Experimental Project post 18 Evaluation

Over all I think that our project was fairly successful, we functioned well as a group each taking our assigned roles and putting in lots of time and effort to produce a good outcome. Although there were some blurring of lines between the roles. As camera edit man I think I've captured some aesthetically pleasing shots, taking well composed images that utilised the natural light. If I were to further refine it I would be tempted to warp stabilise, through AE CS5.5 or FCP X, the handheld images, although I don't think this detracts from the film. I personally feel it's the best film I've made so far. Though we could have created allot more experimental and abstract film, I'm pleased with our outcome, which involves some interesting experimental elements. Our starting word was conjunctions and we aimed and I think succeeded in creating different realms of existence, exploring the meeting points between the real and dream worlds. In particular I like the physicality of the light art animation, which involves no digital manipulation, it draws the project back to the foundations of experimental film, which often involved physical manipulation of film roll footage. I think I've responded to the problem outlined in the previous project, having a lack of research, by analysing multiple experimental films from the film list and having a diverse variety of research and influences inclusive of Andrei Tarkovsky. Whilst each scene is very different we created multiple links between each one through the mise en scene, for example the butterflies at the beginning link to the end, theme of light and reflections is evident throughout, in the light animation we have a bird swooping linking to the paper cranes etc. I like the idea of the film maker projecting there personal self onto the screen which can then be decoded, and I think an element of that comes through adding to its experimental form. 

Experimental post 17 influence Laura Marling

Another influence for the project was the music of Laura Marling who creates deep emotional songs, sometimes exploring loss, entertaining the extremes of her personal life, projecting herself through words and music. It is experimental in form differing from the mainstream with a likable quirk and a softness. She uses wild tracks as well as music within her tracks, for example birdsong, which adds to the naturalness of her work. http://www.lauramarling.com/

Experimental post 16 second edit

We added the paper room to the rough cut after formatting, renaming and sorting into bins. We then opened a new sequence specifically for the stop motion as we would be working with hundreds of clips on one time line, the first problem encountered was that we hadn't shot the stills in 16:9 and whilst we new how to change the scale for each individual clip we didn't know how to apply this to all the clips. So we decided to put them through pro res also so that we working in the same format across the whole project, whilst also sorting out the scale and blending frames together to create a smoother animation, we then adjusted the speed to a speed that we thought worked best. In the ideal world we would have connected to an external stop motion editing software for this, but we had no time or knowledge for this. We then created a fine cut sequence and connected the three sections. 

Half Way through this process we had a tutorial with Dominic when we only had a rough cut of the woods and the full file of the paper room. He seemed quite impressed with the quality of shots and the work involved, and said the success of this piece would come from how we moulded the three sections into the final piece, he also said we needed to think of a stronger ending so as to part with the over used woke up and it was all a dream cliche. As previously mentioned of losing the experimental part of the wood scene, this was navigated around through his suggestions that the beginning lulled the viewer into a false sense of reality which would then be harshly disrupted by the light art animation. 

I think you could argue that this film has surrealist form, having recently studied surrealism for an essay for the approaching research module, there are elements of this film that are reminiscent of my findings on the theory. ‘Surrealists are not concerned with conjuring up some magic world that can be defined as 'surreal'. Their interest is almost exclusively in exploring the conjunctions, the points of contact, between different realms of existence. Surrealism is always about departures rather than arrivals.’ (Richardson, M. 2006) There are these 'cotact' points between realism and the dream world creating multiple realms of existence. Surrealism was ‘a new genre of films that would reproduce the illogical world of dreams or Briton's desire to create a new reality via the superimposition and montage of everyday reality and the dream world’ (Ezra, E. 2004) I think this furthers the argument for our films surrealist form having every day reality meet with the dream world, a dream world created through the variety of experimental techniques we utilised.

Experimental post 15 second shoot day

We set up the scene for the paper room which took allot of time, pre shoot we made something like 120 paper creatures, then on the actual day it took allot longer than we thought to cover a room in paper. I tried experimenting with camera obscura by blacking out the windows and poking a small hole, which kinda of worked we could see a feint projection of the railings outside, but it was no way near bright enough to film, I think it also didn't help that it was a cloudy day and out the window was a flat white building, nonetheless it is something I want to experiment with later on, combining natural real time projection with video projectors to create a moving image light experience. We then started filming having taken down the blacked window. We decided to leave the mirror and window uncovered so as to carry on the theme of reflections of self, this did make filming more of a challenge trying not to get reflections of the camera in shot. I decided to use long takes to capture the surreal beauty and add to the reality of the surreal world created creating juxtapositions. It was a weired experience in itself whilst being busy setting it all up and filming you would just step back and look round and just be taken a back by the set that we were effectively enveloped in, its an indescribable feeling which I don't think I've felt before.

Experimental post 14 first edit

Having got the footage we decided to start editing as the second shoot was scheduled for the following week. As we decided to shoot on dslr, due to several reasons including; the quality, we were considering using macro shots, the volatility of tapes, we were putting too much work into a day of filming to get back to find the tape was dodgy or the heads were clogged. We therefore put the footage through mpeg stream clip into apple prores 4444 format, the footage was then imported into FCP utilising skills learnt in the edit workshops; setting the timeline code, unticking dropped frames, adjusting autosave, etc. We created several bins as we had lots of footage with what would turn into several scenes, and renamed all of the clips, sorting them into the relevant bins. We then did a simple rough cut of what we had shot so far, most of the shots looked visually great, though there was the odd clip with poor focus or handheld movements, we also noticed that the image stabiliser in the 100mm ef usm lens worked really well in smoothing out the images whereas the small lens which had no stabiliser gave very shaky images. In doing this edit I did come across a problem, originally the experimental element to this scene was going to be over laying the tree images on the face shots to create emotional fractured veins, however, I didn't contemplate the fact that if the back ground is woods it wouldn't work because you would have woods overlaying woods and the character would be trapped inside, which wasn't what was intended, it would be too over powering and would detract from the visual effect of the face over the woods.

Experimental Post 13 First shoot day

Georgina as producer had split the day in two starting out at lunch we filmed the first scene involving the reflection in the water within the woods. I think we captured the warmth and colours that only a low winter sun can offer, this can be challenging as you naturally think that summer has the strongest or best light whereas winter is dull, grey and cold, so I think we successfuly captured the beauty of the light, time and place. We then returned to the car ate tea and went to the pub to warm back up with hot chocolates, being sub zero temperatures outside. We then waited for light to fall and went to a different location which was more accessible in the dark, then shot the second scene involving the light art animation. The day was fairly successful, we got some great shots, though we decided to miss out the loosing shoes idea, as we had no spare socks for Georgina and it was too cold for muddy feet, it may have been a bit gimmicky anyway. When we came to the light writing we found it extremely challenging to create a shape that could be repeated multiple times for animation, we ended up fairly abstract in terms of light trails. We also Experimented lighting up the protagonist, and moving to various locations which worked well, as well as lighting up a tree branch, moving different coloured torches between each shot to create movement. We learnt as we went to control our actions, listening for the sound of the shutter between each frame and considering it as an animation. Light art is challenging enough in photographic form as you can't see what your drawing, it is at least 10 times harder to then go on to consider how it can be animated, you have to have allot of imagination as you are literally creating a world that you cannot see, which is like painting an oil painting all in liquid clear. We also used some battery powered fairy lights to create a light monster, by wrapping Georgina up, as well as creating a bird shape flapping its wings and swooping towards the camera, which was fairly successful. I think some elements worked well where as others not so, and I am tempted to create a close up animation of a creature later on, as we were unable to capture this. It was a long and cold day but good fun non the less.

(One of many stills)

Experimental Project Post 12 Personal equipment list

Equipment list;
This is my individual equipment list for the first shoot which included scenes 1 and 2

550D + 100mm lens + standard
Spare Battery
Spare Memory card
Bag
Remote for camea
Warm Clothing
First Aid Kit
Survival Foil Blanket
Tripod
3 Small coloured torches
2 regular size torches
1 3.5 million candle torch
yaktrax incase of ice
origami birds
spare torch batteries
shot list
storyboard
notes
phone
car
food
drink
flask

Experimental post 11 Research/Influence

Whilst searching for examples of light art animation, so as to inspire and give clue to their workings I stumbled across 'Forest' by LichtFaktor, which seemed very relevant to our idea of lighting up the forest at night. It really works well and I think the sound track enhances the oddities of it, creating an alien feel, the sound is what makes this piece work particularly well. I think it successfully uses a mix of close ups and long takes, that show not only the forest but the creatures they've created within this space, exploring how they would interact with this. In particular I like the water shots, bouncing across the river, I'm also looking at how it's edited often having black outs between each scene of animation, which is what creates the structure to the chaos.

Experimental - post 10 - Research/influence - Andrei Tarkovsky

Andrei Tarkovsky is a brilliant cinematographer who comes to mind with the parameters or motifs within our project.  “Tarkovsky for me is the greatest, the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream.” Ingmar Bergman. This is a beautiful statement that truly reflects Tarkovsky’s work and something that I can only hope to develop and hold substance within our project; Life as a reflection, life as a dream. He creates stunning visuals, utilising recurrent themes of reflections, movements in water, billowing fires and candle lights. Viewing his work you believe the probability that it is very revealing of his personal self, displaying his thoughts and emotions on screen, particularly palatable in 'The Mirror' (1975) which is bordering on an autobiographical depiction of his life on screen. I think there is a case for arguing Tarkovsky's work as experimental in form, referring to the reading material provided by the university which states 'the film maker may want to express personal experiences or view points', an expression of an artists self is clearly visible, and the way in which he captures and develops a scene through a single take offers real alternative to mainstream cinema, it is a definite 'art film'. There are recurrent themes of the metaphysical and supernatural sides of life, rendering his work within the category of art film, beguiled with ambiguity and stepping away from convention and restraint. He moreover uses extremely long smooth takes that develops slowly through the location whilst the characters narratives progress. As previously stated I want to develop a reflection of character, whilst also capturing reflections in water, questioning the realms of what is reality? Whilst scoping for locations as previously posted, I also saw the movement of grass under a small stream, which reminded me of the opening to ‘Solaris’ (1972) where the grass waves in slow motion, which I thought would work well in creating this life as a dream idea.     

This is the most well know images from Tarkovsky's work from the film 'Stalker' (1979), which captures the beauty of reflections in water, which I want to capture whilst maybe in a differing style.

'The Mirror' (1975)

Experimental - post 9 -Shot list

Shot list;

Scene 1 – Woods

[loose shot list for woods, utilise location, be directed by what catches eye, capture visually stunning images, utilise the light of the low winter sun]

Shot no	Description
1	Long shot under tree in field
2	River rippling close up
3	Path walk past into sun, back to cam
4	(LS) approach tree for a seat, (coverage different angles/distances)
5	(CU) face
6	(OTS) walking
7	(MS)(LS)(CU) Reflections in water, (coverage + pans + Tilts) of character
8	(MS) character looking into water kneeling
9	(LS) placing paper butterflies in the water
10	(CU) butterflies trickling down stream
11	(LS) sitting by tree going to sleep
12	(OTS) into reflections in water

Scene 2 Light art Forest

[Use a stills camera with long exposure to capture light trails, experiment with depth, bring the forest to life, set camera to auto trigger, listen for sound of the shutter to guide movements]

Shot no	Description
1	(LS) Abstract Light art different colours (set stills camera to auto trigger) (STILLS)
2	(MS) tree light up branches move colours each time shutter closes (STILLS)
3	(CU) Creature animation across ground (STILLS)
4	(LS) Character in lit up flitting to various locations (STILLS)
5	(LS) vortex differing colours (STILLS)
6	(MS) characters face lit up in colour (MOVING IMAGE FILM CAMERA)

Scene 3 Paper room

Shot no	Description
1	(LS) paper room empty
2	KEEP PREVIOUS SETUP, film SAM moving different depths/positions in room, use staggered movements, looking directly at camera, saying “wake up”
3	(MS) GEORGIE poking end round paper door stepping through
4	(LS) pan of the room
5	(POV/HANDHELD) moving through the space/origami birds
6	(MS/CU) GEORGIE interacting with the space/origami
7	(MS) lying down on paper bed
8	(LS) origami butterflies poured on top of character
9	(MS) HANDHELD track over butterfly covered character
10	(MS) FIXED character going to sleep
11	MATCH 3:10 without paper

Experimental project - post 9 - initial rough treatment

This is the initial rough treatment outlining the general idea.

Dream sequence - exploring the loss of someone either through separation - portrayed through over laying images with tree branches showing the cracking up of reality. There could also be experimentation with light art photography/stop motion.
Scenes
Walking through the woods, using reflections of self in water etc. branches over face showing emotion, losing shoes, whilst looking at self's reflection in water an origami bird sails past. Lying against the tree the character goes to sleep, waking up at dusk as it goes dark the woods light up coming to life, using several still images of the same frame using light art photography, creating movement, there are whispers of someone shes lost, as a ghost in the murk, a vortex of light art opens up down the path to which the character reacts and steps forward. Cut to her shoes in the city centre with a basic cartoon of light running along a path. Cut opening the door to a bedroom covered in paper, with hanging origami and objects wrapped in paper, when audience first sees person lost, who is unobtainable disappearing and moving in placement, just out of grasp, giving up the character returns to paper covered bed, which then snaps back to reality of a dimly lit bedroom

Experimental project - post 8 - influenece/research Strange Lights

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1588432/
Earlier on in the year we were shown a documentary called Strange lights (2010), this was a highly experimental approach to documentary that utilised time lapse imagery of the night sky, and moving light trails. Taking a guess I would say that the night time stars would have been taken with a stills camera mounted on a track, that would take a series of photos over a period of time, which were then edited together to create a time lapse effect, showing the stars moving across the sky, creating a moving image. The light trails going through the encampment were probably recorded in similar ways so as not to create too much image noise by recording moving image at night. These techniques will be utilised during our experimentation, creating movement through light, so as to establish the feeling of another world, without the irritation of noise and grain.

Experimenta project - post 7 - influeneces Hammock Breathturn

During the beginning of the course someone showed this video by David Altobelli, with our project partially involves papering a room and origami there is a certain connection with  this video, although we will be taking the paper theme a whole lot further.

Experimental project - post 6 - experimenting 2

This was a test lit animation that I did it worked fairly well, it wasn't completely dark so I increased the f/ number to darken it as well as having the iso on 100 which reduces the noise being such a dark unlit shot. It took a couple of times to get the right settings as well as moving the character the right distances to give the effect of walking without too much of a gap, using a pair of shoes to try and give anchor points for which to start the animation.

Experimental project - post 5 - pitch

The next step was to pitch the idea to my group which was quite difficult due to the multiple oddities of experimental film. We met up before our first session and they seemed to like it and gave lots of different new ideas that would work well, my idea sparked their imagination which was good. Ideas included influences reminding them of 'eternal sunshine of the spotless mind' (2004) , as well as coming up with ideas of projecting images utilising light carrying on the theme of light from the light art photography, making stronger connections between scenes. I was glad they were up for it, not everyone would be willing to film in the peaks again, and they gave lots of input, having found this isn't always the case with other people I've worked with. We also divided roles, originally it was me direct/camera, George produce and grace sound, we then found out this wasn't the natural grouping and neither of the girls were that confident with editing, a role we hadnt properly assigned,and there were several more technical elements; such as layering the image of the tree with low opacity, and the stop motion effects. So I surrendered Directors role to George and took up the edit due to the specific ideas I had for camera and edit. We then pitched the idea to the tutor who thought it was strong enough with several elements of experimentation and that we should start experimenting with these ideas straight away so as to make sure that the ideas worked.

Experimental Project - post 4 - Experimenting 1

This was the image I created whilst experimenting with layering an image of a tree over the image of a face to create vein like structures across the face which could create a fractured emotional effect, of someone cracking up. I didn't have any good people images as I don't do allot of that in my photography practice, I did however have good tree canopies which I photographed on the same day as gathering the reflections. In this shot I managed to capture a bird mid flight which showed the transparency of the wings creating a nice effect, which I then used in the eye possibly to a slightly corny effect, but what really mattered was that the technique worked.

Experimental project - post 3 - initial ideas

Having the whole of Christmas to come up with an idea for this experimental project meant that I came up with quite a few ideas which were all reassuringly odd. I have for a long time now wanted to experiment with light art photography having done it before. I wanted to have a single shot of woods at night that were physically lit up by me in different colours and then have things like fairies and creatures that bought the woods to life, whilst no one was watching. This gives the photographer ultimate control as they get to choose exactly what was in shot and how you want it lit. I then wandered whether this could fit within the experimental film and whether I could animate this into a film form, conducting a little research found that there are two main ways to do this; one was to do it digitally through after effects which whilst looks good isn't quite what I wanted as I wanted physical manipulation of the image. The other more favoured approach was through stop motion animation, which whilst I have done several stop motion films in the past had never comprehended turning light art photography into this form, so I thought this would be good experimentation for the project.

 Another idea that I came up with was to have a room completely wrapped in paper with hanging origami and objects wrapped up in paper, this was an original idea to me, that wasn't knowingly informed by anything, at first it was a joke idea that was a bit of fun but the idea grew on me, it's a great way of creating a completely different world that you don't come across in real life. Also having not done very much in set design it was something I wanted to experiment with.

My third idea which was inspired whilst I was doing some of my photography in the peaks, walking through the woods I was taking photos of the bare stripped back canopies, and then there were some great reflections of these canopies in a little pond and a wide river and I thought the visual aesthetics of this were great and started thinking about it from a cinematographic perspective, not only the reflections which could be reflective of a character, but also reminded me of a new style of photography that has recently emerged which layers the trees branches over a human image creating vein like structures across a face or even landscape using opacity. I then made the obvious connection to how I could recreate this in moving image form, creating a reflective visually stunning peace that deals with the emotions of humanity. It also reminded me of a photographer that I saw on the culture show about a year back, again who I cannot remember, who used a similar technique instead using the lines of buildings to create an abstract image.

This is the footage collected when experimenting with reflections in water.

Canon 550d 100mm ef usm

Progressing from these initial ideas, I began to think about moulding all three ideas and create a dream sequence, I started by writing down all the scenes. My initial treatment involved someone going to the woods for a walk, returning to the car she finds a paper bird, drives home goes to bed, (dream state) goes to woods in car which has light art and trails of light acting as a pulling force, the woods light up around her, goes home room covered in paper. I then thought this was over thought as with previous projects so I ditched the complicated repetitive narrative that was over described which may lead to loss of interest from the viewer and went for a more economical story telling style of approach. Skipping out unnecessary traveling between scenes and the real life version of events, leading to a more compact, though still full of different elements, and therefore more interesting version of events.