Epiphany (Week 8)

Week 8 focused on the technical aspects of filmmaking, through the elements of the camera. We went through various exercises that were specific to Focal Length, Focus, Exposure, Neutral Density, Gain, and White Balance. All of these were vague to me before this week, so all of this information has had a significant impact on my filmmaking. Getting all of these aspects right is crucial to scene coverage, and can be the thing either makes a scene great or not so great. In groups we went through the features of the camera and figured out how to set up a camera for a shoot. With exposure you had to work with Zebra patterns that came up on the screen; the more zebra patterns there are, the more exposed the shot is. What you want to aim for is to have the tiniest of zebra patterning on the object in focus, in our case, someone’s face. From class discussion I understood what the difference between focal length and focus is on camera. Focal length is how far the front element is from sensor, for example wide or close, and the distance that the subject is just focus or focal point (when they’re in focus). The main focus however was on focus pulling; this involves changing the focus of the shot while the camera is moving and recording. This proved difficult, and time consuming as you have to work out individual points within the shot, as to where to re-focus the object/person. Each point is then marked with tape on the camera, so that when the cameraman hits record, the camera puller knows when and where to adjust the focus in relation to the movement of the shot. This to me, was the highlight of the week, and it is something that makes a great shot a perfect one. All of these techniques are what I will focus on, along with framing in my filmmaking which leads on to further research in my method of working.

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