My post about the planning and concept for this video is quite different to how it actually turned out, and the filming process was very different to anything I've done before, and looking at this video I can quite confidently say that it is the strongest one in my portfolio so far.
1. The Camera
While I've been using a JVC camcorder for all of my work up until now, the inbuilt lens cannot use lens filters, so I took out the C100, very intimidated as I've only used it once before and all of the different settings very much confused me. I spent almost an hour fighting with the ISO, white balance, and shutter speed settings, trying to make the video look right. Everything was just dark, and when I managed to get the picture anywhere near the level of brightness that I could then colorgrade up, it was very grainy and still far too dark, as you can see from the pictures on the left. At this point I was losing faith in the C100's ability to shoot in low light. I spent ages trying to fix it and googling everything, and this only got fixed when I accidentally pressed the button that automatically adjusts the aperture to the needed setting (yes, this was very funny.)
2. Lens Filters
After this the filming process was smooth sailing, only requiring minor adjustments to the camera as shots were changed. I used both a refraction lens filter and a diffusion lens filter, which I discussed many blog posts ago when I was researching the cinematography in The Love Witch (2016). I've been quite focussed on using the kaleidoscope lens lately so this time I challenged myself not to use it and find out how these other two filters could be used in the best way possible. The first time I used the blur lens I didn't feel like it was doing much? (now I know that my camera settings were very off, and if I'd known how to adjust them then this would have probably looked quite nice), but this time I loved the effect. When researching the filters I had gone for one with quite a subtle effect, and while I originally thought I might need to but another one, this is just the right amount of blur while still allowing for the textures in the shot. I did also add onto this by putting an orange mesh bag on top of the lens (left) as well, and while this shot didn't make it into the final video, I really liked how it looked and will be trying more things like that in the future to add more textures to my shots than just what comes with the lenses.
This gave a much more hazy effect than the original filter, maybe a bit too flat, but I will be seeing what other materials I have around the house and how these can be layered.
The refraction lens did basically what I expected it to do, it is very heavy though, any source of light creates white a large refraction, I would like to see how this os affected by smaller lights that are much further away, but for now it seems that using this does pretty much take over the shot, I love how it looks though and I think that as long as I done overuse it too much, it is a motif that I'll be including in my final project. Having discussed with my lecturer the concept of showing through concealment, the way that this refraction covers so much of the frame does lend itself to this, as seen with shots of her eating the pomegranate, it does conceal much of the scene, which I think is in line with this concept, especially in combination with close ups.
After discussions with my lecturer about previous work, I've been thinking about the intention between my shots, and the wise en scene that makes them look messy or takes away from my desired effect. As mentioned in my plan, this time I tried to go all out with the mice en scene rather than just doing on the spot filming. I set up the whole space as a set, buying lots of food, candles, and flowers to set up the table, and then draping things along the sofa to take away the harsh lines in it, so every element of the shot would have the draping texture and colors. The candles served both the purpose of creating this soft lighting, as well as being strategically placed in each shot to have the refractions of the lens where I wanted them. While this approach to mine en scene was very time consuming and cost some money, I do think it definitely paid off, not only for the final video but for the shooting process itself. The space was working with me rather than forcing me to shoot around it, and I'll definitely be bringing this approach into more test shoots I do. My final project is going to be shot largely on the street, but the elements that I can control to make the space fit in this way will be done.
The costume and makeup were made to fit in with this space as well. Since this video was looking to focus mainly on texture and light, we looked around for elements that would add to this. I wanted a dress that was some kind of velvet as it's a very luxurious texture that reads well on camera, as well as reflecting light in a way that is much more dynamic than say a cotton dress, but it also isn't as harsh as something like sequins. The jewellery and makeup were also intended to catch the light. While subtle they both occasionally had small flashes of light as shown in this shot that added to the dreaminess of the scene, and reminded me of old Hollywood shots with this kind of glow and sparkle from jewellery.
5. The Action and Inspirations
We didn't quite know what this was going to look like going in to filming, or what we would do. At first I just had it set up as a luxurious scene of her eating, where I wanted to explore the textures of the clothes and fruit, with the pomegranate seeds reminding me of jewels. I thought this would make for a very calm but beautiful scene. I knew I wanted some shots of the pomegranate being split open, but as filming went on I realised that this shoot would work very well with a more intense approach. I was heavily inspired by the work of Anna Biller for the cinematography, but after setting up the mise en scene, I realised that these themes of food, luxury, and feminine rage were very similar to Daisies by
Věra Chytilová. I wanted the actress to have fun and devour the food, destroying this luxurious scene by being hedonistic and devouring it, like in Daisies her wild abandon with the food can be read as a breaking of female conventions, with rage behind it.
I tried to piece together a very rough arc for this video. Obviously there isn't much story behind it, but since my final film will not include any dialogue, one of my main focuses for my experimentation this semester is examining how gesture, shots, and editing can convey emotion without the use of dialogue. I decided to have it start out as a peaceful scene, then slowly become more hectic as she begins to tear the food apart. This was done by having the first few shots linger on the close ups of the scene and the texture of her hair and clothes, then start cutting quickly between shots of things being torn apart and the shot of her laying peacefully on the table, to juxtapose these two emotions. I also added in more shaky handheld shots to elevate this sense of tension. There were a couple handheld shots at the start to create a more intimate sense of the space, but during the heigh of the action I really tried to pair these with very still, peaceful shots to create this sense of unease.
In terms of colorgrading, I actually didn't really do any. Despite my focus on colograding and trying to improve recently, I really liked how the shots already looked. Having the lighting all set up, as well as the blur lens in combination with the natural grain from the camera meant I didn't feel much was needed. As I mentioned in my post planning this video out, I was originally going to play around with color a lot in this film, using a mixture of black and white and very saturated shots, but looking a them post filming and knowing what I planned to do in the edit, the use of black and white would have seemed like an afterthought, and I decided instead to focus on the natural textures and lighting. The only adjustment I made was a subtle white vignette over the whole thing, as I think it added to the hazy, otherworldly feel of the video. I do think at some point I may reuse this footage for another experiment and focus on the color of it and how it can be manipulated along with a very different edit to create more of an intense scene, but for now I am planning another video fully in black and white to once again explore how the body and its counters can create a sense of shape much like sculpture.
7. Sound Design
This was the first time I've properly challenged myself with sound design, and I think it actually went quite well, I used a combination of swells and risers to lower and ease the tension, with a constant rise and swell throughout the whole thing to keep consistency throughout. I did try and use premier pro's AI tool to extend the length of a clip, which I had already done in my title sequence for last semester, but since I tried using it on a heartbeat, instead of just making it longer it distorted the clip to be almost unrecognisable, which I think was very effective, as it adds to this uncanny feeling. I also added in a shiner sound, which I was worried would sound cartoony, but in combination with all the other elements I think it worked to add to this dreamlike feeling without being too romantic or childish. After this I'll definitely keep challenging myself to make videos where I sound design from scratch rather than just using music.
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