Board Way

I took part in the interview studying and framing activity in Board Way. It is meanly about how to choose the right angle, height, background, sound-recording and view when we making a video. For me, I chose mid-shot which I think it easier to catch the motions and emotions of the interviewer and interviewee. For the angle, I chose 3/4 face and camera facing the interviewee to avoid them glance right and left. For the height, I chose eye level. For the back ground I prefer somewhere about the theme. It is the first time I engaged sound-recording which I am looking forward to learn. A clear sound-recording helps the documentary to preserve the reality. So, it is the most important thing that I need to learn.

Except for gaining knowledge, team-work is another thing I feel thankful and important. I don’t have many opportunities to work with others, but I think in the future I need team-work to finish my project.

'why and how as a director do'

In the past, the film I made is story film with specific environment, light and persons. While making a documentary film, the maker should be sensitive to catch the specific moment that sends the right message. As it is framing the real life, everything will happen only once, I need to be sharp of everything; have the sense of life to find out what will be easily ignored by other people and catch it with me camera. A documentary maker also needs to feel life with their heart and to find out the truth of life. That what I need to do as well, taking part in my life and feeling the environment and people with my heart. Then all my emotion will be expressed through my camera. Many shots will be taken by my sense. I think a video shooter should think about 'why and how as a director do'.

John Grierson

1.Do not summarize your topic. You can write an essay about postal service, but you must make a film about a letter.

2.Do not obey 3 basic principles: sociological, poetical, technical.

3.Do not ignore the script. Do not make a film with your luck. Once the script is done, your film is done. So, if you are making your film now you can start preparing the next one.

4. Do not think story can be told by only narrating, it should be told by vision and sound. Unnecessary narrating makes people uncomfortable.

5. Bear in mind that every single shot you toke is a part of your film. A shot in a wrong place can be bad, even the most beautiful shot

6. Do not create unnecessary 
shooting angle. An unsuitable angle will only ruin the atmosphere.

7. Do not use too many fast-paced cutting skills. The faster they are the more likely to be the most beautiful adagio.

8. Do not over use music. If you do so, the audience will refuse to listen to it.

9. Do not over use live sound. It is better to use it suggestively or complementally.

10. Do not use too many light effects, or make it too complicated. Dissolve, fate in and fate out is the punctuation of you film, they are your comma and period.

11. Do not use too many close-up shots. Save it until the climax. In a balance-structured film, close-up shots appear naturally. If they are too many, it will smothery and lost its importance.

12. When dealing with people, don’t hesitate. Human and animal are all beautiful.

13. You should tell the story clearly. A real subject must be told simply and clearly, but it doesn’t means to theatricalize it. 


14. Do not abandon the chance of experiment, the name of documentary all come from experiment. Without experiment, documentary has no value even not exist.

These 14 tenets from John Grierson are the tenets for me to look at documentary, and also help me to develop my own works.

storybook

THE BIG BLUE

Storybook

Thursday - (22/11/12)

Lecturer:Panton Hall

Documentary

After some case studies about documentary, I found that almost every documentary I watched have narrating. That let me think about how important a narrating is to documentary. It based on the image and written as the story goes. Narrating complete, or even improve, the image, but not repeating it. Generally speaking, I think narrating should be designed as the story goes rather than only simply talking about the image. Although it plays an important role in documentary, it is only a vehicle to make it easier for the audience to understand the idea. Meanwhile, I found that possible to make a good documentary without narrating through framing skills, sound-recording skills and final editing. Sometimes it narrows the gap between the creator and audience. I prefer to make a documentary without narrating.

Traverlling Birds

This video had spent Jacues Perrin and his crew 4 years, 460 kilo-meters of film and over 40 million dollars across over 50 countries and regions. 600 people involved, including 17 greatest pilots in the world and 2 scientific expeditions. A large amount of shots taken in different places, such as south pole, deserts, valleys and sky, make the nature admirable. During the first year of the project, they didn’t frame a lot, instead, they followed the migrant birds and off their guard. They didn’t start framing until the second year, they use special tools such as small planes, dynamical umbrellas and flying objects in the similar size as birds with a special hidden camera to frame the birds. Meanwhile, they fed some wild birds as actors to frame with the aircraft carrier and factories. All this serious preparations they have done made the video admirable and great.

The video was framing in many amazing angles which make the audience feel like they are really there, flying with the birds, so do I. There are a few words in the video, instead of it they use lots of live recorded sound and songs singed by choir. The whole video is the explanation of the first sentence of the video ‘The migration of birds is all about a promise’ which stay in the audience mind for a very long time. You will find that the earth have been changed a lot by human being by following the birds fly all over the world in 30 minutes. In that 30 minutes, the birds are the king of the world whole their living environment is now seriously damaged. The music playing when the bird was hit and the parrot successfully escaped really shocked me. The music mixed with sounds of birds flying and chirping in New Age way created the whole atmosphere of the whole video.

Sierra Leone--The Toughest Place To Be A Fisherman Part 2/2

Documentary of how catching a fish in Sierra Leone by local fishing is a matter of life and death. PART 2/2



This documentary is framing an area the fish for living. In the film, we can see the traditional fishing techniques, live style, food sources, cooking and boat building in Sierra Leone. It meanly shows the experience as a reporter communicating and interacting with the local people and talk about his feeling afterward. Surely, It is not a documentary that only framing on the sea, but the in whole live environment of the fishermen between sea and land including their habits and activities. The whole documentary looks natural which means the creator have researched deeply into both the local people and their life. Because of the friendship between the local people and the creator, they are acting naturally in front of the camera which allow the creator to catch the reality and touching moment. Obviously, this film requires lots of research before taking a shot.

work shop

WORK SHOP

 

I see:

One day, he saw a blind man walk on the road, almost everyone get out of the way. Five minutes later, when he walked to a station, there are a lot of people are waiting for the bus, people quickly stepped aside. But there are a pair of men and women were talking, and did not see him, when he went to the front to the men and women, just hit the were talking of man, and then he ruthlessly push away the man, then loudly shout: "I am blind". The open man surprised, because he did not see him, and then he is very angry, and the blind quarreled. At this time, in the station people persuade them. After a blind man went away.

The story:

A man often don't sleep, he felt that sleep is a waste of life. The day he will go to work,when he back to home he started to play a game, then at midnight, he will go to the bar, in a bar to find the beautiful girl chat up. His mouth is sweet, so many girls playing with he and he also take them to go home. Day after day, he began to have a headache and the eyes acid. When one day he especially tired, so he lay down to sleep in bed, that sleep special long time. He don't know how long time he was slept, when he wake up, he find the room was dark, so he quickly touch the switch in bedside. He want to opened the light. But let him how to open and turn off the lights, he still could not see anything. The doctor told him, he because with the eye excessive, make retina off. Now he is a blind man. Leave the hospital, he back to home, he was lying on the bed and the mind is blank. In the family persuasion, he began to be familiar with the surrounding environment, practice basic life skills, eating, use common tools and electrical appliances, etc. When he can walk out on himself, he came to his former go the bar. The girls see him, found he is become a blind man, they were ignore him. Then he went to several times, but the result is that he was very disappointed. When he got home and lay in bed. He was very angry and he did not sleep until morning. So he got up and went out. On the road, he walked very fast. When he went to the station, a man was run into him. Then he was very strong push him away and loudly of say he is a blind man. So they were quarreled. In fact, he walked fast is to hit the person and quarreled whit the person. He is in others want to abreact oneself mood.

Thursday - (23/11/12)

Lecturer:Jools Ayodeji

 

MALac

MALac

The plot is about: 

He is chained to the chair. he rubs his wrist and his hard is sweating. She stands impassive behind he.

Suddenly, she breezy said: "Are you sure you wouldn't like a drink? Never too late to change you mind."

He is afraid of the answer: "I swear, I swear. Please. Stop. Please?"

She placing a briefcase in front of the chair. She side to him: "Shush. Be quiet. It will no longer be necessary to lie."

"I swear..."He weak replied.

"Shush, shush."she kept side. Then she side:"I have here a malac." and she popping open the case side:"God it's beautiful."

She tell a man:"Could you hold him please?"

The man steps out of the shadows and forces he's hand horizontal.

"Don't. Don't. I swear." He shouted at her.

The script is about: 

He afraid drink, but she don't belief. Then she force him to drink.

The deep script is about:
As long as you have the courage, many things are not terrible.

Thursday - (08/11/12)

Lecturer:Deborah Tuck

Mere Samandar Mere Kinary - Documentary

Rehri Goth is a centuries old fishing village along the Sindh coastline. Industrial discharge, oil spill and solid waste from neighboring cattle colonies is destroying the aquatic life. The documentary explores the economic plight of the fishermen, the safety and health concerns, and possible solutions.

This video is more likely to be a comprehensive documentary. It is meanly talking about a village that fish for living and suffered from the oil spill. Lots of people get sick, but they did not aware how important their health is. The shot of a fisherman sewing the fishing net is my favor shot as it looks real and simple. Also the shot of the sick child which arise my sympathy and willing to help them. This is a very good documentary and, at the same time, a very good advertisement to seek help from the government and the rest of the world.

Wild Caught (swordfish documentary 2012)

Cognitive Dissonant Studios takes you on a journey aboard sword fishing vessel Jaxon T where Captain Hoang Gia Anh demonstrates how some of the largest commercially caught fish in the world are boarded and then brought to auction for top dollar. This is a rare glimpse into the lives and perspectives of the fisherman who make the Honolulu Fish Auction possible.

At the very beginning of the video, it shown the image of the fish market and shots of fish transferring and selling. Then comes the lead and frames he chat with the director before they start taking shots on the sea. Light is wonderful when taking a shot outdoor, but that in the cabin was that good. Personally, I do not think this documentary could complete their filming in one simple day. That is why some of the frames have a large difference in light. There are also lots of frames taken under water in this documentary. It shown the way how a fisherman dress, eat and work; also shown different kinds of fishes and place they store fishes in different ways. Fish-eye lens and wide-angle lens is widely used in this video, which made the film good. I think I need support from the University of Lens.

Amazing Cutting Fish in Japan - CANON EOS 5D Mark II Short Film

Cutting Yellow fin Tuna Fish in Japan. His technique is wonderful. Fast, clean and beautiful. Speed produces a good taste of "Sashimi", "Sushi".

This video is showing the process of how japanese killing fish with lots of close-up shots. It is a good combination of clearness and colour which makes the audience feel comfortable. There are no dialogues in the whole video, instead, the creator use rhythm of the background music and the live recording sound to control the speed. It use a traditional Japanese music as the background music which I like the feeling and inspire me to use Chinese traditional music as the background music in my film to create a better atmosphere.

Sound has a great ability of creating atmosphere; different kind sounds create different moods and imaginations. When combining vision and sound, vision gives sound a image and sound give vision a feeling and imagination. As Thomas Skinner said, the relationship between vision and sound should be ‘1+1=3’, in another word, when combining vision and sound, it create a new sense which brings the audience psychological imagination. （http://wenku.baidu.com/view/79def2087cd184254b3535ca.html）