Omnia mea mecum porto or “All that is mine I carry with me” has been representative of not only the last for months but the last two and a half years as I journey through my final year of the course. It has been a journey from a place of uncertainty to one that feels comfortable. The skills I have learnt were in a sense, pleasantly unexpected but also engaging. Even from a shy first year, and in many senses I may still be that same person, to now I am of a state of mind to be able to think and reflect on everyday scenes. What I’ve learned for the past two and a half years now, I will take with me for the rest of my life which I am grateful for.
To be able to learn about media production and more especially film production, has had an engaging effect on the mind. Every film I see, or every piece of media I consume essentially becomes a practice of the mind to analyse and ponder how the piece was constructed. In Film Light, I learned how the mechanics of the camera work in relation to the shot; changing the focal length, aperture length, ISO or N.D filters and understanding not only what it achieves for the shot but also why you would do it in that way for the shot you want to achieve. A myriad of questions flow through my mind, ‘would a shallower depth of field be more effective here?’ Or ‘Do I have to shoot at a higher exposure with an N.D filter to balance out the ambient light coming into the room?’ Things like this I never thought before this semester, so not only does my understanding of framing a shot becomes important but there is an added layer of complexity that comes with selecting a shot.
For lights, it is incredibly helpful to understand the nature of artificial light and how it relates to lighting a scene. Things like understanding the replicable lighting of a scene on a day to day shoot where there may be days where the natural light is different and lighting a scene such that it would highlight the ‘key’ light of the scene in a more profound manner because shooting with natural light would cause difficulty to say the least. It is in a sense, make the shot look unnatural if you would shoot, ironically enough, with natural light. Understanding the colour temperatures and how it would become applicable to replicating the natural or ambient light within a scene. All these analytical skills become essential in being efficient in any future projects I may pursue.
The studio also taught me a lot of things about filming on location, especially when we are transitioning into a more digital age. There needs to be a plan going into a shoot for it to go as fast and efficiently as possible. As with our first project, we now have a general basis of understanding what is involved in shooting with reflecting water and around a technically limited space. In our second project, we improved on this by moving our ambition towards a different kind of light manipulation in the form of cutting a hard light source. Logistically, it was easier however it did achieve the same kind of noir-esque effect on the scene. Generally, what I’ve learned from Robin this semester, has been mind opening and I will forever be grateful for it. The things I learn today, will carry on with me as I journey through my career and I hope it will hold me in good stead.
Looking back, there were a great many things that I was unsure of upon taking up media at university. I was an unsure student who had given up on my pursuit of maths and sciences, though these things still interest me I feel like I have learnt all I can from that field. Now my focus and drive is purely on media content creation and consumption. I know that films are where my heart lies so I will pursue that career to the best of my ability and within it apply the knowledge I have learnt so far.
Links to Final Cuts of projects:
Project 1: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1izM87jCk8yrX8-jlzUJ4loaR9Axv4jl4
Project 2: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1P7X0oet9DTXs6O8ATfUbLEseOchm98i4
