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.

Project 3: The feel of a frame

Exercise 4: Shooting a short sequence

Objective: To produce a short sequence of shots to illustrate a given narrative, visualise the important elements in the frame and choose a suitable sized frame to contain that element. Make a storyboard to remind you of the shots you wish to make, annotated to show what information is being conveyed.
Storyboard:

	I thought I would start the sequence by establishing that the person is asleep with a close up of their eyes, restless as if about to wake.
	Then the shot changes to a POV as their eyes open and see the light bulb, out of focus on the ceiling. Medium close up. The light is off. The viewpoint is a prone position on the sofa.
	The bulb then comes into sharp focus.
	The camera pans left and pauses on the scene as far as the open door
	… and then right to show the rest of the room.
	Then there is a medium close up of the bottle and glass on the table next to the TV.
	A close up of my hands unscrewing the bottle cap. There is the sound of a telephone out of shot. I put the bottle down as if to answer the phone.
	The telephone rings twice and stops. Medium close up to isolate the sound.
	I pick the bottle up and pour the wine. Medium close up again.

Shooting the video; practical considerations

1. The angle of view of my video camera is much less than my visualisation
2. I tried the first frame (the eyes) but  the sudden change from objective to POV viewpoint didn’t work.
3. The ceiling lights are spots, not a single lamp, not that it matters too much
4. I panned right from the door to the table with the bottle in two shots as planned. The reason for this was the reflections in the cupboard doors and the TV screen.
5. The speaker on my camera picked up some interference from the wireless phone when it rang. Noticeable but a lesson learned.
6. I’ve uploaded the video to Vimeo.

DFP Exercise 4 - Alcoholic from Richard Down on Vimeo.