In my production, I want to capture elements that I have never attempted before, such as successfully filming in low key lighting and following someone on a bicycle. Rather than winging everything on the day of filming, I knew research would have to be done. This is a catalog of all my findings and what I will use come filming day.
My first thought went to lighting the feature. I imagined the setting to be a dimly lit, suspicious looking space. In order to capture this, I have to use low key lighting. Of course, I don’t have key lights at my disposal, so I researched how to use low key lighting in photography (which I can transfer to film, and a brief article about colors in low key light. I found that the best way to get the low key lighting effect is to use only one bright light in a dark space. The light must be behind the camera, off to the side, shining on the subject of interest. I think I will do this by having an iPhone, with the flashlight enabled, held by another person who is aiming the light at what I will be filming. I also learned that warmer and brighter tones look better in low key lighting than cool tones, so my characters will be dressed in vibrant colors, and the items they are working with will have a strong hue as well. Since I am shooting on an iPhone, I looked into tips on using an iPhone camera in the dark. I thought the best tip from this article was to change the exposure level on the camera. I simply have to tap the screen until I find the best focus in the limited lighting I have, and the image should appear much nicer than if I had simply begun shooting. I will also edit my footage with a filter if it appears too dark.
I also knew there would be the struggle of filming a person on a bike in motion. I decided to read articles about making your own camera dolly, and tips on shooting someone riding a bike. Since I own one and it is convenient for me, I found the idea of sitting in an office chair with a camera to be a great idea, as I could be pushed around next to the person I am filming at their pace, faster, or even slower, to achieve a dolly look. The little tips I read about shooting a biking scene proved useful because they pointed out that I could include many closeups, such as feet on the pedals, the bike wheels, and the subject’s face, so I will not have to run, or be pushed in an office chair, alongside the bike for too long.
Since I am creating an action flick, I wanted combat to be present. I obviously don't have professional actors who can feign fighting, so I must use sound foley to do so. This video showed me an effective ways to achieve the noise of punching, such as punching raw meat, and lightly hitting raw meat or cabbage with a baseball bat. Other elements, such as the noise of shuffling feet and a struggle, can be captured by standing on a box and banging your feet around, as well as falling on the box. Of course, I will also need to record my actors making grunting noises, showing they are exuding force.
I plan to test all of these techniques before the time to film comes; yet, I have high hopes that these will prove to be successful!
My first thought went to lighting the feature. I imagined the setting to be a dimly lit, suspicious looking space. In order to capture this, I have to use low key lighting. Of course, I don’t have key lights at my disposal, so I researched how to use low key lighting in photography (which I can transfer to film, and a brief article about colors in low key light. I found that the best way to get the low key lighting effect is to use only one bright light in a dark space. The light must be behind the camera, off to the side, shining on the subject of interest. I think I will do this by having an iPhone, with the flashlight enabled, held by another person who is aiming the light at what I will be filming. I also learned that warmer and brighter tones look better in low key lighting than cool tones, so my characters will be dressed in vibrant colors, and the items they are working with will have a strong hue as well. Since I am shooting on an iPhone, I looked into tips on using an iPhone camera in the dark. I thought the best tip from this article was to change the exposure level on the camera. I simply have to tap the screen until I find the best focus in the limited lighting I have, and the image should appear much nicer than if I had simply begun shooting. I will also edit my footage with a filter if it appears too dark.
I also knew there would be the struggle of filming a person on a bike in motion. I decided to read articles about making your own camera dolly, and tips on shooting someone riding a bike. Since I own one and it is convenient for me, I found the idea of sitting in an office chair with a camera to be a great idea, as I could be pushed around next to the person I am filming at their pace, faster, or even slower, to achieve a dolly look. The little tips I read about shooting a biking scene proved useful because they pointed out that I could include many closeups, such as feet on the pedals, the bike wheels, and the subject’s face, so I will not have to run, or be pushed in an office chair, alongside the bike for too long.
Since I am creating an action flick, I wanted combat to be present. I obviously don't have professional actors who can feign fighting, so I must use sound foley to do so. This video showed me an effective ways to achieve the noise of punching, such as punching raw meat, and lightly hitting raw meat or cabbage with a baseball bat. Other elements, such as the noise of shuffling feet and a struggle, can be captured by standing on a box and banging your feet around, as well as falling on the box. Of course, I will also need to record my actors making grunting noises, showing they are exuding force.
I plan to test all of these techniques before the time to film comes; yet, I have high hopes that these will prove to be successful!
“The Complete Beginner's Guide to Shooting Low Key.” Photo & Video Envato Tuts+, photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/the-complete-beginners-guide-to-shooting-low-key--photo-3427. Accessed 18 Mar. 2017.
“High Key Low Key Color Lesson.” Sensational Color, 30 Apr. 2015, www.sensationalcolor.com/understanding-color/theory/high-key-low-key-color#.WMvfIpH3ahA. Accessed 18 Mar. 2017.
Bentum, Kwe. “9 Essential Tips For Amazing IPhone Night Photography.” IPhone Photography School, 10 Mar. 2017, iphonephotographyschool.com/shoot-at-night/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2017.
Renée, V. “Get Pro Quality Camera Moves with These Household DIY Dolly Hacks.” No Film School, 13 Aug. 2014, nofilmschool.com/2014/08/pro-camera-moves-household-diy-dolly-hacks. Accessed 18 Mar. 2017.
“How to Shoot a Scene of Someone Riding a Bike?” Filming - How to Shoot a Scene of Someone Riding a Bike? - Video Production Stack Exchange, video.stackexchange.com/questions/14852/how-to-shoot-a-scene-of-someone-riding-a-bike. Accessed 18 Mar. 2017.
Noisysid. “Sound Effects - Foley Fist Fighting Family Feud! Pt 2.” YouTube, YouTube, 2 Apr. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ing8N16rXwk. Accessed 18 Mar. 2017.
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