Lighting in Target

Lighting

I have decided that I would like to have a play around with lighting in Target and how I might use it. Some of the shots like shots of eyes/hands and blood I would like to use quite a low level of lighting because this will help build tension which will also work nicely with the music I've chosen to use.

On asking advice on lighting I have been told that I can use the Adobe Premier Pro to play with that which I will be doing in the video I'm making about my shots just to see how it works and what will work best.

I will soon be uploading my video of my practice shots so you can have a look at what I've done and I will then write up about how I played with lighting in these shots too.



Filming

Update

I started filming last weekend and I have got some nice shots but because of the snow and problems with continuity I will probably have to film these shots again. However, they were good practice for when I go to film again!

This weekend I plan to go into Durham and film some shots of the scenery because this will work with my plan for my opening sequences. I will be filming shots of trees and the river, possibly some of the older bridges and the alley ways/old structures. Hopefully it won't be snowing this time!

The following week is the weekend that I go to Sheperd's Dene and I would like to film some of the scenery around there too. I will try to keep you updated while I'm there and upload some pictures of the scenery so you can get an idea of what it looks like. 

All that is left for me to do is to film some shots of blood and make sure that it looks realistic because I'll be using red food colouring. 

In the following couple of days I will need to research into lighting and how to change it and practice this to see how it works. 

Update of Target

Update of Target

What have you done so far?

I planned out when I'll be filming and I have a schedule of when I need to have done tasks by. This is really helping me stay on target with where I should be.

I have filmed some of my shots (Sunday 19th) as planned and I am going to have a look at them now and transfer them to the computer.

Filming

I filmed on Sunday 19th January and lucky for me, it was snowing! Some of the shots are great but this is going to cause a problem when I film later on this month. Obviously, the snowy scenes are fantastic but I can't determine what the weather is going to be like so when I go to film at Sheperd's Dene there might not be any snow. This will mean having to re-take the shots I filmed at Hardwick Hall  because if I don't I will have problems with continuity.

Problems I faced when filming:

1. It was snowing so it was very cold and I had to protect the camera from the weather. This sometimes because a problem because the snow would land on the lens and I would have to use a cloth to polish over it again. This meant that I was taking the shot a few times to make sure this didn't happen. Fortunately for me, the shots I'll be using are only on the screen for half a second because this is what I planned to do in my storyboard.


2. Using a tilt - one of the shots uses a tilt which was problematic because the tripod was very stiff. I managed to adjust this so that it would be easier to move but because of this, I moved the camera too fast which might look a bit odd. I wanted a slow movement of a wall but it moves quite quickly so I might have to take this shot again.


3. Making sure that no one was in the shot. It was extremely difficult to make sure that no one was in the shot because of where I was filming. I had to take the shots a few times because people would walk in front of the camera or you could see them in the long shots of the lake. This doesn't fit with what I planned on my storyboard because I wanted it to be quite solitary.


4. Staying out for a long time in the cold. It was very cold on Sunday so it was hard to film because of this. My hands were cold when I was holding the camera which is why the tilt didn't work as well as I would have wanted it too.

A preview of some of the shots I took (and some of the scenery too!)

This is a extreme long shot I took of the lake but you can see some of the people in the distance.

I also took a shot of the trees in the background here (the forest) which I will be using. I might have to film this shot again however because you can see the snow falling.

And here is a shot of the scenery of where I was filming. I was playing around with the focus here and I found this quite interesting. This is definitely something that I would like to use again when I film at Sheperd's Dene.

What to do next?

I'm going to have to wait until we go to Sheperd's Dene to film my other shots but in the meantime I would like to go back to Hardwick Hall to film some of these shots again. This is because of the snow and the continuity issue I'll have later on if I don't film some shots without the snowy scenes. I will also be filming some blood on a wall if I can and practice some more shots with the lighting adjusted. I still need to film shots of eyes and hands but this is where I would like to play around with the lighting.

This Week

An update of my plan this week

This week I would like to try and practice some of my shots whether that be on my phone or the camera I'm using for my project. I would like to see how the shots will turn out so I can see what edits I can use on the shots or if they will need to be taken again. For example, some of the shots are extreme close ups of eyes which I will need to make sure that the focus is right for.

Today I am going to practice some shots and upload them to my blog later on once I have had a play around with them. I will be shooting on my phone as well as my camera and I would like to have a play around with the lighting because this is something that I will need to consider in my project. 

This Saturday/Sunday I would like to continue filming some of the shots and I'm going to Hardwick Hall to film some of the shots I haven't already done. I will make sure that I take the shots a few times and check them on the laptop to make sure that the focus is right and it looks crisp.

I have also come up with the idea of filming while I'm on the Wonderful Writing Weekend with music because the place that we're staying is a perfect location for where I would like to film. There are a few shots that I could use there and it would be a good opportunity to practice even if I don't end up using the shots.

Over the next few weeks I will try to analyse more opening credits so if I see anything I like I could use it in my project.

 

Music for my Project

Music for Target

Initial Ideas

I would like to try and use something that grabs the attention of the audience and I will achieve this through something that it quite dark and mysterious. I would like to use a haunting style of music because it suits the genre of film I'm making. I have found a website that has a range of loyalty free music that I could possibly use and last lesson I had a listen to some of the music that has been uploaded to the website. Some of it wasn't going to work and some of could've worked but it wouldn't have fit with the story.

When listening to the music I imagined what would be going on and I painted a picture in my head. Some of the music I listened to sounded as if it was from a sci-fi film, the kind of music you would hear if someone was in space. I did find some music that would fit but it went on for about 5 minutes and my opening credits won't last as long as that so I will have to edit this. Fortunately, I am relatively confident with editing music because I know a program, 'Audacity', that I'll be able to edit this on.

Here are some of the ideas I came up with from the music I listened to:

A constant drum beat, normally a snare drum with a repetitive rhythm - This is quite effective because it grabs your attention. Normally, a lone drum sounds like someone going to war or problems that are going to occur.

Low sounding instruments - the lower the pitch, the more suspense built. When I was listening to the music I could hear lots of low instruments which would work to build tension. The low sounds are associated with falling and things starting to go wrong.

Eventually, a melody or a higher pitch instrument would be introduced - this also built tension and the high pitch instrument with the low basses sounds very out of place which gives it a feeling of sickness and insecurity.

All of theses techniques combined made the music sound like it was hiding something dark and this is the kind of feel that I want to create in my project.

This is the website I used to find some appropriate music. I searched for Action and then a piece appeared that was called 'The Escalation' which used all of the effects I listed.

http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/



Planning for my Shoot of Target

Planning for my Shoot of Target

So far I have planned out my opening credits and the story of the film. I have used a storyboard to help with the planning of the opening credits and this will be used throughout filming them (I'll be uploading these later) Although there is no dialogue, I will still need to make sure that I can use someone to film one of the shots because it is going to be an extreme close up of an eye and hands. The rest of my shots are of blood/knifes and trees/nature.

Schedule

I would like to try and start my shoot by 10th January so that I can make sure I have enough time to correct anything that might go wrong when I start. This will also give me enough time to check all of the shots to make sure they work and have a think about if I will need to add anything in/take anything out that doesn't work.

My plan is to shoot all of the shots I'll need for my opening credits which will mean using different locations. Some of my shots are in a forest area but some of the shots are of blood and knifes etc. This will mean that I will have to make sure that I have transport to get to this location and the right equipment for the shots of blood. I will have to invest in some fake blood or red food colouring and possibly a white canvas to pour/splatter it on for the shots in the opening credits. I will also have to make sure that I can film someone because some of my shots in the opening credits include extreme close ups of eyes and hands. For these shots I will need to make sure that the lighting is right and this is something that I can play around with at the beginning to see what works.

I will film each shot more than 3 times to ensure that it works and the focus is right etc. Some of the shots will start to focus on something in the background so I will need to play around with the camera and record this multiple times as well as practice at it to help with the filming of these shots. If I can then I would like to practice working on the focus before I go to the locations where I'll be filming so that I'll feel confident in using it.

Some of the shots will be recorded at Hardwick Hall and I plan to go there on 18th January to film these shots. I will be filming the lake but I would like there to be a reflection of the sunset on it so that it looks quite peaceful. This will also mean that I will need to go at a specific time. Some of the other shots I will use will be used in daylight so I should really go at about 2/3pm to ensure that I can get these shots and then the shot of the water in the sunset. I will also be filming the shots that use trees and this is because of the significance of the tree later on in my project. The idea of this was to give away some of the story but subtly and the shot of the tree will really contrast with the shots of blood and darkness.

10th January - Shots of blood on a canvas

18th January - Shots of nature at Hardwick Hall

Week commencing 19th January - I will start uploading my shots to Adobe Premiere and seeing how they fit together.

I was also thinking about filming some of my shots at Sheperds Dene where i'll be going for the Wonderful Writing Weekend with Music. I have been here before and the area is covered in beautiful countryside which would work really well in some of my shots. For example, there is a small stream and lots of trees. I could also attempt a extreme long shot because of the views from the house which could work really well. Although I will be going here after I have started editing and putting things together this could be a chance to film some other vital shots that will work in my opening credits. However, I might not have much time to film here because I will be completing other work but I will try and film as much as I can.

Editing

I would like to start editing on 19th January because this gives me plenty of time to change anything or edit anything that might be wrong or doesn't work with the rest of the shots. I plan to start putting my shots in order and following my storyboard very closely to make sure I'm doing everything right and following the times of each shot etc. I will then start adding in the titles and using effects/transitions in my opening credits.

Equipment

I will obviously need to use a camera and a tripod but I will also be using a laptop to make sure that the shots are in focus. Because I am using a laptop I will need to ensure that it's fully charged and that the camera is too so that if I am at a different location where I don't have access to a charger then I'll already be prepared.

Some of the shots of blood will also cause a few problems because I will need to buy some fake blood and a white canvas so that I can make the blood splatters that appear on the shots. However, I'll need to make sure that I have some fake blood left over because when I go to shoot at Hardwick Hall I'll use some of the blood as dribbles on the ground (on leaves etc.) because some of my shots use this.

Risk Assessment

As always, a risk assessment needs to be carried out before I film and this will help me in stopping anything potentially dangerous from happening.

1.) Making sure that the camera/tripod is out of the way of other people. For example, I could be filming at Hardwick Hall and someone could trip over my equipment and hurt themselves/damage the camera or tripod. To stop this from happening I will need to make people aware of the filming and try and stay away from public footpaths.

2.) I need to make sure that no one is in the shot. I could be recording at Hardwick Hall and people will be walking around and they won't want to be in the shot without permission so I need to make sure that I don't film anyone who doesn't want to be filmed. This shouldn't be a problem because most of my shots will be out of the way because I'm filming trees and leaves etc. so they won't be in the areas that I'm filming.

3.) When I'm using the fake blood/red food colouring I need to avoid getting this on clothes/equipment or swallowing it (especially the fake blood). To stop this from happening, I will make sure that everyone who might be there avoids touching it and stays out of the way of the canvas and all of the equipment I'll be using.