Fired up Punk Energy
For this module I partnered up with Aidan Wright. Aidan and I came up with some ideas which we wanted to experiment with for our research and experimentation module. After comparing notes we merged the ideas in order to create an abstract piece of work. Aidan's main focus would be the history of different kinds of masks, he wanted to create an abstract film that included him dressing up as an elf, he wanted to explore graffiti that was already at the location, some of his friends had told him about a Pentagram that they had found and he wanted to explore this and make use of it for his film. He got this inspiration from Sherlock Homes and old black and white films he has watched which feature shadows.
My idea would be to try and re-create the underground bunkers where the soldiers would have spent most of their lives during the second world war. With the footage that we both collected, my aim would be to create a fast-paced montage, it would portray movement inside the dark tunnels, reflecting the kind of imagery we would see in documentaries i.e. the urgency for soldiers as they flee for their lives underground.
For the shoot, we used a Canon 600D, Manfrotto tripod, 4x led lights, smoke bombs, matches, spray paint, masks, elf suit, tin cans and much more, although space was extremely limited inside this chamber, we made use of the LEDs by walking with them held by our sides to create a light source for the top of the frame as we ventured through. Whilst filming the pentagram we set LED lights around the subject along the floor to create a torchlight effect.
We set off harmless smoke bombs inside the small chambers with the intention of capturing the smoke as it seeps through the brickwork interior and passes down the hallway. We would then run through the smoke and see how the light particles would show up through the camera lens.
Aidan decided to play around with an Elf costume just like in his second-year final film where he visited Paris and created an experimental piece. The red color from the costume worked with the red smoke bombs, blending him into the background as the smoke dispersed. Within the edit, by overlaying these shots we were able to give off an impressive merge effect especially with the settings of the opacity and hue saturation. The green also worked with the light bouncing from the costume and projecting onto the walls from the light source of the LED, linking towards his idea of shadows from black and white films that he has watched as part of his research for the module.
All photos were taken using my phone
For my research and experimentation module, I have decided to take a closer at the art of overlays within a film, looking into different ways that footage can be overlayed to drive a narrative or create tension for the viewer. In particular, I would like to experiment with creating my own short films that are above and beyond my normal interests of wildlife. I would like to dive into the deep end of documentary making, ranging from ww2 and other non-fictional pieces of work.
Overall, the shoot was a success and we both achieved a wide variety of different shots which we can edit together for both of our ideas, unfortunately we didn't have any sound equipment within the chamber and so have decided to remove any on-camera sounds and decided by the aesthetic of the film that it could be used with the Prodigy song "Firestarter" and a few others (haven't been decided as of yet).
This image was taken using Aidan's phone - These are just some of the props that were used to create the set design for our chosen experimental film.
Here is a link to the final film which can be found on my Vimeo channel
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