FMP reflective journal (week 5)

This week was filming week. I started the week by working with the director and the rest of the class to come up with a schedule for the filming days the schedule we came up with was;

Our groups own schedule was

Wednesday AM- Mam Tor

Wednesday PM- Ladybower reservoir

Wednesday evening- Ladybower woods

Thursday AM- Curbar edge

Friday PM Padley Gorge

Filming

On the Wednesday we were driven to Mam Tor for the start of or filming. The first issue that we found was that there was allot more wind than what we were expecting, this meant that the steady cam shot that we had planed we were unable to do and the tripod that we had brought was unsteady in the wind, I opted to bring the smaller lighter tripod as I had to carry it all day. We solved the tripod situation by borrowing another groups heavier larger tripod whilst they weren’t using it. Another issue that we encountered was the amount of people at the location meaning it was difficult to film without any of the public being in the shots, we overcame this by waiting until there were as little people as possible then politely asking the remaining public to move out of shot whilst we were filming. This waiting around for the public to move did mean we ended up running out of time at this location and missed out on being able to get a few shots that were planed for that location. This meant that the final video will be slightly shorter because we had fewer shot than we had intended. The second location we filmed at was Ladybower reservoir. I was really happy with the shots from the beach but there was a problem when it came to shooting them. When I went arrived on the shoot day we only then released that there had been allot of rainfall and there was no beach so we had to move the shoot location further along the shoreline than we had originally planed to get the shots that we wanted. We returned to Ladybower in the evening but went up the hill into the woods to film the woodland scenes, the map scene and the camping scene. I was really happy with some of the walking shots whilst traveling too the camping spot, especially the shots with the map and an unplanned shot with midges in the air and the setting sun beaming through the trees. We arrived later at the camping spot than planed as we took the wrong route on the way to it meaning that it was darker than I had hoped so I had to remove some of the shots of the camp being made up as it was too dark too shoot. Another thing that I hadn’t thought about was how long the walk back too the car was from the location in the dark, we had all brought torches though so it was fine.

This week had the biggest impact on the product out of any other as We actually filmed the scenes this week. The main impacts have been the timing issues meaning some scenes have had to be scraped as we ran out of time whilst filming, I worked around this by making sure I had enough B-roll to fill in any gaps that may be left by scrapping scenes. I think what I’ve done really well this week has been the shots that I managed too get for the final film. I also think that I did well working around not being able to get some of the shots that I wanted.

Definitely the aria that I most need to work on is time management whilst filming but other arias that I could have improved on in my opinion is my composition of shots and planing ahead with equipment as I didn’t check that the ND filter holder fitted on the filter thread of the lens that I wanted to use. The main thing that I’ve learned this week is to plan more for the actual shoot days and planing them down to a higher degree of accuracy (to the hour).

The health and safety sheets were effective because no one got hurt, no animals were disturbed or harmed and no equipment was damaged.

Next week I need to sort through all the rushes with the director and decide on what shots too use and what shots to scrap, research colour correcting in Adobe Premiere Pro and Research different looks and styles that I could go with for the colour grade.

Evaluation

Introduction

The brief we were given was to make an adventure film for the Peak district National Park. We had about 10 weeks to complete the project. I initially proposed a film about a climber who was working on a climbing project in the Peak District, my film wasn’t picked but I ended up working on another film I was passionate about. i worked on a film by Tearnin which was about two walkers traveling through and showing off the most beautiful parts of the peak district. In the team I ended up working on was myself, Tom and Tearnin. I was assigned the role of cinematographer, Tearnin was director as it was is film and tom was the sound designer, I was very happy with my role of cinematographer as I prefer the camera work and being able to make the look of the film.

Planing

My initial proposal wasn’t that useful as I ended up working on someone else’s film so allot of the thing in the proposal didn’t apply but if I was working on my own film I think that it would have been useful in the production as it would have given me a basic structure and checklist to stick to as I made the film. If I was to complete a proposal again I would definitely change the way I said that I would do the production log. Both me and Tearnin (the director) both put in our proposals to do the production log with a video log whilst on set. We found that there usually isn’t time for this and it usually gets forgotten, if I was to complete a proposal again I would say that I will log production with production diary entries after each day of production.

I think that for the most part my planing was effective because we met the deadline for the screening of the film meaning that we had time to tweak the film based of the views of focus groups. Although we did meet the deadline for the final video we did run out of time for the first part of the first day of filming as we misjudged how long it would take us to get the first shots so we ended up having to scrap filing at Whinnits pass. Apart from this one timing issue the planning was very helpful, the location recce especially as we could visualise what shots we wanted as we’ed already been there to check it out.

I think that I could have managed my time better throughout the unit by first making a more detailed schedule for the production days, maybe plan it too the hour rather than to the morning or afternoon and plan when we would do each shot. I think that this would have made production move much smoother and I would have been able to get every shot I wanted too without running out of time. I could have also planed out a timetable for when I was going to write up my pre-production, do research and write up the post production as well as actually colour correct the footage. A timetable would have made these parts of the production much easier to handle as they are allot of work and I occasionally found myself with allot of work too do in not allot of time and a timetable would have spread the workload more evenly. One minor problem that came up in production that I didn’t plan for was that there was continuity errors in the final film due too shooting different scenes at different times of day. I could have sorted this in the pre-production by planing the production days schedules around the order of the scenes depending on the time of day. I overcame this by correcting the color temperature of the sky and over exposing it to make a sunset shot look like it was the middle of the day. If I was too plan my production again I would plan the shoot days in more detail (too the hour and by time of day) and I would also make a schedule for the pre and post production.

Research

Most of my research was secondary research using the internet. This is because it involved allot of videos of how to do certain things in the editing program and using google maps too do an initial location recce. I also did s ome primary research, this included actually visiting the proposed filming locations to see if they were viable filming options, online surveys to find out the target audience of the film and then the target audiences attitudes towards certain aspects of short films. I also did primary research after the production of the film to see what the target audience felt about the initial cut and colour grade of the film and what may need to be changed.

My primary research was very effective as it gave me information very relative to the film I worked on were. The secondary research was useful but sometimes had to be backed up with some primary research, for example, the location scouting was initially done using google maps but then had to be backed up by an actual visit too the location. With the research that I gathered I planed the shoot days and how I helped in the production of the film. With the information from the scouting I worked with the director to work out a schedule and then with the research from other films in the same genre I had a rough idea of what shots too get and then planed a shot list. I think that I could have done more research into the genre and style of the film that I was making, I think that it would have made the film allot better as I would have had a better idea of what shots to get, how to give the film a certain style in the post-production and what doesn’t work with the genre of film i’m making so that I could avoid including it in the film.

One of my main worries with the research was the reliability of the weather forecast as I needed the weather to be sunny and dry for both of the days to keep the weather constant throughout the shots. Also as we were making a promotional video, the film had to make the peak district look appealing meaning sunny weather is required. I worried about the reliability of the forecast as it has a tendency to change an I couldn’t do anything about it. Another difficulty that I had was finding other films that were similar to mine, as the film I worked on was basically an advert I had limited choices and only found 1 that really matched the feel I was going for in the film. I overcame this by using different types of films that were similar and studying there cinematic aspects to get an idea of what I will do with my film.

I did very minimal research during the production whilst actually on location filming, the only real research I did was weather checks for the following day and having a look at photos of Curbar edge on google images as the plans changed last minute and we had to film at a different location that we hadn’t been too to look at first. With the findings from this research I could plan roughly were on Curbar edge we would film, this research was helpful because without it we would have gone to the location with no idea of what we were going to film or where. The only other research I did was in post production which involved looking up YouTube videos to see hot to do certain things in the programs I was using, this included how to colour grade in Adobe Premiere Pro and how too clean up an image from dust in Adobe After Affects, I used this research to improve the quality of the final film. I could have improve my research during the production by completing primary research into different ways for colour correcting and grading and the different looks that I could achieve through this

Reflective Journal

My reflective journal helped me throughout the production of the film and during the research because it gave me a something too look at and see what I’ve already done so that could figure out and could plan for what I still had too do and what I would do next. this was especially helpful near the shoot day where I had allot of work too do and I could look at it to see if I had missed something or if I had already completed it and I f so where to find it.

The Product

I do think that my product is fit for purpose, it fits the brief which was to make an adventure style video for the peak district national park which it is.It follows the codes and conventions of an adventure film, its fast eddied, has a cinematic look, its feel good and makes you want to join in, it follows a simple story (two boys on a camping trip). I could have improved its fitness for purpose by including more iconic arias of the peak district in the video as it is basically a promotional video for them.

My role in the production of this film was cinematographer. I think that I fulfilled the role very well as I was responsible for the image of the film and hot to shoot the scenes we wanted and I believe that I did a good job at doing so. I believe that the parts of the film that worked well (that I was responsible for) was the shots. I was very happy with some of the shots that we came away with from the shoot days.

Good shots.

I could improve on these by touching them up colour wise to make the colour a little more constant and make it look a little more saturated and cinematic. Some of the other shots aren’t as nice as these, they a shaky due to wind affecting the Steadicam or the shots are dusty or I simply didn’t compose the shot very well so I could improve these shots by using better lenses, choosing a less windy environment to film in or compose he shot better. The location recce research really helped with this as it mean that we were shooting in amazing locations and we knew about them through the location recce.

Bad shots.

Overall I think the film was a success. Its a visually pleasing short adventure film, filmed in the peak district showing of the peak district to the target audience, this means that it fits the brief perfectly. If I was director I would have changed the concept of the film slightly and give the film a stronger storyline. Because I found with my research into the codes and conventions of the genre at the Sheffield adventure film festival that the most successful adventure films are both visually pleasing and have a strong storyline through them.

As a result of the production of this film, the technical skills I have developed are filming in wind, filming in bright conditions and colour correction. The filming in wind I didn’t actually think of in the planing meaning I brought my lighter tripod due to the amount of hiking we would have to do to get to the locations. I later found that this was a mistake as the tripod wasn’t big enough to withstand the wind meaning the shots were shaky. I overcame this problem by borrowing another groups tripod for the shots with the big telephoto lens when they weren’t using it. For the filming in bright conditions (and most conditions) ND filters were a must. As I was using old canon FD lenses I couldn’t stop down the aperture as they were very dusty inside so the large depth of field means that the dust is visible. I used the ND filters to lower the light levels getting to through the lens meaning the shots are correctly exposed. They were also useful as I could use a graduated filter to expose both the sky and the ground. The last technical skill I developed was colour correction. I hadn’t had much experience with colour correction and grading but through secondary internet research I leant how to do it and control the individual colours separately. This really helped with the production as it made the film look much more professional and I could fix aspects of the film that didn’t go to plan in the production, things like the sunset shot in the middle of the day I corrected to look like daytime.

There were two main issues with the members of the team. The first was disputes about discussions between me and the director, we couldn’t decide on certain things but we worked together to complete the film. The director and I also got very annoyed at the sound designer as he took along time to find a song that was suitable. I ended up having to search through licence free songs as well so that the film could be finished quicker so I could do a focus group.

I think that the film would appeal to the target audience. I think this because its very visually pleasing, short so that I will hold the viewers attention for the entire length of the film and the beginning of the film is very interesting near the beginning meaning it will grab the viewers attention at the beginning so they continue watching. I also think that it would appeal to the target audience as its aimed at such a wide age range meaning that most people that see the film will want to visit the peak district. One reason that the audience may not like the film is that it doesn’t have a very strong storyline meaning that its not the most interesting adventure film ever made.

I did some audience research before the production of my film. The research that I did consisted of 2 internet surveys. The information I got from this was useful but there were issues with the research that I did. As I only did internet surveys, I limited myself to internet users that I can reach through means of social media so i will have squeed results as the people who do the surveys are people i’m likely to know so they will be a similar age to me, live in a similar aria and have similar interests.

The initial audience research consisted of a focus group of film students who were in the target audience age range. The look through the film and each picked out 4-5 points that could be changed to improve the film. I chose the most realistic ideas for amendments and improved the film using these suggestions. once I had amended the film I showed the film to them again and they said that they really liked the film and that it made them want to go to the peak district, this was the whole point of the film so I think that its a success. I did agree with the initial feedback from the focus group as I could also see that there were some changes that needed to be made. I do also agree with the second audience feedback as I do believe that it fits its purpose and makes you want to be there in the peak district.

I didn’t get feedback from an industry practitioner. I think that it would have been useful if I had as I would have got feedback and suggestions from someone who really knows what there talking about and would probably be able to give me more effective feedback than the film students. If I was to ask for feedback from an industry practitioner I would have probably asked a documentary film maker I know called Jonathan Young as he has been making documentaries for over a decade and has worked for the likes of the BBC and channel 4 filming things like news broadcasts and Panorama. I would also contact Matt Heason as he is the director of the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival meaning he knows allot about adventure films.

Yes my film does adhere to media law and ethical guidelines. The media is all copyright free as I shot it all. The music is all copyright free. The colours are also broadcast safe.

Conclusion

If I was going to the the project again I would improve the planning by looking for more locations that may be better and easier to access. I would also plan the project in more detail so that I would make the deadline easier and not take as long to complete the project. I would improve the research by doing more in-depth audience research by using other methods other than internet surveys like physical surveys, vox pos and interviews. I would improve the product by using better lenses and using variable ND filters to get cleaner shots that are perfectly exposed. I would improve my communication by listening to the other group members more, give clear concise advice and explanations, compromise more and take on other group members advice. I would improve my creativity by doing more research into picture and the cinematic styles of adventure films and do some primary research tests for the cinematography.

Pre-Production

Production work

The first bit of pre-production that I sorted was the shot list. This is the shot list, it may change whilst filming because of factors including weather, better angles we hadn’t though of and the public being in the way.

1. ES, wide landscape, Stanage edge looking over the valley drone shot (2 seconds)
2. ES,wide landscape, woodland (2 seconds)
3. ES, wide landscape, Mam Tor looking over the ridge (2 seconds)
4. MCU, pulling bag out of the car/bus (1.5 seconds)
5. MCU, putting the bag on back (1.5 seconds)
6. MCU-pan up, tying shoe lace and running off (3 seconds)
7. wide-telephoto, shot of them walking along the ride at Mam Tor (4seconds)
8. wide-telephoto, shot of them walking across the ridge of Whinnits pass (4 seconds)
9. wide-rear tracking shot of them walking across the ridge (3.5 seconds)
10. MCU-upwards, upward shot of the tree canopy (3 seconds)
11. wide, walking shot at Curbar (2 seconds)
12. wide, walking shot looking over the reservoir (2 seconds)
13. wide, walking shot in the woods at Ladybower (2 seconds)
14. CU, map (2 seconds)
15. MW, them looking at map (2.5 seconds)
16. MCU, skipping stones from rear (1.5 seconds)
17. MCU, skipping stones from front (2 seconds)
18. wide, the stone skimming across the water (2.5 seconds)
19. MW, panning of people walking in woodland (5 seconds)
20. CU, tracking through Padley Gorge (4 seconds)
21. W, through Padely Gorge (4 seconds)
22. W, landscape shot (undecided) (3 seconds)
23. MW, walking into the woods (3 seconds)
24. Taking stuff out of the bags (2 seconds)
25. MW, laying the tent out (2 seconds)
26. MCU, putting the poles in shot from the other side (3 seconds)
27. MCU, picking up sticks (2.5 seconds)
28. MCU, Splitting wood (intense sound) (4 seconds)
29. MCU, blowing on a fire (intense sound) (3 seconds)
30. wide, boiling the jet boil (intense sound) (3 seconds)
31. sipping a cup of tea (intense sound) (2 seconds)
32. Wide slider backwards, sat behind the fire with the tent lit up in the background (5 seconds)
33. Fades to black – credits

 

 

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Paperwork

I worked with the director to come up with the log sheet for logging the video files and the audio files whilst filming to make the editing process easier.

Log Sheet for unit 8

We also wrote out the risk assessments for all the locations we went too. I did the risk assessment Padely Gorge.

Curbar Edge risk assesment

Ladybower risk assesment

Mam Tor risk assesment

padley gorge risk assesment

 

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Schedule

The class schedule for the filming days

The schedule for my group is;

Wednesday AM – Mam Tor

Wednesday PM – Ladybower

Wednesday Evening – Ladybower woodland

Thursday AM – Curbar Edge

Thursday PM – Padely Gorge

 

FMP Reflective Journal (week 1)

The first week of my FMP I started with the idea. I came up with the idea for my film whilst on a visit to the location taking photographs of the climber I plan to film. I thought about it and realised there wasn’t any good short climbing documentaries about Sheffield’s local crags and especially no documentaries about the young climbers in the aria. This week I also did a practice proposal to learn how to write them and. I did it on a film I saw called Denali. I did it on this film because its also a short adventure film, similar to mine.

here is the practice proposal;

Proposal test on someone else’s film ‘Denali’

1.   Summarise why this film was made (the reasons and purposes)

This film was made, I think to show how precious life is and how people in there busy city lives don’t appreciate whats around them. I think on another level its also about a dog and his love and appreciation for his owner.

2.   What skills would you need to develop to make this?

I would need to develop underwater cinematography skills and even more importantly my editing skills to invoke the level of emotion in the film.

3.   In what ways would making this film (danali) have offered you to stretch and challenge yourself.

I would have to opportunity to make an emotional film and create a character through mostly monologue. I would also have to film a dog, Ive never had to film animals.

4.   Why the film should exist, are there other similar successful products or is there a gap in the market for your film.

The film should exist because it is a beautifully shot film and makes one rethink they way they live there lives and encourages them to get out and live life as they truly wish.

This week I also started research for the film. I researched the codes and convention of the genre short adventure films, this is to give me some ideas of how to make my film, what to include and how its shot. The research was visiting the SHAFF (Sheffield Adventure Film Festival) where I watched a series of climbing films, skiing films, mountain biking films and general adventure films. this was very useful as it gave me a sense of the kind of style of editing and film making that I would need to achieve. I realised that the most successful films had a slight storyline and a connection to a person rather than just beautiful cinematography. But they did include very cinematic landscape shots.

This week I also completed a brief project action plan outlining roughly what I will be doing, and roughly when I will be doing it. This will impact my production because it will help keep me on track and help with time management and make sure that I get everything completed.

The impact this weeks work has had on my product is that I have an initial idea to work from and an idea of the genre, what it includes and how its shot so that I know what to plan in terms of the cinematography and content. What I feel I’ve done well with is starting the research into the codes and conventions of the genre early in the pre-production process. I feel this will help because I will have a better idea of what the final product will be, making it easier to plan for the film because I will know what locations to look for and what equipment I will need.

I will need to improve on the answers to the questions for the proposal so that I can put across the idea for my film better. the problem that I have solved is finding out the codes and conventions of the genre early in pre-production so I know how to make my film and what to plan for and I can progress quicker.

This week I’ve learned how to write a proposal and I’ve also learnt the codes and conventions of a short adventure film. Next week I need to work on: writing the final proposal, primary research into recording audio in windy conditions and further research into the codes and conventions of the genre, specifically looking at the cinematography.

MFP Reflective Journal (week 4)

Presentations

This week was mainly about The presentations. Everyone had to make a powerpoint presentation and present it to the class and the lectures, this decided the 5 different films that would be made out of the class, everyone voted for there favorite three. My film didn’t get picked to be made but I was assigned to be the director of Photography on a hiking film called Trek which i’m happy about because its the cinematography that i’m most interested in. This is my Presentation. 3453946286_c95eebea3a_o. Once I knew the film that I was working on and the role within that team I could start work on the shot list style of film and locations. I spoke with the director and cleared up the style of film that he wanted. He wanted a film with a basic narrative but with no speaking only some wildtrack sound and music over the top. He left the cinematography and picture style up to me and I decided on a bright but cinematic look with fairly neutral grading. The film will look like and advert for the peak district which is what its meant too look like. I decided on a basic shot list which is;

1. ES, wide landscape, Stanage edge looking over the valley drone shot (2 SECONDS)
2. ES,wide landscape, woodland (2 seconds)
3. ES, wide landscape, Mam Tor looking over the ridge (2 seconds)
4. MCU, pulling bag out of the car/bus (1.5 seconds)
5. MCU, putting the bag on back (1.5 seconds)
6. MCU-pan up, tying shoe lace and running off (3 seconds)
7. wide-telephoto, shot of them walking along the ride at Mam Tor (4seconds)
8. wide-telephoto, shot of them walking across the ridge of Whinnits pass (4 seconds)
9. wide-rear tracking shot of them walking across the ridge (3.5 seconds)
10. MCU-upwards, upward shot of the tree canopy (3 seconds)
11. wide, walking shot at Stanage (2 seconds)
12. wide, walking shot looking over the reservoir (2 seconds)
13. wide, walking shot in the woods at Ladybower (2 seconds)
14. CU, map (2 seconds)
15. MW, them looking at map (2.5 seconds)
16. MCU, skipping stones from rear (1.5 seconds)
17. MCU, skipping stones from front (2 seconds)
18. wide, the stone skimming across the water (2.5 seconds)
19. MW, panning of people walking in woodland (5 seconds)
20. CU, tracking through Padley Gorge (4 seconds)
21. W, through Padely Gorge (4 seconds)
22. W, landscape shot (undecided) (3 seconds)
23. MW, walking into the woods (3 seconds)
24. Taking stuff out of the bags (2 seconds)
25. MW, laying the tent out (2 seconds)
26. MCU, putting the poles in shot from the other side (3 seconds)
27. MCU, picking up sticks (2.5 seconds)
28. MCU, Splitting wood (intense sound) (4 seconds)
29. MCU, blowing on a fire (intense sound) (3 seconds)
30. wide, boiling the jet boil (intense sound) (3 seconds)
31. sipping a cup of tea (intense sound) (2 seconds)
32. Wide slider backwards, sat behind the fire with the tent lit up in the background (5 seconds)
33. Fades to black – credits

 

For the locations I decided on Mam Tor hill in Castelton, Whinnits Pass in Castelton,  Curbar Edge, Lady bower reservoir beach, Ladybower woodland and Padely Gorge. I chose these primarily on there visual aspects as that’s my role in the production, I also considered ease of access and location. I went on a location recce to check out these locations before deciding on them.

The impact that the work from this week will have on the final product will be mainly visual and have an impact on the scheduling for the production of it. The initial shot list and location choices decided the look and content for the film. the locations will affect the scheduling for the production because of travel to the locations.

I feel that this week i’ve make significant progress in the production of the film as I now have a very good initial shot list which has decided the look and content for the film. I could have possibly improved the locations by doing a location recce to find better locations or find problems with the locations that may occur on the shoot day. For this reason next week one of the things that I need to do is go on a location recce to look at the locations I picked from the internet. this week I solved the problem of not knowing the look and content of the film so the rest of the team couldn’t work on things like heath and safety forms because they didn’t have a location, but now they do. From this I found that maybe coming up with the look and content earlier on in the film planing, maybe one of the first jobs is better because it frees up the other jobs to get done. Other things Ive got to do next week are; making a final shot list, making a log sheet, making a kit list, and do the heath and safety sheets that i’m responsible for.