Magic Lantern

Recently I was looking on some cinematography forums and I noticed somebody mention something called "Magic Lantern". This is a firmware adaptation originally developed for the Canon 5D mark II, to allow cameramen using DSLR's to have complete control over other functions in the camera that would usually be completely inaccessible. These features include complete audio level control, including turning off the cameras automatic gain control, more controllable ISO levels, aided focus, and continuous non-stop filming, useful for our time-lapses.

So even though installing this onto my camera voids my warranty I did my research and all of the reported problems with the cameras after the firmware was installed was a known Canon fault, so I decided to proceed regardless. After I installed the firmware I thought it might be important for me to get to know the ins and outs of this new system and how to use it at its best so I watched a short tutorial to find out what does what and how it is all used and I did test shots in the Sheffield botanical gardens until I felt confident that I could explain to somebody else in detail how to use it in confidence.

Overall I am very happy that I installed this firmware, it is a massive help for filming, the features are all useful and I think this will help us get better quality images on the Liverpool trip.

                                          Some of the features on magic lantern on my 550D

Pockets

http://vimeo.com/21776727 
I analysed a short documentary done for channel 4 called Pockets, it uses foxpops to see what the public of London have in their pockets and what it says about them. Throughout the film there is a very shallow depth of field, usually with the use of a focus pull to guide the audiences eye to the various focus points of the specific object. There is a mixture of sync and non sync sound, this could be because of how interesting the character is to look at e.g. if it is an interesting person there will be non sync sound to focus on the person. The underscore of music is very light-hearted and is used to keep the mood uplifting, even throughout the cutaways that are used for breathing space. There isn't a lot of talking in this, but it works because its stripped back to the complete basics, a simple idea constructed simply.

What we are taking from this is mostly how camera will be used, mostly the shallow depth of field for focus on the interesting colours and detail of the faces of our subjects, and the framing of some of the shots. I don't think we want the sound track as we want more people to be in our interviews we feel it might distract from the actual interview.

Team Meeting 2 - Choosing and developing an idea

After we had developed and pitched our treatments we had to make a decision on which idea to go with. We decided to go with the lay your love in stone idea, as we had seen a few other people pitch ideas about the Beatles  and more specifically the cavern club. So we felt like it would be better to be different and do something that is a completely different idea to everybody else's. Also the idea is a lot simpler to prepare for and manage.

This idea was partly influenced by another documentary we watched called "Pockets". I will be analysis this in a future post.

In this meeting we just started to get ideas on paper how we would prepare getting interviews for the public. We suggested getting permissions to film inside the cathedral where the peoples path was. and that we plan out where we should be at what times to get these foxpops e.g. Clayton square at 11 till 2 to catch people as they are going to lunch, the docks from 2 onwards to catch families and tourists. We wanted to get a sunrise time-lapse over the cathedral to introduce the film and a sunset over the docks to finish it to give the film a sense of time. At this time we also specified what equipment we wanted to use so Kyle (our producer) could produce an equipment list for us. We decided that we would be taking my DSLR as we have a choice of my fast lenses, and also I recently looked into downloading some new software for my camera to improve the  usefulness of it for filming (Magic lantern, there will be a seperate post on this later) and it is much more portable than the Z1's. Because of me producing the camera we collectively decided I would now be the main camera assistant to aid Jack in the use of magic lantern.

Team Meeting 1- Idea development

In our first team meeting between me, Kyle Piercy, Anthony Wilson, Jack Roberts, James Webb and Reece Ronan we wanted to talk about which individual roles we wanted to do, what stories we have looked at, and how we are going to develop two ideas for a treatment.
However before all of this we created a Facebook group so it would be easy for us to keep each other updated on how our roles are going, and to organise any future meetings. I have used this method to organise all of my previous projects, all the way back to 6th form, and it has never failed.
After we sorted out our main use of communication.

Brainstorming

The Beatles origins - The Cavern Club
For this we wanted to get an interview with the owner and any of the audience in an interview to see what it meant to them. We also wanted to use archive footage of the original club and get a history for us to show to the audience. We would be getting the newspaper article from anywhere in history. This idea was selected for one of our main treatments.

Liverpool transvestites - Apparently there is a large area of liverpool dedicated to transvestites  We were thinking of getting a night out with a transvestite and filming all the getting ready and heading for a night out with them and having it recorded. We decided against this in fear of unintentionally portraying them in a negative manner.

The Docks - We knew that the docks had a strong history to do with the war and the titanic, we were thinking of doing a history up to the present but decided against it as it has a very heavily factual base and
it might bore our audience.

Our final idea was directly influenced by something that we saw in a local Liverpool paper. At the main cathedral there is a path that for valentines day couples could donate some money to get their names inscribed on a brick of this path. We would be getting foxpops of people in the public to get their views on what love is, and what it means to them as a concept. We chose to do this as our secondary treatment as it is a different idea, and we thought that the other groups wouldn't have anything that is similar to this.

After we decided on which two ideas to do our treatment on we decided on roles. James said he felt comfortable being in charge with the creative decisions with the ideas we had and wanted to take on the role of director. Kyle offered to be the producer, Jack wanted to try camera, and Ant wanted to do sound recording, and Reece wanted to do Editing. Which left me to do sound editing. Luckily we all ended up doing what we wanted to do, so there wasn't any conflict. I wanted to do something to do with sound just because I haven't had much experience with it yet.

Introduction to Documentaries

After we got back from our Christmas holidays we were introduced to our next assignment - Documentaries. We first looked at different types of documentaries and looked at specific examples to attempt to identify the different types. These are the different areas of documentary and how they are defined:

Observational Documentary - This is where the camera is used specifically to observe a subject as they go about their business. The documentary maker tends not to get involved onscreen and usually uses a narration to get across his or her point.
Direct Cinema Documentary - This is where the director is continuously involved throughout the film, he usually does direct interviews to gain his information on camera.
Educational Documentary - Involves in depth research into a specific subject and is portrayed on camera in a simplified way to help the audience understand.
Poetic Documentary - An experimental form of documentary, often uses metaphores or experimental footage to indirectly get a point across.
Investigative Documentary - A journalistic approach to an in depth subject, usually through the use of formal, sit down interviews.
Collage Documentary - An approach to  documentary that uses a mixture of different media and archive footage.

After we were given these definitions we were shown a series of documentary films, i am going to analyse one of these.

Skateistan: To Live and Skate Kabul by Orlando Von Einsiedek (2010)
This is an observational documentary about how young people cope with the war in Afghanistan through the outlet of skateboarding. Throughout this film there are stunning visuals, with stunning composition of the landscapes are architecture of the country (which i never knew existed). To contrast this we see the negative side of the country affected by the war, and what it has done to the people. To support these visuals there is a soundtrack that supports what the main skater is saying. When he is talking about the war the soundtrack is very sinister, and at one point it actually blocks out most of the sound so we only hear the bass of the skateboard flipping, this provides a shellshocked feel for the audience which emphasises that current negative mood. Throughout the film we gain our information from the main subjects through the use of non-sync sound. This is good because it allows us to focus on the place, and the effects it has on people in general, rather than the specific person.