https://vimeo.com/235956799
Password: film
I wrote an essay on the making of the film which I would also like to share. Please let me know what you think. ---
I chose to
be Director of Photography as I felt it was a creative role that would also be
challenging. It entailed working alongside the Director to achieve the film’s
visual language, operating the camera and being in charge of the lighting and
camera department consisting of Gaffer, Lighting Technician and DIT. I also had
input into the film’s final colour grade.
At first I
was worried about taking on such a big role with no previous experience and
never having used a C100 before. It was suggested that we use some of the
film’s budget to hire a professional DP however after discussing this with the
Director I began to feel more confident. I am glad I chose to take on the role
as I learnt so much and found it less technically difficult than I initially
imagined.
My first job
was to create a presentation for the class so I created a mood board
I found films with a similar look I wanted to achieve such as Drive (2011),
Under the Skin (2013), Public Enemies (2009) and Chungking Express (1994). I also
researched aspect ratio as the Director wanted to shoot in 2.35:1. My research
indicated two ways of achieving this either by using an anamorphic lens or
using a spherical lens and masking afterwards losing some of the image quality.
The Director was enthusiastic about using an anamorphic lens but after further
research I found it would not be possible on our budget. I found an anamorphot lens
adaptor but, because of its weight, it could only be used on a tripod. As the
Director wanted a handheld look this idea was scrapped.
Inspiration Drive (2011) & Burden (2016)
Since I had
no experience using the C100 I asked the DP I had worked with on a previous
film for advice. I booked tutorials for the C100, ninja box and rig. I was
concerned about shooting at night as, though I had some experience as a camera
operator, I had only ever shot on stage or in daylight. I asked the tutor of my
Cinematography class his advice and did further research. I shot some initial
test footage with the camera and made a playlist on YouTube for my department. However,
the second test shoot did not go as well as planned as I had some issues
directing the lighting team. As I did not have enough light to work with I
changed the camera’s ISO resulting in grainy footage. Another lesson was learnt
and during the shoot I kept the camera’s native ISO of 850 and also developed a
better working relationship with the lighting team. The most important thing I
realised was to be clear on what the Director wants and to make this clear to
my team. In regards to lighting this meant finding out the motivation for the
light and exact placement. I also learnt not to second guess people’s reactions
and simply to tell them what needs to be done.
I was
concerned about achieving the look the Director wanted as shallow Depth of
Field and shaky camera movement are things I try to avoid in my work. Also I
was not used to trying to achieve someone else’s vision as I usually direct
myself. After shooting test footage with the Director I felt I understood what
he wanted to achieve and we developed a shorthand, using other films as
references for example a “Kubrik” style central framing technique over the “Rule
of thirds” style.
One issue
that delayed filming was a problem attaching the C100 to the rig. Though I had
asked the DIT if she was confidant in setting it up I had not realised she had
never attached a C100 to it and was unfamiliar with the plate. It was also dark
making it more difficult to do. The Director and crew were anxious to begin
filming but I felt that the camera was not secure and worried this would make
framing shots difficult. Though it caused quite a delay I am glad I insisted on
making sure this was done properly as I soon discovered the camera was not
secured at all and could easily have fallen resulting in damage to the
equipment and effectively ruining the shoot.
Shot of bag in car interior
One of the
most successful shots of the bag inside the car was inspired by my initial
research on shooting car interiors. The car was stationary, so to create the
effect that the car was moving we had a crew member on either side of the car
holding LED panels and spinning around. I also rocked the camera from side to side
to help achieve the effect that the vehicle was in motion. I was really pleased
with how well this shot worked and it blends seamlessly with the rest of the
footage.
LED panels were rotated either side
of the car to make it appear in motion.
The Interior
scenes went smoothly and quickly and I asked if we could make sure the crew
arrived to do the re-shoots before it got dark as I knew my team needed ample
time to setup and I did not want to waste time like on the first day.
Shooting in the studio
The Director
wanted the Interior and Exterior shots to have a different look. I suggested
using a complementary colour scheme of orange and teal for the exterior and a
more analogous scheme of brown and orange for the interior. I made a mood board
for the colourist and sat it on the final grade.
All in all,
I was really proud of my team and what they achieved and happy with the footage
that I shot. It was a tough shoot and very physically demanding but I feel the
end product was worth it and I learnt so much by going through the process. I
have much more confidence now and was glad I was able to help the Director
achieve his vision. In future I would shoot more test footage and endeavour to
be more efficient with my time.
Bibliography
Aputure
(2016) THE 6 ESSENTIAL SHOTS TO FILM A CAR SCENE. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFUIRO5Jobo&index=5&list=PL_K-7dkyuUxScD7T8hz8Mj2JL8fCGarW8
(Accessed: 20 January 2017).
Aputure
(2016) Lighting car interiors. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1vJ0y2PBBM&index=2&list=PL_K-7dkyuUxScD7T8hz8Mj2JL8fCGarW8
(Accessed: 20 January 2017).
Box, H.C.
(1997) Set lighting technician’s handbook. Boston: Focal Press.
Brindle, M.
(2013) The digital filmmaking handbook. London: Quercus Publishing
Plc.
CanonUSA
(2013) Canon EOS C 100 -shooting with the C100. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDgZodxfftE&t=397s&index=11&list=PL_K-7dkyuUxTqg4SaQuxhJCVYgkFY9Lh4
(Accessed: 20 January 2017).
Film Riot
(2015) Lighting cars at night. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E5P9mxQ4ho&list=PL_K-7dkyuUxScD7T8hz8Mj2JL8fCGarW8
(Accessed: 20 January 2017).
Jones, C.
and Jolliffe, G. (eds.) (2006) The
guerilla film makers handbook. 3rd edn. London: Continuum International
Publishing Group.
Kuehni, R.G.
(2004) Color: An introduction to practice and principles. 2nd edn.
New York, NY, United States: Wiley-Interscience.
Studiobinder.
(2017) Color in film: Over 50+ movie color Palettes (FREE Ebook).
Available at:
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/e-books/how-to-use-color-in-film-free-ebook/
(Accessed: 20 January 2017).
