Game Trailer: Filming day

Today was the day we set out to film our shots for our live-action game trailer. This included getting the equipment ready and quickly learning how to use it properly. As the cameraman, my job was to film the shots. This meant I would have to keep the camera steady when needed to and get good shots.

But beforehand, we needed to set up one of the actors to make him look like the killer we were referencing. By doing that, we had to put makeup on him to make him look like he had scars and wounds. This part was time-consuming as we had to set it up and wait for it to dry. Once that was done, we set out to start filming.

The most difficult part of this was getting a good version of the running tracking shot as there wasn’t much space for me to run. Not only that but getting the camera setup well was just as difficult. It’s not easy getting a tracking shot with a still camera. A technique we decided on was to use the stabiliser upside down which would help reduce the shakiness of the camera when running. The footage would appear upside down but we can easily change that in premiere pro.

The majority of these shots that I gathered I felt like I could have done better. Something about the way I did it feels lower in quality. In some cases, I think its the camera work. Although I do like some of the shots too, for example, the tracking shots I do like as they help with motion and framing the important aspects of the shot. An input I would make would be to have shots that track the running as I feel this would help emphasise the fact that the character is being chased, rather than just still running shots.

Film Noir Evaluation

Our objective for this topic was to make a Film Noir based on a story we had to follow. We were split up into groups of 4 and were assigned different roles among the 4 people in the 4 group. The Film was about a man who recently committed a murder as he was ordered to do so. 4 Different scenes were given to us and we were assigned to do one of the 4 scenes. We got scene 1, where a person enters an office, pours a glass of wine, only to get a phone call where the same person proceeds to ask “is it done?”

The filming

The filming process went well. I had to take on the role of being the cameraman and so I was in charge of getting the camera shots right. A difficult task was actually getting some of the camera shots due to the position they were in, for example, the close up of the phone had to be filmed behind the table. Despite this, I feel like the shot was pretty decent as they helped convey the scenario and scenery.

For the camera shots, I feel like they could have been improved upon seeing as some of the shots has a lack of good field of view. Alongside this, I could have done a better job at aligning the camera correctly and possibly keeping it still in some shots. One side note I’d make is that I felt like most of the shots that we got were too long, which would be good to make the beginning slow as it is at the start, but was a little too slow in my opinion.

Editing

As for the editing, I figured it could have been done better. First of all, mainly due to the fact that most of the shots that we had were very long and instead of cutting most of them up I left the majority. Though it was rushed due to time and so changes will be applied later to make it better.

On top of that, the sound design was okay as well, Though the choice of music at the beginning compared to the end is a little off as I don’t think they go well together. One could argue and say that its to represent the change in scenery but personally, something else could have been better to fit.

What I liked

My favourite parts would have to be the sound for the man waking up in the room. We wanted to emphasise the feeling of isolation in that scene and so sounds similar to ones you’d hear in horror felt like a good choice. The beating heartbeat is to represent the fact that he woke up, nervous and not knowing where he is, then it increases as he tries to open the door, showing his true fear as he realises he’s trapped. The ambient sound that builds up is also to emphasise this further.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the film noir could have been done better, but it wasn’t the worst in the world. Most of the shots run on for too long and it probably would have been better to cut them down more and even rearrange them to better narrate the storyline. As a result, it probably wouldn’t bore people as much. Though I do like some of the shots, especially the ones that take place outside, and some of the sounds and music used too which helps define the scenario and scene, Though not all of it.

Camera shot types

The following pictures have been done in a programme called Source Filmmaker, where I set up the scenes. I also did not create the characters or the scenery, I just set up the cameras and the characters

ECU (Extreme close up)

Extreme close-ups represent emotion, the fact that the camera is so close up is meant to show all the details of the object or persons face and the emotions. This gives a dramatic effect.

LS (Long shot)

Long shots are used for setting a scene. This is also used for getting a good shot of the surroundings in the scene to better understand the scenario and location.

Worms eye

A camera view from the ground looking up used to give the illusion that the object in front looks bigger. It can be used to make something look intimidating. Normally the camera has a slightly higher FOV (Field of view) to emphasise it.

Establishing shot

This shot type acts as an introduction to the scenery. Depending on the environment, this can also help show the mood and tone of the scene.

Pull focus start

Pull Focus Start is where there are two objects or characters in a scene and the one more distant to the one near the camera is blurred. This is to show the importance of the main subject of the scene. It is also used to draw the attention of the viewer to the specific location.

Pull focus end

Pull Focus End is pretty much the same thing but in reverse. Instead, the character or object closes to the camera is blurred for the same reasons as before.

Dutch angle

A Dutch angle is used in horror movies most of the time and involves tilting the camera to a certain degree. It’s used to give an unsettling feeling to the viewer to make them feel on edge or disturbed.

MS (Medium shot)

A Medium shot is where most of the character is in the shot, preferably the top half of the character. In combination with getting a good shot of the character with the background, this can convey emotion.

Birdseye

A shot from above the scene which captures the entire landscape. It is used to capture the scenery and size of the location for a dramatic effect.

Pan start and Pan End

Camera moving from left…

To right

Where the camera moves from one position to another to capture the scene. This can include characters but doesn’t every time.

CU (Close up)

This shot type is used to convey emotion and it helps to put more emphasis on said emotion with the shot type. The more close-up, the more detail goes into the emotion.

Eadweard Muybridge

Eadweard Muybridge, original name Edward James Muggeridge.

He was born on April 9, 1830, Kingston upon Thames and died May 8, 1904. He was an English photographer important for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion and in motion-picture projection.

In 1860, while travelling to the East Coast en route to England, Muybridge was involved in a stagecoach accident. Muybridge received serious head injuries and received serious head injuries. As a result, he suffered from double vision and confusion, and friends noticed a difference in his behaviour.

The process of his discovery

Eadweard began his experiments in photographing motion in 1872 when Leland Stanford hired him to prove that during a particular moment in a trotting horse’s gait, all four legs are off the ground at the same time. His first attempts were unsuccessful because his camera didn’t have a fast shutter. The project was then interrupted while Muybridge was being tried for the murder of his wife’s lover. He found it convenient to travel for a number of years in Mexico and Central America, making public photographs for the Union Pacific Railroad, a company owned by Stanford.

In 1877 he returned to California and resumed his experiments in motion photography, using a battery of from 12 to 24 cameras and a special shutter he created that captures images at a really fast pace, specifically, an exposure of ²/₁₀₀₀ of a second. This arrangement proved Stanford’s contention.

In 1883, Muybridge was invited to continue his research at the University of Pennsylvania and for the next few years made thousands of photographs of humans and animals in motion. Near the end of his life, he published several books featuring his motion photographs and toured Europe and North America, presenting his photographic methods using a projection device he’d developed called the Zoopraxiscope.

The zoopraxiscope is an early device for displaying motion pictures. Created by Eadweard Muybridge in 1879, it is considered to be the first movie projector.

Muybridge died of prostate cancer on May 8, 1904, at his birthplace. His contributions to art and photography inspired many other inventors, including Thomas Edison and Étienne-Jules Marey. Muybridge’s innovative camera techniques enabled people to see things otherwise too fast to comprehend, and his sequence images continue to inspire artists from other disciplines to this day.

The horse in motion

 When a horse trots or gallops, does it ever become fully airborne? This was the question photographer Eadweard Muybridge set out to answer in 1878. Railroad tycoon and former California governor Leland Stanford was convinced the answer was yes and commissioned Muybridge to provide proof. Muybridge developed a way to take photos with an exposure lasting a fraction of a second and, with reporters as witnesses, arranged 12 cameras along a track on Stanford’s estate.