Broadcast Show - 4K and Storytelling in filmmaking

I attended two seminars at the Broadcast show by Philip Bloom, these were on '4K' and 'Storytelling in flim-making'. The following are notes and thoughts on these seminars:

4K

-  4K is '4x better than HD' - it allows great scope for cropping and zooming in edits for a HD film without losing any picture quality dependent on which camera is used.

- However using 4K shouldn't be an excuse for lazy cinematography and shot choice.

- Expensive - 4K takes up a lot of data (4xHD) so hard-drives are important - as well as equipment/camera

- There aren't really any screens that can show 4K, (cheapest are around £5,000) any uploads online and the quality is reduced.

The below are videos illustrating how 4K cameras can be used to record a concert (Muse's) and what this entails.

Story telling, filmmaking

- The creativity is important, whilst good gear helps often having limited tech can help innovation and give better ideas. A camera will help, but won't make you better.

- Try and understand everything

- Pre production is very important.

- Learn from mistakes and improve your ability.

- Push yourself and take chances in your work.

- A showreel should be a max of 3 mins, it should be short and snappy with best stuff at the start (to grab attention).

Colour in Film - 'Fantasy and Childhood' and quick Concept Art

Stills from a range of films covering fantasy/fairytale/childhood

Though I'm looking at a range of films of varying genres, I've mainly been focusing on films that have  a 'Portal story' narrative, as visually these create a noticeable contrast between the 'real' world and the imaginary, fantasy or magical world that child  (usually a child) visits. The colours used to evoke a 'magical' world vary, and there is no one formula since each world is different. However, the contrast and vibrancy seem to change, colour making a bolder impact than in the 'real' world.

Stills from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005)

The concept of 'red' is interesting, and changes dependent on context, but always seems a theme in childhood and fairytales - a prime example being 'Little Red Riding Hood'. Whether it be Mr Tumnus' scarf, or Captain Hook's outfit, red can signify life as well as danger. A chapter of my essay will delve into this concept, as I research into colour theory, and specific colours connotations. 

Stills from Peter Pan (2003)

Below is some initial concept art as I begin to think of colour and the subject matter for the practical element of this module. The 'forest' seems like a common theme in the films I have been looking at, and offer that 'natural, magical' world for children to escape into - linking with the 'fairytale' aspect of childhood. It seems fitting then for me to try and film in the woods, and create changes in atmosphere with colour, for example, reds and golds acting as the 'warm' fantasy world.

Researching similar 'Forest' short films and colour grades

I am interested in filming in a forest to suggest a 'fairytale environment', therefore I have looked at similar themed 'short films' to gather some ideas.

bird's soul from igor_kiselev on Vimeo.

En El Bosque . . . from milkandblue on Vimeo.

In these films, there is a sense of calm and wonderment, through slow panning movements and close ups of elements of the forest. There seems to be a trend of antiquation in the colour of these pieces, whilst this is visually pleasing, as part of my research/experimentation I will have to vary this. In my opinion these colour schemes signify the ethereal and ancient nature of the forest, rather than that of 'fantasy'. The 'silent' visitor of the forest also seems to be a recurring film in these types of film, they offer some form of interest to the piece. With my practical I could possibly have a person explore a forest, without speaking they won't detract from the visuals as much.

 

Growing is Forever from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

This latter video doesn't involve a person, instead relying on spoken words and imagery. If I am interested in creating a film that mainly focuses on the use of colour, perhaps this would be a way of expressing this. However, the implication is that the spoken word would be the main indicator of narrative, so perhaps the 'silent' visitor of the forest would be a better narrative element than the above. The general consensus in these films however, is that the forest should be marvelled at and illustrated with pondering, long shots and slow music. These are perhaps elements I will incorporate into my piece.

Introduction, After Effects Tutorials and Initial Test. (COP Practical)

Introduction to COP3:

I'm investigating the use of colour in film, specifically, how it is used to evoke and suggest child-like fantasy.

For the practical aspect of my COP I want to create a 'short' film (a few minutes long), where the tone and suggestion of fantasy is mainly expressed through colour, whether this be created in-shot, post-production or both. With this in mind I've started playing with After Effects again.

Something that has caught my interest is 'Day for Night' shooting and editing, where footage is shot in the day but edited to look like night, so I found this tutorial relevant. 

Day for Night:

http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorial/day_to_night_conversion/

(Tips given for filming: Shoot in shade, don't over expose/bring down exposure) 

Using some old footage I took when walking along the canal, I started to follow the tutorial, but given the nature of my footage (the trees obstructing the sky a lot) I ended up changing the colours, instead giving it a golden /sunset feel, instead of full blue darkness. The sky between trees has ended up being quite fuzzy/pixelated when viewed at a larger scale. For my final practical I want to shoot in the woods, so would have to take into account tree obstruction and how that can be dealt with/ edited without looking too scruffy.

Footage transitions from original to adjusted

 (sky and water coloured, highlight added to hill and overall footage darkened and changed)

There is a preset for Day for Night (http://www.videocopilot.net/preset/day_for_night_starter/) (Possibly for future use)

Below are further tutorials I want to watch and perhaps try out, to help the basis of my understanding of post-production on footage.

http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorial/simple_bleach_bypass/

http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/basic_sky_replacement/

http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials/advanced_soft_keying/