Cinematographer’s Journal

Summary

My involvement as a cinematographer during the production phase is to film the scenes.

Camera Evidence

Tilt the Camera up to reveal the school/setting of the film.

Quick Zoom

Slow Zoom

Framing the Characters using the computers, so they feel more separated. As if they are in their own space or room.

Shot Choice Justification

The director and I chose not to use the rotation shot idea as it did not fit with the film style. Also, we could not think of a situation in the film storyboard where it would fit.

Lighting Design

The goal for the lighting in the film was to portray real life, therefore I did little to influence the lighting that was in the setting I filmed in. This lighting choice matched the genre of reality television that our group wanted the film to be in.

Consultation with Editor

The editor and I collaborated on what shots to use and not use, as described below.

Alternative Shots

I chose not to use this shot of the school as it was panning down on the school. In my opinion, this movement makes the school feel smaller or inferior. Meanwhile, the shot we used was panning up making the school seem big and daunting.

I chose not to use this shot because the shot before this was a pan-up shot at well. The editor and I thought it would be weird to have the same style of shot two times in a row.

Camera Work and Lighting Evaluation

Unfortunately, the lighting in the film was compromised when we exported the film after editing. The exposure turned really high and made the shots weirdly bright. Thus, my evaluation of the lighting is that I was not very good. However in the original shots, as seen in the evidence placed here in the blog, the lighting was great in my opinion!

Influences from Films

My main influences are the office. One of the cinematographers that are responsible for that show is Randall Einhorn. I was influenced by his use of handheld camera movements, quick zooms, and the interview scenes.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

A problem I solved was using the step ladder and amp to balance the phone/camera for the interview scenes to ensure a stable shot. This also ensured that each interview scene was from the same height and centered on each character.

In addition, I learned the importance of leaving enough time for the editor in post-production to edit the film. This is because if given more time, we might have been able to fix the exposure of the film.