ASSIGNMENT ONE: Define Your Space

For this assignment you are required to “define a space” somewhere at Hunter College or nearby by recording 10 shots on your camcorders.  For this assignment we will not use the synch “natural” sound from the camera.

Space is defined as much by how people interact with it as by how it looks. Spaces look different from different angles, and with different focal lengths.  So think hard about the feeling of the space you've chosen.  Is it cramped or open?  Speedy or relaxed? Glaring or murky?  Devise a strategy to capture that feeling.

Consider using an overriding theme: reflections,  the city, seasons, shadows, voyeurism, and interaction.  Think also of the built environment: machinery, signage, architectural anomalies.   Finally another approach is to give your work dynamism by thinking in terms of polarities of public/private, interior/exterior, hot/cold, light/dark.

Today: 
--Working in pairs/teams, select a space outside of the classroom to film/expressively define through the camera.
--Create a shot list with your partner! Here is a template.
--Once in your location, take turns shooting!

Things to keep in mind:
--What kinds of shots and camera angles will you use?
--What kind of movement will you use, tilt, pan, tracking shot?
--How do the shots juxtapose and work with one another?

Once you are done shooting, return to class, download the clips to each partner’s USB drive. Time permitting, we will screen your shots in class. 

ASSIGNMENT DUE: Lab 5

LAB 2 - INTRO TO CAMERA WORKSHOP

Lecture 2 Review

Key Terms/Concepts:

• Short-range apparent motion 
• Early moving picture experiments = Thaumatrope, Zoetrope 
• First movie cameras:

         Thomas Edison - Kinetograph, 1891
         Lumiere Brothers - Cinematographe, 1895

• Frame Rate = the number of frames per second of film
• Double system sound
• The "guts" of a film camera
• Anatomy of raw film stock
• Advent of Television and the Cathode Ray Tube 
• Broadcast Vs. Taped Television
• Resolution
• Aspect Ratio = ration of width of film frame to its height
• Interlaced Scanning Vs. Progressive Scanning
• Early digital video formats and cameras
• DV camera body 

Standard Frame Rates: 

• Film 24fps
• Video 30fps (29.97)

Frame Rate Reference on Vimeo


Resolution & Aspect Ratios:

• SD: 480 x 640; 4:3
• HD: 720 x 1280; 16:9 AND 1080 x 1920; 16:9

INTRO TO ARRI-S 16MM FILM CAMERA

Learn more about the camera by reading the manual here.
Learn how to load the camera here.

INTRO TO CANON FS10 CAMERA

P or Program AE (Automatic Exposure): On this setting, the camcorder automatically adjusts the aperture (the size of the hole through which light travels) and the shutter speed (the amount of time a single frame is exposed to light) to obtain the optimal exposure (the quantity of light) for the subject. This is the setting we will be using in class.

TV or Shutter Priority AE: Allows you to set the shutter speed value and the camcorder automatically sets the appropriate aperture value. Generally, we won't be changing the shutter speed value in film unless we are attempting a special effect. You can use faster shutter speeds to record subjects moving quickly, use slower shutter speeds to add motion blur. 

Exposure: An image can be underexposed (not enough light) or overexposed (too much light). To manually change exposure, press “SET” and then the arrow down until you find “EXP”, adjust the brightness left to right. Then press set again.  

 

Manual Focus: Highly recommended and works best on cameras and lenses that allow for manual focus. Camcorders are not built to achieve the best manual focus which can at times be tricky to set, unless you are recording a stationary subject. 
Autofocus might not work well on:
-Reflective surfaces  
-Subjects with low contrast or without vertical lines 
-Fast moving subjects  
-Through wet windows 
-Night scenes

To adjust focus manually, press “[SET]” button, scroll to “[FOCUS]”, adjust focus left to right. Press SET to lock focus or press arrow up to return to autofocus. To reset, press SET and go back to [FOCUS].

You can use "infinity focus" to focus on faraway subjects (mountains, fireworks). Go back to [FOCUS] and hold it until an infinity loop appears. 

White Balance: The white balance function helps you to accurately reproduce colors under different lighting conditions so that white objects will always look truly white in your recordings. You can select [AUTO], [DAYLIGHT], [TUNGSTEN] (for fluorescent lighting) or you can set it yourself! 

[FUNCTION] > [SET] > Point the camcorder at a white object, preferably a clean, matte white sheet of paper, zoom into the paper until it fills the whole screen and press [SET]. Wait for the WB icon to stop flashing and stay set. It will keep this white balance setting even if you turn of the camcorder. You MUST reset WB for each environment as you experience lighting changes. Press [FUNCTION] and close menu. 

***NEXT WEEK: Bring USB drives to class! We will shoot and transfer footage***

Lab 2: IN-CLASS CAMERA EXERCISE

Find a partner. Brainstorm with your partner to find a location at Hunter with an activity going on that you can spend a while shooting OR find several locations around Hunter where you can execute the below shot list. Each shot should last between 5-10 seconds. Try and have each of your shots tell (part of) a story, even if it’s a very simple one.
 
NOTE: You may want to ask permission before beginning to film, depending on what you’re shooting.

TIP: Use a wide angle lens focal length for this exercise!
 
1. Shoot the activity from at least three very different points of view (various framings, camera angles, etc.).
2. A shot where you zoom in to emphasize an important detail, or zoom out to reveal the context of a specific object.
3. A shot with depth in the frame: foreground, middle and background.
4. A shot where the frame stays still but there is movement within the frame.
5. A camera move that has clear beginning, middle and end destinations for your camera. It is best to find out where the shot will end before you start shooting.
6. The same subject shot with a long lens and a wide lens.
7. If possible with your chosen activity, a shot where you are tracking with a moving subject, maintaining the same distance from the subject. (Be careful doing this one, please use a cooperative subject and rehearse the move). If you can’t do this shot in a way that relates to your chosen activity, just do it separately with a classmate.

Here is an example of the exercise done by a former student.

You should consider and use this exercise as a dry run for your first class project "Define a Space: Hunter College". If you feel conflicted/tortured by the idea of filming in and around Hunter, you may want to read about and watch Jorgen Leth and Lars Von Trier's The Five Obstructions for inspiration and encouragement. 

Some inspiration:

Goodfellas tracking shot 
Do The Right Thing canted angles
North by Northwest crop duster scene
Rear Window opening sequence

As we move toward our first camera exercise which asks you to explore a space in and around Hunter College, I wanted to share some works of inspiration with you. Please feel free to send me any other relevant works you like so that we can share with the class.

Romantzo by Iva Radivojevic

Mixba (Mish-Ba)

Pruitt Igoe excerpt from Koyaanisqatsi, Godfrey Reggio

Subway Ballet by Joshua Weinstein

Oh Summer by Benjamin Dowie

Prime by Ben Wu and David Usui

Byun by Ben Wu and David Usui

Also, here are two recommendations from fellow student Chris Trano:

The Sandpit

I Got U 

Former MEDP160 student work:

Serenity by Abdul Hashim