Here are the original images from the shoot. For the shoot i needed a fast shutter speed because I was moving in a car whilst taking the images of the people walking past. If I had a slow shutter speed then the images would be blurry and I wanted to capture a still image. My ISO was high because I had such a high shutter speed, and therefore not as much light was captured.
I’m really happy with the results of my shoot, however It was hard to get a good image while moving in a car. So, next time I try this shoot, I will walk round town when taking the images.
The point of the shoot was to capture the structure of people’s everyday lives, and to try and capture the persons character and personality within the image. The framing of the image and how it was positioned is important because it effects how appealing the image is. Here are a few simple edits from the shoot. I wanted to vary them so some are in colour and some are in black and white.
The image below is my favorite edit from the shoot because you can see the mans character and the way he is captured shows his personality.
I chose to pursue this because I felt strongly that I wanted to incorporate Adrienne Adams style of reflections on water but alter it slightly to focus more on dark-light contrasts rather than colour. I achieved this by taking my photographs in a light foggy environment, this made the reflections less sharp and blend more fluently into the environment. However I exaggerated the contrast slightly to bolden and add depth and strength to the shadowed reflections. This put strong emphasis onto the structure as it portrayed the dominating shadows as strong and bulky. This is interesting to me because I feel that I created the strong structures of rocks successfully, but to compliment this with alternative and more delicate features slightly less strong structures. This for me worked well as I could put into perspective the similarities of contrast between the big and small structures showing them both to be strong no matter what their size. I believe I am happy with how this shoot went, including a range of shots between close up macro effects, to show the intricate details of each natural structure and how the role it plays in its environment and also the bigger structures that more so impact their surroundings rather than what they contribute to them. I find interesting how the delicate textures prove to give way to a sharper tone of reflection, allowing us to see the structure of the rocks or object far more clearer.
This theme of reflection fits well I believe into the idea of structure because it incorporates structure of the water and structure of the reflection in quite a romanticised way. For example the strong tonal frequency of the blue reflections present a varied and slightly random appearing pattern reflected from the object above. I wanted to focus more on the structure of the reflection as a separate structure itself, focusing less so on the object in which the reflection came from. I achieved this by choosing to take the photograph in a foggy environment with clear water, allowing me to increase the contrast to ensure the water is presented in a strong tone of white and this way I could allow the viewer to focus on the reflection itself. I added a slight blue filter to the photograph and this way I could give the photograph a more “watery” effect. Rather than take the photograph on a macro setting I stood further back and decide to zoom in. I found I preferred this as it gave me a better proportions, allowing the reflections to appear bigger in the photograph but also giving me the opportunity to include more of the reflections and various other objects in the frame itself. This type of structure is interesting to me because in a sense it shows a slightly abstract visual pattern, a style I found particularly interesting in my last landscape project. A slightly abstract structure to me shows my original fascination form the start of this project of how a structure despite perhaps not appearing clear as to its role and significance, still has one and we can capture its beauty and with this, appreciate its natural structure of itself, uninterrupted by anything else.
STEP 2 / Select ‘Brightness and Contrast’ from ‘Effects’ menu and drag onto to clip in sequence
STEP 3 / Adjust the settings accordingly to suit the shot by changing the amount of each effect in the ‘Effect Controls’ menu
STEP 4 / Select ‘Mirror’ from ‘Effects’ menu under ‘Distort’ and drag onto to clip in sequenceSTEP 5 / Adjust the settings accordingly to suit the shot by changing the amount of the effect you want in the ‘Effect Controls’ menu. You can adjust where the mirror is centred and from what directionSTEP 6 / For ‘Replicate’ in the ‘Effects’ menu, this duplicates the shot however many times you wish (can be changed in ‘Effect Controls’) and shows them on the same shot
Working with the same footage from my first shoot where I recorded my model walking around areas of Jersey holding a full length mirror, I decided to create a second draft to show my understanding of software and who to create a well-thought out film. It also shows my ability to sustain and follow through with a fixed idea by improving, constantly, my products based around the term ‘structure’. It will also prepare fully for the exam which is fast-approaching because repeating the use of Adobe Premiere Pro – which is what I will use to put together my final piece, increases my confidence on the program and in-turn this will hopefully make for a more professional looking final piece.
I have used extra footage which you have not yet seen in my second draft and have experimented further with video and audio transitions/effects to preview what it may look like if I was to follow through with it in the exam.
In this attempt at my short film, I experimented more with techniques on Adobe Premiere and played about with titles further – therefore the name or look of the tittles at the beginning is not set in stone and will change from my first two examples in my final piece. As you can see, I inserted titles in between shots – the film begin with a deceiving shot of the mirror in some woods where it is surrounded by greenery – therefore, the mirror, also being in the bottom corner of the screen is actually quite hard to spot at first viewing. As well, the movement of the camera is deceiving. This shot then cuts to a title screen displaying the type ‘MIRROR’ four times. I chose to do this as I like modern graphics and the aesthetics that come from repetition in typography. As well, using the common font ‘Arial’ then adding a bold, underline and italic setting to it adds to the modernised and simple look. Next, a cut occurs to reveal the same shot as the first but replicated four times, another titles screen appears displaying my name in the same style as the first title screen. Finally, the shot of the mirror in the woods is shown but it is replicated sixteen times. I wished to show my use and confidence of using certain tools on Premiere to alter how a shot looks. I also believe this certain tool adds tot eh idea of structure – because repetition is, in my opinion a factor of creating a structure. I also adjusted the brightness sans contrast of these first three shots because they were quite faded out and over exposed.
I don’t know if it is evident or noticeable, but I tried to coincide the changes of shots (cuts) with eh music by cutting shots on betas and drops of the song ‘On Fire’ by Raleigh Ritchie. For people who haven’t heard the song before, this may not be clear but I thought it was a nice touch to showcase my confidence on the video editing program.
I believe that my second draft is different to my first because it is a bit more up-beat and seems quicker due t the music and length of shot times – it doesn’t’ seem as relaxed. However I can decided on the mood and atmosphere I wish for the film to have towards the end of the project.
I included other shots from my first hoot in this draft also but still have some left which I haven’t; shown – I will include these in the final piece as well shots that I believe worked out really well which you may have already encountered in these two practice runs. I plan to go on another shoot with my model and the mirror to capture more shots around Jersey – perhaps more in the country and places where the reflection may juxtapose the surroundings.
Here I wanted to experiment with how I can use the invert tool on Photoshop to create a slightly different viewpoint of structure. As I am exploring of how natural structure is free in its shapes and forms and is unclear to us sometimes of what it’s role in its job as the structure is, I felt it necessary to act in a similar manner and take this idea of freedom that bit further to show the structure as even more ambiguous. I believe by creating the effect of the colours being inverted, the structure (through the use of texture seen through various elements to the object) now potentially is seen as having a different level of significance. I particularly like how the inverted colours allows us to see further into the actual depths of the object further showing a very intricate design as to its structure, with elements of the outside areas appearing to be slightly less clear offering us an alternative as to an insight into the structure of these natural objects.
On Monday 03/04/17 I recorded the first shots of my short film inspired by Ill-Studio. It focuses on how reflections are used to distort our view of structures. I only filmed a few shots around the built-up areas of Jersey to show my process from this first draft to the final result. I am very happy with he outcome because it has all come together to crate a product similar yo my influence’s and although it is quite simple, I believe it pays off. Here is ‘Reflections x Movements’: