Steadicam How-To

I found a way to stabilise camera movement with just a tripod.  This is helpful because I have limited resources and money to spend on buying expensive equipment, but I still want to make my product to be as professional looking as possible.  This will be useful for creating lots of shot types which will probably be used in my video, for example tracking shots, tilts, pans etc.  I will definitely be trying this technique and posting test shots.

Free Lensing/Lens whacking test 1

This is just a rough test shot of an attempt at lens whacking.  I notice that there is quite a lot of camera shake, something I will try to control in my next attempt.  However, I was just trying out the different effects that I could create with this technique, therefore I was moving the lens a lot to shift in and out of focus.  I will try to create smoother footage next time by being more gentle with the camera movements and trying to 'hinge' the lens more smoothly.  However if there is still a little bit of shakiness it shouldn't matter too much as in the final product there will only be short cuts of this type of footage, therefore the shake won't be as noticeable.

Research into themes

Because I'm going to be making my video with a sensitive subject as a main theme, I want to ensure that I portray it correctly and sensitively so as to reduce the chance of offending people who decide to watch my music video.  I understand that there's the potential that people who have been affected by drug use may watch this, not forgetting those who are vulnerable and sensitive such as younger people.  It's important to consider this because media texts can influence people.  I don't want mine to be likely to have a bad influence on watchers.  I also want to be sensitive to the experience of those who have actually been in this situation or know somebody that has.  Furthermore, I want to make the video obviously anti-drugs, so I want to portray the negative effects, however I don't want to make the video too offensive and explicit or people won't watch it.  I also don't want to be too 'soft' in this portrayal as this may appear as romanticising drug use.

First of all I looked at the actual effects of heroin use.  I know that heroin is a class A drug and has serious effects on users.
The image of the boy in the screen shot above is an extreme example of these effects.  My protagonist has become addicted to heroin but the point of the plot is that there is still hope for her; she has started her downward spiral not hit rock bottom completely.  This will be apparent by the fact that she's pregnant as it says that long term users have reduced fertility.

The short term effects mentions a 'rush' and 'drowsiness' but nothing about hallucinations.  I want hallucinations to be included in my video because they are key to the plot.  Therefore, there will need to be a separate cause for these, such as a hallucinogenic drugs e.g. LSD, ecstasy, cannabis or magic mushrooms.  The easiest and most realistic one to recreate in my music video would be ecstasy.  This is because ecstasy isn't as much of a psychedelic drug as LSD and magic mushrooms (this would be too unrealistic as my protagonist's hallucinations are based more on distorted reality rather than a dramatic 'trip').  Ecstasy and cannabis cause more 'mild' hallucinations, rather than psychedelic trips.  However, it would be more difficult to recreate the smoking of cannabis because my actress doesn't smoke, and I wouldn't want to make her do so unnecessarily.  To replicate taking a pill is easy, as all my actress has to do is swallow a sugar pill or a sweet that looks like an ecstasy pill, for example an antacid.

ecstasy pills

antacid tablets

"Lens Whacking" - Close up shots, light leaks etc.

This is a tutorial on lens whacking, a technique used to get extreme close-up shots in focus, create artistic light-leak effects on the footage and have a double plane of focus.
This technique will be very useful to be because some of my shots require extreme close-ups, and some of the dreamy hallucinations. I already addressed the issues of focusing on close-up subjects e.g. glitter in water when filming my test shots.  I initially thought that I would need to use a macrolens to achieve these types of shots.  However, with lens whacking technique, all I have to do is take the lens off my camera and focus manually.  I will experiment with this technique and post a few test shots.

This shot in the tutorial has inspired me in the direction of my character's hallucinations.  I could have a shot of my protagonist in the foreground, and a shot of the daughter in the background, still in focus, implying that she's visible in the character's peripheral line of vision.  Then, the little girl could run away/disappear as the protagonist turns to look at her, and the focus will quickly shift to only the protagonist, creating a sense of isolation.   This will probably be quite difficult to achieve so I will need to practise this shot.  However, if I can pull it off it will hopefully achieve the effect that I want, and will create a visually striking shot.

Here is an example of the dream like effect that this technique creates.

Inspiration & Influences

I have been influenced by other media texts in the development of my ideas.  I have covered the inspiration that I took from Give Me Love and Shake Me Down in my textual analyses; this slideshare highlights other smaller pieces of inspiration that I've taken from various other texts.

Outfit moodboard

 

Here is a moodboard for how I want my main character to look.  Overall, I want her to have the look of being run down, poor, apathetic and drab.  This will be achieved through the chipped nail varnish, smudged makeup, ripped clothes, messy hair and dry lips.  The colours are also quite dull, reflecting her emotional state.  I have chosen the white, thin top, which she will be wearing while asleep, to reflect her vulnerability and fragility. 

However, I want her past to be shown through the locket and the hair ribbon; symbols of her youth, innocence and happiness. The locket symbolises her yearning for the happiness of her past as they normally have photos of loved ones in them.  In her locket there will be a photo of her mum/parents and her partner, linking to the lyrics 'are you missing the love of your kin?' which I have already picked apart in my lyrics analysis.  The locket could also connote luxury (considering how poor the character is) implying that it was a present or a keepsake from a happier, better time. The pink hat reinfoces this as pink is a rosy, youthful colour, also representing this side of her character in a subtle way.

Mise-en-scene Moodboard

I have created another moodboard to further consolidate the type of imagery I want to include in my final product as my ideas have developed.
Moodboards help me a lot because it helps me to create an overall image of how I want my product to look as a whole through the use of lots of individual images.  This way, I know the types of specific imagery and shots I need to include in my video to achieve the whole desired look.

I have covered most of the elements of mise-en-scene and a few which inspire how I'm going to have the cinematography.  For example; close ups of the crying eyes to put emphasis on the emotion of my character while also creating a visually pleasing shot; different angled shots of a girl sleeping (bottom right) which is possibly how I will film my character when she is dreaming.  I also quite like the costume of the girl in these shots.  The delicate fabrics make her seem more vulnerable and delicate which is how I want her to be portrayed. 

The shots of the glitter and the kaleidoscope images and the images of the burning cigarette and the skull represent the abstract shots within her hallucinations.  The nice shots show how the drugs are making her feel, temporarily, where as the shots of the cigarette and the skull represent the obvious horrible, permanent consequences to her lifestyle. 

First Test Shots

Here is the first edited cut of my first test shots.  They're not in any particular order and don't follow any storyboard; they're just test shots that I've done to become accustomed to using the camera, editing software, and to see how well some of my ideas work and how they can be improved.  I learned a lot in the making of this and identified quite a few obstacles that I need to overcome while both filming and editing.

What I've learnt

• Shooting at a high frame rate requires good lighting because in low light conditions, there are bars that move down the screen. 
• It's nearly impossible to achieve a smooth shot without a track, tripod or a dolly.  I tried to create a smooth shot by holding the camera on the tripod but the shot still turned out shaky and looked very amateur
• How to make and use split tone effect, how it affects the mood of the footage and how save them as presets
• The finished project needs to be saved in the correct format so it can be uploaded to YouTube

Things I need to improve filming

• A macro lens to film the abstract (e.g. glitter) shots 
• A small tripod for filming the abstract shots, as hand held camera was far too shaky (as I anticipated)
• A dolly/track which I can borrow from college if I book it out.  I will hire it for more test shots and for the days of filming

Location 1 - Bedroom

This is a shot of the first location I've secured; the spare room in my house.  This is for several reasons

1. The decor (or lack thereof) is good as I want a drab, bare room to portray the poor living standards of my protagonist
2. It's in my own house, meaning that it's easily accessible and there are no real obstacles for filming.  
3. The only 'issue' would be getting my actress there, as she doesn't live near me.  However I will pay for her transport to my house on the days of filming.  I'm also hoping to get the bedroom scene filmed in one maximum two days so this should be no major issue.  

I will obviously have to make the room look more like a bedroom, so the right props will be used.  I will probably use my mattress on the floor next to the radiator as a bed.  This way I will have natural light coming in through the window for the scenes filmed during the day, helping to achieve the Li Hui inspired look I'm going for.  I also have a stand-alone clothes rail which will be better than putting a wardrobe in there.  This will save space which, as you can tell by the photo, is limited.  It will also create more verisimilitude as the girl is poor therefore probably can't afford a proper wardrobe to hang her clothes in.  Furthermore, all her clothes will be visible to the audience, so I'll just hang a few items on it to show that she has few material possessions.  I was considering having a kettle and gas camping cooker in there too, to show that this room is all she has as she can't even afford a proper flat with a kitchen (similar to Give me Love).  However, I realised there is no water outlet in the room so this doesn't make any sense as she wouldn't have water to boil in the kettle, hence disrupting the verisimilitude.  

Shooting in Slow Motion

This tutorial was helpful because some of my footage may be in slow motion.
Having more frames per second means that when the footage is slowed down, it is still of a good quality and doesn't appear jittery.  Because some of my footage may be extremely slowed down, maybe even by 5 times, I will probably try to use the highest frame rate possible to retain good quality.  This may mean that I will have to borrow a camera with the ability to shoot a very high frame rate for some of my abstract footage,

Survey

I decided to conduct a survey as part of my audience research.  (Link below)  I only have 9 responses to far but there will be plenty more to come.  I will shortly make a post about the results when I have some more relevant responses.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KWXKVVP

The first questions of my survey were more general and became more specific towards the last questions.  This way I can eliminate any information that is irrelevant e.g. if the responder doesn't like Rock or Indie and only likes Pop and Dance music then I don't really need to know their preferences for music videos as they are not my target audience.  Conducting the survey in this way helps me to get relevant responses more accurately.

Questions 1 & 2 were about age and gender.  This was to determine the music tastes that were most common among certain age groups and genders, and to establish any certain patterns between these three factors.  For example, if females were a big part of my target audience and their specific preferences were different to those of males, then I would want to try to appeal to females more than males in order to make my product more successful.

In questions 3 & 4 I asked about the responder's favourite genres of music and their favourite artists.  I did this mainly because genre can be a fairly fluid and subjective thing, for example there are a lot of different styles of artists in 'pop' and, more importantly to my specific research, many different interpretations about the definition of 'Alternative Rock' and 'Indie Pop'; the two main genre audiences to which I am trying to appeal.  Asking about their favourite artists gives me a more clear picture of exactly what type of music they like, therefore how much I should consider their preferences when it comes to appealing to my audience.

Question 5 asked about how the responder watches music videos.  The answers help me to decide how would be best to distribute my product in order to appeal to my target market.

6-10 asked about their personal preferences in music videos so I can determine exactly what my target audience likes and dislikes in music videos.  I also asked about the most memorable music videos they had seen.  This will tell me about the kind of things that my target audience finds memorable in music videos, which is something I want to strive to achieve with my product.  A memorable music video is a successful one because if people remember the music video they also will remember the song.  Therefore, the music video was a successful promotional tool.

Prop idea; "do you carry the moon in your womb?"

Accidental Shock Therapy: Blue moon ...

here is a link to something I may make myself to use as a prop in my video.

One of the lyrics in the song is;



"Do you carry the moon in your womb?"

For some of the abstract/non narrative shots, I wanted to have the protagonist sat on her bed with this 'moon' as her pregnant tummy as a literal representation of the lyrics.  Instead of using blue LED lights to illuminate it, I would use white/yellow ones to make it look more like the moon.

History of Form

Male Gaze Theory

Filming tutorials

Due to my low budget, I thought it would be useful to know how to get the most out of my limited resources.






I wondered how film makers shot long tracking shots without getting the tracks in the frame.  This video was useful to see how tracking shots are done, and I might attempt it myself.

Textual Analysis 2

A