Moving Image – Critical Evaluation

The moving image piece I filmed was rather enjoyable to create and edit, it took only a few days work in total and I would gladly film again sometimes.

I chose to create a video to accompany a soundtrack, a montage of video and stills to an ambient track. My story was about the journey of a group of people who took the challenge of hiking up Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Beacons. Taking inspiration from TV documentaries, I aimed to compile a short video of visually interesting and beautiful clips, not unlike those that can be found in BBC documentaries.

The video was shot solely on Pen Y Fan, this meant that it was subject to weather conditions on the day. I also only had one day to film, meaning if I didn’t have enough footage then I would have to find a way to go back or try to stretch what I had. If it rained then it would have been difficult to get good footage without risking the camera. As the sun was so bright it was hard to tell whether the footage was over exposed or not as the screen was hard to see. Luckily the footage came out okay.

Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera script, even though I knew roughly in my head the different shots I wanted I missed out a few and had to substitute for other footage I filmed on the day. This wasn’t a problem in the end as it still worked in the film and flowed well with the music.

Another issue I faced was the ability to steady the camera, as I was up a mountain and walking on a trail there was little to no places to use to steady the camera meaning that a lot of the clips were quite jumpy and unsteady, which can be seen in the final edit. This could be resolved with a monopod or tripod, I will know to go more equipped in the future.

Editing was basic as I had only edited one professional video before. Considering I only knew simple editing techniques in Adobe Premiere, I have quite an ear for music and know when to change a clip to fit with the beat and flow well. I have been able to learn a lot of new skills on this project, especially in regards to editing, I prefer to edit than film as you are able to have more creative input.
Overall I feel it could have been filmed better but it is still a good film considering I have never shot and edited a film before. I feel I have learnt a lot from this project, I know more about framing in regards to film and also the different types of shots. This information will be useful for future projects, it is good to have different skills that can be applied to a multitude of situations.

 

Moving Image – Filming and Editing

The day of filming arrived and I had my shots in mind, driving up to Pen Y Fan I had my camera with me and was ready to start filming. I knew how to film as I had previously done some filming work before so I was prepared thus far.

Stepping out of the car I completely dismissed my idea of filming everyone getting out of the car to show the start of the journey. Heading to the trail I filmed a few panning shots of the road and static shots of trees etc. Starting the hike I would stop to film occasionally to grab a few seconds of footage here and there. I managed to get a range of different shots and tick off a lot of the shots on my list.

Street Portraits – Entry 5

I took another trip to London, this time it was raining and so the sun was hidden by the clouds. Still needing a few more portraits I decided to get my camera out and take a few more pictures. It was a clear, bright day so the lighting was perfect.

Moving Image – Camera Script

I have conducted in detail a camera script for the shoot, there is a first draft and a completed second draft. This will let me know what shots to get for the film so that I can tick them off as I go along so that I don’t miss anything.

These documents can be downloaded by clicking the links below:

Version 1 camera script:

4a- Camera script

Version 2 camera script:

4a- Camera script 2

 

 

Environmental Portrait – Entry 1

I didn’t really do much research into this before going ahead and taking the photos. I already had the kit and the knowledge of how to take photos with a portable flash. The person I used to photograph is my hairdresser, she agreed to be my model and so I went to her shop when she wasn’t too busy.

Firstly I took the photos with natural lighting, being a very sunny day this meant there was a lot of light coming through the windows and illuminating the room.

F/3.5 – ISO 400 – 1/125sec

I then went to take the second lot of photos with flash. I first attached a small softbox to my speedlight but I don’t think I attached it properly and the photo’s came out dark. Instead, I worked with the flashgun as it is and the photos came out clean and clear.

F/6.3 – ISO 100 – 1/60sec
F/6.3 – ISO 100 – 1/80sec
F/4.5 – ISO 100 – 1/125sec

Moving Image – Risk Assessments

I have written up the relevant documentation that can be downloaded by clicking on the links below.

6a- Location Recce Report

6c- Location Risk Assess

This includes a recce of the location and the possible issues there. And a health and safety risk assessment and the things put in place to prevent them.

 

Moving Image – Pitch

I have written a pitch for my moving image project. It can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.

Pen Y Fan pitch

This includes an overview of the project, with an outline of the idea, a basic camera script, list of equipment, crew, lighting, actors etc.

Moving Image – Proposal

The moving image project idea is a photographic piece influenced by a soundtrack. The film will follow a group of people as they hike up Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Beacons, the story is showing their journey to the peak. It will include shots of the view and the nature as well as the group. It is a 2-3 minute long video that is intended for those that have an interest in outdoor activities, aimed more at those over the age of 12 with no preference to male and female. The purpose of the film is to show the beauty of Brecon and the challenge of the hike. It is a documentary style short video, intended to show photographic skills that are transferable to film, it will be edited to music to create a entertainment piece. The soundtrack will be a mellow, calming piece of music; either an instrumental or heavily acoustic song. The moving image project will be solely created by myself; including directing, planning, filming and editing. The production will take approximately one day of filming and one day of editing.