Blog17:Project_3_Final Report

DV PROMOTIONAL VIDEO OF LIT:

LINK TO VIDEO: https://youtu.be/KCvYBA894VA

INTRODUCTION:

The requirement of this Digital Video project was to construct a visual narrative to support a pre-defined script for creating a potential promotional video for the college at LIT. The wording of the video derives from LIT’s President Professor Cunnane’s script and this provided the basis of the project brief. Our team created a video incorporating the brief of duration two minutes twenty-six seconds which is within the allocated time-slot.

ROLES & TASKS: 

Our roles as per ‘Guidelines for Crew Positions’ were as follows: Director/co-producer-Khizer; Production manager (PM)-Ash; Director of photography (DP)-Sinéad(myself); Director of Sound-Ian.

While our roles are clearly defined in the crew positions brief we developed on this by working as a team on all the different aspects of the pre-production, production and post-production processes. Ian and I assisted the Director Khizer in his plans for the project with idea generation and editing while working with each-other.

Part of the Directors plan was to divide the work to reduce duplication of efforts. We all agreed on this and it was a great idea, where we worked on different aspects of the video and then regularly linking in with each-other to exchange notes, ideas and opinions.

We had many meetings and worked together on the project and I think this was a primary factor in the final resulting video.

The planning process started out using our pre-defined shooting script and determined from there the shot types and locations we would require to realize the film and the overall vision of the Director.

I worked using the college camera equipment and my own digital camera, making sure all equipment was in working order, the battery charged prior to any filming and the equipment on the set on time. We scouted locations and came up with a large amount of shots for editing. The video recordings were of: the street; library; science labs; engineering labs; workshops and sports-scenes. I think we did a good job on this stage of the process.

Then, back in the computer lab, we proceeded to work on assigned areas which are relevant to our background areas of study: Khizer in engineering; Ian in Art and Design and myself in Science. Here we conducted a lot of internet research on videos associated with LIT but also promotional videos of other third level colleges.

For my part, as with the rest of the team, I researched and then analysed many u-tube videos and still shots. Those that I decided would be relevant I download using the ‘u-tube to MP4 converter,’ saved the downloaded video file into my ‘source files’ folder, and lifted each video into the timeline on Premiere Pro for editing and compositing.

I learned from team members some other functions on Premiere Pro like scaling screen resolution size and speeding-up and slowing-down clips which was quite useful. As an overall perspective on our approach to the project we started out with master-shots and then adjusted these and or moved in closer for Medium close-up shots (MCS) and close up shots (CUS). This helped us in sequencing the flow of the film.

The clips were assembled and Ian applied the sound and the final editing carried out. Editing involved using among other skills elliptical editing removing extraneous material and territory to keep the sequence moving along smoothly for good continuity results. The transitions between shots are smooth through awareness of good mese-en-scene principles. The result was the final product video.

MORE DETAIL:

For the Mise-en-scene where the meaning of the shot is determined by its content and the visual treatment of that content works in this video. As it is a promotional video of the college each shot and sequence is relevant to this promotional objective. The connotation is interesting here as the images stand on their own and as combined in a sequence in telling the narrative. But, the narrative as stated above has been pre-scripted and overlays the video clips with this pre-scripted narrative (as sound). Therefore, there are two dimensions to this connotation process where the shots and the sound must be corresponding, the images stand alone in telling the narrative intention and this is reinforced with the sound applied.

There is consistency in location, decor, lighting and camera positioning as: all scenes are shot in LIT and shots with people all have similar positioning of students to teacher as would occur in classrooms/workshops/laboratories.

Most of the shots are ‘closed frame’ where information to be conveyed is contained within the frame. There is use of ‘deep frames’ in the exterior LIT building video clips to add depth and movement along the z-axis. There are a lot of zoomed-in shots and point of view (POV) shots to create the feeling and sense of being the viewer looking from one point and then zooming in onto the point of focus.

In terms of Proxemics the environment that is LIT is emphasized in shots at the start and at the end of the film which provides context to the promotional video. Considering character shots most of the shots would be medium shots (MS) where the camera shot-taking is close enough to see the subjects and the actions they are carrying out.

There was a lot of shots that involved panning from left to right to show progress from one part of a scene to another and pan-to shots showing the movement of one subject into another in space. There is good use made of tilting-up shots as in the clip with the girl playing the drums. There are some very close-up and dollying in and out shots, to focus in and out, on the actual work the characters are doing (while not incorporating the characters in these frames at these points) which draws the viewers’ attention in on the scene information being portrayed.

There are birds-eye-views of the LIT college campus which provides context at the start and finish of the film and once within the film again for purposes of reminding the viewer of the LIT context. There is a very nice shot of the LIT outdoor club at a beach enjoying themselves which shows another element of the LIT experience and brings the viewer to another destination LIT is associated with. Also, the LIT logo is a strong feature in this film highlighted mostly at the start and finish. It is incorporated as it is a strong logo and is immediately recognizable as Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT).

CONCLUSIONS:

Work conclusions: the desired outcome from the brief at the start of the project was to ‘attract potential students at both National & International level; to increase awareness of LIT especially in terms of diversity of courses; for use in diverse social platforms like Twitter, Facebook etc. and the LIT Website,’ and I think we achieved our set objectives in the video by following the theory on Digital Video in our course and combining that with the different talents each member of the group has to contribute to the various aspects of the project.

Personal conclusions: for the end of this subject in Digital Video having been in the roles of: Production Manager, Director of Sound and Director of Photography in the three video projects of this semester, that my preferred areas are in this order. Regarding the photography I like taking still shots but have found that the video work is not an area I would pursue career-wise. However, I have learned a lot from this and may in the future be working with video makers and I have the knowledge of how all the equipment works and the types of shots taken.

In terms of Director of Sound, I enjoyed very much this role in sourcing and applying relevant sound in awareness of timing of the video shot sequence and this is an area I would like to pursue. Then as Production Manager, I liked this role a lot and would pursue this in the future. I am quite organised as a person and I like organizing things and events. All roles involved brainstorming of ideas in the idea generation step, developing a plan, carrying out the video work, editing the same and presenting a final video product.

 LINK TO VIDEO: https://youtu.be/KCvYBA894VA

Blog 16: Project 3_Day 1

Day 1: 

This is our first day for the next assignment Project_3. We agreed on the roles for the next assignment 3. My role is as Video Director. The other roles are as Director, Sound Director and Production Manager. We read the brief and made our plans. We discussed video content and researched similar promotional videos on-line. I took out the video equipment and familiarized myself with its functions. There was 16 minutes left in the battery so I made the best use of this and took some video shoots of the college corridor otherwise known in LIT as “The Street.” While filming, I noticed different types and styles of college users, be they students from home and abroad, lecturers, visitors. It is important that this video incorporates the excellent attitude and facility’s the college has for disability. With these objectives in mind I am incorporating these angles in the video shoot. After this I set the camera to recharge in our Mac Lab and we continued to research promotional videos and all about LIT. We discussed visiting some of the campuses like Clare Street Art and Design and the Ennis branch of LIT. For those more distant areas such as Thurles we researched photograph stills to add to the shoot. I’ve watched the video on Moodle about incorporating stills into the video shoot. Also, today I spoke with a Science Lecturer who gave permission for me to film in a Science Lab, where I will film on Friday. We have made a list of all the areas we should cover in reflecting the College in a promotional video and have set out plans for the next Digital Video Class next Wednesday.

Blog 15: Project_2_Final Report

Student Name: Sinead Boyce

K.no.: k00121609

Assignment 2_DV Project:

Pre-production part 1:

We started out by discussing various ideas for this Project_2 which is centred around either one person moving through space or two people in a follow/chase scene. From what we have discussed I have sourced some u-tube sporting advertisements. I had an idea of ‘a day in the life of a rugby player/hurler.' Here, the frames would focus on the various locations of the player as they move through a regular day. There would be interplay of light and shade reflecting the cycle from morning to night. If one actor lots of scenes could be shot with the person interacting with their location and the props such as breakfast focus on the steaming cup of coffee embraced by the actor as they ponder on the day ahead...working on the computer.... getting gear ready for training and various...The following entitled: "Be there all the way," sports advert portrays the idea of how a person moves through a location that has an obvious non-verbal identity i.e. sports arena, pitch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D14Rqxs2SiE

similarly, in parts, various clip frame ideas in an "Electric Ireland" advert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu61gbCt24M

rugby video, some apt frames:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElMEi_TlPmM

A development on this in terms of the narrative could be a sequence of scenes repeated.

A series of repeated days in the depiction of a 'ground-hog-day' scenario, the actor is 

aware of the scenario, but each day certain things change slightly, which contribute to a 

the e.g. 4th day (last day of film) round where, all these smaller things come together as 

a separate event, something significant, that means

an end to the ground-hog and the beginning of something else, where the viewer is kept

at the edge of their seat as the film concludes.

Pre-production part 2:

We have been having many meetings in the pre-production stage; brainstorming ideas and deciding on the type of film we are going to shoot. We originally decided on the second option of the brief which is the chase scene.

My role is as Sound Director, which I am finding very interesting. I have selected a sound-track and will apply the effects when the timing of the film is worked out. I have uploaded it onto Premiere Pro, where it sounds clear and could be applied to any café scene we decide on.

The sound recording equipment the college supplies may not be useful for our plan, so I have read up the user handbook on my digital camera (Coolpix S200), which can in addition to taking pictures, record videos and as is applicable in this project record sound. I also uploaded this to 'Premiere Pro' and again it is very clear. The sound effects we decided on would be background café sounds (no dialogue as is specified). The plan is to combine the sound-track and the sound effects and this can be carried out when the timing of the film is worked out.

Production to Post-Production:

The shots have been decided on and some video footage taken. We had a meeting today on the project where we had a look at the video cut to date which looks very good. In summary the plot was about a guy who walked out of his house, got the bus, lost his wallet, pass machine out of order, went for tea, no money, clip then shows someone picking up the wallet and going through the guys’ cards, at the end there is a focus on the guys’ college id card. As I was absent from the first shoot due to a change in script, I suggested an idea on the development of the plot. This would add more scenes to the film: this is where I would find the cards that were on the ground and return them to the estates office/ if seen the entire scenario chases the person who dropped them. There could be obstacles of crossing a busy road, waiting for a break in the traffic and watching the card owner disappear in the distance.  During this time there would be scenes of a person moving through the spaces and places with various perceptions along the way. It could end with the return of the cards to the guy or maybe they are just left on a shelf and forgotten about.

For the project requirements of moving through cinematic space the continuity of time of day would be important. I think this idea would be good in terms of: a clear beginning and middle development which are already completed and to put the idea I am talking about in the finding and returning of the cards as the third part of this process which is the end/resolution. This would also involve a character moving through interior and exterior space. Multiple locations could be included with continuity from the earlier shots of the college environment and bus stop etc. Expressions and reactions of the person finding, reading and returning of the lost cards.

In technical terms this could include requirements for the “cutting on action: before action, after action, entrance/exit, look off, reaction, visual linkage.”

Scene strategies: cutaway: where the camera focuses off the person onto the cards on the ground, picking them up and the scenes that ensue.

Lines of action can be varied with changes in sight lines.

POV shots: this could be a 2/3 shot sequence where the person who finds the cards are looking at them (the POV shot itself) and their reaction to this.

A change of direction shot could be where this person would change direction where perhaps they were also getting a bus and after finding the cards changes direction and returns them to the college.

For continuity and parallel action there could be myself returning the cards to the college with intermittent views of Ash tracing his route in searching for his cards.

The mese-en-scene would be maintained as the shoot would be in the same location. Also, the quality of the light would have to be similar to the earlier shots. I think the denotation of the image of finding the cards and the connotation of the treatment of that image and the subsequent ensuing frames would work with the existing structure of the film.

Post-Production:

We decided as a group to stay with the current version of the video and not to add my idea as above as there was enough frames shot for what we needed. I then worked some more on the sound. I paid careful attention to the timing of the video shoot frames and sound that would have relevance to and add meaning to the video. I googled non-copyright sounds and made a selection of those I’d decided on. Next, I used the online converter to convert from u-tube to mp3, mp4, downloaded same and imported the sound and video clips into Premiere Pro. I experimented with the audio and video functions in the Premiere Pro and then started editing. I shared this work with our group and made some edits based on our decisions. We then worked on using similar sounds in a copy of the video adding functions such as lowering and increasing volume. We then made as alternative sound track so that we could present them both and decide on one. A final decision was made on the video we will be submitting and based on our Lecturers feedback and editing carried out.

 Conclusion:

I have learned a lot from this video project. Going into the project I knew very little about sound and audio editing. I learned about MP3, M4, Converters, non-copyright sounds, composition and editing in Premiere Pro. Overall, it was a learning curve and everyone’s ideas and opinions were included in the video. The link to the final video cut is as follows:

 https://youtu.be/akXp1wkYOpU

 

Blog 14: Project 2_A development on the video

We had a meeting today on the Digital Video Project where we had a look at the video cut to date which looks very good. In summary the plot was about a guy who walked out of his house, got the bus, lost his wallet, pass machine out of order, went for tea, no money, clip then shows someone picking up the wallet and going through the guys cards, at the end there is a focus on the guys college id card. I have an idea on the development of the plot which would add more scenes to the film: this is where I would find the cards that were on the ground and return them to the estates office/ if seen the entire scenario chases the person who dropped them. There could be obstacles of crossing a busy road, waiting for  a break in the traffic and watching the card owner disappear in the distance.  During this time there would be scenes of a person moving through the spaces and places with various perceptions along the way. It could end with the return of the cards to the guy or maybe they are just left on a shelf and forgotten about.

For the project requirements of moving through cinematic space the continuity of time of day would be important. I think this idea would be good in terms of: a clear beginning and middle development which are already completed and to put the idea I am talking about in the finding and returning of the cards as the third part of this process which is the end/resolution. This would also involve a character moving through interior and exterior space. Multiple locations could be included with continuity from the earlier shots of the college environment and bus stop etc. Expressions and reactions of the person finding, reading and returning of the lost cards.

In technical terms this could include requirements for the “cutting on action: before action, after action, entrance/exit, look off, reaction, visual linkage.”

Scene strategies: cutaway: where  the camera focuses off the person onto the cards on the ground, picking them up and the scenes that ensue.

Lines of action can be varied with changes in sight lines.

POV shots: this could be a 2/3 shot sequence where the person who finds the cards are looking at them (the POV shot itself) and their reaction to this.

A change of direction shot could be where this person would change direction where perhaps they were also getting a bus and after finding the cards changes direction and returns them to the college.

For continuity and parallel action there could be myself returning the cards to the college with intermittent views of Ash tracing his route in searching for his cards.

The mese-en-scene would be maintained as the shoot would be in the same location. Also, the quality of the light would have to be similar to the earlier shots. I think the denotation of the image of finding the cards and the connotation of the treatment of that image and the subsequent ensuing frames would work with the existing structure of the film.

Blog 13: Project_2: Sound Effects

Video Project 2:

We have been having many meetings in the pre-production stage; brainstorming ideas and deciding on the type of film we are going to shoot. We originally decided on the second option of the brief which is the chase scene.

My role is as Sound Director, which I am finding very interesting. I have selected a sound-track and will apply the effects when the timing of the film is worked out. I have uploaded it onto 'Premiere Pro,' where it sounds clear and could be applied to any cafe scene.

The sound recording equipment the college supplies may not be useful for our plan, so I have read up the user handbook on my digital camera (Coolpix S200), which can in addition to taking pictures, record videos and as is applicable in this project record sound. I also uploaded this to 'Premiere Pro' and again it is very clear. The sound effects we decided on would be background cafe sounds (no dialogue as is specified). The plan is to combine the sound-track and the sound effects and this can be carried out when the timing of the film is worked out.

The title of the sound-track is: Café music!!Jazz & Bossa Nova instrumental
The u-tube link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Q6YO3Ez44

Blog 12: Project_2: Beginning of Pre-Production:

Introduction:
We have been discussing various ideas for this Project_2 which is centered around either one person moving through space or two people in a follow/chase scene. From what we have discussed I have sourced some u-tube sporting advertisements. I have an idea of  'a day in the life of a rugby player/hurler.' Here, the frames would focus on the various locations of the player as they move through a regular day. There would be interplay of light and shade reflecting the cycle from morning to night. If one actor lots of scenes could be shot with the person interacting with their location and the props such as breakfast focus on the steaming cup of coffee embraced by the actor as they ponder on the day ahead...working on the computer.....getting gear ready for training..and various...The following entitled: "Be there all he way," sports advert portrays the idea of how a person moves through a location that has an obvious non-verbal identity i.e. sports arena, pitch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D14Rqxs2SiE

similarily in parts, various clip frame ideas in an "Electric Ireland" advert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu61gbCt24M

rugby video, some apt frames:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElMEi_TlPmM

A development on this in terms of the narrative could be a sequence of scenes repeated.
A series of repeated days in the depiction of a 'ground-hog-day' scenario, the actor is 
aware of the scenario,but each day certain things change slightly, which contribute to a 
the e.g. 4th day (last day of film) round where, all these smaller things come together as 
a separate event, something significant, that means
an end to the ground-hog and the beginning of something else, where the viewer is kept
at the edge of their seat as the film concludes.

Blog 11: Project_1: Final Project Report

Project 1: Final Project Report:

Part 1: Pre-Production: Organisation of equipment and looking at picture of the film location:

Our Lecturer introduced details of Project 1: “Portrait of a Location.” The previous week all members of the class were to prepare a concept for this project for today and post it to our blogs. We were divided into groups. Our team is called ‘Team 2’ and started out as three members and another person joined during the project. All four team members have individual skills to contribute to the project and we can pool these skills and learn from each-other. There are four Crew Positions: Director/co-producer, Production manager (PM)/co-producer/Art Dept., Director of photography (DP), Sound. My position was as PM. Our scheduled deadline for the project is the 09^th October 2016.

I commenced my role by obtaining and sharing each team members contact details i.e. phone number, email, blogger account. I then proceed to check our schedule for the teams’ availability times. We all had availability to go out on site Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning and we decided to take the shoots over a period of two days and then the next stage would be editing of material gathered.

At the start, we organised the video equipment for the current project ‘Portrait of a Location.’ I and the Director went to the computer desk and I asked questions based on the check list I made out last week as part of my role as being ‘Production Manager. I made out a check sheet to this effect. Questions included were such as: opening times of computer desk; time required in advance of taking out equipment and procedures for same; to check that the video recorder has an SD card of approximately 32GB, which it had. Then we checked the equipment to make sure it was all there and in good working order. The Director noticed that the platform for linking the camera to the tripod was not present, so this was replaced with a complete tripod. The computer desk administrator then took details of my student number and mobile phone number and informed us that we have the equipment for the two weeks of the project. We brought the equipment to the ‘Director of Photography’ who took the equipment home to practice on in advance of going on site the following afternoon and to make sure that the battery was charged properly.

Next, the ‘Director of Photography,’ and I looked at the photos taken by the ‘Director’ which he took while scouting the location of the film where we will be shooting. The ‘Director’ discussed his ideas about the pictures which was very interesting and got me thinking about the story to be told and how this will be carried out. I have been pondering on the ideas this evening and watched some T.V. to examine various filming and shot types. In particular, the programme ‘Nationwide,’ hosted the ‘Tidy Towns,’ awards ceremony. Here, they went through various locations and from this I gained inspiration on types and sequences of shots of ‘locations.’

I scribbled a few sketches and supporting text based on the thoughts from the ‘Director’s’ photographs and the ideas that we were all discussing as a group and this combined with my studying of the shot types, angles, orientations, combinations that was portrayed on the television (after all the T.V. Crew are kind of ultimate experts) and came up with suggestions to contribute to the film. All of these in keeping with the principles of ‘Mese-en-scene.’

In terms of schedule, we each contribute to each-others functions in our roles. However, we always have in mind throughout the creative process, the end-point at the post-production stage which was the finished video. As part of my role as PM it was to keep track of the schedule. Fortunately, our planned schedule of works and the required work flow for the entire project operated very well with each member of the group doing their work to a full extent.

Part 2: Pre-Production transition to Production: based on the Director’s photographs ideas for development of the plot in terms of story in order to determine potential shots and their sequence and the final objective of the dramatic sequence:

In the plot, the emphasis in the film is the interaction between and the journeys within humankind, nature and with human objects within this context. The human objects are part of the Director’s keys to the story. The film shot featured wild nature, at the castle and with the props of human indicators. e.g. clothes female and male, trinkets etc.

As per my role, I provided pre-visualisations suggestions of different takes on the narrative. I suggested some ideas in the development of the Directors’ plot in terms of the blending of humans and nature and the kind of shots that could be taken to best convey that narrative.

The progression is through nature scenes and its features and characteristic transitions i.e. various insect types and where they belong in the nature. Here there was a lot of experimentation with shot and angle sizes to portray the subtle, relaxed, yet mysterious qualities which is characteristic to this location.

The last transition is to the water’s edge. Here, the viewer is surprised to see the same human objects similar to those in the castle scene. At the water’s edge there may be male and female clothing cast off in a random way that lovers might as they run towards the water, here merging the human and the nature worlds. This was emphasised by the addition of human voices of a light, airy mood, with chattering, laughter and splashing of water. This was in contrast to the moody, mysterious character of all the previous scenes of the film. It is as if the humans have left the castle and become one with nature.

Part 3: Pre-Production transition to Production: an overview of the reasons for camera shots in terms of how they tell the story:

Camera shots have huge significance, as it is a kind of interface between humankind, their constructs and how nature can determine their legacy i.e. vegetation growing through the castle. The idea to stimulate the viewer into thinking who has the final say: humans? Or nature? or some kind of a blend. obviously human and related to human activity. Lots of nature shots as a slow progression along a pathway and the camera noticing the things along the way. The camera then focuses in on different aspects of nature, for example, the pictures we have seen of ‘insects,’ ‘flowers,’ ‘trees,’ ‘nature transitions.’ The denotation images was combined to form a dramatic sequence through the connotation which was how we used these images to portray a narrative intention. The viewer is challenged to think about this and figure out, the context and meaning of these objects. Since they are placed in and surrounded by nature with no humans in sight, is their context is in nature? I think the ‘Portrait of a Location,’ is mainly about portraying that which contributes to a ‘sense of place.’ Here I have laid out suggestions towards a potential blueprint for shots and shot sequence and the endpoint of the dramatic sequence. We did not require any location permits or contracts, talent releases and there were no safety issues to report.

Part 4: Production: On-site video shoot:

The actual shooting was planned over a period of two days. I checked the weather in advance and fortunately it turned out excellent for the two days. Nevertheless, we came prepared with wellies and waterproof jackets, just in case. The shooting was planned and time-wise took six hours over a period of two days. I recorded details of where the shots were taken, shot sequence and type of shots e.g. long shot, extreme close up.  On day 1 we had walked from UL to the City Centre and back. After day 1, I had blisters on my feet so could not go out to shoot on day 2. However, instead I practised on Premiere Pro during this time. We each got to know each-other spending so much time working together. It was a very good experience. We got to see each-other’s strengths and where we could help each-other. There was one occasion that involved climbing a ladder and then over a fence to get onto a bridge which was too high for me. Here, the other two members of the team climbed the fence and I handed them up the equipment and also the equipment on the way down. It was kind of humorous event as we all were exchanging conversations and instructions, not within view of each-other. However, it worked very well and we got the shoots we were looking for, an example of teamwork.

Part 5: Post-Production:  Post-video shoot; back in the classroom:

Here the Director of photography loaded up the images taken over the two days on to the computer’s hard-drive. He returned the equipment to me, which I brought to the Computer Desk to return. The computer officer recorded the returns information and all equipment was returned intact.  The Director worked on Premiere Pro with the images also in terms of how he would sequence them in order to tell the story to be conveyed. We all then met as a team and worked on the editing. Our lecturer also made comments of her ideas on the film which we took on board. It was good to get an outside perspective on the film, as working on a film it is easy so closely involved with it.

Also, we worked on the audio tracks, where the Director of Sound decided on music to accompany the film. It was decided that this would be for the first three-quarters of the film which was mysterious and moody and this was then combined with more uplifting music to be juxtaposed in the ending shot sequence. We then all agreed on the film composition. Now we must post it on u-tube. We are to write up our report on the blog and put a link in here to the u-tube video we put together. We discussed throughout the process as a team, the ‘workflow sequence’ and based on this workflow, the schedule was always considered in reflection an evolving creative and technical processes. This project was an excellent learning experience, both cerebral and in terms of technical skills. This marks the end of this process, but it is never really ending because firstly our class will be critiquing each-others films and secondly, the film can be viewed over again and by new viewers who each have their opinions and go away with an experience.

Link to film: https://youtu.be/t57zJRHVQ18

Blog 10: Project 1_update on equipment and schedule

Today the Director of Photography returned the video equipment to me (Production Manager). I returned this to the Computer Centre. Here, the desk operator recorded the return details. All the footage has been collected and the project production is operating on the planned schedule.

Blog 9: Project 1_ list of shots taken onsite in Plassey, University of Limerick:

Blog 9: Project 1: shots taken today onsite in Plassey, University of Limerick:

• Our 3 member team, met at University of Limerick at 3:00pm. 
• Our team spent three hours shooting video until 6:00pm.
• We will meet tomorrow morning at 10:30 to continue the filming. 
• It is expected this will take another 3-4 hours
• We will then return to LIT, to edit the footage on Premiere Pro.

List of shots:
Most of the shots had an approximate duration of 30 seconds.

Site A: Positioning of camera on the first bridge:
Shot 1: long shot, looking into the river with at boat to left of screen.
Shot 2: long shot, looking into the river with boat to left of screen and including the horizon in the distance.
Shot 3: zooming in on the boat on the river.

Site B: Along the walkway:
Shot 4: extreme close up shot of purple flowers.

Site C: Positioning of camera under second bridge:
Shot 5: long shot under the bridge, encapturing the structures and geometry of the bridge, and the shadows cast by the light.
Shot 6: a zoom shot of shot 5 with a greater amount of shadows filling the frame.
Shot 7: an extreme close up shot of a hole in one of the pillars of the bridge.

Site D: Ladder site:
Shot 8: shot from above of the ladder below
Shot 9: shot from above of the ladder below
Shot 10: a long shot viewing from one end of the bridge to the other
Shot 11: along shot to encapsulate the bridge and the river and associated vegetation for context.
Shot 12: starting with a long shot at one end of the bridge and gradually zooming backwards, idea is to reveal the bridge.
Shot 13: low angle shot, long view showing the length of the bridge from a different angle.

Site E: Along the walkway:
Shot 14: medium close up on the waters edge.
Shot 15: Rule of thirds shot on the waters edge.
Shot 16: z-axis shot along the waters edge.

Site F: Along the walkway:
Shot 17: medium close up shot of swan at waters edge.

Site G: Graffiti bridge location:
Shot 18: medium shot of swans, ducks and ripples in the water.
Shot 19: Long shot of view from the waters edge.

Site H: Along the walkway:
Shot 20: extreme close up of red berries on a tree.
Shot 21: extreme close up of red berries on a tree.
Shot 22: extreme close up, low angle, of a shot through the long grass
Shot 23: extreme close up, low angle, of a shot through the grass that the angle is raised slightly compared to shot 22 and both high grass and the water beyond are recorded.

Site I: At the waters edge:
Shot 24: extreme close up of flies moving in the water.

Blog 8: Project 1_Equipment, concepts, story development, shots

Part 1: Organisation of equipment and looking at picture of the film location:

Today we organised the video equipment for the current project ‘Portrait of a Location.’ We went to the computer desk and asked questions based on the check sheet list made out last week. Here I had duties to carry out being ‘Production Manager. ’Questions such as: opening times of computer desk, time required in advance of taking out equipment and procedures for same, to check that the video recorder has an SD card of approximately 32GB, which it has. Then checked the equipment to make sure it was all there and in good working order. The ‘Director’ noticed that the platform for linking the camera to the tripod was not present, so this was replaced with a complete tripod. The computer desk administrator then took details of my student number and mobile phone number and informed us that we have the equipment for the two weeks of the project. We brought the equipment to the ‘Director of Photography’ who will take the equipment home to practice on in advance of going on site tomorrow afternoon and to make sure that the battery is charged.

Today I and the ‘Director of Photography,’ looked at the photos taken by the ‘Director’ which he took at the location of the film where we will be shooting. The ‘Director’ discussed his ideas about the pictures which was very interesting and got me thinking about the story to be told and how this will be carried out. I have been pondering on the ideas this evening and watched some T.V. to examine various filming and shot types. In particular the programme ‘Nationwide,’ hosted the ‘Tidy Towns,’ awards ceremony. Here, they went through various locations and from this I gained inspiration on types and sequences of shots of ‘locations.’

I scribbled a few sketches and supporting text based on the thoughts from the ‘Director’s’ photographs and the ideas that we were all discussing as a group and this combined with my studying of the shot types, angles, orientations, combinations that was portrayed on the television (after all the T.V. Crew are kind of ultimate experts) I came up with the following suggestions:

Part 2: based on the Director’s photographs ideas for development of the plot in terms of story in order to determine potential shots and their sequence:

Plot: the emphasis in the film is the interaction between and the journeys within humankind and nature with human objects. The human objects are the Director’s key to the story. Perhaps the film starts at the castle where the camera shoots through a window onto human objects e.g. clothes female and male, trinkets etc. Their arrangement is important.

Then the camera view is out this same window on a nature journey where the camera details various nature objects and also shots of the interaction between nature and humans e.g. photo of garden seat with vines going through it. The progression is through nature scenes and its characteristic transitions i.e. high to middle to low ground and defining features. Here there can be a lot of experimentation with shot and angle sizes to portray the feelings we want to evoke.

The last transition is to the sand and the water’s edge. Here, the viewer is surprised to see the same human objects seen in the castle, but they are organised in a completely different way. For example in the human building they may be folded clothes an organised setting.

At the water’s edge there may be male and female clothing cast off in a random way that lovers might as they run towards the water, here merging the human and the nature worlds.

There could be another development on this plot, that is a where the camera rapidly flicks back through all the images along the journey to the Castle, where there are now no human objects, clothes etc. It is as if the humans have left the castle and become one with nature.

Part 3: an overview of the reasons for camera shots in terms of how they tell the story:

Camera shots: That the shots are somewhere timing-wise starting and ending at the ‘Castle.’ This can have huge significance as it is a kind of interface between humankind, their constructs and how nature can determine their legacy i.e. vegetation growing through the castle. The idea to stimulate the viewer into thinking who has the final say: humans? Or nature? or some kind of a blend. Various pictures can be presented as evidence of each. For example, pictures of the castle and also of a long seat with vines growing through them, or some other human construct which is very obviously human and related to human activity.

The film may feature views in a window / door of the castle where there are human objects (e.g. props we have decided on of clothing and maybe others personalised things like: trinkets, photo-album etc.) and their positioning of these will be important. This may start with an open view moving in towards the window, focusing step-by-step at the window and then into the castle where the view opens up. Next, there is focus on the various objects, to get the viewer thinking of the human representations here in terms of their objects. The camera zooms in on these objects. Lots of angle types and tilts can be used to create emphasis and curiosity.

Then the camera can look outwards out of the window. Here, the view is narrowed as the camera moves towards the window. Camera pauses for a moment at the window and their view opens up to the location outside.

From here the camera portrays the location human &/versus nature subjects. It is like a journey out of the castle on a ‘nature excursion.’

Lots of nature shots as we have seen from the Directors photographs. It could be started with a slow progression along a pathway and the camera noticing the things along the way. The camera then focuses in on different aspects of nature. For example the pictures we have seen of ‘insects,’ ‘flowers,’ ‘trees,’ ‘nature transitions.’

The viewer may be led through wild vegetation as they make their way through nature to the ‘beach’ scene of sand/water. Here the viewer comes across clothes (neatly folded or not). However, the idea is that they are the same items of clothing, trinkets etc. that was noted in the castle, are located by the water. There could be a lot of creative thinking and development of the plot around these aspects. The viewer is challenged to think about this and figure out, the context and meaning of these objects. Since they are placed in and surrounded by nature with no humans in sight their context is in nature.

At the very end, there may be a rapid flicking backwards through all the shots, footage of the journey images, to the castle, and now the same objects are there (that they already saw in the castle and at the beach and are now here again, how can this be? the viewer is inclined to think)

Film ends with focusing of the camera in a closed shot on something of the castle like a plaque or graffiti, as we saw in the Directors photographs. The ‘clothes’ and their layout and male and female clothing are a key idea of the Director. Perhaps there are no clothes or that arrangement of these could be reversed or presented in some other way that is different in the castle scenes to the beach scenes.

Part 4: Shots in more detail of natures and human elements to tell the journey of the story/plot:

Castle: various significant angles as described above. Also, a shot starting at one side of a building noting changes in shadow profiles as the morning/evening light falls on it, then moving for example from left to right around the corner of the building where the viewer is exposed to something of interest. The camera can pause at this point for emphasis.

Graffiti/ plaque: containing text on the castle and also other locations. The idea is to pan across slowly from left to right along the text. Then, pause the camera on a portion of the text. The effect of this is to get the viewer to think. The human brain looks for logic and struggles with this. It is as if they are being asked a question, or faced with something incomplete. (Images following this t.b.d)

Other specific features of the castle (or something else): to start with a focus one main feature of e.g. a doorway that has an associated architecture often found over doors and windows of old buildings, a closed shot. Such features often marks a focal and balance point around which other aspects of a building are orientated. The camera may then zoom out from this feature until its entire context, that is the castle itself is seen in the view.

Trees: shots where the angle of the camera is tilted upwards and zooming in and out slowly, to show the magical and delightful effect of the interweaving of the light through the branches. Also, there may be group shots of tree patterns e.g. a consistent pattern emerging from being equally spaced and same type of tree in a more humanised part of the location to some wild areas of woodland where it may be possible to see patterns in these also. There is a lot of this type of vegetation in the pictures we saw today.

Insects: to video the insects. Then at the editing stage to speed up the pace of the camera. This is so that the insects are ‘jumping and flickering’ very intensely: it is at a rapid pace and the timing of the software used in editing can be used to achieve this effect. This for the viewer imparts a nature type and dynamism.

Other wildlife: to be discovered on our site visit. For example, a swan moving towards the camera and to notice the characteristic cone shaped pattern it creates as it passes through water. The cone is narrowing as it moves towards the camera person. Also, the swan is getting larger. As the swan is getting too close for comfort to the camera person, the camera starts to recede, as if the viewer is moving back away from the swan while keeping the swan in their ‘field of view.’ There is an interaction in this.

Flowers: here the zoom lens can be used. First of all to start the shots looking at an angle upwards from the stem area towards the flower itself. It is as if the camera is taking in a view from a miniature like a tiny insect’s aspect. Using the pivot handle and camera may pan upwards at the same level of zoom, from the stem slowly upwards towards the flower head and pause the shot on the flower head to pay attention to its details e.g. petals.

Nature Transitions: the natural transitions between various vegetation and wildlife which is dependent on the locations geography. Our location is mid- to low-land so there is a very nice transition from what I’ve seen in the photographs from trees on a height, brambles, moving down towards human scale vegetation and grasslands to sand and the water’s edge. This could be filmed as a kind of ‘constant’ where it acts as a background to all the other ‘variable,’ events (human and nature). It could also be filmed as a kind of cross-section view from a distance where all transition types can be read.

Signs and pathways: perhaps a sign in the foreground where the viewers’ eye is first drawn to, and next along an associated pathway, along its z-axis, which leads onto infinity or something else in particular.

 

I think the ‘Portrait of a Location,’ is mainly about portraying that which contributes to a ‘sense of place.’ Here I have laid out a potential blueprint for shots and shot sequence and the endpoint of the dramatic sequence.

Our team will be out onsite in Plassey, Limerick tomorrow, just checked the weather, sunny and no rain for Tuesday and Wednesday, equipment organised and ideas in the making.

Blog 7: Project1_Information and check-box sheet

Action for today for Film Project: I have put together an information and check-box sheet for the planning and use of equipment.

Blog 6: Project 1_Overview of Project

Our Lecturer introduced details of Project 1: “Portrait of a Location.” The previous week all members of the class were to prepare a concept for this project for today and post it to our blogs. We were divided into groups. Our team is called Team 2 and has three members. We all have individual skills to contribute to the project and learn from each-other.

First of all as a team we all discussed our concepts prepared for today. We decided that each of us with take a turn over the three projects in this first semester of being Director and using our concepts. We took an overview of the work projects for the semester: the two other members will be Directors for the first and second projects and I will be Director for the third Project.

There are four Crew Positions:

o   Director/co-producer

o   Production manager (PM)/co-producer/Art Dept.

o   Director of photography (DP)

o   Sound

In the current project I have the role of Production Manager (PM). Each of the other team members are: Director and DP.

Today we worked on the “Pre-production” stage of the workflow process. We all contributed to each-others functions in our roles and are ready to move now onto the next stage which is ‘Production.’ However, we always have in mind throughout the current and future process, the end-product that results from the ‘Post-production,’ stage which is the finished film.

We discussed the concepts as a team, going down several avenues of thought to experiment creatively with the ideas, give our own slants on them, and discuss how they may materialize and tell the story of the film.

In terms of my role as PM “Guidelines for Crew Positions,” from our Lecturer I have made notes on the following:

Pre-Production:

For pre-visualisation we discussed the Directors ideas of location, the props and how these would conceptually inter-relate. Then we discussed how in reality the props their placement and how they are placed creating suggestions of human actions through e.g. clothing, personal mementos etc.

We also discussed equipment. I will find out about the logistics of taking out camera equipment for this film as follows:

o   Find out the opening times of the department which stores the equipment for use

o   Ask about how much time and procedures in advance of booking equipment and the return of equipment processes. Also, the signing out and back in of equipment.

o   Identify the exact equipment which we require. The Director of the project advised to check if the video recorder has an “SD card” of approximately 32 GB

o   Check that it is in working order including that: the battery is fully charged before going out on site, the tripod is working; pan and tilt arm can move up and down with ease.

o   To make sure the camera has a zoom lens.

o   To take out equipment in advance of going out on site for the Director of Photography and the rest of the team to practice with.

o   Query if there is any additional attachments for the equipment, e.g. covers for cameras for varying weather conditions.

Part of my role is to co-ordinate production schedule. Here I suggested we exchange details. We all now have each-others: e-mail, blogger account email and telephone numbers.

We decided on dates and times for our various activities which are:

o   I will make a booking for equipment for Monday morning for the DP to practice on

o   We have all availability to go out on site Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning

Our location has been selected at Plassey, University of Limerick. We can meet at LIT and go to site by car, with the technical equipment and our own attire e.g. wellies and a raincoat.

I think we have a strong framework and that we work very well as a team…..

Blog 5: Project 1_Thoughts on 'Portrait of a Film'

Titles (possible):

·         Time and motion in nature/ Time and river flow

·         Time, motion and patterns of a river

·         Time and motion of a river

·         Time of a river

Outline concept:

·         The linking of ‘speeds/pace’ of the ‘flow ‘of ‘a river’ with ‘time passing’ quickly/more slowly.

·         Use of basic geographic knowledge of a river and how the phases of a river through its speeds/flow patterns/types of associated environments can be captured artistically and related to ‘clock time.’

·         There is the idea of ‘human time’ and ‘clock time.’ ‘Human time’ for the purposes of this film would be the regular time we are used to: years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds. This is regular, dependent, reliable and consistent. Nature’s time is more dependent on the physical and environmental elements and varies.

·         Part of the idea is to use the image of a clock that the viewer can associate with the later described factors. Then to use this image of a clock which our brain naturally associates with just one mode of operation in the film. Then, idea is that the pace at which the hands of the clock move around varies with the speeds of the water as it moves from the youthful stage through to its old age stage.

·         It portrays a feature of nature and a natural scene that is related to human time yet is an entity of its own: and has its own identity.

Objective:

·         The interrelatedness of the primary elements of this film which are ‘river flow and patterns’ with ‘time.’

Development of concept, from the three primary phases of a river:

·         Phase 1: Early phase of a river is visually steep in incline with high speed of water flow and lots of rocks present giving rise to swirling and splashing patterns of the water. This to be associated with the hands of a clock spinning around very quickly in nature’s time.

·         Through the progress of the river to Phase 2: incline is reducing, slower speed of water, less turbulence, combination of mud and rocks and water speeds moderate. Patterns water makes as it flows and interacts with its environment are entirely different to those of Phase 1. Speed of hands of clock slow down a bit.

·         Phase 3: Old Age Phase of the river, once again produces entirely different water patterns as the other two phases. Speed of hands of the clock slow down even more.

·         The spinning of the hands of the clock is not static i.e. not divided into three specific types of movement specifically related to each phase. There is an overall observable difference between the three stages which are the ‘constants’ in the film design. However, within these stages there are the ‘variables’.

·         The constants exist as the general overview of time and river flow that is clearly distinguishable between the three phases. The variables occur within these three phases e.g. within any phases of a river there is interaction with its environment such as hedge-grows/trees, bends on a river where mud deposition, all these can change the pace of a river. Also, the absence of the later can speed up the river.

For both these variables the patterns of the river will be different and so the corresponding speed/slowing of time.

·         There is also the idea here that ‘no man is an island’ phrase. Just like people have common definable characteristics (predictable river phases/constants), they are affected/shaped and moulded by variables in their environment (other features in the environment with which a river interacts.)

Storyboard ideas:

A clock in the shots and as the river progresses from fast to meandering and slow the ‘clock’ ‘fades out of the shot’.

·         Filming of various water patterns. Perhaps throw a stick into the river and see how it meanders and navigates its way along.

·         Wildlife may be present while filming which could add to the interest in the film.

·         The appearance of the river, its immediate surrounding environment, associated vegetation are entirely different between the early and late phases of a river as it progresses to the ocean. At the early stage it is steep, rocky, mountainous and then moves to rocks and mud, trees and brambles and finally in the final stage of the river it once again becomes barren but in a different way, with mud, curves, reeds and rushes.

·         The earlier stages are rapid in time, the water flow and time reflects this. Same as the moderate and later stage reflect a progression towards calm.

·         Clearly also this idea parallels that of the human passage through live from youth to old age.

·         Also, the types of human emotion have always through time been compared to the moods of a water. People are drawn to water.

·         Main focus are the various water patterns.

·         The film starts with long shots getting an overall picture of the rivers location and surrounding environment. Next to medium shots and the more closed shots where the river is narrow at the youthful stage of the river. This would capture the intensity and dynamic nature of the river at this stage for the viewer to experience.

These gradually open up as the river progresses, finally to very open views. Then, the broad expanse of the river and its surrounding restful environment is revealed through medium and then once again long shots.

There are medium and close up shots of the water patterns themselves.

Location:

·         Any river, perhaps the ‘Owenogarney River,’ that flows through Sixmilebridge and Bunratty in Co. Clare where at Bunratty it joins up with the Atlantic Ocean.