Introduction to Contexts of Practice BCOP100 - 30th September

Wednesday 30th September 2015

Course Module - BCOP100                     Contexts of practice                  Lecture - Lucy Leake

Introduction to Contexts of Practice 

Lucy got us all thinking about how our contexts might influence who we are as filmmakers, the ideas that we get through existing films and media.

Play with pre-conceptions - We watched a short film that had been created by the 3rd years which linked back to the Je Suis Charlie's event back in February. Once we had watched the clip I started to think about the way that some of the props were used to replicate objects i.e. towards the end instead of using a gun, they used a tripod, I also started to think about the way that they had re-created some of the frames, iconic locations and the camera angles were cleverly used throughout the film.

A group discussion helped to raise a lot of points about context and the meaning behind the word.

What do we mean by Context? As a class we started to create spider diagrams or lists;

Context
Opinion - Social background
Perspective - Subtext
Purpose - Underlying
Messages - Meaning

Beliefs
Institutions
Peers
Parents
Morals
Media
Social

We looked at existing films and how they were shot, do they contain similar elements or a storyline, did the images look the same (have the same context). Je t'aime John Wayne was taking the mick out of the film Breathless featuring Belmondo and others.

Referencing others work: Tarantino, Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, these are just a few we listed during the lesson.

Lucy asked us during the lesson to think back to important events that have happened in our individual lives, which could help to create great story ideas, make some sort of timeline or list a few;

• At college - Won a competition to satellite tag Golden Eagle chicks in the Scottish Cairngorms, from this experience I decided to create my very first DVD which I sold copies at the Rutland Bird fair 2014 and it has been passed onto RSPB stations. 

• Car crash, driving back from after a day at the beach, we swerved out of the way of a fox, saw sparks fly from out the window as the car slid across the ground - Scary experience 

• Teaching - I always had a keen interest in teaching, talking to a young audience, decided to teach year 3 at my local primary school in order to educate the next generation about wildlife, especially Peregrine Falcons - Been a big highlight and an eye opener within my life. 

This then went on to discussing roles and identities that we as students play/have in our lives;

Identities

Class
Religion
Language - Ethnicity
Eco-warrior

A few roles

Customer service
Customers
Brothers and sisters

At the end of the session we were set a task to complete for the following week;

Pick a moment in our life
Create a character that it's happening to, can't be ourselves


Holiday to Ireland in 2012 - Written from another perspective 

We had just finished packing the suitcases and preparing ourselves for an unforgettable adventure, Clifford had just been out and bought his first DSLR camera at his own expense, he was really keen on taking it with him to record the journey, wanting to capture the memories along the way. Just before his family set off they sat down to watch the London 2012 Olympics Mens road time trial, their were other cycling events during this period but this one stood out the most. The trial itself took place on 1st August over a 44km course in South West London, in Surrey. Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain won the gold medal. This certain highlight has been remembered above others as it was the first Ferry ride in Ireland, went out on the top deck and took photographs of the water and using long exposure to create the lighting line effect, Clifford achieved some great line effects in the water.

The winner Bradley Wiggins as he approached Bushy Park, he was 2km from the finish line. Wiki image - Accessed on 30th September 2015 - Mens road time trial - South West London, Surrey.

References

Je t'aime John Wayne (2001) Directed by Toby MacDonald [short film]. Germany: DVD as part of the collection Cinema 16

Breathless (1960) Directed by Jean-Luc Godard [Film]. USA: UGC, Studio Canal

Introduction to Practical Screen craft - 29th September

Tuesday 29th September 2015

Course Module - BAFI101                     Practical Screen craft                   Lecture - Stu Bailey

Week 1 

Lesson Objectives:

• Learn about the ERC
• Booking of equipment 
• Different technology inc. cameras, fps, resolutions etc.

Introduction to Practical Screen craft

We had a lecture about the ERC also known as the Equipment Resource Centre, learning how we can book the equipment online, what sort of equipment we can use and how long we can book it out for. Stu also showed us how we can renew our bookings if they go overdue, told us to call in if we think that we are going to be late with the equipment otherwise 1 late and you automatically get banned from the store for a week. He told us the terms and conditions of the ERC which was pretty much common sense (Were not entitled to book everything we see). 

Get notified if any items of kit become available i.e. cameras Cannon XF100, Nikon D7200, Canon 600D, whether it's been broken or if it's overdue, you can book the equipment by using the appropriate category i.e. lighting, sound, cameras etc. He went on to explain that the grey areas on the booking form mean't that the store was closed, not restricted to overnight, you can either book for 1 hour or a period of 3 days. Once you have booked something and it isn't available, the areas will show up red and if it is available then it will show up blue. 

Can book up to a month in advance, if you feel that you are going to be late to come in and pick up the equipment you have the option to edit your time of pickup. NEED your student card in order to pick up equipment from the ERC, they scan the barcode, easy way of recording what is taken out for each individual student. 

He talked about a box at the bottom of the booking slip, talking about whether the camera or any equipment was faulty before you use it, check the equipment is operating correctly through tests, but if something is wrong and you haven't ticked this box it means that you could be blamed for the damages and faults within the camera, once you take the kit out it is your responsibility to look after it.

If once after you have booked out equipment and you decide to add something, don't create another booking, log in and edit the existing one, you can copy bookings as well so if you have a common booking like camera and mic, you have the option to copy the equipment, easier locating and quick booking way for the equipment. 

Technology 

Studio facilities: Working on high tech sound booths, editing suites - 4k - Make use of LYNDA in order to learn new techniques and be taken through the in's and out's of programmes that we will be using for our projects, can decide to use, premiere pro, final cut, avid, after effects, photoshop etc. 

Mediums - Film, TV

Shortly after we started to discuss the two mediums in the industry which are film cameras and TV technology. We talked about the different types of video that are being shot, 2k, 4k and 6k. As a group we discussed that video is being used to emulate film and this is pushing towards 4k in this day and age. We also thought that cinema was 2k instead of 4k - this has turned digital. 

Red have been known to shoot in 6k and 4k - Marketing has been used to back it up 
Alexa has just gone 4k - Digital 

Group discussions led to asking ourselves, even though technology is quickly progressing, do we really need all of these new high end cameras and do we necessarily want them, created by companies evolving, getting wider and competition of producing the best equipment.

It is thought that film first originated in the late 1800's at carnivals, images could be seen being projected through smoke, then came emulsion (a camera called cinematography - where the word cinematography). 

Influences to film, the Lumiere brothers were French brothers who are famously linked to film. 

Motion picture - 24 FPS series of stills  -  FPS- photographs played every second. Phantom camera - 4,000 fps

Sound - First film with sound called Jazz singer - 1929

1941 - Just after the war, Americans invented TV

NTSC - 1941 - Predominantly still America

640x480 - No voltage 30 Hz - 30 fps (29.97) - Matched frequency

PAL - UK/Europe - Launched around 1967 - Phase alternate line 

720x576 - 240 voltage - 50 Hz - 25 fps

SECAM - French

Film is mechanical, happens inside the camera 
TV is electrical - Beyond control of mechanism in a camera

Broadcast works Interlaced - Monitors is Progressive

HD READY - 720x1080p                    
FULL HD - 1080p
HDV - Horizontal lines are pixels - Use less pixels - made them square - 1440x1080
UHD - 3840x2160 - Double the HD resolution - 4x the overall screen size

Aspect Ratio - Shape of screen were watching

DV - Digital Video and DVCAM - Late 90's (camera Sony PD150) - first broadcast worthy digital
HDV - Sony Z1E

Cinema - 4k 4096x2160

Talking about cameras that we will have at our disposal - Canon 5D Mark 2 - First DSLR included for movie recording. It's in full HD so you can get incredible shots, ideas to get on film. We discussed as a class that this camera has become popular for independent filmmaking. Talked about how the chip plays a big part on depth of field - The foreground is in focus and the background is out of focus or the reverse.

Chips and accessories

Chips used in camcorders called the CCD known as the charged couple device, moved onto CMOS chips.

Pro's and Cons of DSLR

Pro's

Mobile - Easy use, manageable

Depth of field - Pull certain places of the frame into focus

Lenses

Con's

Economics

Focus pulling

Rolling shutter

Record time

Audio
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Telephoto lenses - Anything over the standard lens 50mm or 35mm (Film and DSLR) is telephoto and anything below becomes fish eye, wide angled (elongated).

H264 - Records resolution and colour space, records as much for a low file, bad editing with CODEC.

AVXCAM
AVC HD

Towards the end of the sessions we were instructed to purchase some of our own equipment and resources which could be vital to aid with our film production and reduce the chances of any work being lost i.e. card readers, SD cards for dslr cameras or CF cards for filming with the canon XF100's. Invest in multiple hard drives to back up work/footage and memory sticks for the computers. Last thing we were made aware about is how to safeguard our footage when using the college's equipment and resources, not only should we back up the footage but we should also before any shoot, make sure that the SD or CF cards are formatted for the appropriate camera, formatting wipes the card, helps set the card up for filming with a specific camera or device that it has been formatted for.

Ideas and Concepts - 29th September

Tuesday 29th September 2015

Course Module - BAFI103                          Ideas and Concepts                       Lecture - Dan P

Location Scouting 

Since we finished early on the Tuesday, my partner and I thought it would be a great opportunity to go out and look for iconic places to feature within our Super 8 Film, thinking about camera angles and different effects that could be applied.

We started of by walking to the barbican, lovely sunny day and we decided to take pictures of the harbour, using the reflections in the water and the ripples, experimenting with ISO and Aperture. Keeping to the harbour wall, we walked around the barbican up to the Hoe, looking into the types of camera shots that could be achieved i.e. a shot overlooking the channel with boats and vessels appearing across the frame, play with depth of field by bringing the boats into focus and the background out of focus.

Here are a few shots with possible camera ideas, my partner and I have still agreed to film the piece like a journey, places link to each other and it has a playful element to it as everything filmed is what we came across on our journey around Plymouth. Started to generate final ideas and came up with a lot more as we adventured through the city looking at objects, buildings and locations that could be interpreted by the audience in different ways.

Camera shots/angles

Types of places visited Hoe, Park, Barbican... wanted to become imaginative with places and shapes, experimenting with shadows and light.

 











Photographs above were taken by Luke Curno and Jay Austin on our mobile phones - PCA Students - September 2015 - Portrays The Hoe, Barbican, West Hoe Park

Introduction to Ideas and Concepts BAFI103 - 28th September

Monday 28th September 2015

Course Module - BAFI103                          Ideas and Concepts                       Lecture - Dan P

Week 1

 Lesson 1 Objectives:

• Setting up a blog
• Show rough work - Get feedback through group discussions 
• Competition and co-operation

Introduction to 'Super 8 City' 

Our lecturer Dan introduced himself to the class, we gradually got to learn about his background and how he got into film, from just a young age he admired Punk as a music genre and he frequently took his camera along to music gigs where he filmed closely alongside a band called Napalm Death.

During the morning session, we were told to set up our blogs which would be used to record and display our research/post production ideas and of course our Super 8 project with an evaluation, 1000 words to talk about our piece, why did we film this, what was the message we were trying to get across.

Group Discussions happened throughout the day which helped to generate lots of ideas from which myself and Jay took away with us to discuss further, we researched into Super 8 films which previously had been created by Plymouth College of Art students. One specific piece of the students work which caught my eye had a native feel to it, shot in the form of a journey where we could see artefacts, caves, plus it contained a soundtrack of someones footsteps, they were on a journey through a native place (Didjeridu noises (instrument) - which linked back to the native atmosphere, which in my view, the film could have been set in Africa or Australia.

My partner and I started to research further into the types of effects that could be used, how they can be used effectively i.e. Bleaching, Grain, Tone etc and we looked into how the camera can operate effectively to make an aesthetically pleasing product. We looked at others work on sites such as Youtube and Vimeo to see the sorts of films that could be produced with a super 8 camera. 

Research Links

Super 8 Film by ONA - Format Vimeo

ONA. (2014). Super 8 Short Film . [Online Video]. 2014. Available from: https://vimeo.com/92069466. [Accessed: 28 September 2015].

This short film was shot on Super 8, I really like the way that it was edited, the fact that it didn't have a certain continuity i.e. the film was sped up to show the journey and slowed down during the parts where we see the camera's, made to be a point of focus. I also really liked the way that the camera angles led on to each other. i.e. there was a montage at 16sec's where we see a lady walking down the street with her camera, cuts to a short clip of her holding a camera and then cuts to her walking down the street. The filmmaker (cinematographer) worked well to establish New York City, portraying a variety of camera angles showing movement i.e. local transport and members of the public.

Other key elements that stood out for me were, height of the buildings for the establishing shots, low camera angles used to look up at the subjects, the piece appeared like it had been shot at various times of day (day and night) which worked effectively against the black and white collage, all contributing to enhance the videos message of a film being made of a tourist with a camera (my personal opinion).

Personnel Ideas - Storyline and possible locations: 

Take a variety of shots in the city, go out beforehand and think about they types of camera angles that could be used, using a few ideas that I picked up from my background research during Post Production.

Shoot the footage from a hand perspective, the idea behind that we use our hands for near enough everything, I think that this idea would help to create an element of suspense as the viewer won't see the character, could be anyone.

From the Super 8 film which I talked about above, I would like to explore the possibility of the film being shot in the form of a journey, perhaps the actor could be a new student, unfamiliar of the scenes and iconic places in Plymouth. However, I have started to think about the types of shot locations, I've asked people what comes to mind when they hear Plymouth, the majority said 'The Hoe, Barbican, Theatre, Vue Cinema etc so to appeal to this demographic I think that I would like to include footage to portray these landmarks, an idea that sprung to my mind would be to shoot a short piece of footage from a 1st person perspective, pull hands apart in front of camera to reveal Smeaton's Tower.

Camera angles and sound:

Wide angled shots - Use iconic places to help establish the place, time of day for the audience.

Mixture of High and Low angled shots - Idea of a low angled shot to show someone walking into frame, taking off an item of clothing, sunglasses or checking their watch, next perhaps we see them taking out a map, zoom into the name on the map but don't see their face... Welcome to Plymouth... cut to a collage with a close up crop on the name of the map, enhances the location for the short film.

The sound will be recorded using a zoom mic, try and pick the sounds up whilst on location, discussions, birds, sea, transport, sounds that we make with our hands i.e. the opening and shutting of doors, clapping and the rusting of paper.