Assignment 4 - Feedback and Reflection

My tutor’s feedback was very encouraging for this assignment and I am pleased that the efforts I made for this project was successful and resulted in a good documentary film. There were ten points listed in his feedback. Although I haven't been able to address them all, I have re-edited the film and responded to the following points:
Point 1. I changed the title to “Oosterschelde – Crossing the Atlantic” and relied on the introductory titles to give details of the type of ship she is.
Point 2. Music. I found some dramatic music for the stormy passages but was not successful in adding it as the sequences were so short and both had narrative under them anyway.
Point 7. I introduced a 5 sec clip showing the position of Tristan da Cunha on the globe during the start of the relevant sequence.
Point 8. I did as my tutor suggested and changed the length of time between the Tristan sequence and the arrival in Cape Town. However, I used Simon’s narrative rather than Alice’s. This is because Alice refers to Tristan in her interview whereas Simon does not. This has improved the balance putting the Tristan sequence into the middle of the film.

Point 9. I decided not to change the ending (I think Robert meant to say epilogue) as with any adventure, you end up thinking and talking about it long after it is over. After we arrived in Cape Town and had time to relax, the ship was buzzing with a sort of energy, with lots of stories and reminiscences being told and retold. I asked Alice to summarise the highs and lows of the voyage as she would relate it to her family. It was part of what was happening on board and I think her final sentence sums up the feeling at the end of the voyage and makes a nice ending for the film.

The re-edited version will be submitted for assessment with the  original assignment version along with the Tutor Reports.

Assignment 3: Tutor Feedback

Overall my tutor was happy with the film I had made saying it was “…simply and economically put together with a clear plot and clear subterfuge”  However he thought I could have made more of it. His report is in my learning folder and the Word version will be submitted at assessment. He gave me specific feedback on several  technical points including how I could improve my storyboards by noting the strong narrative key points in them e.g. emphasising the zoom in on the lipstick in frame 4. Other points which I had not included in my reflection at the end of the assignment were: Lighting and colour: I used natural available light which meant the colours were a bit washed out. I will look at reflectors and the use of colour adjustment in my editing software. Sound: Robert mentioned the use of an EQ filter to remove the low frequency (below 100Hz) to improve the sound quality of the dialogue. I will have to research this. Luckily my son studied Audio Engineering and should be able to help with that aspect of editing. 30 September 2013 In preparation assessment I have re-edited this sequence to address two of the shortcomings highlighted by my tutor. I have managed to edit out the pause at the start of shot 3 and I have made an attempt to improve the colour overall by using the brightness and contrast sliders in my editing software. During the editing of Assignment 4, I learned a lot about using the audio editing facility and put that into practice trying to overcome background noise. The edited version of the sequence will be available with the original assignments on the submitted flash drive at assessment.

Assignment 2–Feedback and reflection

 

Oops, Assignment 2 was not a great success in the most important area of the brief:

“I have to say that as much as I like baking bread and understand there can be a sense of anticipation involved, what really comes across here – and that very well – is the documentary record of a process. It’s quite hard to create atmosphere when all your shots are close ups of inanimate objects that don’t involve any drama, human interaction or response. The film is a good record of the process, of the kind that would be helpful to people learning to make bread! But because there is no mood here, you really need to re-think this assignment. Perhaps you can take the subject of atmosphere into your subsequent projects if not entirely re-do this assignment with a more suitable subject.”

I’m afraid I’ve fallen victim of my own very narrow approach to the creative idea. I tend to get an idea in my head and stick to it no matter what. I think what happened here is, early on, I decided I wanted film bread making and I tried to fit it into the assignment brief, unsuccessfully!

I am now aware that working alone on what in normal circumstances is very much a collaborative effort can be difficult. What I must do the future is to bounce ideas off my fellow students and maybe run an assignment idea past my tutor before putting my head down and going at it full tilt.

I will proceed with Part 3 of the course, but during the coming months I will re-shoot this assignment with a different idea in response to tutor feedback. I have emailed my tutor and he is aware of my plans.

15 February 2013

I have thought about this assignment again and planned a short sequence about paranoia while walking alone in the woods. I planned 12 shots as shown below:

My story line is simple enough, a woman walks alone on a woodland path and passes a man whose face is obscured by a scarf. He glances at her in passing, she takes a few steps and stops, turns to look at the man but to her surprise, he is not in sight. Puzzled, she walks on but the viewpoint changes to one of a shaky, hand held  travelling shot of her passing the trees. I  film this from either side of the path. Next shot shows a creepy gnarled oak tree and I zoom in on some of the twisted branches to highlight the eerie feel of  the woods. Man can be seen lurking behind the tree The woman stops and can be seen pulling herself together, there is the crack of a dry twig and she hurries on. (close up shot) As she walks out of shot, the man appears and follows her. Fade to black.

The atmosphere in the woods is quiet, with birds singing footsteps can be heard, There is even lighting but vision either side of  the path is partially obscured by undergrowth. It’s not dense but obscured enough to cause the imagination to play tricks. What I hope to convey is that the woman’s imagination is the cause of her anxiety.

The Edit 17/09/13 (it’s taken 7 months to get round to editing this). I hope that the time has given me a fresh perspective and that the experience of editing two subsequent assignments has improved my skills.

Evaluation: With retakes, I ended up with 20 frames including all of those shown above. In the finished sequence, I have only 10 shots. I took out some unnecessary frames as the couple pass each other. The action lasts just 1 minute. I have used black and white for the shots showing what is in the woman’s mind although I hope that the atmosphere created introduces a doubt in the viewer’s mind as to exactly what will happen next. I was quite pleased with the sequence and my actors have created the atmosphere I wanted. I did notice that part of the first frame was overexposed (the man’s bald head) so I have altered the levels for that frame a little, it helped a bit but exposure is something I need to be aware of when using my camera on auto. I have used diegetic sound throughout but I did have to add the cracking of a twig at the right point as the woman pulls herself together. This was an afterthought and I used a clip from a sound effects library. It was interesting playing with the clip in my sound editor to match the reverberation of the other diegetic sounds.

On the whole I have achieved what I set out to do. I learned that even working to a story board it may still be necessary to adapt to shooting conditions (especially when in an open public space) and of course, adapt the narrative during the edit. Working with a maximum number of frames is good discipline and experience in storyboarding and shooting will come with time.

Paranoia in the woods 3 from Richard Down on Vimeo.

Assignment 1–Tutor Feedback and Reflection

My tutor gave me comprehensive feedback on the first assignment. Rather than re-work any of the shots or edits I made for it, I have decided to make note of the criticisms and apply them to future projects. In this way, the improvement from one assignment to the next can be more easily seen. Here is a list of things that I will need to consider for future projects:

1. Exposure: My first shot was underexposed. I have checked out the manual options for my camera and found the iris control which allows me to open and close the iris in graduated steps and preview the effect on the viewing monitor. This will enable me to expose correctly for predominately white scenes.
2. The use of a title for the sequence and/or the use of  a “SLUG” or filler of black frames at the start of a sequence. I did not consider this for the first assignment but will in future projects. I must stop thinking of these as just exercises and add a little “polish” to them.
3. Transition/cut – I need to watch the smoothness of  the transitions between shots. Cutting two shots together where you are zooming in works best if both are zoomed at the same speed and in the same direction.
4. Deciding where to cut. The second shot of my sequence needed cutting after the car pulled away. I can see that now. The alternative scenario proposed by my tutor would also have worked; i.e. filming Angie getting into the car  from within and the car driving off, then cutting to the next scene. Again in the third shot, I needed to have cut before “craning” down. the rest of the shot was redundant. The uncertainty here was really just that. I only had a memory of the scene that was available as we passed so I was filming continually until the monument passed out of shot.
5. Again, constructive comments from my tutor about a better way to record the fourth frame, from outside the car and then cut back to the POV shot of the arrival from within the vehicle.

There is a lot to consider for my next sequence but essentially, more careful planning and being aware of what works best when cutting shots together. Learning to visualise creatively is an essential skill to learn. At the moment I tend to get an idea into my head and film it as I see it. I need to be able to look for the alternatives and will make a conscious effort to do so.

16/09/2013 As I prepare for assessment, I was having seconds thoughts about editing this film in light of my experience over the past year. Unfortunately, since filming and editing this clip I have changed my PC and my editing software. This has resulted  in loss the original footage and the upload file I used for Vimeo has been saved in a format that my current editing software cannot open. I'm sure my progress from this point in the course is evident.

Project 5: How to learn

 
From the learning notes:
Look back at a piece of work you have produced so far, including any notes and blog entries that went with it.
For each produce a short list defining:

• · what you set out to achieve
• · how you can identify what you have achieved
• · whether you achieved it
• · what you learned from this

Objective: This topic will concentrate on how I  can develop my own understanding and skills.
The second paragraph of the workbook discusses framing as an example of what appears to be a simple topic but is at the same time extremely complex. It asks the question; who should study aesthetics, the person who frames and takes beautiful pictures by instinct or the person who doesn’t?
My feeling on this particular topic is that I fall into the first category, not because I frame well by instinct, but over the years I learned how to place objects within a frame.
Reflection on a piece of work
Looking at the last exercise:
What did you set out to achieve? The objective was to produce a sequence to illustrate a scenario from an objective point of view using various camera angles. My sequence shows an alcoholic waking, taking his first drink of the day and his total obsession as he ignores the doorbell to pour and drink his wine.
How you can identify what you have achieved?

• By looking at the completed sequence I can identify the camera angles used.  High angle, high to medium angle, low angle, close up.
• Does the sequence tell the story clearly (see below for quotes)
• By looking at the reactions of my fellow students to my sequence. Firstly I really like the film as a piece. Its simple, the story is clear and its well shot……Nico  I especially liked the way the bottle dominates the shot so that we see the man coming towards us (the bottle). The colours of the shot work well too. I liked the ringing of the bell….. Emily. I like the feeling of depth within the frame that they create. Someone's been reading Grammar of the Shot, haven't they? Stuart

Determine whether you achieved it

• Look at the task objectives and compare your results From the task objectives I think I have achieved what I set out to do.
• Look at other students work to see how they achieved the objectives From the wide range of other students work, mine compares favourably.

What you learned from this

• How to separate the soundtrack from the video and re-lay it over a cut-in shot.
• How to edit and form a narrative from several frames.
• How to use different camera angles to illustrate different aspects of a narrative.
• Plan more carefully with regard to using the story boards. The field of view of my camera is much narrower that I imagined. With use, I will get used to the camera’s view.
• Continuity – try to be realistic when setting up shots, relate the set to the reality of the situation. (use of coasters?)

Now reflect on these important questions:

• Is it better to struggle and improve your weaker areas or should you cut your losses and focus on your strengths? I think it is better for me to improve my weaker areas. I don’t think I will struggle, I just need to be motivated to overcome my tendency to concentrate on what I’m good at.
• How can you really know what your strengths and weaknesses are? You can measure your performance against outcomes for the tasks you undertake.
• How do you know what you need to know if you don’t know what it is yet? Use objectives and outcomes intelligently to find areas of weakness and strength.
• Who can you ask or where can you find out? Your Tutor, your fellow students and the OCA forums will provide a useful resource for your learning.
• How do you know if you have improved? When is it time to move on? See above regarding measurement of outcomes. I find that I know intuitively when I have improved. I get that feeling of realisation when something clicks into place. That is when it is time to move on.

OCA Study Visit 28/04/12 – Gillian Wearing Whitechapel Gallery

Introduction
This was my first study visit with the OCA and I was sent very useful joining instructions which set out the objectives for the visit:
 gain a personal perspective on the work of Gillian Wearing
 reflect on the experience of seeing photography and video in a gallery
 network with other OCA students

The introductory video by the gallery curator Daniel Hermann is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv02v3aOrC8
In it, he states quite clearly “Gillian Wearing is interested in the divide we build between the front stage and the back stage of our lives” and “the powerful discrepancy between the public and private is at the heart of the work of Gillian Wearing”.
I have also read two articles from the Guardian newspaper, the first gives some background to the exhibition and the second is a review by Laura Cumming:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/mar/04/gillian-wearing-whitechapel-gallery-feature
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/apr/01/gillian-wearing-whitechapel-patrick-killer-tate?intcmp=239
This link gives some more background to the exhibition with some interesting images of the construction of the masks for the album series.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2012/mar/27/gillian-wearing-takeover-mask?intcmp=239#/?picture=387780737&index=7
A personal perspective

The first objective is probably the most difficult to tackle. It is now three days since the visit and I am still trying to make up my mind about how I feel about this body of work. This degree course is my first encounter with the arts. As yet, I don’t understand a lot about why artists do what they do and what motivates them.

From the information above, it is quite clear that the purpose of the work is to examine the differences between the perception of ourselves that we present outwardly and  the private, hidden self within us. In Tim Adam’s article for the Observer, he starts his piece recounting an overheard conversation on the top deck of the 55 bus. This relatively new phenomenon shows how readily we are prepared (almost without thought) to share details of our lives in public.  Social networking, blogging, ‘reality’ TV shows, instant communication and celebrity see us sharing more of our lives with the world. This seems to be self perpetuating, the more we see, the more we want to see and share. With the current speed of  communication and interaction, perhaps Andy Warhol's alternative quote “in 15 minutes everyone will be famous” could be just around the corner.

As a group, we looked closely at these parts of the exhibition:

• Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say  what someone else wants you to say.
• 2 into 1
• 10 to 16
• Crowd (a painstaking video  reproduction of Albrecht Dürer’s “A large piece of turf” 1503) link here

Of these, “Signs…” was the one I found most interesting. Given that the subjects were presumably given a free reign on what they wrote, I wonder if there were perhaps some frivolous thoughts or even if there was an element of people writing what they thought was expected (i.e something outrageous) rather than what they were actually thinking. I’m sure most of us are thinking very banal things most of the time.Very difficult to judge and equally thought provoking. Michael Lawton, who showed us around the gallery mentioned that apparently,  the suited business man holding the sign “I’m desperate” rushed away from the scene once his photograph was taken. I wonder if he was “desperate” for the bathroom? (That note of cynicism still surfaces, is that healthy?) I think this was a good way to engage people in the creation of an artwork and the signs make you think “what would I write?”

In the same gallery space there were three contemporary small painted bronze sculptures of named individuals, all heroic in very different ways.

Crowd It would have been easy to overlook this small video screen tucked into a corner. I thought this was a very interesting and simple idea. The artist has  reproduced this 16th century watercolour by Albrecht Dürer and  produced a 15 minute video loop. To see any change you have to search the image almost as minutely as the artist’s recreation was painstaking but you are rewarded with subtle changes in light and the movement of ants over the leaves.

2 into 1 This was amusing. Twin boys’ comments lip-synced by their mother and vice versa was a very clever idea and although the things they said were as you would expect from a mother and her sons talking about each other, each twin reacted to his mother’s words as they were played back and synced by his brother. It must have been toe curling and embarrassing for all parties but they carried it off brilliantly.

10 to 16. This I found strangely disturbing. Seven children from the ages of 10 to 16 speaking about their lives, their words lip-synced by adult actors. Again, with the exception of the 16 year olds contribution, much as you would expect to hear from children of this age. To hear children’s voices from the mouths of adults seems somewhat sinister to me. During  discussions it was mentioned that perhaps this was a device to make us listen more closely. I wondered if  one or two in this series of videos were deliberately designed to shock. One of the children’s voices was lip-synced by a naked dwarf sat on the edge of a bath which was disturbing (to me at least). The final sequence from the 16 year old was also provocative in that it was graphic in it’s description of the boys confusion over his sexuality. I’m afraid I am of the generation that stills finds four letter words cause me to wince inwardly although I do  accept them (reluctantly) as part of everyday expression.

Album (the family likenesses) I didn’t know how I felt about this at the time and nearly a week later I’m still uncertain. I can understand the idea that you may wish to draw attention to family likenesses and that to wear a mask and body suit of a relative to show an intimate connection  reinforces this. What I do admire is the execution of the idea, a very complex and time consuming process which produced something of interest. As a technical process, very challenging. Is that its own reward perhaps? This work tells us something about Gillian Wearing but I’m not sure what. The second part of this gallery, the artists Wearing considers her major influences, is clearly meant as a tribute to Arbus, Mapplethorpe, Warhol Cahun and Sander. Again the masks are beautifully created and the poses are based on existing photographs. I’m not sure if this type of work has ever been done on this scale before. Maybe this is the artist’s motivation?

There were other video sequences to watch, the confessions series, and one or two others but I had seen enough. I found the video “Dancing in Peckham” amusing for a few seconds and was more interested to see the reaction of passers by who seemed to treat the arm waving and head banging dancer as part of the everyday experience of a shopping centre.

All of this makes me think that it is more important that I preserve (rather than hide) my “backstage”. I don’t consider that I have anything to hide but on the other hand, there is a lot which could be misinterpreted or misused and besides, I have to reserve some aspects of my personality for those I wish to be intimate with. After all, if you show it all to everyone, what is left? I think Gillian Wearing knows this only too well.

The Gallery Experience It was pointed out to us as we entered the first part of the exhibition where the majority of the video screening booths were located, how like the “backstage” area of a theatre it was with the unpainted wooden framework exposed all around us. The photographs were hung differently, the Signs series were arranged like large contact sheets, the Album series at differing heights with different coloured frames, an informal family collection whereas the others on the opposite wall were of similar size and arranged formally in a straight row. I’m not sure whether these arrangements affected the way I perceived the exhibits, it may have been very subtle.

Networking This was certainly a very effective way of getting to meet other students, a tutor and staff involved with the OCA. Lively discussion took place in the gallery Cafe about the exhibition, our individual courses, submissions for assessment events, art and photography in general. A very worthwhile and rewarding experience topped off by an additional visit to the FOTO8 Gallery to see the Dana Popa “After the New Man” exhibition.

http://www.foto8.com/new/online/interviews/1569-dana-popa-talk-at-foto8

A slideshow of the images is available on the link above. Essentially, the photographer has documented the everyday lives of the young people in post Communist Romania. These images were supplemented by a caption list which provided a commentary; echoes of the past interspersed with the hopes that these young people hold for the future.

Reflection This visit has gone some way to help me to understand what art is, why artists do what they do and the role of  the artist in society. I read on one of the OCA forums last year in which Clive W. said that our understanding would come in time. I think I am a little closer to flicking that switch.

Here is a link to the We Are OCE  blog where you can find links to other students' blogs:

http://www.weareoca.com/photography/tell-gillian/

Reflections on Exercise 5: Camera angles

I have had several responses direct to my learning log (see “Comments”) and below by email. I was happy with this, my second attempt (the first was badly done and not planned properly).

My fellow students seemed to like it but remarked on the distraction – I maybe could have included the mans face reacting to the door bell (see explanation below) and there was a question about whether an alcoholic would have been using coasters. This particular individual has two problems, the second is OCD! I did point out that for continuity, they were great for re-positioning the bottle and glass between takes.

Ideally I would have included turning my head in the pouring shot but I couldn’t get the camera low enough so there was a compromise here. (dropping the bottle cap) The low angle with the bottle dominating the frame worked well. From behind the table, the whole shot was one take that was divided to insert the doorbell sequence. Had I used an actor I could have used differential focussing for the end of the last shot, bringing the bottle into sharp focus at the end as the man consumed his first glass of the day.

Other comments:
From Vaggelis:
“as for you video i have to say it's guite good i can't tell any comment cause mine is not so great but i believe you did a great work .”
From Stuart:
“I think you've done a really good job here, Richard! I felt the edited shots really go together well, too!
I was going to suggest that you would have have had the opportunity to add more depth to the shot in storyboard no. 7 by moving the angle and pointing the camera from the door towards the character (so that the character was looking towards the camera). That would have helped show the distance between the character and the 'interruption'. However, I see that you never ending up using the shot like that. But - you ended up using a similar technique when your character is seated on the sofa and the wine bottle is close to the camera. I like the feeling of depth within the frame that they create. Someone's been reading Grammar of the Shot, haven't they? ;)”
Vaggelis, Stuart, thank you for taking the time to look at my work and also to Emily, Nico  and Margaret for their contributions. You are right Stuart, “Grammar of the Shot” is proving very useful.

Project 3 The feel of a frame 2

 

Exercise 4 –Shooting a short sequence -  feedback and reflection

After nearly a week I have  looked at my sequence again and received some very constructive feedback from my fellow students, most of which is posted directly onto my blog but also I have this from Emily:

Hi Richard I just tried to post a comment on your blog but it refused and lost the comment. I'll try to remember what I wrote: really liked it - especially the storyboard, and that you'd kept to the storyboard in your filming.

Good idea to lose the first shot of the person waking up.
I agree with Margaret about the pace at the beginning but I like the pace of the rest of it.
I like the blurring at the start, and wonder whether that might be a way of showing the hungoverness of alcoholic rather than the slow pace at the start.
I like the phone ringing and not being answered. It works very well.
Only thing I wondered about was the final shot of you pouring the drink - I thought it would be better starting the shot with you holding the bottle, rather than being put back on the table. just a thought
great stuff
Emily
Reflection: What worked and what didn’t?
Although I filmed  the first frame, the eyes, I could see during editing that it just wouldn’t work.
The blurry light fitting seemed to work quite well and the volume of the radio in the background was just enough to indicate that this was perhaps what had woken the sleeper.
Feedback indicates that the pan around the room was too slow and I agree. I was conscious of my tendency to pan too fast and I think I laboured it a bit. The interference from the phone was unfortunate. I will see if I can silence the camera’s speaker while recording as this could be a problem anywhere there are mobile phone signals.
Emily mentioned the final shot of the sequence, pouring the wine. I think she is right. I included the action of picking the bottle up again to emphasise the break in what would be a priority task for an alcoholic. Thinking about it, the action does break the flow of the final shot. When I shoot the objective viewpoint, I may well not put the bottle down at all, just pause.
The pace of the sequence was also affected by the switch from the ceiling to the door. If I shot this again, I would not use a subjective view for this part. It would involve too many changes of  panning direction.
I was quite happy with my choice of frames, as a subjective viewpoint was required, I think I conveyed what the person would ‘see’ rather than what was in their field of view which concentrates the action to what is necessary for the narrative.