Portfolio

I decided to film some test footage the week before i wanted to shoot my final project.  I scouted some destinations around London that i felt would fit with my theme.  The test shots really helped me for the next week and here is the link for them:

http://www.vimeo.com/17452572

The test shots helped me majorly and i will go through why shot by shot.

1.    The 1^st shot is a long shot a character sitting on a sofa.  I think the exposure is okay within this shot, however the composition is poor as there is too much going on in the shot, i think the focus is good however overall i feel the shot was poor and put me off using this kind of shot in my final project.

2.    The 2^nd shot was a mid shot of a character sitting on a sofa, I quite liked the composition of this shot as it placed the character on one side of the shot and had empty space filled with graffiti, this is a key theme i found with film and isolation.  I don’t think the shot was strong enough however to get into the final project as although I did quite like the composition it wasn’t quite right in respect of replicating stuff that I had seen before.

3.    The 3^rd shot is also a mid shot of a character sitting on a sofa, this shot was out of focus and gave me a better idea of how to use the LCD screen on the Panasonic 151 as it is hard to tell if it’s in focus if subjects are far away.  My initial idea was to get a short depth of field with the character being solely in focus and the background not.  This didn’t quite materialise but gave me valuable experience with the camera.

4.    The 4^th shot is a long shot of a character walking into the distance, i was losing light at this point and tried to change the exposure to make the shot work, however this didn’t happen and the shot looked too dark and noisy.  I did quite like the composition and used it as inspiration for some of the shots that made my final project.

5.    The 5^th shot is of a character leaning on a graffiti covered door frame, the focus and exposure levels are good, however the composition again I felt was not good enough.

Another key point I got out of my test footage was to hold on to shots for a lot longer than I normally would, I realised I was rushing my shots when filming test footage and took that on board when filming my final project.

Conclusion

Overall, I am happy with my final project.  There were certain aspects i feel i could of done better, my quality of image is a bit noisy at times and my exposure levels are sometimes too high, however i feel i have improved as the module had progressed.

Here is the link for the final project:

http://www.vimeo.com/17452208

Key themes of Isolation

Looking at all my films as case studies, I have noticed many similarities between all three cinematographers in terms of how they portray isolation.  Eric Gautier, Javier Aguirresarobe and Anthony Dod Mantle all use lots of wide shots to make th characters seem small in a big setting, lots of practical light as well as three point lighting.  The three cinematographers also like to put the characters on one side of a shot, leaving empty space or background space filling most of the shot.  All these key themes will help me within my project and I am now ready to shoot.

’28 Days Later’

This is another shot from ’28 Days later’ that caught my eye, placing the camera directly behind the character, following him through the streets of the city.  This puts the audience in the shoes of the character making the audience themselves feel isolated and relate to the character within the film.   The lighting with the shot is mostly practical but i think there is also a light behind the camera lighting u the back of the character in shot. This is a shot i will try to recreate in my own project, putting my own spin on it.

Shooting Locations

To shoot my project i will be using the Panasonic 151 and i will be shooting in Highgate and the Hampstead Heath areas in North London.

‘Into the Wild’

This is a shot from ‘Into the Wild’ that caught my attention, it interested me as it has all the conventions of isolation (wide shot, character on one side of shot) but i set against an urban background of a city, this is also used to a certain extent in ’28 Days Later’ although the city is abandoned and decrepit.  This is a shot i think that i will try to emulate and bring my own spin to in my own project.  Most of the lighting within this shot is practical light from the city’s skyline and the fire behind the character, although it is also clear that there is a light to the right of the camera lighting up the back of the character on his right side, giving the practical light a much harsher feel.

This is another shot from ‘Into the Wild’ that interested me, the composition is a common them throughout the three films i have used as inspiration for my project with the protagonist of the film being placed distinctly on one side of the shot, this leaves a lot of open space on one side of the shot but is done to further enhance the feeling of isolation to the audience, this idea will be explored within my own project.  The lighting of the shot is interesting as the practical light from the sky seems to be the focal point, however the orange light to the front of the character seems to be from the sun, however another way they could have produced these lights is with a redhead or Lilliput lights with a red or orange gel on top to create the idea of the sun being in front of him.

Another key ingredient of isolation that Eric Gautier uses in ‘Into the Wild’ is the use of nature, highlighting the fact that the character is in obscurity and nowhere near civilization, there are shots of wildlife throughout the terrain he is located in and may be a subject I also look into when shooting my project.

 

Isolation ideas

Here are some of the shots that have influenced my project and what i am trying to achieve through this project.

‘The Road’

Having looked at my previous posts, the shots at night in which the two characters are settling down for the night are good examples of how to use three point lighting, the composition of these shots are also interesting as they are mostly either mid shots or close ups while also trying to convey a sense of isolation.  This will be a key idea for some of the shots I will try to create for my project.

This is another interesting shot from ‘The Road’, using vast backgrounds and making the two characters seem small and fragile in comparison, this is a key theme I’ve noticed throughout the three films I’ve earmarked as inspiration for my project and will play a key part in shots that i choose to shoot.  The use of practical light within this shot and unsaturated colours give the shot a cold and lonely feel, this is a key trait from Javier Aguirresarobe used when filming ‘The Road’ and I feel works really well with the tone he’s trying to achieve.

Javier Aguirresarobe

Javier Agguiresarobe is a Spanish cinematographer, his most famous work is probably for the film ‘The Road’, this film ties in with my theme of isolation and I want to look at how he portrays this through his own style of cinematography.  ‘The Road’ is about a post apocalyptic world in which a father and son try to survive, Aguirresarobe uses lots of wide shots of nature and derelict wasteland to show the characters vulnerability to the harsh surroundings.  The colour is very unsaturated throughout the film, representing the feelings of the characters as well as the world within the film.  Agiurresarobe relies on the quality of his composition rather than the colour in ‘The Road’.

The compositions within the film are defined by making the two protagonists look small, vulnerable and isolated; this is done with a large amount of wide shots, close ups of their faces and placing the characters strategically within the shot.  Here are a few examples.

As you can see from these shots, the theme of isolation is present throughout; the two protagonists are very small in the long shots in comparison to the vast backgrounds.  The two characters are also placed on the side of shots, creating an isolated atmosphere from the scene around them.  The close up of the young boy also shows a low depth of field, placing sole impetus on him, creating a sense of loneliness from what is going on around him.

The lighting that Agguiresarobe uses is low key mostly, apart from the shots at night.  As seen in the picture above, practical light is being used with the candle in shot, but it also looks like there a light behind the camera a bit to the left, giving definition to the characters faces, there also looks to be a light above the two character, as well as a stronger light to the right of the camera, making the practical light look harsher than it really is, this is a key example of three point lighting.

I will take all this into consideration for my projects, and the shots I decide to shoot.

Anthony Dod Mantle

Another cinematographer I have decided to look at in terms of isolation is Anthony Dod Mantle and in particular his work on 28 Days Later, Anthony Dod Mantle regularly works with Danny Boyle and won an Oscar for his work on ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.  I am focusing however on ’28 Days Later’ and his work within that, the film follows a survivor of a nationwide virus and follows this character through a post-apocalyptic England.  The genre of film is horror/thriller so the shots used incorporate certain traits of this genre.  However Anthony Dod Mantle within ’28 Days Later’ shows key themes of isolation within the characters of the film and like Eric Gautier uses lots of shots of landscapes with the subject of the shot appearing miniscule in comparison.  Mantle also uses a lot of high angle shots to make the subject seem even smaller against vast backdrops.  Another trait of Anthony Dod Mantles is his use of crooked shots to cause confusion within the audience and disorientate them, perhaps causing the audience to feel isolated themselves.

Here are some examples:

As seen from the examples the shots are very disorientating and the lighting very low key.  The shots with lots of shadows and silhouettes would have been done using bright lights at the end of the tunnel causing the shadows to appear bigger than the people, this is stereotypical of the horror genre, the composition of the shot is interesting as the car is a lot smaller in comparison to the shadown and silhouettes, making the car seem vulnerable and again isolated. The shot of the actor near the truck places the character on one side of the shot, a running theme throughout the films i have watched about isolation.