Tuesday, 16 September 2014

Lighting and Color Excercise



The type of lighting that we learned about was three point lighting, we were first taught this in our previous moving image class but weren't told about the shadow coming towards the camera. After practicing it on our own we found it easier to control the lighting when there's one subject and difficult when there are two or more within a frame. 


I wanted to try and edit the clip with just Mikayla in it using the synthetic aperture because I wanted to try and give it the same effect that all of our other clips had which was more contrast along with the shadow coming towards the camera. Ever since then I haven't been able to watch a single movie or video without thinking about the lighting and the different color schemes that were involved within the film which to me seems useful for the future. 

Sunday, 14 September 2014

Glen : moving Image Video Analysing



I found this short film interesting because of the way that it was shot. I found the each scene beautifully executed in a soft tone way but still being able to add the depth and seriousness within it. 


After having our class the spoke about the color that's being used within the film I've been noticing the color schemes in almost every film that I watch including this one where the wall is almost a green color with all of his red toys that lie around his room.







In these shots I just thought that it was pretty amazing how they timed the wine pouring down into the glass to the life guard dipping into the pool, compariing the two likeness does captivate me somehow it may be the fact that the wine is red and the swimming trunks on the life guard is red as well.






Glen : Moving Image Video Analysing


I found this film off of the "Staff Picks" selection on Vimeo. It was this very shot that caught my eye in the first place because of the contrast thats placed within this shot, the first thing that my eyes were attracted to was the red/orange sweater then from there it moved on to the baby's eyes. Adding shadow to almost everything besides the face does help keep the focus on the face but it's the sweater that catches my eyes first because of the color. After seeing this first shot I felt the need to actually play the video to see what it was about. 

As the film continues there's a narrative voice as the audio that tells a poem about someone leaving a message to those who are still living from a man who's ready to approach the thought of losing his own life. I found this shot interesting as well because of the bright orange that complements the blue pants in the background. 




Another example that I saw showing the complementary colors of orange and blue. Actually seeing the colors placed together within a film does show how much of a difference it makes when you use complementary colors within your film. It actually helps draw the attention of the audience more especially towards the center of the film because not only does the center of the film has the complementary colors but it's also the part of the shot that's left in focus and lit up while everything else around the center has a darker shadow and it blurred out. 

This was actually my favorite shot within the whole film because of the lighting and the focus thats placed on the man's face. After seeing this scene I realised that the shots do seem more pleasing when the shadows are coming towards the camera, it gives the shot a certain depth and in a way makes the audience curious about what he's looking at.

Glen : Moving Image Video Analysing




Touch the Sky is a short film based on a former Formula 1 driver and winnder of the American Champ Car Series. The reason why I found this film eye captivating is because of the way that each shot emphasises on certain things that marks the key points of the film. 

In this shot the camera is more focused on the poster with Alex Zanardi's photo on it along with the word "Hero".  In my own point of view this shot could show that although he's been involved in an almost fatal accident it doesn't change who he is, what he loves to do or the fact that he still remains to be a hero in the eyes of many other people. 




The camera in this shot is strictly focused on the wheel of the wheelchair that Alex uses while he begins to work on something else which in my perspective could show that he's still able to do everything that he needs or wants to do without the help of others and that nothing will stop him from doing what he loves to do.




I thought that this shot was placed in the film to show just how passionate Alex Zanardi is about racing by not letting his accident remain permanent instead he makes the best out of it in order to continue on with life. 

Glen : Moving Image Video Analysing


The sound of COS is a video that basically shows two men using everyday items to give the video of the two women walking sound. I found this video interesting because of the items that they used to create that certain sound effect for the video. 

They poured salt on top of the dresser before they placed the basketball on top. Turning the basketball as it sits on top of the salt gives off a sound effect of someone turning around to face a certain way. 








The man with the oven gloves on rubs the gloves against his clothing to make it sound like the woman in the clip is putting her coat on. 










  In this shot he's popping one bubble at a time on the bubble wrap to create the snap sound that usually occurs when your buttoning up your clothing. 









To create sound for the woman zipping up her coat they use blinds.












Opening their umbrellas creates the sound effect of the women popping up their collars. 











Watching this short two minute film makes me realise just how important and time consuming it can be when you want the correct sound along with great sound quality. 

Monday, 8 September 2014

frances : artist research

" Jennifer Healy "



Jennifer Healy is an artist that was born in the United States in 1985. She has always been fascinated by strange, offbeat, beautiful, and slightly melancholy things. She found her passion for mixing colors when she was in high school and attending a watercolor class. Jennifer Healy is an artist that has an expertise in using colored pencils and digital painting. 

Some of her work:





I found Jennifer Healy's work interesting because not only does she make the portraits realistic but she also gives each piece a twist by adding in something abnormal to the pieces. Whether its her adding in feathers, animal parts/skulls, or flowers. 

frances : artist research

"Emily Rose Murray"




Emily Rose Murray is a talented portraitist based in Australia and is a tattooist at a Splash of Color Tattoo Studio. She does a wide range of tattoo and illustration work in her distinct feminine style. Gorgeous near-traditional color and rendering with a touch of deco and baroque.









I chose to do my research on this artist because of the amount of detail that she places within her work, whether through drawing or her tattoos. Each piece that she creates is a unique one that is defined by thin lines which makes the pieces look more detailed then it really is. Another reason why I find her work fascinating is because she has more that just a portrait in her works. She usually involves jewellery, flowers (mainly roses), and parts from animals or the face of an animal. 

Monday, 1 September 2014

Frances : Artist Research

"Iain Macarthur"



Iain Macarthur is an artist born in Swindon, England. His work can be described as surreal and unique in its own way. He mainly uses pencils, watercolors and pigment pens within his work. He creates portraits of ordinary people but gives it an unusual look to it by embellishing patterns and watercolor effects into the portrait to give a vivid explosion effect which transforms their faces from something plain to something entirely bizarre and wonderful at the same time. Iain specialises in shirt designs, print designs, posters, album art, logos, branding, editorial illustration and private commissions. 

Artists that he feels influenced by are Alphonse Mucha, Gustav Klimt, Lucian Freud, Jenny Saville, James Jean, David Choong Lee, Sergio Toppi and Ashley Wood. He also gained much inspiration through cartoons art and lighting; people's facial expressions, eyes and different forms of organic patterns and shapes.


Iain Macarthur




Inspirations:



My Art Work:








Tuesday, 12 August 2014

Glen: Moving Image


Although this was just a fool around film I realised that this was a good example of how most films can actually be used and worked into a different song to give it a different feel to it. There were probably about seven different songs playing for each dance I caught on film but with this one film everyones dance moves were able to sync along with the soundtrack without me slowing it down or speeding it up a bit. It was just a film I did for our youth leader but ended up teaching me something new in the process. 

Glen : Moving Image Interview

"Interview Exercise"




With in my video I was able to question some of my church's youth members to say something for one of our youth members graduation. I used the sound mic to try and get better sound for my interviews and although the sounds around us were over powering I still feel that the recording from the mic sounds better than the sound thats recorded from the camera. 
After watching the interviews again I realised that it would have helped if I stayed focus on keep the camera in focus instead of trying to do two things at once which was making sure one of the youth members was actually catching sound on the mic and filming at the same time. 


One of the interviews that I found interesting would be the "Taualuga" Documentary where one of my cousins were interviewed about her experience with the Taualuga's. 


I found this interesting because of how they based the interview in a place that relates to the person that they are interviewing, by that I mean it good to see the interview take place in Otara where the girls are from then in a random area. Another reason why I found this interesting is because of the clean cuts and the clean shots that are within this documentary.





After learning the easier and more effective way to controlling audio by using Key Frames I felt relieved but disappointed at the same time. Relieved because there was an easier and more effective way of controlling it but disappointed because that means I've been doing it the long and hard way for a while. I can definitely say Key Frames has been a useful lesson learned during this term. 

Tuesday, 5 August 2014

Glen : Memory Videos

"Memory Theme"



I decided to book out a camera
on the day that we didn't have class so that I could film my nephews doing what they normally do which is play around with a whole lot of nothing. the main reason why I wanted to film my nephews was because I hardly ever get to see them with school and church responsibilities that I have to abide by. 
When I started to edit the film I found it difficult trying to think of a way that the videos would form nicely together with a soundtrack. After I found a soundtrack that I could cut the film to I thought that I was set. Once I started cutting the film to the soundtrack everything seemed fine until I looked back and noticed that although the cuts were to the film it seemed to have been a bit too repetitive which eventually became boring to watch. After noticing that the film lacked the type of attention seeking that I wanted it to have I felt a bit discouraged so I ended up cutting the film short to about 30 seconds. Looking back at it I know I could've done better and taken a different route to creating the film in order to make it more interesting but those are just lessons learned from my first film as apart of this class.

With this film I wanted to use the poly fest 
clips that I had from the previous poly fest that just passed to help represent my culture and the history of a Taualuga. Most of the clips are my own but the interviews that are incorporated with the film is from another Taualuga video that my cousin is apart of and also has been interviewed for. I chose to give the film a black and white effect to make it seem like it was from the past which is why I added more contrast to the film as well. 
When I did this film I felt that I could've done it better once again because I know that what I have put into this film isn't up to the best of my ability. One thing that I could've done to make the film better in my eyes would be to interview people on my own instead of borrowing clips off of another film on youtube. 

Glen : Moving Image 2

"The Drought"




Title: The Drought

Directed/Written By: Kevin Slack

Produced By: Nicole Scarano, Kevin Slack and Allison Vanore

Source: I found this video on Vimeo.

Summary of the Short Film: 
                   This short film is about an elderly Brooklyn native who spends his days selling umbrellas and the side of the streets but struggles as the days pass because of the drought that Brooklyn is going through at the moment. Although the elderly man struggles financially and also physically he still continues to remain loyal to selling umbrellas, like Jonas said in the film "everyone needs an umbrella the rain may stop but no matter what it's gonna come back."  

Camera: 
                    In this short film there were a numerous amount of times when the camera shots would be a close up on a person. The film even starts off with a close up on the elderly man (Jonas) but the shot goes from an extremely out of focus shot that eventually focuses on just Jonas. There are also many over the shoulder shots that shows the audience what the subject is focusing on. Most of the short film is shot using a shallow depth of field that normally just focuses on key points in the film such as the person that may be speaking or doing something, to small details for example when Jonas is holding his radio or creating/fixing an umbrella. 


          The extreme out of focus shot that fades into a shallow depth of field focusing on just Jonas was most likely used to grasp onto the attention of the audience.


           This over the shoulder shot was done to show the audience what Jonas is focusing on.








             In this shot they use shallow depth of field to keep the focus on the craftsmanship of making an umbrella and the difficulty that Jonas has in the process which in a sense shows him getting older and beginning to find it hard to do something that he had been doing all of his life.



                Although this short film doesn't quite relate to the themes that I had in mind to do my films on I found it interesting because when I actually do take the time to pay attention to the different camera shots it helps me gain a better understanding on why they would use that certain angles and techniques for a certain camera shot. I also like how this video has an important meaning to the theme. I would rather create videos that are meaningful and do actually have close interactions with the subjects then gather clips of random people then adding a sound track within the clip. 

Monday, 4 August 2014

Glen : Moving Image 1


"Blood and Bone"

Title: Blood and Bone

Written By: Joseph Robert Lee

Directed By: Joseph Robert Lee

Source: I found this Short Film on NZ On Screen.


Summary of the Short Film: 
                   This film is about a young 19 year old New Zealand male (Haami) that is grieving over his fathers death and begins to get involved with drugs from an underground boxing promoter. After the passing of his father Haami seems to worry more about himself and drugs then he does his own family, which eventually becomes a problem for him because of being in debt. His uncle Moko who used to be a street fighter tries to pay off Haami's debt with money that he earned but instead must risk sacrificing his life in one last fight in order to pay off Haami's debt.


Camera:
                   Most of the shots that are taken within this film consists of close ups on the faces, over the shoulder shots, tracking, tilts and wide shots. This film also varies between having a shallow and a deep depth of field. 


           This close up shot on uncle Moko's face was probably done to show the disappointment on Moko's face. Which I believe helps the audience have a better understanding of the emotions and situations that are being displayed within the film.

                With this shot I believe that the reason why its an over the shoulder shot is to show that the two people are having a conversation and it also show's who is speaking.











                   I think the reason why they decided to use a shallow depth of field in this particular scene is to show the beginning of the fight and the agreement that the two fighters are aware of what is at risk and are still willing and able to fight to the finish.









                  This scene has a shallow depth of field and close up on Moko's hands to show not only the ageing through his skin but also the scars and bruises that are left behind from previous fights that he's had before. The shallow depth of field helps the audience to focus strictly and entirely on Moko's hands which is why the background is out of focus.







             I found this Short Film interesting because I was able to relate to the story line in a sense that family is important and I would do anything to protect my family even if that meant giving my own life for them. I chose to do my analysis on this film because it does in a way express what I want to base most of my films on. When it comes to the themes that I want to set with my films I would rather stick with subjects that I am comfortable with and have more knowledge upon which is my religion, my culture along with the traditions that come with that and of course my family or just families in general. 

Sunday, 29 June 2014

Rebecca: Moving Image


This video is what I handed in as my final project. I wanted to hand this video in because I knew that this was the video that I had my strengths in with the camera handling and the cutting of the film. Although I found it difficult making every cut clean and trying to work with different camera angles along with clips that showed mistakes with the dance in some areas I was able to work to the best of my ability and create cuts to moves that were the cleanest within the films I had and cut along to the beat so that way there weren't just random cuts. We filmed from 9pm till 1:30am on a friday night and although we were filming that long I still don't believe that I had enough footage because I was the only camera person there and because the dancers were getting tired of repeating the same dance over and over again. I know that for the next time I film something similar to this that I will make sure that there are more than one person there with a camera or bring extra cameras with tripods so I can have more footage to choose and edit from.

Rebecca : Moving Image


I found this dance clip that was choreographed and edited by Paris Goebel. I found it interesting how when you watch the clip is looks like the whole dance was filmed on one cut, although that does seem well executed I still feel that one cut offers up too much information. What I mean by that is now that I've gained some knowledge on moving image I can now have no patience with a film that is done in one shot only because I can see the different ways that it can be executed. However everyone holds their own opinion on what they like and how they would want their films done I just rather have my clips executed in a way that it draws the attention of the audience through the cuts and not just have it all remain in the same shot and just moving the camera around to follow a certain person or thing.

Object: Silhouette



I found these silhouettes interesting because not only are they super hero/comic characters but each silhouettes incorporates both their super form and their human form, which gave me both a positive and a negative silhouette. 

Core Skills : Object - 30 Images

"Thirty Images"