What am I interested in?

I am interested in how the camera can evoke a particular response from the audience.

I believe camera coverage does more than just reveal the plot and character interactions. I aspire to one day become a Film Director and in order to pursue this path I need to have in-depth practical experience with camera coverage

I watch scenes from movies and always think…

• Why did they choose those shots?
• How could they have shot it in a completely different way and how would this have impacted on the production?

What am I going to do?

In order to develop a grasp on camera coverage, I am going to produce two short scenes. I will write one script and shoot the camera coverage twice. I will set guidelines and constraints in order to keep the focus entirely on my overall intentions and detract from other areas that I may begin to dip into.

FOCUS

My focus for this task is the camera coverage. I am not focusing on the sound design, lighting or editing. Yes, these will bring up the value of the scenes but they are not my main focus.

The script will be quite simple.

 

For example:

A girl walks down an alleyway (regardless of acting style), I shoot this scene with a fast pace, quick static shots revealing her anxious behavior. Close up shots of her gestures, facial expressions, aspects of the location that look eerie.

I then shoot the scene again but use tracking shots that are wider and distance the audience from the character. She still looks anxious, but perhaps the second scene provides the perspective of the perpetrator and the first provides the perspective from the girl. This is the beginning of my investigation.

Constraints

• One script shot in two different ways.
• One version is to be filmed using static shots and a narrow depth-of-field.
• The second version is to be filmed using tracks with a wider depth-of-field.
• The script will be developed using the inspiration from the chosen location.
• 1 or 2 actors
• Lighting? Undecided as to whether a constraint relies upon natural lighting. I would prefer to light the scene myself, although I don’t want to detract from the purpose of the task.
• I will manipulate my K (Kelvin) temperature. I want to investigate how the color temperature can influence a scene. I want to do this through the cinematography and not post production editing.
• I will not color correct either scene. The final edited cut will be using the raw footage.

How will I analyze my results?

 

I will write a report comparing and contrasting both of the scenes. Questions that I will be asking are;

• What story does each scene portray through the use of the camera?
• How do they differ? Are they similar?
• Which scene evokes a greater emotional response from the audience?
• Which approach is more professional?
• How could they be improved, technically?
• Was this task effective/useful?
• Were there extraneous variables or obstacles that I had to overcome on set that had an impact on the final product?
• Did I meet my contention?

 

My desired outcome with this exercise is to have further developed a style as a cinematographer. I wish to have a better understanding of my approach to productions and my working style.