SHOOTING VIDEO

Some things to consider:

Get a closing shot.
Get an establishing shot.
Shoot plenty of video.
Adhere to the “rule of thirds.”
Keep your shots steady.
Follow the action.
Use trucking shots.
Find unusual angles.
Lean forward or backward.
Get wide shots.
Get tight shots.
Shoot matched action.
Get sequences.
Avoid fast pans and snap zooms.
Shoot cutaways.
Don’t break the 180 degree “plane.”
Use lights.
Grab good “bites.”
Get plenty of natural sound.
Plan your shoot.

STORYBOARDS

Storyboards are essentially the blueprint for your video or movie creations. They are a series of sequential art frames in which your story or concept is told. Storyboarding is the foundational stage of the process in which the creative vision is first layed out IN time.  They are more than merely a planning stage (although crucially important!) they give form to the the visual mechanics of video, literally how the scene looks, what type of shot, camera angle, composition and transitions etc. While they have a similarity to comic book frames (whose narrative content is carried out through the frames) their main purpose is to direct the camera, animators or editors etc. It is much more an informational tool than a finished artwork, yet heavily influences what the finished video will look like.

Some examples below may help clarify.

Spiderman

Irk Spector

In these examples above, all frames are the same format, follow chronologically and even contain notes or symbols to assist in planning. It is not imperative to be an excellent draftsmen, only that the information be expressed clearly. Stick figures can get the job done! Each scene should be planned out from beginning to end. This includes the establishing shots, character close ups, truck in or out, pans and transitions. This will be used to aid in your filming, timing, and expression of your content. It is expected that you will not shoot your video in linear format but rather in sections and reconfigured during the editing process.

The following is a presentation of terminology and examples of camera shots.

Example taken from the floobynooby.com

A few things to consider:

Rule of Thirds- basically a compositional awareness. The frame is divided horizontally AND vertically to make 9 boxes. These lines demarcate the location the eye natural tends to focus on. It also serves as a quick way to consider the positive and negative space in the composition.

The 180 Degree Rule (Line of Action)- When showing a character, the filmmaker must consider how the viewer identifies this character through vantage point. Simply consider the the left and right side of the character each consisting of 180 degrees of the full 360. If we view the character from the left side, we would be confused, if immediately following, we were then presented with the character from the right side. We can show the character from any angle within those 180 degrees in different shots or close ups etc, without confusion. Breaking that 180 degree plane and crossing over MUST be shown or the viewer is lost.

For homework, I am expecting you to collaborate with your partner to create the storyboards for your documentary. This should address the issues mentioned above and aid in the planning and execution of the filming/ editing. Fully rendered storyboards are to be presented (one per partnership) at next class.

DOCUMENTARY 101

Considering you are about to embark on making a documentary, the following is a short but succinct documentary on time and setting it properly. Click here to view the short documentary on "Where Does Time Come From."

As we begin the process of creating a documentary, it is important to understand the scope of the project and breaking it down into manageable parts.

Below is a short starter list of things to plan and be aware of:

1- Create a Statement or Treatment .
         This must address-  What the theme/ or question is?
                                         What is your perspective of this theme?
                                        What is your vision?
                                         Background research, aesthetic content…

2-Create a list of Priority Elements in the documentary
          This should include opening, context of theme, interviews, supporting information, moment of culmination and ending.

3- Make a list of video shots needed
           This must include establishing shots, environmental background shots, close-ups, transition shots, visual textures, etc.

4- Storyboard
           Storyboards should be made for all Priority Shots. They provide a sketch of all the camera angles, close ups, transitions, setting shots, interviews, etc all in order. It serves as organization to the video process.

5- Schedule
          Planning is important, to maximize our limited time organization will be key. This should include video shots, coordinating actors/ interviews, editing, etc.

6- Prep all questions or dialogue
          Preparation and focus are instrumental in obtaining good footage for the documentary. If there is an interview, plan the questions to illuminate the theme accordingly.


Please write a blog post about your Statement. It should include or address the issues mentioned above, namely #1 -3 plus a working title for the documentary.

The Fictional Documentary

A documentary film is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record

-Wikipedia

Ken Burns is a documenatry filmmaker creating works about aspects of American Culture and history, most notably "The Civil War", "Baseball" and "Jazz". He is associated with the editing style that favors panning over still photographs with interviews and voice actors complimented with direct interviews of historians etc. In all his films, there is ample amounts of verifiable information- witness accounts, newspaper articles, historical research, etc. His organization of all these elements lends to an informative educational experience.

Click here to view a small portion of Ken Burns' documentary "The Civil War".

In contrast, there are many documentaries that stray toward the edge of believability. Namely the documentaries alleging the existence of mythic creatures (Big Foot, Loch Ness Monster etc.) These works clearly are not intentionally comical but stem from the filmmakers true urge to explore or capture evidence. While the subject often remains elusive, the actual process of the search lends credibility to the film.

The Monster of Loch Ness Documentary

HOMEWORK:

Please view Banksy's "Exit through the Gift Shop". On your blog write a post of about three paragraphs analyzing the work and consider these issues- 

Which elements are believable? (Specific examples)

Which elements are not believable? (Specific examples)

What is the morale/ purpose of this fictional documentary?

Additionally, after meeting with your partner and briefly discussing your collaboration, for homework brainstorm 5 ideas for the fictional documentary topic. Bring to class on Wednesday so we may review in partners.

SOUND

What would the formation of the universe SOUND like? 

Scientist Marke Whittle created sound clips of various stages in this process and compressed them down so we could experience them in our particular temporal existence. 

He took information from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and applied it to sound creation as another perspective of engaging with the process of the cosmos formation. The CMB is the relic radiation from the Big Bang and provides a window into the structure of the universe. Variations of density in the CMB could be seen as sound waves. This of course is not possible to hear in human perception (occurring at 55 octaves below what we can hear) so he shifted it to the audible spectrum allowing us to experience this formative process as a sound clip.

Click Here to listen to visit the page of Mark Whittle for more information and listen to the sound of the birth of the cosmos.

Playing for Time- Jim Fenner

"Longplayer is a one thousand year long musical composition. It began playing at midnight on the 31st of December 1999, and will continue to play without repetition until the last moment of 2999, at which point it will complete its cycle and begin again. Conceived and composed by Jem Finer, it was originally produced as an Artangel commission, and is now in the care of the Longplayer Trust.

Longplayer can be heard in the lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London, where it has been playing since it began. It can also be heard at several other listening posts around the world, and globally via a live stream on the Internet.

Longplayer is composed for singing bowls – an ancient type of standing bell – which can be played by both humans and machines, and whose resonances can be very accurately reproduced in recorded form. It is designed to be adaptable to unforeseeable changes in its technological and social environments, and to endure in the long-term as a self-sustaining institution."

From the Longplayer website

Trinity Buoy Wharf, London

Click Longplayer to hear a sample of the longest score ever created.


"Soundings: a Contemporary Score"

MoMA recently had an exhibition dedicated to presenting a diversity of artists working in this medium. Click here to visit the exhibition site and here samples.   

Musician Joe Zawinal created "Arrival in New York" as an experimental Jazz piece. It can be seen as capturing or mimicking the sounds of this experience. Note the heaviness of sounds, juxtapositions of durations as he weaves them altogether.  

All things leave impressions. We are seeking to record sound impressions of a Person, Place or Thing. Please collect multiple sound fossils that relate to your chosen concept. These sound fossils will then be recombined in Premiere Pro to create a distinct experience of this idea

SEQUENTIAL MOVEMENT

With the advent of photographic technologies, there was a revolution in the way we see movement, especially movement at great speed. The artist accustomed to creating the singular images of a moment and displaying them on painted canvas now had access to an portion of time outside of normal perception- the movement the occurs faster than the eye can register  (let alone draw or paint.) Artist and scientists now had access to the ability to slow down or stretch a quick moment for further study. The following two photographers led the change. Notice the different approach to displaying the information.

Eadweard Muybridge

Etienne- Jules Marey

In turn, these studies of movement influenced many artists in painting and sculpture-Duchamp, Bacon, down to animators such as Walt Disney, etc.

Francis Bacon

Marcel Duchamp

In time this knowledge of sequential movement came to appear in animation, and developed into is own language for better communication. Using exaggerations, curves, dynamic balance, etc., animators were able to imbue their creations with more personality and distinction. Using the concept closer to Muybridge's approach (individual cells with one distinct portion of an action) they were able to reproduce this sequence and put it to greater speed. Essentially slowing down the motion to study and draw it to speeding it up to display the activity closer to our expectations. 

Examples from  animation resources 

(a great site for animation know- how!)

In recent years, there has been a revival of animation fine arts world in the form of palimpsest style drawings. The concept is exemplified by William Kentridge. He essentially keeps erasing and redrawing a portion of the movement on the same paper, photographing it each time. This differs from the cel- shaded animation in which each frame is a separate drawing. His process archives the drawings underneath and builds upon them, leaving behind ghost images and marks from the previous. This effect creates a history, sense of memory and time passage through out the work. Another artist using this approach is Blu, although the scale and location of his projects are quite different!

William Kentridge "Pain & Sympathy"

Blu- "Muto"

For our project, you will choose a subject to study its basic movement and create a palimpsest style animation. It is best to find video reference or multiple images of the movement to draw from. Once chosen it is important to make a basic storyboard for the major changes- markers in the movement we can organize around. The drawing is to be done on 18 x 24 in.  paper in vine charcoal, photo'd, and erase and redrawn. This will be then be edited in Premiere to create a 10 second animation. For next class, bring your paper, drawing materials, camera, tripod, references and basic storyboard. If you plan on standing up to draw on the wall, which is encouraged, bring tape and tacks. I will try and have tacks as well.  The drawing must be completed and photographed (loaded on computer) for Monday's class.

Upon completion of the animation project, upload the animation to your blog and please write a post that compares the two processes of time at work in the project- The drawing (Palimpsest) vs. the video (Documentation).