First Take (Implementation)

Storyboard part 2 (planning)

To faithfully recreate the scenes from the original film, it's crucial to include all of these shots. Each one serves a specific purpose, helping to replicate the composition, visual rhythm, framing, and narrative style the director employed in the original scene.

 

High angle, two shot, deep focus, 

Shallow focus, eye level, dolly

Low angle, tracking dolly, two shot

What I learned: These six shots (in combination with Part 1) constitute the most important parts of the three scenes. And they are the most important because they are necessary for the context of the scene and the narrative of the film.

Storyboard Part 1 (Planning)

 Before a film is shot, the film is already made, but in drawings. As a cinematographer, after a lot of research, my second step was to break down the scene to transform it into a simpler visual sequence: a storyboard.

(A storyboard is a guide where each panel represents how I want the story to look.)

The first thing I did was look at and analyze the entire extract. Then, I divided it into three scenes (according to the changes in location). The three scenes are: (scene one: the exterior of the ship, scene two: the interior of the ship, scene three: the exterior of the ship again).

Then, I divided the scenes (3) into the important moments, as simply as possible (6 key shots) and then turned them into vignettes. Then I drew each shot, trying to be as accurate as possible, because my goal is to capture the essence and techniques of each shot. And by that I mean camera angle and movement. 

Here are the most important shots from the storyboard:

Wide Establishing shot, low angle, zoom in

Medium shot, Two shot, eye level, tracking shot 

Bird’s eye, crane, POV, short shot 

Research (Camera movements)

After doing some basic research on cinematography, I started watching the Swede scene that my team and I are filming. The iconic "I'm the king of the world" scene from Titanic. As a cinematographer, my role is to analyze each shot of the scene and identify the angles, movements, shot types, and other elements.

Still video from Titanic (1997) 'I'm the king of the world'

After analyzing the scene MULTIPLE times in detail, SECOND BY SECOND, and after identifying every element, I realized that a large part of it was wrong—because I confuse Pan shots with Crane shots. This made me realize that I still need to do a lot of research to plan shots properly. Despite having some things wrong, the time wasn't wasted; you learn from your mistakes, so I decided to strengthen my knowledge specifically about shot types and movements to have a good analysis of the scene and be prepared for production.

I watched this video to gain a better understanding of the topic:

Film Glossary: Shot Movement (Dolly, Crane, Track, Zoom, Tilt, Pan)

The video explanation was masterful; this is what I learned:

Camera movements (where the camera physically moves): dolly/track and crane.

In the dolly shot, the camera physically moves towards the subject; the proportions between the subject and the background change, better mimicking the feeling of moving forward in space.

In the track, the camera moves parallel to the subject; the viewer moves along with the subject.

In the crane shot, the camera physically moves toward or away from the subject; this causes a change in the proportions of the background.

Camera movements (where the camera remains static): zoom, pan, and tilt.

In zoom, the camera uses the lens to move closer to or further away from the subject; the subject and the background change size at the same rate.

In pan, the camera rotates, following the subject from a fixed point; it gives the feeling that the subject is moving closer and further away.

In tilt, the camera moves up or down while remaining at a fixed point; the proportions of the subject and background remain constant.

Research (How to film a POV)

 How to film a POV

What is a POV?

According to Google, a POV is a technique that shows the audience what a specific character is seeing from their own perspective, immersing the viewer in the story and creating a subjective experience.

Throughout the 'I'm the king of the world' scene in Titanic, there are many shots from Jack and Fabrizio's point of view as they watch the dolphins. As a cinematographer, I need to know the correct way to film a POV shot, as the techniques are very important for success.

The video I watched for my research:

How to Film Cinematic POV Shots with a Magic Arm

What I learned through my Google search and the video I watched:

The camera mimics the character's eye level and movement, it often includes some natural shake to mimic human movement. It can show hands or parts of the body to make the perspective more believable. It creates emotional immersion (POV shots help the audience feel what the character feels)

Key Points:

Place your camera inside bags, cupboards, or on moving objects like robot vacuums for unique POVs.

Attach your camera to a car for dynamic driving perspectives. (I don't think I'll implement this one.

Use a magic arm to attach your camera to moving objects like drones or longboards.

Snorricam shot achieves a distorted, "out-of-body" POV, even with a DIY tripod and belt setup.

Action camera POV: Use action cameras for easy, versatile POV shots due to their size and mounting options.

Camera placement: Position the camera to simulate the character's viewpoint, sometimes using a camera rig worn by the actor.

Lens choice: Wide-angle or fisheye lenses can be used to create a more encompassing and intense sense of view.

Research (Wide establishing shot) part 2

 I used this videos for my research:

Establishing Shots: How To Set the Scene & Tell a Better Story

These are the only shots you will ever need.

What I learned:

I learned that a wide establishing shot must do two things: Show the environment clearly, and place the character inside that environment so the audience understands scale. A wide shot can convey a sense of scale, isolation, or grandeur, helping to establish the overall atmosphere of the film or scene. 

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What I'll implement for my swede:

Keep the camera stable, either with a tripod or propping it against a surface. Shoot from a low angle if I want to make the ship look bigger, make sure the background is not cluttered so the characters (legos for this scene) stands out. 

Research (Wide establishing shot) part 1

For the beginning of the scene, I'll need to record a wide establishing shot. After carefully observing the first 5 seconds of the scene, I realized that a wide establishing shot would be difficult to record due to its scale, so I decided to research this specific type of shot in depth and then implement it in the recording of the swede.

What is a wide establishing shot?

According to Google, a wide establishing shot is a camera shot, typically a wide shot or extreme wide shot, used at the beginning of a scene to show the audience the location, time, and context of the setting.

Visual examples:

Still image from Adobe

Still image from Premium Beat

Research 'The basics of Cinematography' Part 2

To understand the basics of cinematography, I still need knowledge of movement and color. This video helped me a lot to understand the basics of both concepts: 

The Basics of Cinematography - Filmmaking for Beginners

Here are all the key takeaways from what I learned about camera movement and color: 

Camera movement can reveal details, create tension, and evoke emotions. 

Pan shot: Horizontal rotation. 

Tilt shot: Vertical movement. 

Dolly or tracking shot: Physical movement towards, away, or alongside the subject. 

Zoom shot: Changing lens focal length. 

Crane or Jib shot: Vertical and horizontal movement for high angles.  

Color is a powerful storytelling tool that influences mood and emotional response. 

White Balance: Adjusting colors to appear natural (compensating for different light sources and color temperatures.) 

Color Theory (Understanding hue, saturation, and brightness, as well as complementary and analogous colors.) 

Color Correction vs. Color Grading (Correction is for realism and consistency, grading for creative tone and mood.) 

But how does he apply motion and color to cinematography?  

After watching this video, here I have the answer to this question: 

Both movement and color tell a story without the need for words. Camera movement is very important to build a story and give clues to the audience of what is happening/is going to happen, for example a zoom can emphasize something as important. Color creates mood to a scene, a change in the shades of color (cold to warm for example) can imply a change of scene, emotions or define an atmosphere. Both movement and color have an important role when telling a story. 

Research 'The basics of Cinematography' Part 1

For Swede, I'll be doing the role of cinematographer. Honestly, I have no experience with cameras, this is something very new for me; But the fact of recording a scene from a movie excites me a lot! I think that since watching movies is a unique and interesting experience, so will recording scenes of one. 

So, to make sure I do my best, first I need to do more research on the subject and so I will be useful for the project and for my group. 

Even though I have basic knowledge about some types of shots and angles, I want to make sure I have a strong base in cinematography. That's why I saw this video:  

The Basics of Cinematography - Filmmaking for Beginners

For this post I focused on Composition and Lighting and These are the most important things I learned in this video for research: 

Understanding your camera is crucial!  

Mastering the Holy Trinity of Exposure is important (Open, Shutter, Speed, ISO -according to google generally, ISO refers to the camera's sensitivity to light-)

Lighting is essential for shaping mood and realism! 

The three-point lighting setup are: 

Key light: The main, strongest light. 
Fill light: Balances the key light by illuminating shadows. 
Back light: Separates the subject from the background (adding depth) 

Rule of thirds is very important for aesthetically pleasing shots to look at and for the elements of the composition to look balanced.

Composition is the arranging elements within the frame (frame within a frame, symmetry and patterns, depth, leading lines and rule of thirds) 

This is all for part one, check part two (movement and color) because it's just as interesting! 

Blog 15

 Gender as Performance/Butler

Still video from Your Name (2016)

In the movie Your Name, when the protagonists Mitsuha and Taki change gender, so does their behavior; for example, whenever Mitsuha wakes up in Taki's body, she adopts his way of speaking, his behavior, and posture while in turn having a genuine curiosity about his body and also includes behaviors from her own body. The same happens with Taki when she changes bodies with Mitsuha, who, despite being a boy, adopts behaviors considered 'feminine' demonstrating that 'feminine' and 'masculine' behaviors/behaviors are not something that is born with, but behaviors that are learned. Both are curious about each other and about themselves. This shows gender trouble because it evidences Butler's theory that gender is not a fixed identity but rather a fragile idea built by external factors, it shows the idea that we have 'established' of gender as something 'unstable'. Not only that, throughout the film, while swapping, they both get into difficult problems/situations while in each other's bodies, and are forced to follow social expectations – at least at first – as if they have to fit into some norm, heteronormativity as Butler's theory maintains. Your Name demonstrates that gender is not something innate but rather established by society, a restriction created by the expectations and ideologies pre-established by another. It's a movie that shows stereotypes (like when Taki is made fun of for acting a little feminine) and then breaks stereotypes (the people around the protagonists, their friends and family, accept them and also when each one improves the other's lives)

Blog 14

 Postcolonialism/Gilroy

Still video from 'You only live twice' (1967)

Still video from 'Live and Let Die' (1973)

Still video from 'Die another day' (2002)

Still video from 'Skyfall' (2012)

The Connery era: In the James Bond wedding scene, a marriage ceremony—of great cultural significance to the Japanese—is taking place. However, James Bond and his companion (both white) don't seem to take the ceremony seriously, even though it's being carefully executed by the Japanese. While bowing is part of Japanese culture and tradition, the fact that the prospective brides have to climb stairs and bow before the man who could be their husband while waiting to be chosen reinforces the white man's perceived superiority. In addition to the brides being rejected based on their appearance at first glance, the entire ceremony is a mockery for James and his companions. In this case, racial hierarchy is reflected through the perceived superiority of the white man, while the other culture and its population (Japan) are ridiculed and portrayed as 'inferior'. 

The Moore era: In 'Let Live and Let Die', the white man is portrayed as the hero, and Black people are ridiculed in many ways, for example, by being depicted as the enemy. White supremacy is a key theme in the scene; Black people are ridiculously 'defeated' by the white man (the hero) and ridiculed as a 'comic escape'. In the excerpt, Black people are also responsible for the 'kidnapping' of a white woman (damsel in distress). Black people are the enemy, the object of ridicule, and clearly labeled as 'others' -portrait a s part of a cult with malicious intentions. This is not only disrespectful but also intentional and thinly veiled racism, a form of harm for Black people.  

The Brosnan era: In 'Die Another Day', the character portrayed as the enemy is not only Asian but also highlighted as different or 'the other' (having prosthetics and makeup, I suppose he's some kind of mutant or character with powers), in contrast to the white man who 'doesn't need powers because he's already too cool and better just for being him' 

The Craig era: In Skyfall, the sniper is sent on a dangerous mission. In the "take the shot" scene, the woman who appears to be the boss (a white woman, like most of those in the office department) orders her to take the risk, even though it could lead to the sniper killing the wrong person if she makes a mistake. She orders her to take the risk while she's in her office and not at the scene doing the "dirty work." The boss won't bear the emotional burden if the sniper makes a mistake. By rigidly insisting that she make a decision quickly, she's emphasizing her superiority.