The shooting schedule combined with he shot list, made us as a team realise that the performance part of the video is a lot more important than we first (or ever) anticipated. We then took this momentous task back to the drawing board - which has led myself into conducting and producing research and subsequently this post. So there was a few factors that we knew we had to take careful consideration in. The main aspects of a performance recording to take into account is the Camera angles, shots and movements, lighting, framing, mise-en-scène and many more. We discussed many of the factors thoroughly and it was obvious that there was going to have to be an absolute solid amount of research going into each factor and that means that when it comes to the day of the shoot, everything should hopefully be in place and ready to go.
Cameras
As we wanted the performance recording to take the least amount of time (due to restraints on time of rooms and people), it was clear to us that we were going to have to use a whole range of cameras. There was a multiple amount of shots that seemed desirable to us from previous research, and we eventually used this evidence to produce the video below.
For the shoot, the requirements that was initiated would be two:
- DSLR Cameras (to get high-quality footage - mostly close-ups)
- Go Pro Camera and possibly some other head cams. (to get P.O.V and Fisheye shots, as well as easier aerial and up-looking shots.)
- One/two Full HD Camcorders (For those wide angle mid and long shots)
- One ultra durable camera to mount to various different places (either on drum kits, guitars, ceilings etc.) via a Gorilla pod, duct tape or string.
We have a vast array of equipment at our reach and we want to make the plan completely solid so that we can get our full potential out of them.
Through the discussion I concluded that the main factors of this performance recording that we wanted to focus on and take full advantage of was going to be the colour/look of the shot and the creativeness and uniqueness about them. Lighting will play a major part in the colour part of the shots because as we found with previous shots, the more light you get the easier it is to colour correct in the editing stages to a standard that you utterly proud and happy with. The individuality and imagination that will go into our shots will be hopefully mostly due to the equipment we have at use and the professional ways in which we try to use them. If we were to be exquisitely ambitious then a construction and a use of a camera jib/crane would be one of the best choices, as through research it has been shown that the dynamic-ness of the shot and the way in which it moves gives it that expensive, but well-thought out look. On the other hand though, the genre 'indie' isn't about that per se but it's more about how you take the potential of the equipment that you attain and the quirky ways in which you use that. That's why I have re-inserted this mind map from earlier that highlights some key points and I've also added some other quirky shot ideas below also.
Some Other Shots
- KSP camera hanging from rope from the ceiling constantly twisting round.
- KSP camera duct-taped to ceiling with fisheye lens also attached to show an aerial view.
- DSLR/Camcorder mounted onto the camera dolly that would be continually rolling round to achieve shots.
This video below shows a few of those shots in which we tried to create and practice before we got our hands on recording the real thing. Inspired by many P.O.V GoPro videos on GoPro's YouTube channel, there are a lot of shots in this where the GoPro is used and we believe hat these kind of shots would suit our video excellent for the kind of video that we'd like to produce. There are also some recorded by the Sony A57 DSLR, and this is just to see what angles and how we'd like to conduct each shot when it is just a simplistic wide-angle/portrait Close-up/mid-shot/long-shot video.
This momentous task is going to be one of the hardest to pull off to such a high standard that I expected or at least wanted it to look like. Subsequently I chose that the video test shots above wouldn't be at all satisfactory for our preparation as directors/DOPs/Cameramen and all the other jobs that this project entails and therefore this video below has also come into existence.
For this video I followed the band Mammoth to their local gig at The Louisiana in Bristol. I was ale to set up a few camera both on and off stage and with the use of my Rode VideoMic I recorded the sound also. The video had turned out pretty well, and it gave me a lot of experience in seeing how to setup a recording should go about with the amount of cameras their positioning etc. and the editing was a very enlightening process also. The editing didn't take me long - or at least not as long as I had anticipated. I chose that because the video were all of the same length from each camera I could just layer and split them at point in accordance to the song and the different shot, and this made life a lot easier for me and a lot less time consuming. The task of recording a live event is a lot more demanding than that of a set up and rehearsed one, as of course the are no re-films. However there were many restrictions to this filming which mostly meant that I wasn't able to film dynamically, the participation though did present to me how static shots can look, and at this stage they look satisfactory, which is why I am so intrigued into the optimum amount of 'Quirky' I can display in the actual performance to make it exciting and interesting.
Live Performance Recording Test with Mammoth
Lighting
The AS coursework for media showed me just how significant lighting was within filming and it was an interview that I saw from the cinematographer of the hit TV series Breaking Bad whereby he says in the modern day there is too much focus on quality with developments of 4K and there isn't enough focus on framing, colour and lighting - factors that make the moving image the art in which it is so bewilderingly beautiful. My focus on lighting this time is going to even more excessive and I want to express the theme of quirky-ness even more so with the lighting. I want my performance recording to be a bit like the video from The Red Hot Chili Peppers song 'Can't Stop'.
To present quirky-ness I will be using lots of different lights and also to blur some of the footage to get some wonderful lens flares. We will be using most of the lights we can find from around the house such as lamps, torches etc. I also want to use my DSLR flashlight with filters as a powerful and colourful light to light up the set and produce many prominent spotlights at points. I've had many ideas for other lighting solutions also such as fairy lights, and rear and front bike lights due to their flashing motions and their small size (they would be very useful to hide in subtle places such as the bass drum).
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