Blog Post #6: Inspiring Lighting Styles

The photographer/cinematographer's job, or art, is capturing light. Lighting can be used to create emphasis, spark emotion, and create entire moods for scenes that would otherwise leave the audience indifferent. The way an image is lit can express the inner emotions of a character and without light, there would be no character to be seen at all. So lighting is very important in filmmaking and photography.

Color palette can have a great affect on the tone of a scene. Such as bright blue light, like the sun, makes a scene feel very open and joyous. On the other hand, an interrogation scene in a dark room with high contrast and minimal color makes the audience focus on specific items in frame and creates a trapped, ominous feel.

Framing and composition with lighting are very important for the believability of a scene. For example, having a high light to resemble ceiling lights in a room. Using lights that resemble lights that would realistically be in the scene make the set feel more real and the actors' performance more believable for the audience.

Lighting can make or break a story, with continuity being important or the choice for a scene to break continuity being an important change in the story.

Here are several photos of lighting styles I find particularly inspiring, a few with a caption of the reason why.

1. Into the Wild. This silhouette shot with minimal color emphasizes the character's connection with his environment and especially the flying birds.

2. The Runaways.

3. The Doors. The variety of lighting in this movie is incredible. Each conveys Jim Morrison's journey through drugs and stardom, seeing many sides of the human experience.

4. Game of Thrones. This is a very sensual, intimate scene. This lighting illuminates the characters and creates a feeling of comfort and calmness. This scene is a break from many of the other intense, bloody battle scenes. The lighting reflects this.

5. Taking Woodstock. This scene is very colorful and lit with very white/blue lighting, making it feel like it is all coming from the sun (and perhaps it is) which makes the scene feel realistic. Also, it allows for variety of color which since this is an acid tripping scene, that's important.

6. The Social Network. The blue light is practical because of their location, however it also creates a feeling of falseness which in this scene is the middle of the main character's entrance into the world of high class people and fake friendships.

Blog Post #5: DSLR Pros and Cons

Pros of the DSLR: They're cheap so a wider range of people can own and use them. They have a huge CMOS sensor so can film well in dim lighting. They're lightweight and small so can be used to make interviewees less intimidated and also in occasions when a large bulky camera worth thousands upon thousands of dollars would not be best suited. Their sharp focus gives the footage a "cinematic" look. Nicer, more expensive lenses can be attached to them for improved quality.

Cons of the DSLR: They don't look as professional as other cameras. Their depth of field can be so small and their focus so sharp that things go in and out of focus easily. In hand held situations the video is easily very shaky. They are designed for photography, not video, so many functions are hidden within the menu and are not easily accessible like other cameras with hand-operated aperture, etc.

Overall, I think video shot on DSLR cameras can be very beautiful and these kind of cameras are a good investment for up-and-coming filmmakers.

Blog Post #4: Lessons Learned from Documentary Storytelling Assignment

Documentaries have recently taken a forefront in my interests in video making. To capture a real person's experience, and views is beautiful. There's a limit to choice, however, in that there is no script. It's an interesting battle between choice for stylization and sticking to what is real and actually already there.

I have interviewed people twice for a video before. From those experiences and this one I know it is very important to be prepared with all the questions you'd want to ask. It is also important to craft the questions so as to get long answers, not just a "yes" or "no".

Specifically with my subject this time, I noticed that he got more comfortable as the interview went on. I asked him to slate again at the end, because I knew he would provide more energy and maybe a clearer voice. It is very important to actively be engaged in what your subject is saying, so they give you the best responses they can. It's difficult to tell exactly what your story will be about until after the interview has taken place, and really not until after you decide which parts of the interview to use. Therefore, remaining completely engaged during the interview will give you the ability to add a question, or ask them to elaborate or repeat something you liked and will most likely use to give your project more of a defined story.

It is especially important to be organized when doing a documentary because you're not working with actors that have an idea of how projects like this are completed. Also, being organized gives the interviewee more reason to be relaxed and open.

More is better in a documentary. Having a variety of shots and sentences to choose from is better than a talking head, or not enough words to choose from to define the story. I found it enjoyable to create shots that would exaggerate what my subject was saying. I'm glad I got as many shots as I did and I got lucky that my subject was actually an excellent speaker about how important music is to him. However, his voice was very quiet so I struggled a little with audio, but I learned a lot in that process. I had to change so many levels but I think my ears are only better for it. Such is life when making a video about a musician.

Midterm Blog Post

This is a shot by shot scene analysis of the scene from Life of Pi where Pi explains how he got the kids in school to stop making fun of his name. His name is Piscine, so the boys would make fun of him and call him "Pissing" but this is how he got them to call him Pi.

 The scene starts with a wideshot of his classroom. Pi is not shown here.

Then a shot of the teacher calling roll is shown. He is higher up in the frame than the students were. He is the authority.

After his name is called, Pi stands up and goes to the front. The similarity of this shot and the first one emphasize Pi breaking the crowd of boys in uniform by standing up. The audience knows this is a big deal.

 This next shot is of Pi in front of the class and the teacher as well as the students can be seen.

The teacher is cut out and we are given a perspective from the students in their seats. This shot again emphasizes Pi's displacement from the rest of the boys and gives him a feeling of power. The harsh symmetry created by the composition of the three boys, square table and square board give a sense of structure and confidence for Pi.

This next shot is a reaction of the boys. We can't really tell if they're interested or impressed, but they're certainly paying attention. The choice to have such a close shot with some of them cut off the sides expresses that there are many boys and we are also able to see where their eyes are looking which is at the board and at Pi.

The teacher's reaction is shown next. He has concern for his students and a curiosity for what Pi is doing. Having this in a closeup shares those emotions to the audience accurately.

We next have a close up of Pi continuing to talk about the mathematical Pi and how it relates to circles. This is the first shot of Pi by himself. 

Pi finishes his speech in this same wideshot with the other students in the bottom half of the frame. This reminds us that their reaction is the most important. He wants them to call him Pi instead of Pissing.

We return to this wideshot again as the teacher is impressed but tells him to sit back down.

Pi returns to his seat, to the swarm of boys that are fellow classmates, the people he wants to stop making fun of him.

Extreme closeup of Pi after he sits. This emphasizes the importance of this moment, of the reaction of the other students. One of them reaches forward and says to Pi, "Nice try, Pissing." 

 

However, that was only his first class. Pi is going to try this method to rid of his bullying in all of his classes. This shot has him standing in front of another board with an open window to the left. This window makes the shot feel hopeful, especially with the sunlight illuminating Pi's face. He has not given up. The bottom image is the end of a pan from the first shot where he returns to his seat in this class. We don't see a reaction from the students.

This next shot is drastically different than the previous ones. It is an extreme wide shot. Pi, the teacher, and the students are all shown. Also, this classroom is completely outside, continuing the relation to hope and positivity given by the window in the previous one. Pi has not given up and from this shot we are given the sense that he will pull through triumphant at eradicating his mean nick name. This shot also has a more vibrant color pattern. There are bright yellows and green not present before. The choice of just using one wide shot helps to carry the scene along.

These two are a pan as well. A crowd of people passes by heading to one place: Pi's math class we assume due to the narration. This accelerates the scene as well and adds immense energy and suspense as the audience waits to see how Pi's plan will work out in his final class.

This shot begins with Pi writing on the board and pans over to see the other two boards he has filled up with the infinite number of Pi as well as the students in that class and the crowd coming in the door. The color palette remains brighter, more saturated, and Pi is literally elevated above everyone to resemble the internal pride he must be feeling.

The third and final pan in a row. This choice of repeating camera movement heightens the scene's energy as it reaches its peak. We cut from the image of all the boards filled with Pi to a book of it, then a pan up to the math teacher and first teacher in awe. Pi is writing pi correctly, and it's wildly impressive. We also can see a crowd of students behind them eagerly looking in.

This shot of the crowd of other students contrasts the bored-looking faces they had at the beginning. For one, the shot is wider with more people and it is more colorful. The boys are very interested this time and are actually chanting out "Pi, Pi, Pi!" Again there are students crowded in the doorway and window looking in. This is a big event to them all now.

The scene ends with this close up on Pi. It is composed so that you can see the students in his class as well as the ones in the doorway. The line from the chalk board Pi is writing on creates great depth which separated Pi from the others and he is the only one in focus. This is his big moment, and he is still elevated. All the focus is on him. He ends up smiling a little bit in this shot too.





I thought this scene was a good example of how to create excitement and suspense using composition, color scheme, and choice of camera movement and depth of field, while still telling the story focused on one character's success.