Below you will find my responses to a series of questions relating to things discussed recently in class.

1. In the lighting lecture there were several different aspects of lighting covered. Firstly there was an introduction to some of the different sorts of lights available to us. We also learnt about a little about how to technically operate them as well as some key safety pointers such as managing cords, heat from the lights etc. Other things covered were the colour of light from various sources (blue light from the sun, yellow light from the lights in the lecture theatre) and how to deal with the colour light various sources omit to achieve the best result. Finally we learnt a bit about how to act professionally while using lighting equiptment eg. ensure that you say “light on” before turning on a light in an actors face!

2. From week 6 I found the reading on developing a crew particularly interesting and relevant. The section of this reading on “crew member temperaments” didn’t necesserily excite me but it was something that I believe is essential to be considered. There is nearly always conflict that arises when working within a small group and the crew for our short films definitely fall under this category. It was interesting to read the traits to beware of and also those that are valued when working on a film set as I feel personally I was able to assess these things and adapt my own behaviour to ensure I am a valued member. Another thing from this reading that excited me was reading the section about the role of the director. As director for my film I found it really interesting and valuable to read the suggested personal traits that make a good director and really try to addopt these qualities in preparation for my own shoot day.

3. Through watching the scene from the 1966 film Blow Up there were numerous things to note. The actors were choreographed to make great use of the space available and the us of the wooden frames in the studio to frame many of the shots was very effective. The accents and tones used by the actors gave more insight into the background and relationship between the characters and the body language used by each of the characters during moments without dialogue were essential in distingusihing mood. Moments such as the one where the male character dives behind a chair in order to reach the phone and the manner in which he goes about answering it work significantly to build information about him and the staging of the woman in the reflection as he holds the phone over the chair is a very effective and simple way of covering the moment. I feel like something the Antonioni would really have to considering when directing the actors and the camera would be the 180 degree rule are the interation between the two characters in this scene is shot from many different angles around the same small space and it would be easy to confuse the shot. Another thing he would need to consider would be the use of space and the room available for the actors to work with given the various positions of the camera within a relatively small area.