New Wave Film

New Wave Film Planning

When shooting, I will use only natural lighting, in order to abide to the rules of the Dogme 95 movement. I plan on shooting all of the footage on location, as to obey the Vow of chastity that I have sworn to follow. This vow of chastity also states that I cannot use and non-diegetic sound, so I cannot use any soundtracks or sound effects. I will also not be able to credit myself as the director, the film cannot contain any action that is deemed superficial, it must be handheld and there cannot be any optical effects or filters, so no overplayed titles or credits. The film must also take place in the here and now, so it cannot be set in New York in 1957 for example. The only rule I cannot follow is that it must be in Academy 35mm, so to compensate for this I plan on adjusting the ratio on the camera to get squarer footage and to shoot with a low shutter speed so that it is grainier.

I plan on producing a text based on the subject of isolation and paranoia, based loosely on my own life, with the frantic nature of my life being portrayed in the film through the use of quick edits and sped-up footage. I also plan on writing out the titles and credits to follow the rule that there can be no optical effects. In terms of editing, I want the cuts to seem jarring, with at least one cut not following the 30 degree rule, as inspired by Vinterberg's 'Festen', and I also plan on producing quick panning cuts, as seen in Sandgren's 'Truly Human'. I plan on the narrative of the film to be very loose, with some improvised footage and little, if any, dialogue. I intend for an audience to gain their own reading from the text, so two people could gain completely different interpretations.

New Wave Film Brief

After studying various film New Waves and analysing the Dogme 95 movement, it is apparent that there is a theme of rebellion against mainstream cinema in each different movement, with each of them containing significant stylistic technical conventions, for example in Dogme 95 with the use of handheld camera, natural lighting etc. and also the breaking of the fourth wall in the French New Wave. New Waves also tend to deal with subjects that most mainstream cinema doesn't tend to touch on or didn't at the time, such as in the American New Wave with the subject of drug culture, or with Dogme 95 and the dark subjects paedophilia, kidnapping, abortion etc.

I intend to replicate the technical conventions of Dogme 95, with the intentions of following the Vow of Chastity as closely as I can, however not conforming to the rule of shooting in 35mm, as it will be filmed with a DSLR. I may also subvert the rule of having no temporal alienation by having the narrative non-linear as opposed to the conventional Dogme film's linear narrative, however the film will take place in the here and now, just in a non-linear format. I intend to show prominent use of handheld camera, with cuts inspired by Åke Sandgren's 'Truly Human', which often contain quick movement of the camera from one place to another, making the cut seem as if it didn't happen and with a significant fluidity unlike any film of it's kind.  The use of only diegetic sound, natural lighting and on-location shooting will replicate the intentions of the Dogme movement, to re-integrate realism into cinema and take away the 'illusion of emotion' and show the real emotions within the character. I intend to borrow a 50mm lens from college to get a lower aperture and therefore a shallower depth of field which will add to the element of isolation within the narrative, a convention that I tend to heavily explore within the film. I also plan on using a fairly high ISO to add graininess into the footage, but not too high that it becomes too dark. I plan on using quite a low shutter speed to add a shaky, jerky nature to the narrative, however not so low that the fluidity of certain shots is lost.

The narrative of the film will follow one main character struggling to follow societal norms and being isolated from the mainstream culture, so therefore exploring the counter-culture aspect most often associated with the American New Wave.

Health and Safety

- When using a tripod with a camera, you have to make sure it has been set up correctly and everything is tightened up properly, otherwise it could fall and the camera could break. Also, you need to make sure not to trip over the legs of the tripod, as they can sometimes get in the way when filming. Also, if you are using a Boom/shotgun microphone, you have to make sure that any cables are in a place where any actors/crew won't trip over them or accidentally dislodge them from the recording device, otherwise no sound will be recorded and the shot will have to be re-taken.

-When filming on location, you must make sure there are no trip hazards or sharp objects littered around, aesthete could cause damage to crew, actors and even equipment if you are not careful, so try and make sure to clear the are of dangerous objects or anything that will obstruct your path if filming a tracking or dolly shot, as you might walk into something, trip and break the camera.

-When filming in R block, you need to make sure to clear any cluttered art student's work out of the way so it doesn't become a trip hazard, as if you trip whilst filming you could potentially completely destroy the camera.

- When filming in the studio, you need to be careful not to trip over any cables connecting to the lights, and you also need to be careful not to walk into the lights as you could injure yourself. You also need to be careful not to damage the lights by overheating or accidental physical damage, as the lights are very expensive to replace.

The Effect of Shutter Speed on Moving Image

This shot was produced in a low Shutter Speed of 1/30 frames per second

This shot was made using a slightly higher Shutter Speed of 1/80

This shot was produced at a Shutter Speed of 1/200

I shot this at a high Shutter Speed of 1/1000 frames per second.

Process: To create the above shots I replicated the same shot of me spinning around on a computer chair and increased the Shutter Speed each time to show the effect, I.E. the difference in motion blur between the shots.
Problem Solving: The main problem I encountered was getting the shot correctly exposed, but I fixed this problem by decreasing the f stop of the Aperture when I increased the Shutter Speed.
Justification: I chose to shoot these in the room where my HNC class is located when not in timetabled lesson time as it was empty at the time of filming and it is readily available to me.
Recommendations: If I were to re-shoot these shots I would make sure they were all in focus and correctly exposed, as I believe some of them were just slightly off the correct exposure and a little blurry.

Lighting Techniques

Process: for the footage above we used one studio light with a soft-box to create Low Key lighting.
Problem Solving: The main problem we came up against was getting the light set to the right level to create high contrast, which we got right with trial and error.
Justification: We chose to shoot this in the studio at college as it is easy to manipulate lighting to the desired effect.
Recommendations: If I were to re-shoot this I would replace the softbox with an umbrella diffuser to create harsher light so there would be higher contrast between the light and dark.
Below is an image of the setup we used:

Process: To create High Key lighting we used 2 studio lights with soft box diffusers on them and angled them to try and create the desired effect.
Problem Solving: The main problem we encountered was setting the light to the right level to achieve low contrast and create a warm feel, but we succeeded this after a couple of attempts.
Justification: We chose to shoot this in the studio at college as it is easy to manipulate lighting to the desired effect.
Recommendations: If I were to re-shoot this shot, I would have also used a third light source to eliminate shadows n the background

Below is an image of the setup we used:

Process: We used 2 studio lights and an LED flashlight to create this effect.
Problem Solving: The main problem we had was angling the lights correctly, but with trial and error this problem was easily overcome.
Justification: We chose to shoot this in the studio at college as it is easy to manipulate lighting to the desired effect.
Recommendations: If I were to re-shoot this I would have used a warmer diffuser on the LED light.

Here we tried to create a 3-point lighting setup. Below is an image of what we used and how we used it.

Process: For this footage we used one studio light placed at a 90 degree angle to create a 'triangle' under the subjec'ts eye from the shadow of his nose.
Problem Solving: We initially struggled to angle the light correctly for the desired effect but through trial and error got what we were looking for.
Justification: We chose to shoot this in the studio at college as it is easy to manipulate lighting to the desired effect.
Recommendations: If we were to re-shoot this I wouldn't change anything as I think we successfully achieved what we wanted.

Here we tried to create Rembrandt lighting. There is an image of the setup below:

Process: This effect is created using one studio light placed slightly further than in the previous shot.
Problem Solving: the main problem we faced was angling the light correctly, but we managed to overcome this eventually.
Justification: We chose to shoot this in the studio at college as it is easy to manipulate lighting to the desired effect.
Recommendations: If I were to re-shoot this I would try to angle the light further behind the subject to just illuminate the edge of his face.

Here we created Edge lighting. Below is an image of how it was created in the studio:

Process: We had to place one studio light directly above the subject to create this effect.
Problem Solving: This was considerably more difficult than the previous shots, as it was hard to create the 'butterfly' under the subject's nose, as the light could not be held higher. I also had to be careful not to bang my head on the light when filming as it was very close to the camera, but this was fairly easy to avoid.
Justification: We chose to shoot this in the studio at college as it is easy to manipulate lighting to the desired effect.
Recommendations: If I were to re-shoot this I would spend more time trying to alter the light so it created the right effect without being a health and safety hazard.

Here we attempted Butterfly lighting with the setup we used below:

Process: Here we used an LED light and a reflector to illuminate the subject.
Problem Solving: The main problem we had was getting the effect right, so we used an LED light rather than a studio light.
Justification: We chose to shoot this in the studio at college as it is easy to manipulate lighting to the desired effect.
Recommendations: If I were to shoot this again I would try other ways of using a reflector.
In this video we used a reflector to achieve the lighting. The setup we used can be seen below:

Process: For this we used the LED light and got the subject to hold it under his face.
Problem Solving: There were no real problems with this setup and we managed to get it right first time.
Justification: We chose to shoot this in the studio at college as it is easy to manipulate lighting to the desired effect.
Recommendations: I would not change the way we did this in any way as we got the effect we wanted.

In this video, we were experimenting with creating shadows, so used one LED light source placed below the subject, as you can see below:

The Conversation (4 Hour Challenge)

Process: I think this footage was fairly successful in the end for a film that was written, shot and edited within roughly 4-6 hours. In the brief we were given, the only rule we has to abide by was that the film had to be called 'The Conversation', so one instance that we could think of where a conversation could affect someone's life is in a break-up, something that almost everyone can relate to.
Problem Solving: The main problem we had when shooting was that some of the shots that were initially taken were out of focus so had to be re-shot, such as the shot where the 'love letters' are burning. Also, we had initially planned to put a voice over over the top of the main character's internal monologue, however we had not given ourselves enough time to record this, so we had to discard some shots that didn't make sense without narration. Another problem we had was that some shots were slightly over exposed, se we had to alter aperture and shutter speed to resolve this.
Justification: We made this film because it was simple to come up with a narrative, and also could all be filmed locally, so was easy to produce.
Recommendations: If I were to remake this video, I would include a voice over, because some of the best shots we had taken were meaningless without narration, because anyone who viewed the film would be confused by these shots, but if we had included them we would have had an example of a long take and match on action. Also, I would have trimmed down some of the shots with cuts, because some of them feel as if they drag on for too long, but otherwise I believed this task was quite successful in challenging us to create a short film in a short time frame.

The Effect of Aperture on Depth of Field

This is a shot at f/2.8 showing a subject walking into focus.
Process: To create this shot, I used a lens that has it's lowest F stop at f/2.8 in order to create a shallow Depth of Field. I also used a fairly high shutter speed to clearly define the movements.
Problem Solving: The main problem I had when Filming this shot was getting the focus on the subject right. To solve this problem, I got the subject to stand in front of the camera to make sure he was in focus, then got him to move back to make sure he was out of focus when further back. After a couple of trial runs, we managed to perfect the shot.
Justification: I chose to shoot in this location as it was in college so it was available for me. I also wanted to experiment with depth of field in a less conventional way.
Recommendations: If I shot this footage again, I would make it so that when the subject comes into focus, it is clearer and there is more definition between him and the background.


This is shot at f/2.8 and clearly shows the definition between the subject and the background, as he is much more in focus than the background.
Process: To create the above shot, I used the same lens I had used to create the first shot which had the lowest f stop.
Problem Solving: The only real problem I faced when filming this shot was getting the exposure right and this was easily solved by increasing the ISO and also increasing the shutter speed.
Justification: I shot this in a location where the background was far enough away from my subject that you could clearly see the difference in focus between the subject and the background.
Recommendations: If I were to re-shoot this shot, I would make sure it is not over-exposed, as this shot is slightly too bright.


This is a shot at f/8 and has less definition between the subject and the background
Process: For this shot I used the standard kit lens that came with my camera, and set the aperture to f/8, a fairly low f stop.
Problem Solving: The main problem I had when creating this shot was making sure the background was slightly less focused than the subject, as sometimes the focus was a little bit off. This was fixed by altering the focus slightly.
Justification: I chose to shoot this in the same place as the previous shot, however I filmed it at a different angle, as the previous angle would not have clearly shown the difference in focus between the subject and the background.
Recommendations: If I were to re-shoot this shot, I would try and get a more sideways angle to clearly show the difference in focus.


This is shot at f/22 and all of the frame is in focus, so there is no difference in definition between the subject and the background.
Process: For this shot I also used a standard kit lens in order to get a fairly high aperture of f/22 to create deep focus.
Problem Solving: The main problem I encountered was getting the exposure right, as with a high aperture less light is allowed to enter the frame so I had to use a low shutter speed to counter this.
Justification: I shot this at this angle in order to clearly show how there is no difference in focus between the subject and the background.
Recommendations: If I chose to shoot this again I would try to frame the shot better to get a more straight on view of the subject.

Pull Focus

Pull focus is a technique used in video when focus is shifted from one item to another, often shifting from a person/item to the background. This technique is often used in films in conversations, as when you focus a subject a viewer's eyes are automatically drawn to that item, so if, for example two people are having a conversation, but only one is in focus, they are the subject of the viewer's attention and if the camera shifts focus to the other person, they become the subject of attention[1].


Process: To create the above shot, I shifted the focus from the hand in the foreground to the door in the background, so that the signs become visible. I think this video is quite effective in showing this technique.

Problem Solving: In order to solve some initial problems I had, such as defining the focus between the foreground subject and the background, I had to decrease the aperture to create a more shallow depth of field. I also zoomed in slightly so that the definition between the focus of the hand and the door becomes clearer. I also used a tripod so that the video was not shaky. It was also fairly difficult to find the right location to film this shot as in a cramped location both subjects would be in focus when I only wanted the background in focus.

Justification: I chose to shoot this shot because the corridor leading up to the door is fairly long, so it was easier to get a clearer focus between the two subjects rather than when in a smaller location. Also the door was readily available and easily accessible.

Recommendations: If I were to change anything in this shot, it would be to try it with two people in a conversation to try and shift the attention from one to another.

References:
1- http://www.mediacollege.com/video/camera/focus/pull.html

Experimenting with ISO

ISO 200 (Daytime)


Here I have set the camera to ISO 200, the lowest ISO setting on my camera, as it is a Nikon D5000, and I have shot a Close-Up of a cigarette. ISO 200 has the least light sensitivity, so allows the least amount of light to enter the frame, giving a clearer but darker image.
ISO 1600 (Daytime)


In this shot I set my camera to ISO 1600, the midway point of the ISO settings on my camera. I captured a Long Shot of trees blowing in the wind. ISO 1600 has higher light sensitivity when compared to ISO 200, so gives a slightly less clear but darker image.
ISO 3200 (Daytime)


ISO 3200 is one of the highest ISO settings on my camera, and in this shot I captured a Point of View shot of me walking. ISO 3200 allows the most light to enter the image and therefore gives a much brighter, but much grainier image.
ISO 200 (Night)


This clip has the camera set to ISO 200. I filmed cars passing on the road, but since ISO 200 is the lowest ISO setting it allows the least light to enter the lens and therefore creates a very dark but clear image.
ISO 1600 (Night)


ISO 1600 allows much more light to enter the image, and therefore creates a much brighter image. In the above Extreme Long Shot of a flat block, the image is much brighter than in ISO 200, but the resolution of the image has decreased significantly.
ISO 3200 (Night)


In this shot, I set the camera to ISO 3200 and shot the same road as in ISO 200. As you can see, the image is much brighter, however due to increasing the ISO, the video has become much grainier.


I also filmed this Low Angle shot of a street lamp in ISO 3200. Setting the ISO this high and pointing the camera directly at a light source created a lens flare which I thought was an interesting shot and decided to include it in my blog.

Process: I think these videos were effective in showing the differences in different ISOs when shot at day and at night.

Problem Solving: The main problem I encountered was getting the right exposure, so that the shot wasn't under or over exposed. I overcame this problem by increasing/decreasing the aperture to allow more light into the lens.

Justification of Decisions: I shot these in outdoor locations that were readily available to me and I frequently travel, so were easy to get to, even at night. I also used items that were easy for me to acquire, such as a cigarette. I also shot the last video purely to show the effect of lens flare at a high ISO.

Recommendations: If I were to make these videos again I would use a tripod to get steadier footage. I would also use another source of light when filming at night just to make sure that the subject is in focus.

ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed

ISO

[1]

[2]

[2]

References:
1- https://photographylife.com/what-is-iso-in-photography
2-http://improvephotography.com/photography-basics/aperture-shutter-speed-and-iso/

Camera Shots

Camera Shots from Liam Mulholland on Vimeo.
This is a video displaying different shot types.
Process: I think this video is quite effective in showing the different types of shot with cinematic examples and examples that I shot myself.
Problem Solving: The main problem we came up against was getting the exposure right on the cameras, as none of us had really used DSLR's before, so we had to change the aperture to alter the amount of light entering the camera.Justification: We created this in order to help people understand different shot types, and I think it is quite effective in doing this. Recommendations: If I were to re-do this task, I would make sure every shot is exposed correctly and in focus so that when it comes together it looks higher quality than in this video.

Mic Check

The above video was recorded using the Automatic Audio function on the Canon D600 cameras. The sound quality in this recording is, quite frankly, below par in comparison to the sound quality used in most professional recordings. It also has severe flaws in the fact that it appears to have an omnidirectional polar pattern, so picks up sound from every direction, therefore if a scene was being filmed on location, there would be a lot of unwanted background noise that gets picked up.


This video was recorded using an external stereo mic, the Zoom H. This recording has far superior sound quality, and even stereophonic sound, which is when there is a significant difference between the left and right speakers. This mic actually consists of 2 separate microphones, each of which having a cardioid polar pattern, so sound is only picked up from where the microphones are being pointed, therefore eliminating most unwanted background noise.


The fina video was recorded with a Boom or Shotgun microphone, and the sound quality in this clip is significantly better than when recorded with just the audio function on the camera, as the mic can be placed directly overhead the subject, therefore capturing crystal clear quality sound. The Boom mic also has a supercardioid directional response, therefore only picking up sound from where the boom is overhead and not the sides, so even more background noise is eliminated.

Enrolment Task Part 2

 In this clip, I attempted to construct soft lighting with a variety of different light sources, including a back light, fill light and front light. I believed this went fairly well, however could have been improved with the use of more advanced lighting equipment, rather than just using dim torches and candles that I had lying around my home. I also attempted to adjust the depth of field to see if different focal points would change the contrast of the light, but I found that in soft light not much changed when the subject was in or out of focus.


 In this clip, I tried to see how decreasing the aperture to f/5.6 and experimenting with depth of field affected lighting in the scene in the camera's manual mode. I found that when I decreased the aperture, the bulb was in much higher contrast to the dark background. I also found that when I made the light out of focus, it appeared to get much brighter therefore I can conclude that in such low key lighting focus and depth of field greatly affect the light density in the area, therefore increasing contrast.

 In this clip I attempted to create hard lighting by using one source of front light and increasing the aperture to f/25 to allow less light to enter the image plane. I think this would have gone much better if I had used a brighter source of light, rather than a dim LED torch I had lying around my home, however I think other than that I proved what I had intended to do in that with low aperture, there is a high contrast between the shadows and light. Also, I proved that with one source of light, there are a wide variety of effects that placing the light in certain locations can have on the scene, because in some places the light will cast small shadows, whereas in others there will be long, thin shadows, so dependant on the emotions a producer is trying to portray in a scene the light can be manipulated to alter the mood.

Enrolment Task Part 1

From my research I have discovered how a variety of lighting techniques alter the way film is constructed. An example of this is how Aperture changes the lighting in a scene. Aperture is the lense in a camera which opens and closes to allow a certain degree of light through, for example a low aperture of f5.6 would let significantly more light into the image plane than a high aperture of f20, so the lower the aperture, the higher the contrast between light and dark (2). Another light technique which contributes to the contrast in the scene is Hard/Soft lighting. Hard lighting is light that comes from one, usually bright, source, and created high contrast between the dark areas and the light, and also created more shadows in the scene, whereas soft lighting comes from an array of sources, with a back light (used to create separation from the background), a fill light(to soften the edges of the focal point) and a key light(the main light on a subject), which will create a low contrast as there will be few shadows in the scene. The best example of hard and soft lighting in nature respectively is a harsh noon sun, where many shadows are created from one point of lighting, and an overcast day, where light is coming from all around the sky, so very few shadows are cast(1). The positions of the lights also create different effects, as different positions create different shadows, so if a film maker wanted to get part of the scene immersed in darkness he/she could manipulate the positions of the light sources in order to get the shadows they want and also create the preferred reading in the text.
In my short clips, I tried to manipulate light in a variety of different ways, and also wanted to see how depth of field affected light, so I used an array of different lighting styles and altered the aperture on the camera in order to affect the overall contrast, also manipulating the focus on the camera to change depth of field.



1- Malkiewicz, Kris, Film Lighting, 2012
2- Peterson, Bryan, Understanding Exposure (Revised Edition), 2010