Watch the film here on stream

Watch the film here on youtube

Reflection

Overall, I am pleased with the final outcome of my film. I think the film reacts appropriately to the exam brief and the theme ‘Freedom and Limitations’ as it explores the way Freedom Church and the Church as a whole handled the covid 19 pandemic and how the restrictions enforced as a result of the contagious virus did not stop them from worshiping and being free in the knowledge that God was not affected by lockdown. I feel that once edited together in a sequence that flows well, the clips I had filmed accurately represented and tell the story of freedom and Limitations in the church, I feel that the clips well compliment the voice over being heard on screen. The use of titles and visual words on screen help to effectively tell the story and keep the audience engaged as the film becomes more dynamic and varied in the media used to convey the important message. From my original statement of intent, the main message of ”The building may be in lockdown but the church is not’ was still conveyed and that was the goal. However I decided to hone in on a more specific area and not just church in general, the idea of Church online being able to reach a wide audience, how God is not affected by covid and seeking Jesus in the everyday opportunities is what I ended up focusing on.

Things to consider for next time: use a wider variety of actors e.g. better balance or male to female, and ethnicities. I like the way I used quite a young cast with the intent of being more relevant to the younger generation, however the majority of the film include males which doesn’t show much diversity.

Link to artist’s work and exam theme

In reference to the artists/filmmakers who I have studied. I think I have successfully produced a film using cinematography and directing techniques commonly used by cinematographers and directors Mark Bone and Danny Gevirtz. I filmed all the shots myself and chose a handheld approach when possible as both Mark and Danny often choose handheld over stabled shots. I used a large mixture of both 25fps and 100fps and used them for a desired effect and to create meaning, I chose different frame rates to show difference in pace which makes the film more engaging. In this film I also put a large emphasis on lighting and during each shoot tried to make my lighting the best it could be as both Mark and Danny have very ‘cinematic films’ because their scenes are alway lit well. Both of the filmmakers I researched like to backlight their subjects which is why I used the same technique in many of the different scenes in my film.

My film ‘Jesus is greater than / > Lockdown’ shares many aspects relating to the exam theme ‘Freedom and limitations’. My film explores the limitations the church faced because of Covid 19 but in light of that recognising the freedom Christians have because of the faith and knowledge they have, knowing God’s love for them and that nothing can get in the way his love, not even the corona virus. I also wanted to show freedom and limitations my filming a lot outside. The three activities shown in the, surfing, cycling and walking through the sanddunes are all outdoor activies which we were freely aloud to do in Covid. I wanted to also show that we can have joy and be free in the natural free things god has given us like nature. The use of predominantly young people in the film makes my 6.5 minute piece more relatable and the idea of young christians going about normal activities while still worshiping Jesus helps to show that christians are not completely different and weird people but are like most others but instead have freedom in Jesus.

Analysis of best scenes/images

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Looking at both my work and the work of my researched filmmakers, Danny’s especially I feel the vibe and mood of the images are quite similar. I have aired more on the side of making my scenes feel slightly warmer like his and there is a lot of handheld shaky footage which makes it feel more authentic.

In terms of the overall film and way I have put my story together. I feel that I have created a powerful film which is inspiring and engaging however, there are somethings I could have done better to make the film better. Both Mark and Danny use multiple different songs for different moods or sections of the film. They spend more time cutting and sequencing effectively to match the music whereas I have only cut to one piece of music.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Overall sound of the film

The sound in this film consisted of 3 main sections: Music, Sound Design and the Voice over. I feel that with these things carefully recorded and constructed together the overall audio of the piece effectively emmerses the viewer in the film they are watching.

Music:

for music I picked a track from a music licencing company I subscribe to called artlist, the song is called ‘Do You Remember?’ by Dear Gravity. I felt that this song would fit the mood of the film that I had envisioned for the piece. I also like the way the song fitted with the voice over and complimented what he was saying in a powerful and effective way. I did have to alter it slightly, the song was too short so I cut the song in an appropriate place looking at the waveform and then copied the second half of the song and added it on. I tried to line up the two audio tracks the best I could so the transition was as seamless as possible, then I used a constant power audio transition to join the clips so the transition was unknoticable.

Sound Design:

I added some some sound design to the surfing and cycling clips to make the film more immersive. For the surfing I added some sounds of waves (purple clips) from epidemic sound. I matched the sounds I was hearing with the visuals on screen. I added fade using keyframes to each sound clip to introduce and fade the sounds away seamlessly. For the cycling clips I used some of the original audio from the clips as they already sounded good, but for some of the clips I reused some of the cycling and road sounds from other clips I recorded. I also added a fade to the beginning and end of the clips to seamlessly bring them in. For some of the cycling clips you can also see the sea on screen so I included both the road and cycling sounds as well as the waves.

Voice over:

Because I wanted there to be a face to the voice over, I filmed my dad saying the voice over as well as recording audio. For the audio, I used a rode lav mic which I clipped onto dad’s shirt close to his mouth. By getting the mic as close to the mouth as possible it means that you can reduce the gain of the audio and reduce the background noise. I plugged the mic into my phone and used an app call Ferite to control the audio gain to get the best results. I did not do much editing to the sound as it was high enough quality straight away.

Software and General Overview

To edit this film, I used Adobe Premiere Pro. I have used this editing software before to edit film so I was familiar with all the basic tools which made the task a lot easier. I used my basic story board help me put a rough edit together. To start with, I cut up the voice over, cutting out any bits I didn’t want to include and cut it up and spaced out where I felt there was a natural pause or change of subject. On the top row of tracks are some titles that I put in to help me pace out the film. These rough titles as well as the spaced out voice over helped me to start adding relevant clips in the different sections and beginning to build a story. From their I worked on each section of the film working on perfecting the vibe and pace by slowing down certain clips for a desired effect or making some clips shorter of longer.

EXPERIMENTING

Mask Transition

I learned how to and implemented a mask transition in my film with the intent of adding some extra details to show a higher professional level of editing and make the film more engaging. In this case, the mask transition occurs when a woman walks across the whole screen, as she walks across she reveals the next clip.

To make the transition. I had to go frame by frame and create a mask around her back, which moves every frame. As the scene develops the mask follows her back and gradually reveals the whole scene.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Shooting In S-Log

When filming most of the clips, I shot in the S-Log 2 setting on my sony a73. This helps to keep more dynamic range by capturing the image in a flat profile. The reason for doing this is to try and preserve the highlights and able more flexibility when colour grading. This was essential and really helpful when filming at sunset because I retain a lot more detail and information in the sky which is full of colour as the sun is setting.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Pre covid sequence

This sequence early on in the film I wanted to make to accompany the definition of freedom being said voice over. I felt that when describing freedom, I should accompany that with visuals relating to the freedom we had before covid. In this case I used archive footage I had taken before lockdown at the end of 2019 and early 2020 at my Church (Freedom Church).

The track of blue clips is the ‘pre covid’ church sequence. I started the sequence with medium length clips of singers, preachers, church services and people talking and praying. I gradually made next clip on shorter and shorter until it built up to a rapid montage of shots which culminated with a blank screen to signify the end of that ‘era’. The work ‘Limitations’ is heard and then an clip of a mask on the floor is seen on screen to signify the removal of freedom and the voiceover goes on to speak about Covid. I decided to ad a high contrast black and white colour grade to the ‘pre covid sequence’ I felt that this helps to separate it and helps the viewer understand that this was before covid.

• 

• 

• 

Ending sequence

The ending sequence from around 4:58 till the end is my favourite part of the film and the part I am most proud of. Once edited together, the ending sequence was exactly like the idea in my head and I feel I successfully executed it. The sequence consists of the voice over concluding and bringing a close to film speaking about the limitations of covid and the freedom of Jesus. The voice over is supported by relevant visuals of the surfer, cyclist and person walking gradually stopping what they are doing and taking the time to watch the Church online service where they are enjoying God’s amazing creations, nature. The visual are accompanied on screen by visual text on the screen of what is being heard in the voice over. At this stage the music is also getting slower and coming to a close which helps the viewer to feel that the piece is coming to an end.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

SHOOT PLAN

WHAT / CONCEPT: For this shoot I plan to film myself walking through the sand dunes during sunset then sitting down to watch the church service. The idea behind doing this shoot and others which I will do later on is to show different people doing different activities and being able to watch and ‘attend church’ wherever they are.

WHERE / WHEN: I plan to film this down at the Sand dunes near Le Braye at St Ouen’s Bay around golden hour and into blue hour. This means I will start shooting around an hour before sunset up to about 40 minutes after sunset. This is because the light is at its softest and the graduation between the highlights and shadows is much softer and which makes the shadows look softer also. This means getting pleasing consistent light on the subjects face is a lot easier. I am using St Ouen’s Bay and the sand dunes because this the part of the island where the sunsets

EQUIPEMENT: because I will be filming myself, I will need a tripod so I can set up my camera as I walk through or act in the scene. I plan to use my 24-70 with an ND filter on the front. This lens has a very versatile focal range which means I can get a range from wide to mid-telephoto field of view. Because I will be shooting in 25fps, the shutter speed will need to be 1/50, the lens also goes as wide as f2.8 this means that I will need an ND filter to filter down the light coming into the lens, this filter acts like a pair of sunglasses for the camera. Because I plan on shooting at sunset, I want to capture as much dynamic range as possible, as a result I plan on shooting using S-Log which is a flat colour profile on my Sony A73. By using this setting I can recover more of the highlights and golden sky as well as having more colour grading flexibility when it comes to post-production.

BEST EDITED IMAGES – Stills from the clips

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

EDITING

Colour Correction – Log to Rec.709

• 

• 

Stylistic Colour Grade

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Story Board

• 

Shot List

When planning this film, I made a basic story board with the ideas and topics I wanted to include, this helped me to be more productive, effective and efficient when planning and shooting the scenes.

• 

• 

I created these two basic shot lists of the types of shots I wanted to represent the exam theme of Freedom and Limitations. This will help me to be more efficient on set when I am filming so I already have an idea of what to film before I get there. This will be vital as I plan on filming a lot at sunset so I will only have limited time to film the scenes.

• 

This more in depth shot list I planned for the specific location. When planning the shot list I thought about the different angles and content I wanted to achieve. I thought about the script and the theme of the film and how best I could convey the message using the cinematography. By having this detailed shot list I will be able to shoot productively on set and not waste mine and the actors time. It will also give me confidence that I know I will get everything I need and I will have spare time to shoot extra things if I want.

Idea and Script planning

I planned out the idea of the script for the voice over and the topics I wanted to include. I thought about relevant events that have happened and how easy it would be for me to film those things. I wrote a basic draft script which I read through and changed things to make it easier to say, I also timed myself speaking so I knew a rough guide of how long the speech would be. Once I had done these things, my dad helped me change some things to better suit his style of speaking as he would be the one speaking in the voice over. As he is one of the Pastors of our church ‘Freedom Church’ he was able to help me change or correct things in a theological way. We then recorded the voice over in my chalet and filmed it at the same time.

DANNY GEVIRTZ

Danny Gevirtz, is a commercial and documentary filmmaker from Philadelphia, USA. He currently lives in Maui with his girlfriend where he is currently working full time on Youtube. His youtube videos are very unique, educational and inspirational. Compared to other photographers and cinematographers who make content on youtube, Danny does everything his own way and doesn’t follow the usual trends. He doesn’t do camera or lens reviews but rather focuses on try to help and teach other aspiring filmmakers how to create cinematic stories by teaching cinematic lighting, camera and composition techniques. He has worked for big brands such as Nike and the Philadelphia Eagles. Danny has been a big inspiration of mine when is comes to filmmaking, I regularly watch his tutorials and other videos as I try to develop my own craft. I like the way he shoots and the videos he creates, his style is similar to mine and his videos are engaging.

HIS WORK

Danny has worked on commercial projects with brands like Nike, On running and Lululemon. He has a unique style of cinematography which is easily recognisable, his video work often features shooting at sunset or blue hour if the vibe of the video suits it. He shoots handheld a lot or static on a tripod on a canon C200 cinema camera or a Canon 1DX mk2 he will also choose to shoot at 24fps over 60fps and does not use a lot of slow motion. He has directed and filmed multiple commercials and short documentaries. The screen grabs below are from his most recent mini doc commercial ‘Rapha Rides Maui’ and some of his short documentaries and commercials including ‘Bad Mama’ which I will be doing my analysis on.

RAPHA RIDES MAUI

Watch the film here

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

MONOPOLIO BEER

Watch the commercial here

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

ODEKE

Watch the Film here

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

BAD MAMA – Analysis

Watch the film here

• 

TECHNICAL/VISUAL: This screen shot from the film was one of my favourites because of the lighting and location. In terms of technicality, the whole film was shot on anamorphic lenses, these lenses are associated with the ‘filmic look’, they capture the image in a different format which needs to be de-squeezed in post production, as a result you get the widescreen cinematic look. Light streaks across the whole screen appear when light is shone straight into the lens, this is one of the best known characteristics of anamorphic lenses. This image has a light streak across the screen from the sun which gives the image more character and the cinematic feel. A wide aperture around f2.8 would have been used because the fence behind the subject is out of focus but the hands of the subject is in focus. Because Danny would have been using a wide aperture he would have set the ISO low but would have needed to use an ND filter because there would have been too much light. The use of a wide aperture helps to isolate the subject in frame and make the audience focus on what the cinematographer wants them to focus on. I like the setting of this scene. The use of the fence makes the scene feel more industrial and grungy which fits the theme of boxing, by backlighting the subject also gives the scene more contrast and makes it feel more moody. The fence also could represent the limitations and imprisonment that jamie felt when she was suffering abuse from her ex partner.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

CONTEXT: Bad Mama is a short documentary shot, edited and directed by Danny Gevirtz and co-produced by Image Revolver. The mini doc is about single mum and professional MMA fighter Jamie Colleen who suffered from domestic abuse from her ex partner. She was homeless for a while as she tried to look after her daughter and get back on her feet. After 3 years of not fighting, she rose up from her lowest point she found a place at a local shelter where her daughter would be safe so that she could start to train again and return to professional MMA fighting. Domestic abuse is still a huge problem around the world and especially prominent with single mum’s falling victim. A few years ago Jamie shared her story sider when she began fighting again, she continues to fight now and is an activist for helping domestic abuse against women and children.

CONCEPT: Danny states in his explanation video of his film ‘Bad Mama’ that ‘So at the end of 2019, I had some free time and I had some bonus points left over from a local rental house, so I knew I wanted rent some gear and whip together a little mini documentary to help someone in my small circle, help tell their story’. He says that the first person he thought about was Jamie as he knew she had a powerful story and he wanted to make it known. She was onboard with the idea and as Danny spoke more with Jamie and her daughter he began to realise that what he thought he knew about her story had really only scratched the surface, this made him even more passionate about telling here story and helping others who may have had similar struggles. This film was what is known as a ‘passion project’ for Danny as he felt in his heart that he needed to tell this important message, as a result the budget was low, he used his own money and left over points to rent some extra gear and only had one day to record all the footage.

MY RESPONSE

I really like the work and content that Danny Gevirtz has produced. His commercials and documentaries are unique and have a very recognisable style. He stresses how important pre production is when speaking about his latest cycling video but sometimes having a more ‘run and gun’ approach can be more effective at times. He took more of a ‘run and gun’ approach to his film ‘Bad Mama’. In my film I want to emulate some of the techniques and styles of Danny. I plan to story board my film and have a solid idea of what it is I need to shoot, but when it comes to filming I want to be more relaxed and not follow a shot list religiously. I want to film large portions of the film at blue hour as the lighting is softer. A recognisable style of Danny’s that I want to take inspiration from is backlighting the subject to make the image feel more moody. His films feature voice overs to help tell the story and visuals are put up on screen to assist what is being heard. This is what I want to try and replicate.

MARK BONE

Mark Bone is a Christian documentary and commercial filmmaker and director based in Toronto, Canada. Mark has worked with large global companies such as Mercedes Benz, Nikon, Nike and BMW both directing and filming, not only does he do high quality and high profile commercial work but he also makes documentaries. Most of his documentaries are passion projects, either meaning they have little to no budget or are about topics or stories very close to his heart. Mark bone went to film school and went the traditional route of getting into the film industry. He trained in 3D cinematography using two cameras to phase into a 3D image. This lead him onto working on large feature film productions like ‘Flight of the Butterfly’ and ‘Make your Move’. However when the traditional method of 3D cinematography phased out and film production companies went to filming in 2D and converting it to 3D in post Mark went from having lots of jobs and doing well to having no work at all. During this low period he decided to just start shooting and filming. After the tragic plane crash which resulted in the death of a close friend working out in the Dominican republic sending Aid supplies, Mark felt he needed to get out there. He was inspired by a group of volunteer paramedics who were working on trying to recover wreckage or survivors from the plane crash. He was inspired by their bravery and heart for voluntarily serving their country and the community around them. He began documenting what was happening out there, directors and other companies began to recognise his work and he started to film documentaries which he could put together as a show reel. This lead him to be able to create his heart pounding, award winning documentary ‘Rescate’.

HIS WORK

His work ranges from short commercials to full length documentaries. His documentary work often has a very personal connection to him. His technique and cinematography style is quite recognisable. More often than not he prefers handheld over stabilized footage. He traditionally uses two focal lengths and prefers to shoot on prime lenses. His go to is a 24mm lens for wide shots and a 50mm lens for details and to separate the subject from the background. Mark also uses sony cameras specifically the Sony FX9 which was his cinema camera of choice for Rescate and Battleground. He does sometimes hire in an AC (assistant cameraman) or DP (Director of Photography) if he is playing a larger role in directing. Mark also has a youtube channel and an online course where he teaches documentary filmmaking. In his videos he talks a lot about immersing the viewer in the documentary and making is feel more close and personal. He achieves this by using handheld techniques, wider focal lengths and using a lot of 24fps footage rather than 60 or 120fps slow motion footage.

SPORT CHECK

Watch the Commercial here

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

RESCATE

Watch Rescate here

• 

BATTLEGROUND – Analysis

• 

Watch Battleground here

• 

TECHNICAL/VISUAL: The lighting and visual image of this documentary film is very cinematic and very soft. Mark shot most of the outside scenes in either golden hour or blue hour when the lighting is soft and there are minimal shadows. This scene was shot at blue hour which usually lasts 20 – 30 minutes after sunset of before sun rise. The sun has gone which means the light is at its softest. Because blue hour is dark as the sun has set they have chosen to shoot at a wide aperture perhaps between f2.8 – f1.8 which allows more light into the lens and creates a shallower depth of field making the background more blurry. Looking closer at this scene I can tell that a key light has been used to light the subjects face, this allows the cinematographer to use a lower iso which keeps the image cleaner and reduces digital noise. In the composition they have used the rule of thirds and put the subject on the left third of the frame, this helps to signify to the viewer that the subject is talking to someone off screen. The cinematographer on this project was Adam Madrzyk, someone who Mark has worked with before, additional shots were done by Mark Bone as Mark was focusing on directing. However, Mark would have had a big say in the look and style of cinematography and would have probably been looking at the camera monitor for a big portion of the recording.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

CONTEXT: Battle ground is Mark Bone’s most recent documentary. It was directed and created by himself and Kwesi Thomas after discussions between the two of them after the murder of George Floyd. The film was released the day after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of killing George Floyd. In one of Mark’s recent youtube videos talking about the creation of the film he talks about how he spoke to Kwesi about recording one of their conversations. This then grew into a bigger project which turned in to the 18 minute film. The film was creative over 1 year the majority of that year being 2020. America and Canada have been very conflicted during this time as more and more people have started to speak up and campaign for anti racism and police brutality.

CONCEPT: The concept behind this documentary film was to try and communicate some of the lifelong and everyday struggles of people in the black community. An article witten in the TimesNewsExpress by Alex Billington states ‘Battleground is the creation of filmmakers Kwesi Thomas & Mark Bone, developed through conversations immediately following the murder of George Floyd last year (finally there is some justice a year later).’Mark explains his intentions for the 18 minute film: “I wanted to illuminate that racism can occur in small ways but still have a lifelong impact. A knee on a man’s neck for 8 minutes is shocking but I didn’t want to overlook the smaller moments of injustice that don’t make news headlines. The film explores these moments.” Both Kwesi and Mark didn’t want this film to try and show people how to not be racist but instead encouraging people to be Anti-racist. Kwesi speaks in the film about “to not be satisfied with not being racist, you don’t just want to say to your kid…oh I don’t hate you, it’s like no let me show you that I love you.” and contrasted that to a parent wouldn’t tell their child ‘Well I don’t hate you’. One of Kwesi’s statements says “Loving takes your further than ‘not hating’, because to love someone is to know what hurts them.” Mark also states in a video interview with CBC ‘It gave the opportunity to ask Kwesi, hey have I said anything as your friends that’s made you uncomfortable about race, or made you insecure or hurt you’.

MY RESPONSE

MY RESPONSE

Mark’s film’s are very cinematic looking and have the ‘filmic look’. I really like his style and approach to filmmaking. His films link well to the exam theme of freedom and limitations as his documentaries often feature themes of restriction, suffering. For example his film ‘Battleground’ features elements and discussions about racial inequality and how people in the black community and others are still treated unfairly because of the colour of their skin and as a result they don’t have the same freedom to be themselves or go about their lives freely in the same way white people might be able to. In my film I want to replicate some of his style and techniques, by shooting the majority of the film on 25fps and handheld it will make the film feel more personal, close and authentic. By shooting at golden hour it will provide a soft pleasing light on the person or subject I am filming. By filming in 25fps it will force me to work on getting stable footage as I don’t have the option to slow it down in post production.

STATEMENT OF INTENT

For this project I plan to explore the culture and community of Freedom Church. I am an active member of the church and have a very personal connection to it. With the project being ‘Freedom and Limitations’ this will link well because of the current global climate as a result of the pandemic which has brought on many limitations and restrictions. The main message of the project is to show how ‘The building may be in lockdown but the church is not’. I want to show how even with all the restrictions imposed on us, as christians we can have freedom in the empty cross.

Here is a link to my photobook: ‘A Mini Story’.