ASSIGNMENT 1 – REFLECTION & LINK
Video – https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hTU53s24kanFPwnlvbA1gTr7K2K1XaJx
Camera Sheet – https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LJMhT1Ua_on0LoICBrqRIUibrmQgGDXZ
REFLECTION
Assignment 1 for me was a dissapointment, not because of the result but because of a simple but stupid mistake on my end. I did not read the instructions thoroughly enough before shooting, which led to me create two almost identical 50 second shots, instead of one where I had purposefully influenced the shot. I understand this mistake will likely cost marks but unfortunately I noticed too late to be able to re shoot anything.
Alas, I am quite happy with my shot as it was originally constructed. Nathan & I ventured to the basketball courts behind Building 80 to find a nice shot. As Nathan set up his shot, I looked around for something intriguing, that could capture the viewer’s imagination for the full 50 seconds without becoming dull. There was not a huge amount of movement happening where we were filming, so I focused on creating some kind of movement within the shot. I found a mirror located on a slightly elevated perch, and set up the camera there, just angling the mirror into the shot, so we could see the walkway ahead, as well as the reflection of the corner in which people would walk to and from. This created an interesting effect in the shot, as you could see people walk out of the shot, and then come back in the shot in the mirror, as well as vice versa. The yellow and red posters on the walkway also create a nice coloured effect, and draw the viewer’s eye to the end of the walkway.
I found this quite compelling and decided to shoot this as my 50 second shot. Before I shot though, I went through all the different factors that influenced what we would see on camera. I adjusted my focal length to the perfect spot where I could see enough of the mirror to see the walkway on the left, while also not seeing the frame of the mirror, so as to make the effect not so obvious. I focused on the end of the walkway, so that new people walking in to the frame would come in to focus. I considered focusing on the figures in the mirror but decided against it. As it was quite bright out, I left the Filter and Gain on 0, and adjusted the f Stop to f16. This exposure meant the colours would pop in the image without being over-exposed, and the figures walking from the walkway would come into a nice light as they walked toward the camera.
One thing I didn’t consider that slightly effected my shot was the changing light conditions. As the 50 seconds progressed, a cloud covered the sun that was shining above at the beginning, which lowered the light and maybe everything a little under-exposed. However I wasn’t too mad as this showed the frivolity of natural light and I learned to always pay attention to changing light levels.
In my second shot I zoomed out very slightly, and adjusted the exposure to f12, as it had gotten slightly darker. I am quite annoyed at myself as I think it would’ve been quite fun to make the second shot, and play around with the exposure, as well as influence what was going on in front of the camera, to create a different kind of shot.
All in all, the major things I learned were to a) always read the instructions! and b) always be aware of changing light conditions when shooting in natural environments.