected with some, but not everyone. Still, there’s half a semester to go. It has been a busy six-week. Wish me luck!
