The Scream

Our group's first assignment for mm2B03, the video tableau!

I found this a very enjoyable assignment and I loved showing people this. I know there are some flaws in there, but I'm still quite please with what we did.

The quality of this video YouTube provided is horrible though.

Honda - The Cog

The past week, my group and I filmed our first MM2B03 assignment, the Video Tableau. We had to adapt a painting or photojournalism picture into a 30 second film. What was interesting about this assignment was that there were no effects or editing done to it and it was to be done in one shot. Although it was really challenging, I felt that we got a good result as we depended a lot on the quality of the camera, our planning and how we adjust it manually to create a result we were satisfied with.

It was tricky doing something in one shot as you have to focus more on the actors and how they can get through the thirty seconds and less on taking multiple shots with different zooms and angles. When I received this assignment, a famous ad by Honda popped into my head as it too was done in 2 shots (but made it seemed like one), but it was certainly not done in one take!

When we were shooting our tableau, I felt that our shoot went fairly smoothly. it was nothing compared to the Cog advertisement by Honda. The Honda ad took over 600 takes in order to get that 2-minute ad and they had to set up each time when something very small didn't work. Our shoot took a few days as we had to go through much planning, costume searching and having to go back to the beginning because we ran into issues. To get this 2-minute ad, it took 3 months in order to complete, going though night and day to get it just right as they did it all in 2 shots and seamlessly combined only because their studio was not big enough to do it all in one. Although there was CGI added to create the smooth transition, other than that, it was all done without it.

This ad is one of my favourites just because of how much time and thought was put into it. While our class suffers with doing a thirty second film in one shot, this was two minutes, and all though it wasn't done in one shot per say, it used as little CGI as possible to try to create it.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/advertisements/hondacog.asp

Personal Learning Goals

One of my personal learning goals for this semester is to learn how to use and operate a camera properly. As of the middle of January, I have learned more about the operations of the camera and the differences between manual and auto operations and how they affect the image. Through the month of January, I want to be able to use the lighting kit effectively as well as learn more about using Final Cut Pro as thus far, I only have amateur experience with it. In order to do this, I would use a variety of tutorials I will search for on the web and ask frequent questions to peers and my instructor if I get stuck on something. To reflect my success, my work will have smooth handling with the camera as well as wise choices when it comes to editing. My ideas will be planned out well in advanced and before the actual shoot, I will prepare what will happen so it will go smoothly.

In the month of February, I would like to get more acquainted with sound integrated into video as I believe it is an important step in this learning process. I would like to learn how sound has an influence over various situations and how different sounds appear to make a video tell a different story. I would like to continue learning more about Final Cut Pro, eventually getting to a more professional level as well. Throughout this month, I would like to learn more about scriptwriting to develop a good story or idea for the amount of time our videos need to be. The main goal of this is to think of a concept that can be accommodated and will be fulfilled within the short amount of time.

In March, I hope to master Final Cut Pro to a certain level and manage to make professional looking videos. To me, my success will be determined by how much my videos have improved throughout the term from being an amateur looking video to a more professionally refined one that will aid me in creating my portfolio. By the time I reach the end of the course, I hope that I will have learned more about using a camera, gain enough knowledge to edit and create my own videos and have a better appreciation for film in general.

Reading Response 2

In order to create focus, you use the lens of a camera. Using the lens, a focal length can be created -- it measures the power of a lens to bend light rays coming from the subject. Focus is used in order to enlarge details, such as expression or minor objects and making it clear and sharp to the viewer. How far a subject is and how you adjust the lens greatly influences how sharp the image is. When the camera is 'out of focus,' the image is blurry and softer in appearance. When a camera is 'in focus,' it is the opposite: the image is much sharper. Focusing through looking at the viewfinder is preferably. It is usually more accurate and faster to use your own eyes. When the subject is closer to the lens, the farther it has to be from the film plane.

Lighting influences how we understand a scene and how we experience it emotionally. Ir directs the audiences' attention, since we are naturally more drawn to the brighter areas. Lighting also establishes the time frame the scene takes place in. Taking an angle lighting shot gives us the dimension of subjects, creating shadow or flattens it. There are 2 qualities of light: hard, which makes shadows crisper, and soft, which makes the shadows appear gentler. Hard light creates more defined shadows, while soft light can be used as a strategy to hide facial imperfections. Lighting contrast is expressed in ratios called Lighting Contrast Ratio and the results come from a combination of the key light (casts main shadows) and fill light (fills in key's shadows). Sometimes the intensity of light can get in the way. This is why they have reflectors, something white or silver, to help diffuse the light or even practicals (such as a table lamp on a set) to help as well. Using a scrim (circular wire mesh screens that is placed on the front of a lighting unit) are the best way to reduce intensity. Light is defined as a 'form of radiant energy which is visible.'

Colour is created by white light going through a a prism (or prism like object) in order to create hues. The human eye sees 3 colours: red, green and blue. There are 2 ways to make colour: additive (adding light) and subtractive (subtracting light). Additive starts with black and starts adding the reds, greens and blues in order to create white and other colours.Subtractive is the opposite: it starts with white and we subtract cyan, magenta and yellow to create black or others. If you mix colours, they will create another colour, like mixing red and blue will create magenta. Using a filter subtracts light as they put more emphasis on their own colour and takes away from the others. If we use a red filter, it will absorb green and blue, also known as cyan. If we use a cyan filter, it will absorb red, giving more prominence to green and blue.

In order for a video image to work, both light and colour must be used. Without light, there is no colour. Without colour, there is no real impact, depending on the type of video you are creating. You create colour from light, so it is only natural that they would be working together in order to create that final image. It is important to note that depending on what kind of light source you are using, the colour of a subject may appear differently. An example would be under a florescent light, objects will appear a bit more blue. Brightness and the intensity of light depends on how we see colours. If we see a colour against a light background, it will appear dark. If we see that same colour against a dark background, it will appear lighter.

While reading about colour, I felt like my education in art was a lie. This is mainly because of the primary colour aspect. I was taught that the primary colours were what the text said: red, blue and yellow. To find out that you can't use those three colours in order to make all the others just seemed to have baffled me slightly.

Used Ascher and Pincus' The Filmmaker's Handbook as well as the Kodak Light and Colour reading.

2B03 Camera Exercise 1

This is the camera exercise that Stuart, Lisa, Jeremy and I worked on in class last Friday to test out the camera. We were looking at manual vs. automatic functions as well as white balance, shutter speed, etc.

Reading Response

According to Google, video is defined as “the system of recording, reproducing, or broadcasting moving visual images on or from videotape.”

Image is defined as “a representation of the external form of a person or thing in sculpture, painting, etc.”

So the term video image itself should be self-explanatory. If I was to define it based on what I read from The Filmmaker’s Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age by Steven Ascher and Edward Pincus, I would say it is a final product of a video consisting of many steps that consists of editing light, contrast and sound.

Ascher and Pincus’ book has given many informative and fairly technical material, including the function of a camera and the many controls on them as well.

On a camera, you can manually control:

• The viewfinder: the monitor that allows you to see what you are shooting.
• The white balance: adjusting the camera to the colour balance of the light
• The exposure: how much light goes through the lens of a camera
• The focus: how clear the image is when you’re shooting

Before this book, I was quite uniformed about cameras in particular. I did not know that a camera had something called a sensor: a chip that converts the light coming through the lens to electric charges. I didn’t realize that the sensor had such an impact on what we see in order to produce the final video and image.

It was interesting to know that there was so much to do before shooting, such as the numerous adjustments for colour, contrast, etc. I am more used to this cheap digital camera and point and shoot. I knew cameras had to be set up, but to bring in a technician to fine-tune settings has never really crossed my mind.

Many of the terminology is new to me, including gamma which refers to the contrast of the image. Although I had an idea about shadows and highlights when it came to an image, to learn the correct term for it was refreshing. Even though I have simplified the explanation, there are many types of gamma such as normal, reduced and cine/film.

Opening Night

"A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet." - Orson Welles

Welcome to my blog! This is is created for my film and video class, but I think I'll start posting some of my work on here as well. :)

I am currently a second year multimedia and communications studies student in university. There's a lot of things I would love to do in the future, but yet to have found my calling. I'll find something later.