Documentary - TEST SHOOT
Introduction HOME SHOOT
I decided to do test shoots to ensure that I was aware of the troubles that could arise during shoot week, I also wanted the opportunity to use Filmic Pro. As I have not used it before but I have done research on it, I'm excited to to see if my research comes into practice and I get some good quality shots with my Iphone.
What went well?
Overall, it was really beneficial to plan three future shots I am wanting to put forward for the documentary. As DP however with the current circumstances I have found it really hard to put forward footage to be used and fulfill my job role. I had planned to do three shots which you can see below as well as the stock footage I have discussed in another blog post and already put forward to our editor Stan. It's hard to find footage that would be relevant to our documentary of Fake News at home, so I attempted to film shots that could be used to segway into another part of the documentary without the shot being to busy, I thought this would allow the viewers to be focused on the narration; However, it is important everything is relevant, so it was extremely hard to film things at home on this occasion.
Overall, I am happy with the shots I created, the focus reel and settings on Filmic pro were really useful to improve the quality of the footage I created for the documentary. I also wanted to ensure I keep the professional standard, so it was really interesting to see the impact filmic pro research had on the shots. I also like the visual affects of the shots and the impact I feel they will have within our documentary, the focus on the leaves blowing through the wind I feel poetically shows a moment that could allow our audience time to think about the information we have provided. I also feel as if it could be a good transition shot to be used so that the focus isn't taken of the narration when moving in-between interviews.
What I would of liked to improve?
I'm going to ensure that when I come to recording the actual footage for the documentary clips I am putting forward, I ensure that I get as good lighting as possible and review the weather. Within my test shoot, I feel I didn't practice and check with the weather. Due to the fact the weather was not as sunny, the lighting seems to be quite dark which also means its harder to edit in post. By ensuring that the lighting is brighter and I have checked the weather, this should be beneficial when I come to shooting for the documentary, as it allows the clip to be made brighter in post if needed and it also brings a happier tone to the clip, as we do not want colours of shots to impact how the audience take on our information. For example, if the shot of the leaves blowing in the wind was really dark and the weather looked bad, I wouldn't want the audience to think it was symbolic to the impact of Fake News.
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Introduction ZOOM SHOOT
Although I am not the one recording the zoom interviews on my laptop, I still wanted to ensure I knew the best ways to get the best from zoom by doing a test shoot. George is screen recording the interviews on his laptop as he has a game-card for his computer which can screen record to the best quality.
Again, as DP its extremely hard in current circumstances to fully fulfill the job role especially when I don't have access to a screen recording game card. As I mentioned above, I still want to do everything I can as DP to provide information on getting the best shots and how to get the best out of zoom which is why I wanted to conduct a test shoot.
Sound
From the screen recordings I took, I found that the best audio was when the laptop was right in front of me, meaning that we want to try an ensure that the laptop the contributor is using that it is in camera view of head and shoulders. This should mean that they're close enough to the audio to hope that it is clear and precise. I did a few examples of what good and bad audio would be below, this was beneficial because it means I can put forward this evidence to the group so we can arrange the contributor if needed when we come to doing the actual interviews.
I feel this is the best way for our contributors to be and when setting up the call we should explain we wish for a head and shoulders shot, I feel this looks the most professional. Although, my research shows interviews should be held of center to the left or right. Due to circumstances and needing to use Zoom, I feel to ensure we let the audience engage with what the contributor is saying and because we have no control over the contributors background in their own home, that center head and shoulders is the best shot.
Image and Lighting
As I mentioned above, I feel the head and shoulders shot is most appropriate for our interviews and from doing the tests shoots, can see this is the best image and shot, that looks the best and most professional. Below is three examples of how the laptop could be used and positioned; however, i clearly feel the head and shoulders shot is not only better for sound but also looks the best.
I also found it harder to find natural light, the shots as you can see to begin with are quite dark, however, I then followed some research below which helped my lighting issue.
In an article written for an online magazine company 'Indie Wire' writer Noam Kroll states 'with the sun behind them, they will naturally have a backlight that will separate them from the background and create a nice rim around their heads, with nice even lighting on their face.' (Kroll, 2013). In the article he discusses how you can use natural lighting to create a nice shot with natural and even lighting. As he mentioned, he suggests using the sun as a backlight and to always shoot facing that way. So I could test the theory to see if this created the best source of light for our interviews I decided to also move the test shoot to see if this theory worked.
As you can see with the interview being inside and not outside, it is harder for the lighting to have the same effect through a window, however, I do think it creates nicer lighting and lights the camera on the laptop evenly. I will suggest to the group now that we should attempt to guide the contributor into sitting in front of natural sun light if possible.
I feel by using the natural light as research showed, it also helps separate the face from the background which I feel is beneficial.
Overall and how we could improve Zoom use.
From my test shoots, it's clear that we need to ensure we can instruct our contributors in a polite and professional manor, due to circumstances we are unable to conduct the interview in person and will have to work through the issue. From doing the test shoots, I was really pleased with how the shot was lined up when directly in front of the laptop with a head and shoulders shot. I also think it's important we factor in lighting and sound as much as we can, although I agree the head and shoulders shot looks the most professional, I also think this is the best way to get sound because the contributor is close to the laptop and the built in mic.
I would also like to try and influence the lighting when possible, from my shoot I can see that having natural lighting around from sun (if possible) and through windows is the best way to get lighting and natural light. Especially as some household lights can be quite yellowy or white lighting, which could influence the colour of the interview if they're sitting directly underneath the light. I would like all the shots to be the same colour between each interview, so we need to attempt to avoid having the interviews with each contributor a completely different colour.
Bibliography
Krou, N. (2013) 'How to shoot with Natural Light: 10 Tips' In: Indiewire 07/10/2013. At: https://www.indiewire.com/2013/10/how-to-shoot-with-natural-light-10-tips-34217/ (Accessed 05/04/2020)
I decided to do test shoots to ensure that I was aware of the troubles that could arise during shoot week, I also wanted the opportunity to use Filmic Pro. As I have not used it before but I have done research on it, I'm excited to to see if my research comes into practice and I get some good quality shots with my Iphone.
What went well?
Overall, it was really beneficial to plan three future shots I am wanting to put forward for the documentary. As DP however with the current circumstances I have found it really hard to put forward footage to be used and fulfill my job role. I had planned to do three shots which you can see below as well as the stock footage I have discussed in another blog post and already put forward to our editor Stan. It's hard to find footage that would be relevant to our documentary of Fake News at home, so I attempted to film shots that could be used to segway into another part of the documentary without the shot being to busy, I thought this would allow the viewers to be focused on the narration; However, it is important everything is relevant, so it was extremely hard to film things at home on this occasion.
Overall, I am happy with the shots I created, the focus reel and settings on Filmic pro were really useful to improve the quality of the footage I created for the documentary. I also wanted to ensure I keep the professional standard, so it was really interesting to see the impact filmic pro research had on the shots. I also like the visual affects of the shots and the impact I feel they will have within our documentary, the focus on the leaves blowing through the wind I feel poetically shows a moment that could allow our audience time to think about the information we have provided. I also feel as if it could be a good transition shot to be used so that the focus isn't taken of the narration when moving in-between interviews.
With the shot above, I wanted to attempt a focus pull, so the shot is slightly out of focus and it then gains focus and the leaves blow.
With the shot above, I wanted to again try a focus pull on the social media page we have agreed use for with the owner who is a contributor of ours.
What I would of liked to improve?
I'm going to ensure that when I come to recording the actual footage for the documentary clips I am putting forward, I ensure that I get as good lighting as possible and review the weather. Within my test shoot, I feel I didn't practice and check with the weather. Due to the fact the weather was not as sunny, the lighting seems to be quite dark which also means its harder to edit in post. By ensuring that the lighting is brighter and I have checked the weather, this should be beneficial when I come to shooting for the documentary, as it allows the clip to be made brighter in post if needed and it also brings a happier tone to the clip, as we do not want colours of shots to impact how the audience take on our information. For example, if the shot of the leaves blowing in the wind was really dark and the weather looked bad, I wouldn't want the audience to think it was symbolic to the impact of Fake News.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction ZOOM SHOOT
Although I am not the one recording the zoom interviews on my laptop, I still wanted to ensure I knew the best ways to get the best from zoom by doing a test shoot. George is screen recording the interviews on his laptop as he has a game-card for his computer which can screen record to the best quality.
Again, as DP its extremely hard in current circumstances to fully fulfill the job role especially when I don't have access to a screen recording game card. As I mentioned above, I still want to do everything I can as DP to provide information on getting the best shots and how to get the best out of zoom which is why I wanted to conduct a test shoot.
Sound
From the screen recordings I took, I found that the best audio was when the laptop was right in front of me, meaning that we want to try an ensure that the laptop the contributor is using that it is in camera view of head and shoulders. This should mean that they're close enough to the audio to hope that it is clear and precise. I did a few examples of what good and bad audio would be below, this was beneficial because it means I can put forward this evidence to the group so we can arrange the contributor if needed when we come to doing the actual interviews.
A bad example of how we should be trying to set up our contributors. Due to me being so far back from the laptop, the audio isn't as clear, the image also looks distorted and it leaves a lot of empty background which isn't relevant to our documentary and doesn't need to be there as my research has shown, the background should be relevant and interesting for the viewer.
I feel this is the best way for our contributors to be and when setting up the call we should explain we wish for a head and shoulders shot, I feel this looks the most professional. Although, my research shows interviews should be held of center to the left or right. Due to circumstances and needing to use Zoom, I feel to ensure we let the audience engage with what the contributor is saying and because we have no control over the contributors background in their own home, that center head and shoulders is the best shot.
Image and Lighting
As I mentioned above, I feel the head and shoulders shot is most appropriate for our interviews and from doing the tests shoots, can see this is the best image and shot, that looks the best and most professional. Below is three examples of how the laptop could be used and positioned; however, i clearly feel the head and shoulders shot is not only better for sound but also looks the best.
I also found it harder to find natural light, the shots as you can see to begin with are quite dark, however, I then followed some research below which helped my lighting issue.
In an article written for an online magazine company 'Indie Wire' writer Noam Kroll states 'with the sun behind them, they will naturally have a backlight that will separate them from the background and create a nice rim around their heads, with nice even lighting on their face.' (Kroll, 2013). In the article he discusses how you can use natural lighting to create a nice shot with natural and even lighting. As he mentioned, he suggests using the sun as a backlight and to always shoot facing that way. So I could test the theory to see if this created the best source of light for our interviews I decided to also move the test shoot to see if this theory worked.
As you can see with the interview being inside and not outside, it is harder for the lighting to have the same effect through a window, however, I do think it creates nicer lighting and lights the camera on the laptop evenly. I will suggest to the group now that we should attempt to guide the contributor into sitting in front of natural sun light if possible.
Overall and how we could improve Zoom use.
From my test shoots, it's clear that we need to ensure we can instruct our contributors in a polite and professional manor, due to circumstances we are unable to conduct the interview in person and will have to work through the issue. From doing the test shoots, I was really pleased with how the shot was lined up when directly in front of the laptop with a head and shoulders shot. I also think it's important we factor in lighting and sound as much as we can, although I agree the head and shoulders shot looks the most professional, I also think this is the best way to get sound because the contributor is close to the laptop and the built in mic.
I would also like to try and influence the lighting when possible, from my shoot I can see that having natural lighting around from sun (if possible) and through windows is the best way to get lighting and natural light. Especially as some household lights can be quite yellowy or white lighting, which could influence the colour of the interview if they're sitting directly underneath the light. I would like all the shots to be the same colour between each interview, so we need to attempt to avoid having the interviews with each contributor a completely different colour.
Bibliography
Krou, N. (2013) 'How to shoot with Natural Light: 10 Tips' In: Indiewire 07/10/2013. At: https://www.indiewire.com/2013/10/how-to-shoot-with-natural-light-10-tips-34217/ (Accessed 05/04/2020)
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