Practicality is definitely a huge part I need to consider before producing my music video. Therefore in advance I decided to test out and think of ways I can use particular techniques without certain equipment. Therefore, I decided to test out the 'Color Key' tool that is available on Premiere, but instead of a Green Screen (which I do not have access to/the facility to use), I used the white backdrop in the Photography Studio.
When setting up, I knew I had to be aware of the lighting situation as "It is really difficult to shoot green screen video. The goal is to have a flat background with no shadows"(Phil, 2019). I knew I had to be as accurate as possible when it came to lighting techniques, therefore, i used the three point setup, in order to avoid any additional shadows, where possible. When filming, I got a friend to be my subject, asked her to move around to see how well the effect will work in post production.
When editing, I followed a few steps.
The settings I used for the clip embedded above
Step 1. Import and select the chosen clip from the library onto the timeline (Video 2).
Step 2. Go into the Effects tab>Video Effects>Keying>Color Key, drag this onto the clip in the timeline.
Step 3. In Effect Controls, use the filter tool to select the background.
Step 4. Increase the capacity of each three sub-categories in the Effect Controls tab.
Step 5. Drag your chosen background clip/image and place this in Video 1 of the timeline.
Overall, I found that when shooting a close up, this will work perfectly fine, as long as there is minimal white within the scene. However, when shooting a mid-long shot, the effect can reveal more of the background - this can be an advantage and a disadvantage, allowing a more post-modern, purposeful approach, but also allowing the video quality to look poorer. I have to consider in preparation to filming that my subject is wearing nothing similar to the background colour. I am happy to continue using this, if a green screen isn't available when filming.
Bibliography:
Phil, Accessed 27th February 2019, [online] Video School Online - Green Screen: How to chroma key in Adobe Premiere Pro https://www.videoschoolonline.com/green-screen-how-to-chroma-key-in-adobe-premiere-pro/
The list below has been categorised, regarding what equipment I will need, whether behind the camera, or props for the mise-en scene:
CAMERA EQUIPMENT:
- Canon 200D DSLR - MAIN CAMERA
- Samsung Galaxy Note 9 - SECONDARY CAMERA
- iPhone X - SECONDARY CAMERA
- Tripod for DSLR
- 64GB Ultra Fast SanDisk SD Card.
- 50mil lens - FOR EXTREME CLOSE UP SHOTS (to add variety and add to cinematic conventions)
- Standard 18-55mm lens - FOR MAJORITY OF SHOTS DUE TO VERSITILITY
LIGHTING EQUIPMENT:
- Lamp - Mise-en Scene
- LED Light's - Approx 2 for Production
- Studio Lights - For any shots that are shot in the studio upon a black background.
MISE EN SCENE PROPS:
- Pack of Cigarettes & Cigarette Buds
- Ash Tray
- Bed (not made)
- Clutter (essential mess)
- Empty cans of drinks
- Empty medication packets.
- Lighter
EDITING EQUIPMENT:
- iMac/MacBook Pro with Adobe Premiere Pro
- Blue Snowball Microphone - TO RECORD VOICEOVER MONOLOGUE
- VHS CAM APP ON SAMSUNG NOTE 9 (£2.99 APP COST) - TO GATHER OLD STYLE VIDEO FOOTAGE
All of the equipment and props above will help construct the scenes I plan to shoot - overall achieving a successful cinematic production.
In terms of filming with my DSLR, I believe that I will be using my Bedroom primarily with the studio being used in any other circumstance.
In terms of Health and Safety, and also precautions, I will need to make sure that:
- Wires for any equipment, such as Camera Battery, External lights, are tucked away, but are made aware of for anyone helping film.
- Food and drinks will not be taken into the studio in order to prevent spillages from occuring, this could result as a hazard for any electrical items.
- Any equipment will be fully tested/charged before use to avoid any issues when filming.
- Any props will be carefully placed and used in the correct manner.
- The lighter used will be used in the appropriate manner, avoiding any hazard that can be caused, such as fires etc.
Applying Lacan's theory to Bad Mom's: The PTA Meeting
Bad Mom's is a 2016 Comedy genre film directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, which focuses upon the plot "When three overworked and under-appreciated moms are pushed
beyond their limits, they ditch their conventional responsibilities for a jolt
of long overdue freedom, fun and comedic self-indulgence." (IMDB, 2018). In this particular scene, we see the characters of Gwendolyn James (the current PTA president) upholding an emergency PTA meeting to parents and carers of the school. We also see the other character of Amy Mitchell who has arrived late from a long day of work. I feel we can apply Lacan's theory significantly to this scene, whilst also arguing an opposing conformity of the theory. I will also be referring to Freudian's theory of 'the Self'.
The scene starts with an establishing shot of the school, followed by a shot of Gwendolyn James introducing the meeting. We can immediately see that within the mise-en scene, Gwendolyn is dressed professionally, wearing a full suit, with good posture and public speaker manerisms, she is also placed on a platform above the audience of other mothers. Her name is written in Gold, with the text shining behind her - the directors Lucas and Moore has evidently done this to portray how Gwendolyn is the 'perfect' mum, an ideal figure for other mums to look up to, this is further pushed forward in the next shot where we see the audience of mothers wearing casual clothing, looking substantially less professional than Gwendolyn. This can be also reinforced by the camera and lighting techniques, as Gwendolyn is well lit and considered in the 'spotlight', where as the other mothers are in the dark. Applying Lacan's theory into this, I believe the directors are portraying Gwendolyn as the perfect reflection of a mother, where as all of the other mums in the audience are the Ego, listening and engaging in how to become like her. The scene following this portrays the arrival of Amy Mitchell, who is portrayed to be distressed, due to her suit - similar to Gwendolyn's, being damaged, cut up & not worn in the professional manner. This creates a distinctive binary opposition between the two characters (arguably, including the other mothers on Amy's side) trying to reach up to the goal of the Super-ego (Gwendolyn) ).
As the film is a comedy, we do have some comedic references and an exaggerative perception to the mothers stereotype "Farce is a type of comedy that uses absurd and highly
improbable events in the plot. Situations are humorous because of their
ludicrous and often ridiculous nature"(The Drama Teacher, 2018). The emergency meeting is held due to the annual bake sale, with banned ingredients being highlighted (and exaggerated). We hear Amy's character sigh with the line "you've got to be kidding me". This displays how the character is worn out with trying to conform with the super-ego, and the Id is becoming overpowering, as she sees the reflection to be unreachable. The other mothers in the audience are listening still as they are fixated on achieving the role of a perfect mother. The id eventually overpowers Amy's mind after she tells Gwendolyn that she will not be partaking in the bake sale 'police force' - although comedical, we see that Gwendolyn's social stance is much higher than Amy's due to the other mothers being shocked (with audible diegetic gasps, heard from the other mothers). I believe the directors focused upon this in order to portray Lacan's theory is supported in all ranges of adulthood, that relevantly, woman with children try to compete to be the perfect mum, they are shocked when Amy goes against this.
The technical codes help reinforce the application of Lacan in this scene, The angles in particularly and the lighting. The mum's aspiring to be Gwendolyn James are constantly in the dark and shot at a high angle, reinforcing they are lacking the 'perfection' and power Gwendolyn holds. Gwendolyn is also dressed in a suit where as the other mum's are wearing everyday casual wear, reinforcing my point of lack.
Bibliography:
IMDB, Accessed 6th December 2018, [online] - Bad Moms (2016) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4651520/
The Drama Teacher, Accessed 6th December 2018, [online], - Farce - The Drama Teacher, https://thedramateacher.com/farce/
Evaluating on my new wave film, I am overall very pleased with the outcome. I felt it had stylistic choices due to the influence of Wong Kar-Wai. I used a combination of clips shot in Coventry and a few from a previous film project, that never made the 'cut'. The concept was very similar for both of these projects so the footage blended well. The concept for my video refers to handover in the style of a train journey, following the narrative of a citizen thinking about her life and her memories.
Camera & Lighting:
Shooting the project in Coventry went well, despite overcoming some issues. The weather forecast was predicted 'cloudy' all day, however, to my surprise it started to rain; in that moment, I had to consider the safety of myself and the equipment due to not being fully prepared. I therefore made sure it wasn't raining heavy when filming to protect equipment where possible - however, thankfully I realised that the weather was the same when filming in Birmingham, so when editing, this became seamless. In terms of the exposure triangle, I knew that due to the overcast sky that lighting could variate, so in regular shots, examples being mid shots of the city life around 12pm, I used ISO 200, F12 and 1/50. When it became a darker setting, such as the train, I used ISO 800 with a shallow depth of field around f4, shutter speed maintained the same. I feel that this worked well, however I noticed one shot in particular that the iso was set too high, despite it being an overall bright condition - I think this due to the quick handheld spontaneous idea for the shot, I should have stopped and planned the shot in order to ensure the settings are correct. Lighting was something I struggled with, due to as mentioned - the weather being overcast; this prevented me from shooting conventions such as shadows and neon lighting, which would have allowed conventions from Wong Kar-Wai's films. I could have resolved this by filming at night time, using neon lights - however, i did not feel safe to do this, especially in Coventry/Digbeth - Birmingham.
Editing:
Within editing, I wanted to make the concept a little clearer in conjunction of being experimental, I decided to experiment with time due to Wong's influence on time in his films. I focused on editing for this so i could change the pace of audio/jump cuts between the videos. I also experimented with overlaying two videos at once - using these videos allowed me to create a sense of disorientation in my short film, and i think this worked successfully. I used the opacity tool to do this, alongside experimenting with different styles of overlays - the most common was 'saturation', 'difference' and 'normal' - this added a more stylistic approach to the the final footage as it alternated colours and created some subliminal messages, including the odd scene featured with cages overlaying people walking; representing the entrapment of HK in the handover as they were no longer in control on how they wanted to live. Audio was something I changed half way through the project. I was initially going to add a soundtrack, however, I couldn't find one that fitted into the theme I was going for - so therefore I would experiment with ambient sounds. I immediately found an audio track of a journey on a Chinese train, I thought this would be a good convention to use as I could edit this in conjunction with a breezy outdoor audio track to create the narrative of a journey to the handover. The traditional Chinese subtitles on certain clips elicit the quotes that were mentioned in planning, with one extra stating 'will we ever be free?' - self explanatory of the attitude of citizens in HK around the handover. Due to the narrative, I decided to call this narrative (translated:) 'The Journey to Transition'.
Conclusion:
In terms of this project, I'd like to say I'm 100% happy, but there are little things that I wish I could change, an example of this is the location in which I shot in Coventry, I wish I'd have shot near the Cathedral as well, just to add some variation to the footage, I feel the ruins would be 'chilling' (if edited/shot in particular settings). I would also like to experiment further with different lenses, as I only used an 18-55mm, getting some macro shots with a macro lens would be another bonus - for shots where I could use texture as a subliminal message. I can say I'm proud of this project though, due to the time spent and the footage I initially shot with.
BRIEF: For my new wave film, I will be incorporating the knowledge of my contextual studies (unit 1) and creating a film that conforms with the second Hong Kong new wave. For influence, I will be taking my inspiration from two of Wong Kar Wai's films - In The Mood For Love and Chungking Express, due to the subliminal messages it withholds within the narrative. Within lighting, we plan to film around the afternoon time as one of the conventions of Chungking Express variates between night and day, it tends to get dark around 5pm, therefore this will give me a transition, something I can use metaphorically which will represent the handover of Hong Kong. Equipment wise, I will not be using a tripod purposely. I want to recreate the smudge motion technique effectively as shown in Chungking Express, to represent the disorientated reality of Hong Kong and how life was portrayed, furthermore, I find the handheld view a more personal approach towards the new wave so therefore I will be basing a narrative over a particular set of events. The Camera settings will be variable due to the weather changes, as a general consciences I plan to use either ISO 100/200 for daylight shots with a wide opening of the aperture (lower f/stop), with the shutter speed at 1/50 due to the filming being done in 25fps - this should work out as a well balanced shot. Pull focus will be used as a technique between the double frame and the subject.
Weather Forecast for Coventry
Framing will be used repeatedly throughout my new wave, this is due to the endless shots shown in 'In The Mood For Love'. Wong uses this device in his own films as a way to represent the entrapment the citizens felt by both society and the Chinese government at the time. I want to portray this within my project somehow, therefore when filming, I will be filming a various amount of clips with props such as fences, to reiterate the ideology of entrapment.
Liberation of the camera from the tripod as apart of the technical conventions will help me in my new wave film. A combination of handheld shots and cloudy/sunsets convey a sense of realism as many new wave directors aim to break away from conventional film making. I believe this will further project the stylistic influences of Wong Kar Wai. PLANNING: The location on where I will be filming is Coventry, with additional clips being shot in Digbeth, Birmingham. I looked at the weather report as an initial basis for any health and safety requirements to look out for. On a precautional basis, I think it will be best to bring the camera bag with me when filming, so if it rains, i can put it away before any damage can occur internally. I will also dress appropriately to avoid any health issues, this including wearing jeans, jumper, jacket with hood & leather trainers. In terms of filming ideas, I will be travelling by public transport - this creates an instant stimuli as i could focus upon the idea of movement (could lead to further metaphorical meanings i.e: the handover). I think the best time to shoot this would be at night (so on the way home), in order to conform with not only Wong's existing techniques within the new wave but also to emphasise the idea about how citizens felt in the dark about the 'change' in their lifestyles. Soundtrack is something I am unsure about, however, I want it to be similar to the likes of In The Mood For Love, purely on the basis of the fact that if I went for a westernised popular song, such as Wong does in Chungking Express, copyright claims could be an issue I face when uploading to YouTube afterwards. The 'In The Mood For Love' soundtrack offers a very mysterious feel when partaking in synaesthesia, offering a calm yet jalting experience to the viewer - due to the sharp strokes on the cello. I plan to find a soundtrack suitable to capture this feel. The subjects face will only be shown in a reflection, an ideology towards how HK residents viewed themselves, and made themselves look a particular fashion (like in In The Mood For Love). I also want to use this device as part of the narrative, watching the world change around them, incl. reaction shots. Within editing, I plan to experiment with Chinese subtitles (Cantonese) for quotes from some of Wong's films that withhold some significance to the handover/mood of that period.
This includes:
"Find out too much about a person, and you lose interest"
"I like loud music, it stops me from thinking"
"If my memory of her has an expiration date, let it be 10,000 years"
