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Reading Week Text - Cinematography: theory and practice: image-making for cinematographers and directors (The language of the lens)

During reading week I was tasked with reading a chapter focusing on the importance of lenses in cinema.

The chapter detailed the importance of your lens selection, framing, composition, and the impact of different lenses on the mood and tone of a film.

By the end, I found myself not just equipped with technical knowledge but enriched with a newfound appreciation for the magic that unfolds through the lens.

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Group 8 Scene Recreation - Memories of Murder Production Breakdown

Brainstorming

For the final week of the production workflow module, my group were tasked with recreating a scene of our choice. Bar some budgetary and time concerns, nothing was off the table.

Eventually we settled on the interrogation scene from Bong Joon-Ho's Memories of Murder. I personally had not seen the film but was excited to tackle it based on seeing the director's other work Parasite.

Pre Production

We had plenty of kit to acquire in order to convey an accurate recreation of the scene:

Camera:

Blackmagic Pocket PRO 6K, Samyang Xeen Cinema Lens Kit, Smallrig Tripod

Sound:

Sennheiser 416, Sound Devices MixPre3-Recorder and Mixer, Large Boom Pole, Microphone Stand.

Lighting:

LEDGO LG-B308K 3x 308 light Daylight Reporter LED Lighting Kit, Gloves

Other:

Polyboard (White), Black Flag x3, Floor Cable Cover, Clapper, Sandbag x3

In terms of props we also had to purchase a light from amazon which would replicate the look of the desk light found in the original scene as well as being flexible to being adjusted in order to match different shot compositions. We had also our crew supply shirts and ties for respective actors as well as paper for the process of interrogation.

Aside from kit, scheduling was also CRITICAL and just as important as many groups were filming at the same time. This ended up being a close call as the only time we ended up getting kit that was far enough in advance to leave plenty time for editing conflicted with the premiere of another group project we unfortunately had to miss.

Next we took still frames from each shot in order to plan out lighting:

From there we planned our shotlist:

Along with this we decided on Crew Roles:

Sam Wynne: Director Jack Burns: Producer, Actor, Runner Jake Rae: Director of Photography Jacob Doig: Lighting, Camera Assistant Rushil Deepak: Production Design, Sound

And our actors:

Harry Batkin: Park Hyeon-Gyu Daniel Lee: Seo Tae-Yoon Cameron Mcintyre: Park Doo-Man Jack Burns: Shin Dong-Chul Euan Hunt: Cho Yong-koo

Our chosen filming date the 4th of December 2023.

Filming

While the location of the scene might not seem complex there was lots of shots and respective lighting to match each.

Figuring out framing with the crew/ Practicing lines with actors

We experimented with different angles and setups in the classroom we had booked for the day, and settled on using the corner of the room, which was conveniently near lots of sockets (Useful for our luck of batteries dying).

The classroom booking and the orientation of set placement actually worked out in our favour as we had full view of the room's projector, on which we displayed the original scene allowing both actors and the crew to get a feel for each respective shot as it came and went.

This initial shot we filmed first was actually quite simple compared to the others as we only had one character to worry about, along with just having to light his face, as opposed to later shots with characters blocking part of the framing.

Post Production

I helmed the post production of this project, inheriting the audio and video files onto my macbook. I then edited the film in premiere pro.

FInished Timeline

I attempted to organise individual cuts by colour coding different takes and angles, as the scene ended up being pretty complex to put together.

While not integral to recreating the scene, I thought a nice touch in the post production process would be the inclusion of Korean subtitles, paying homage to original language of the film.

Colour Match Feature

I used premiere pro's colour match feature to try and make some small lighting adjustments based on the original scenes. Admittedly, I don't have much experience with colour correction so I didn't go too in depth past this stage. However, this definitely something I want to learn over the winter break..

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8 Shot Project - Observing A Space

This week, I was tasked with documenting a space.

8 Shot Project - Hosted on vimeo

Getting a feel for the environment we were filming in was critical and I wanted to document this same feeling in a visual sense.

We decided on the quay near my accommodation as due to it's close proximity I was familiar with the area and knew what I was looking to portray in the project video.

The building is the focal point of this shot, however we can spot individual elements of the crane transportation block, and the lamppost, which we later put a spotlight on.

The first thing we wanted to put a spotlight on was the presence of the crane, looming over the environment. I thought it would be important to further exemplify this focus when cutting to a new shot on the other side of the building, the crane's movement is still visible, despite the shot being taken later.

Up-close shot of crane operating and spotlight on balcony, we can the get a sense of the buildings scale.

Having this shot being present in movement was important to show the area is regularly populated.

Being able to have an upclose shot of the ground area was important too, as it represents how the quay is regularly full with tourists, cyclists, locals using it as a means to get to accommodation, fountain park etc.

Small discrepancies like abandoned cigarettes was something Sam in our group wanted to put a spotlight on. Pitting a focus on both the recently dropped cigarette along with another two which had fallen through a small crack was something we were hoping would illustrate longevity.

Another shot, this time focusing on the head of the lamppost but the crane still occupies part of the background.

I love the graffiti plastered around the construction areas of the quay, as it gives the place a stronger sense of character. I settled on this centred shot as it presents a government placed lifejacket holder, slowly surrounded and plastered with works and signatures from other creatives. Despite this it still stands in place, and you'd easily be able to visualise how it used to look.

Smaller detailed shot spotlighting one piece, showcasing the variety of artwork populating the area.

Final shot allowing the viewer to catch a glimpse of the environment as a whole, from eye level, whilst now being familiar with its feel and atmosphere.

This was a fun project, as I already enjoyed walking through the quay as it's neighbour, but there were many shots I didn't manage to fit within the 8 shot requirement.

Whilst it wasn't a requirement, if i had to do this project again I would've liked to have captured the sound of the space, being able to highlight the sounds of nature found in ducks and pigeons populating the surroundings, along with passerby chatter.

[Originally Posted As a Draft On The 12th Of November, 2023]

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Shortoftheweek Report: Girl at party

This week I sat down and watched Girl at party, a short selected as part of shortoftheweek.com's current selection.

The short was well produced, however I personally didn't find it good at retaining my interest, despite its 6 minute runtime.

The premise is interesting but doesn't feel well executed. While the runtime didn't allow me to spend much time with these characters, I felt unattached to them mostly due to the writing, it just feels sort of flat and lacks depth.

(Loved this brief shot, however aside from this the film wasn't very innovative with it's lighting)

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Group film Project, Beer Pong

Beer Pong - Centred Version

Beer Pong - Rule Of Thirds Version