Third Shoot

For my third shoot I returned to the pheasant shoot I went to for my cultural descriptions project to tick shots off of my shoot list. I shot a mix of landscapes, closer landscape details, and people shooting. I believe I got some good footage that will be included in my final project.

I ran the Tascam and camera for the length of each drive (around 10-15 minutes each), so I have a lot of footage to select and edit into the final film. Because of the length of the clips, they will be illustrated with screenshots.

There were two particular clips that I felt deserved to be made into GIFs to demonstrate some movement in the frame.

This GIF includes a pheasant flying through the frame. It is hard to see as it is moving quickly (and the GIF has been slowed down in speed). There were more pheasants flying that did not make it into the frame, as I used my 55-250mm lens, as I thought that would be the most appropriate lens (I was wrong). However, I do like this crop of the tops of the trees, and it is interesting to have some flashes of movement from the birds.

This GIF shows the moment dad killed a pheasant and his reaction to it. I think this is quite a powerful shot as it displays his joy at killing the bird and shows him in the act. This was shot on my 18-55mm lens in order to get a full body shot, and the composition shows the varying landscape in which the shoot takes place (rough ground and woodland). 

I believe I have got some good footage that I will use in combination with the footage I shot last weekend in my final film. 

Second shoot

Based upon my previous shot list/storyboard, I began to capture some of the shots required for my film. I hired out a D600 and a Tascam to shoot and record audio. Many I shot repeatedly from different angles to have a selection to choose from when editing later on. Much of the content was still in the frame, so I will only include screenshots to illustrate them.

I also shot some footage of dad cooking meat, which I filmed and recorded with a Tascam. Sections of the footage will be included in GIF file format.

The crop could have been closer in this shot to just include his hands, the knife, and the meat, but I also like that it includes his upper body too, so that it is not an anonymous figure cutting the meat.

I used a closer crop to shoot dad placing the meat in the frying pan and cooking it, in order to draw attention to the pieces of meat. 

I then used an even closer crop to shoot dad adding the mushrooms and the cream for more detail.

I then completed the sequence by shooting the close zoom image of dad dishing up the meat with the accompanying food (rice and vegetables).

Initial Filming

I wanted to start "creating" for this project as soon as possible, so I booked out a Tascam from the media centre and a Nikon D800e with a 50mm lens from the photography office so that I could get an initial audio and visual recording of my dad talking about the family's history with blood sports. 

Bedroom setup

I set up both the Tascam and the Nikon on tripods in my parents's bedroom, as the walls are plain. We set up a chair near the wall for Dad to sit on as I recorded, and he had made a list of things he wanted to cover, from the wider family background to his participation. We tried recording a few times - some were stopped short as the Tascam could pick up the sound of him moving his hands - but eventually we gave up. 

I decided that the background was too plain, and the shirt he was wearing blended in to it, the neighbour's dog wouldn't stop barking and the audio was being picked up, and Dad's delivery of his narrative was too formal and "stiff" sounding. The light was also being affected by dark clouds, and turning up the ISO left the image on the camera either too contrasted or too noisy, depending on ISO number. However, upon reflection, the focus is sharp and crisp, which pleases me. 

We decided we would try to shoot again the following day. I added notes to his notes that depicted little things to think of while delivering his audio (e.g., no moving of hands or feet, no vague indications of time "last week" etc, to be relaxed). When watching playback, he said that he felt that he was giving a formal presentation, like he was speaking to my tutor group about it. 

Screencap

We continued the following day, and decided upon the front room as a location to record. 

Front room setup

I felt that being on the sofa instead of on a hard chair might be more relaxing, and prompt Dad to give a more fluid delivery of his narrative. I instructed him to look wherever felt comfortable as he was talking, and to try to talk as if he were talking to me. This gave a more free-flowing style of delivery, which is what I was going for. To sync the audio and visuals in post-production, I used my hands as a replacement clapperboard. 

I believe that the end result was successful. The only things I don't like are that because the carpet in the front room is red, when the sun shines brighter it reflects a red cast onto Dad's face; and also at the end of the audio, my dog waking and shaking his head can be heard. As this is an initial recording I expect I will have to rerecord this following feedback, and will consider the red casting and audio problems when I rerecord. 

The first recording of audio and visuals can be viewed here.