Originally,
we had been hoping to create a film that would explore the emotion of fear;
particularly through the form of paranoia. We intended to primarily achieve
this through a specific use of cinematography which, as director of
photography, was my responsibility to research [Fig.
1]. Subsequently, we were keen to emulate these ideas into our film;
although we did so in moderation following some advice from professional
cinematographer Ed Moore in an online article [Fig.
2]. However, despite our best efforts, I'm sad to say that I am not
overly satisfied with the final product; primarily due to external factors
beyond our control that forced us to change the concept of our film [Fig. 3]. Due to complications brought about
by the weather, we were forced to reorganise our narrative in order to
accommodate for this issue. As a result, the film now aims to present themes of
loneliness and panic through a childlike perspective. The snow is part of Tom's
childlike imagination, which remains unchanged since his kidnapping and
subsequent isolation has halted parts of his cognitive development. It's as if
he is trapped in a snowglobe; a fantasy world that the figure disturbs. Despite
some aesthetically pleasing cinematography (which I believe to be the film's
strongest point), our forced transition into this alternate narrative has
severely diluted its emotional impact, since the shots were gathered for
another intention. Due to a shortage of time and even a computer crash, the film
to me now seems rushed and unpolished; still plagued with colour-correction
issues, unstable shots, and some unfitting sounds; despite an unbelievable
level of effort from our editors. With more time, the film could have been far
better. Much of our work went to waste as a result of these issues.
Pre-production
is where a majority of my learning took place; since this is where my role in
the project was the most prominent. My researching skills have improved
considerably compared to many past projects; going into significantly more
detail of analysis, and making more references to academic texts in order to
solidify the credibility of my findings [Fig. 4].
Admittedly, my inquiries could perhaps have used a few more real films as a
source of research to allow me to gather a more comprehensive understanding of
how films similar to our own are constructed both narratively and
cinematographically. As cinematographer, it was also my responsibility to
organise a shot list, as
I did. In other projects, I often neglected to write a shot list; which
unsurprisingly resulted in multiple organisational issues on the day of
shooting. This time, after reading an online article on the subject [Fig. 5], I decided that it would be wise to
create a shot list, and in considerable detail. Doing so allowed us to gather
our shots much more systematically and efficiently, allowing us to make the
most of what few days we had to shoot. Our processes during the production
itself were also rather good. In our first day of shooting, we managed to
complete just over half of the shot list. Our filming also marked my first time
using the Canon EF 100mm lens, which I am now subsequently much more accustomed
to using (along with the DSLR itself). However, post-production seemed to be
where our efforts fell apart, primarily due to a lack of communication and
certain external stimuli. The aforementioned snowfall resulted in continuity
errors that forced our editors to restructure our narrative; a process that I
was not informed of until it was too late for me to offer any input. The edit
itself was forced to be rushed due to a lack of time and a computer mishap;
severely hampering its quality. Much of these issues could have been avoided
had we been more thorough in preparation: being aware of the inevitable
snowfall might have allowed us to preempitvely change our narrative, allowing
us to adjust our cinematography and editing ahead of time.
My
two roles within the project were screenwriter and cinematographer.
Subsequently, my contributions include things such as shot
lists, storyboards [Fig. 6], and
of course the script
itself. During pre-production when these documents were being made, I did
my best to maintain communication with my colleagues. I read about a theory
known as 'positive interdependence' [Fig. 7], which suggests that individual learning and the quality
of work produced are both significantly improved through collaboration as
opposed to individual work. With this is mind, we were quick to set up two
group chats on Whatsapp and Facebook [Fig.
8], as well as exchanging phone numbers.
Doing so was a vital part of ensuring the efficient collaboration that the
theory references. As cinematographer, it was also my responsibility to select
camera equipment; eventually opting for a DSLR with a Canon EF 100mm lens.
Through my cinematography lessons, I knew this lens to be very effective at
maintaining a cinematic quality when moving closer to the subject for handheld
close-ups, making it ideal for our intentions for the film. We ran into very
few problems in pre-production where much of my contribution took place,
although things began to fall apart slightly as we started filming. A clash of
arrangements between the crew and our actor meant that shooting days were very
limited; which ultimately led to us being forced to shoot during the snowfall,
resulting in the unsightly continuity errors that forced us to recreate our
narrative. I also feel like our communication quickly fell apart in
post-production, with each member of the group (myself included) becoming far
less communicative with one-another. Admittedly, I feel as though I could have
been more helpful in this stage, as I mostly took a back seat to our editors.
Compared
with most of my previous projects, this module encouraged a greater degree of
professionalism in our work; and thus a more professional and comprehensive
approach was required at each stage of the production. My researching skills
have improved considerably; going into significantly more detail when analysing
films and designing the story and characters [Fig.
9], as well as trying to make more reference to academic texts
written by industry professionals. Effective research is a vital part in the
success of any filmmaking project, and would therefore prove to be an
invaluable skill within the industry. As a result of the research I underwent,
I am now more acquainted with cinematography; both technically and
theoretically. My research
into the ways shot-design can be used to create a sense of panic and
disorientation led me to my discovery of the aforementioned 100mm lens (which I
then subsequently used in a cinematography workshop). This project marked my
first time in what is likely to be many iterations of its usage, as I was
impressed with the cinematic quality of the shots it allowed me to produce. I
also became more accustomed to the use of DSLR, as well as how to set up the
camera to produce cinematic images [Fig. 10].
Subsequently, I am now more experienced not only with the role of the DOP, but
also with a wider variety of equipment. My skills in teamwork and cooperation I
feel have also developed considering it was this time done under more
professional conditions. Establishing our roles prior to the project, and being
more reluctant to allow overlap between them, allowed us to prioritise our
individual work more; thereby allowing us to focus our learning into a smaller
pool of expertise. By doing so, our learning was less expansive, but far more
thorough. Our augmented teamwork and organisational skills will undoubtedly be
very useful in a profession context.
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