Thoughts on the Portrait

This assignment on portrait of a place was definitely an interesting one. For one I found out that filming in an apartment with no lighting equipment is not very fun. It is hard enough trying to convey your ideas of a film to your DP without having to worry about how to avoid three lamps, and a giant wall of light, also known as my window. Overall, although the portrait didn't turn out the way I would have liked it to, the communication process between the DP and I was pretty solid. Even though, he didn't always shoot shots the way I would have liked them to be shot, he found ways to frame and light that I would have not thought of and that added to the overall work.


So far I haven't gotten any feedback yet from people watching, so my thoughts on that will have to wait but I have learned a lot from listening to comments people have made about other projects that are similar to mine. I have learned about cameras that can deal with low light situations better and I have also been able to recognize flaws in my own work as well as a couple of tricks to fix filming errors. So this project has been a very good learning tool for me, I won't make the same lighting mistakes twice (well at least not three times).

A broken Portrait

A Camera Debate

                  SONY                                                    VS                                        JVC         







       




      When debating these cameras I am at somewhat of a crossroad because I like both of these cameras for two different reasons. First off I like the Sony mainly for an somewhat illogical reason, it feels good in my hands. Unlike the JVC the the Sony HDV has a lot more heft to it. When I hold it it feels more solid, and I feel more comfortable with it. Even though this is most likely untrue, I feel like I have more control with it, like it is more steady. Another thing that draws me more towards the Sony are the two focus/ zoom wheels. One of the things that is most important to me is that it is easy for me to adjust focus. With the sony it is convenient to change focus by zooming in with one wheel and adjusting the focus with the other. The JVC frustrates me in that I need to toggle back in for between the focus and the zoom. In a clinch moment I like to be able adjust the focus without accidentally zooming.
   With that said the JVC has one major thing going for it, the flash memory card. The one thing that would keep me from using the sony altogether is the mini-DV tape. Few things frustrate me more than having to log and capture. On more than one occasion I have lost precious film because of an error while logging and capturing. I can hardly imagine anything worse than having a great day filming and lose all of your work because a tape deck eats your mini-DV. I have nightmares of log and capture decks that are waiting to chomp through my innocent little min-dv.
   For that reason alone I am probably more inclined to use the JVC but I will never discount a good camera because of evil tape decks. So overall it's still pretty even

 

poor mini-dv :(

ps: also the sony menu is easier for me to navigate.........so there

My Goals

   Currently my goal for filmmaking is to be able to capture characters in a light that showcases and exemplifies their personality. Currently I am working on a documentary about a young man who is a drag queen in Alabama. He is a character that is big and in your face and I would like to be able to show that in my documentary about him.

   My goals for this class is to be able to find my visual style and be able to express it so that I can capture important moments when I am filming. Whether it be for a documentary or if a movie. Also in this course I would like to be able to learn how to film moments in real life. I would like to be able to capture pieces of life that are difficult to capture on film without the assistance of lighting equipment or sound crews. I am interested in capturing things as they happen and not just setting artificial scenes. In my filmmaking I want to be a spectator of events not interrupting them but being a silent bystander, in that moment being able to capture the moment in it's essence.

   Through this course I hope to accentuate the talents that I already have but also learn new techniques that will allow me to push the limits on filmmaking and capture life as closely as I can. Similar to filmmakers like Frederick Wiseman and Titicut Follies. I want to be able to capture something real and meaningful through documentaries and I would like to be able to learn lighting and styles so that I can capture what I want.

My Visual Style

               Due to the fact that I am a painting minor and because I love to paint all the time most of my visual style is inspired from artists that I aspire to paint like. Here are a couple of my favorites.

                                                       Chuck Close:

"Self-portrait"

"Emma"

  Chuck close is a source of a lot of inspiration for me. His early works of hyper realism is something I aspire to do in my film making. The paintings are as large as a person and visually engage the viewer with their eyes. I aspire to capture the audiences attention similarly in my film making through close ups that engage the viewer. "Emma" is a work that is much like my visual style in painting by using blocks of color to compose a vivid image.

                                                       Lucian Freud:

 


















Freud's use of color to show the interaction of light and skin inspires me to set  scenes in which light affects the mood and tone through it's interaction with the characters. His use of  color and framing is something I would like to reference in my films to create intense moods through lighting.











Random Like:


Opening Scene 28 Weeks Later from Nick Vasutin on Vimeo.
Say what you will about zombie movies but this movie has one of my favorite tracking shots. I love the shot at 4:00 where the main character is running on the left side of the screen while the people chasing him pull in closer from the background on the right. Awesome shot!


Almost as great as the finale of the 400 Blows with the one minute tracking shot....



                                                           Dolls:
I like the visual style in this film because it balances the characters in the film with an almost fantastical background. This film, through it's visual style, pushes to represent these characters in the film almost as dolls on a stage playing out the drama of there relationships. This can be seen very plainly in shots from the beginning and the end of the film where the dolls are dress almost identical to the characters.

This use of imagery and visual style is used well in this scene where the characters move through a wooded area. This shot is meant to show beauty but I believe that it is also meant to built the feeling of tension and isolation as these characters never talk to each other for almost 15 mins. I like the shots in this film because they help build emotion in the film very well. The acting in this film is not great and the themes can be overpowering but it will pull on your emotional strings through long beautiful shots.


 





(The sound is off is it is just better to turn off the volume. The music does help make this movie but the sound is off by about a minute. So it's hard to bear)

10 Favorite Films +1

1.Casablanca

2.Breakfast at Tiffany's

3.Life is Beautiful

4.The General

 5.The Breakfast Club

6.Scent of a Woman

7.The Killing Fields

8.The Pianist

9.Delicatessen

10.Band of Outsiders

(11.) The 400 Blows