EXPERIMENT 1: 

This is the the first experiment I conducted after finally settling on my research question:

To examine how diegetic music is used in film to further character development.

For this experiment I was looking at “the radio” as my musical prop. In particular I was looking at how to make non-diegetic music appear diegetic by incorporating it into the narrative of the scene. I incorporated two tracks I grabbed from a free music website into the scene. My aim was to make the protagonist appear to turn the volume up, as if it was playing from the radio. I incorporated the tracks added in post with the original sounds coming out of the radio while tuning. I also looking at how to introduce music that at first appears to be non-diegetic, and then is revealed, as the scene progresses, to be diegetic. I have written about this idea previously. I attempted to do this via the pan-down. Paul provided some useful feedback about this experiment. He pointed out that there is not too much going on in the first shot, and we are not sure where the protagonist is looking, which I agree with. He also said that the radio should have been on! Well it was on but somehow in the process we switched the time light off. Oddly enough, it’s like as soon as I turn a camera on, my attention to detail switches off.

EXPERIMENT 2: 

For this experiment I was focusing on cinematic lighting as well as how different lighting effects can portray different moods. I have been doing a lot of research into lighting, three point lighting in particular. I have been sourcing a lot of my information from a cinematographer who posts ‘How to’ Youtubes and blogs online. I like the way he explains his process. I find his material both informative and inspiring. His blog can be found here and his Youtube channel here. 

This experiment took on three stages which I will explain and reflect on below.

For the first experiment I wanted to look at the relationship between natural light and exposure. I had read on a film blog about the magic hour (the time just after dusk/dawn) when the light is soft and cinematic. I decided this was a good time to practice using natural light as my light source. I wanted to use light that fell on one side of the face, so I sat by my window. Then I simply turned the f. stop up two stops with each take, watching how the mood of each shot changed. The vibe of the shots turns from soft and cinematic to a blue darkness, that could be early morning or night, giving the shot an eerie or lonely feeling. Adding the room light to the last shot provided a subtle red light on my skin, changing the feeling of shot slightly.

For the second experiment I borrowed the Dedo kit from the tech guys. I asked my housemate who is a fantastic photographer to collaborate with me in this experiment. We ended up using one direct light with a soft box as our light source. There was no other light sources as it was night time. The feel of the shot is completely different. We filmed our actors front on, and the shots have a crispness and symmetry to them.

For the final shot, a friend of mine (who has also studied film) and I decided to mix natural light with artificial light. We set up a Dedo light as our back light, and used the window as our natural light. It was shot around dusk. Although this shot is not very clear or crisp, I must say I found this the most interesting light of all three. The mixing of the red and blue light creates a feeling of contrast, and the shadow creates a feeling of intrigue. My friend shared some valuable advice with me. He said “don’t be scared of shadows, they make your character look more 3D on a 2D screen” and and we went on to discuss how shadows bring more character to the subject and the shot.

 

PLAN OF ACTION: PART 1 

Research question: To explore moments when diegetic music is used in film, examining how these moments further character development.

Synopsis: A woman with no formal ability to to play the piano sits down at a piano and begins to play around, she begins to express her emotion through her “playing” of the piano.

Light: The main light source will be a large window to the left of the protagonist. The window has an adjustable blind, the the amount of natural light can be altered. The camera will be set to Tunsten, which will give daylight a cold blue colour. I’m hoping the light to have a moonlight or very early morning feel to it. If necessary this will be mixed with artificial light. The artificial light will either create a red contrast to the natural blue light, or add a bright white cold light. I will have to do some experiments to text how this light will appear. The artificial light will come from a dedo light possibly with a soft box attached. On the piano will be a string of fairy lights which will hopefully emit a cold blue flashing light. The scene will be dark and shadowy.

Angles:

Medium shot: This will be filmed from the back and centre of the scene. The frame will capture the protagonist’s back and arms.

Medium close up: In this shot we will see the profile of the protagonist. I am thinking she will be mostly silhouetted in this shot

Close up: hands playing piano, feet, and fairy lights shot with a shallow depth of field.

Medium close up, downwards angle: Shot standing behind the piano so we will see the face, shoulders and hands of the protagonist.

Equipment: Camera, video tripod, dedo kit, soft box, zoom recorder

Inspiration

Light:

I’m hoping for the light to be cooler and whiter than this

Angle of shots

EXPERIMENT 3.0

Just thought I would post an update on what’s going on with my piano sequence. Prior filming a sort of practise test for this sequence (which I plan to make my final piece) I went searching for some advise about how to achieve a certain lighting/colour/mood; a very cold blue light, contrasted with murky darkness. I’m using this light as a means of reflecting the inner-state of my character, who will also reflect her emotions through the playing of the piano. I started off by researching stuff like daylight/tungsten light and white balance. This was a really interesting and valuable little journey.

Following this I entered into a discussion with a few skilled people about whether to shoot the footage raw/neat and then colour correct it in post or whether to set my white balance to tungsten (3500k) and use LED lights and daylight to create a cold blue look when filming. Differing options were offered. I ended up shooting tungsten. I shot in the afternoon. The sun was coming in the window, as my window faces west, and creating some harsh light, which I had to soften, by placing a sheet over the window. When I re-shoot, I will shoot in the morning, to avoid direct sunlight. I placed an LED light near the feet of my actor, screen right. I placed an ND filter on my 50mm lens. The ND made the shoot very dark but somehow added to the look I was going for.

Here are some unedited stills from the shoot.

So these are obviously quite dark, but I believe I can play with them in Premier and get them close to what I was envisioning.. edited update to come.

EXPERIMENT 3.1 

Post premier edit: there is room for improvement for sure.

SEGWAY

Worked 1st AD on a one day shoot. Read more about it here on my blog.

PLAN OF ACTION: PART 2 

So, we are now leading up to the final shoots for this studio.

I’ve decided to lay out a second plan of action post as my idea has grown and taken on new elements since the first one.

Research question: To explore moments when diegetic music is used in film, examining how these moments further character development.

Synopsis: We are introduced to a woman who’s life seems cold and lonely. She expresses her emotions and recalls memories through the playing of the piano.

Light: as discussed in the first plan, the light will be dark, blue and cold, almost moonlight or dawn. Flashbacks will be vivid colours, mostly green, red and yellow.

Motifs: Blue objects will be used as a motif. In flashbacks nature will be used as a motif.

Angles: Will be the same as described previously, with added portrait through window scene.

Equipment: 5dD mark 11 with adjustable lens and 50 mm lens, tripod, sound recorder (zoom) and LED lights.

Actor: Shanti Lane, actor and musician.

Listen to her music here.

Here are some shots of Shanti that I have drawn inspiration from for her role in this piece.

SHOOT: DAY 1

First day of shooting went rather well. I had already pre-set up the lights and had a mock shoot so it turned out to be quite easy for me to recreate the the same lighting, even after switching cameras. My amazing housemate, who is a very skilled photographer, offered some useful advice on the camera set-up and framing, which was super useful for me. All over it was quite a smooth shoot, but I will run over some of the smaller issues I encountered.

Issues:

1. Time: I over estimated how much time I would have, or underestimated how long it would actually take to set up each shot. This meant I paired down my shots to the essential ones for that day, involving the piano, and left the extra padding for another day.

2. Sound: The sound that I recorded was placed near my actor Shanti’s feet, therefore it has a gravelly sound to it at points which I’m genuinely scared that I won’t be able to fix in post.

3. Attention to detail: upon editing and reflection I saw details in the shoot that I would have liked to have removed. This is a re-occuring issue for me, I have noticed, I tend to loose focus of the minor details that need removing, and then kick myself later for not seeing or really thinking about it properly at the time.

4. People: I shot on a day that there were heaps of people at my house, and this caused distractions for myself as well as my actor and soiled some of my sound. This was probably my biggest mistake. It’s really hindering to the creative process. Next shoot I must make sure no one is hanging around.

But you live and you learn right?

Here are some raw stills from the shoot:

SHOOT: DAY 2

Had a lovely second day of shooting. Shanti my actor came over to mine to do some do some re-takes of a couple shots I wasn’t happy with, particularly in the sound department, then we went down to this park in Coburg where all the leaves were falling to shoot the memory/flashback stuff.

All up a cruisey day, but there was one issue: my continued failure to notice small details when filming that ruin the magic of the shot. On this day I failed to notice a persistent lurker who made his way what felt like all of the shots

Now to play Where’s Wally

EDITING

Editing, it always takes longer than you would ever imagine. One could ask the question, does the edit really ever finish? I feel like I could just sit around editing for ever. Anyway, I’m enjoying it. I’ve definitely came cross a few major issues in the editing process but I have realized that it is far better to get it right the first time, or to reshoot than try and fix a technical problem in post. I’ve had to or will be res-shooting a fair few things for this final piece, which all points to one learning curve.. get it right the first time.