Pre-Production: Cinematography

Although most of my time during principal photography will be spent in front of the camera, that doesn't mean that I won't spend any time behind it. It is yet to be decided who is to take the reigns of the camera, but it is a certainty all group members will all have the opportunity to put forth their own unique avant garde method of individuality to filming and have a go - myself included.

With Pre-Production soon to be replaced with Production (I hope), I took time out from life to watch a few artefacts of cinema, to dissect the components of what makes a film a film with the hope inspiration and confidence would be instilled into my psyche from my voyeuristic tendencies, which would make approaching cinematography in our video all the more easier.

Before allowing cinema to dominate my evening, I took the time to look through select videos on YouTube explaining the nuances of how a film is presented on screen, and the techniques used to present a film to reflect the narrative's one and only goal, and that is to tell a story.

One video which I came across, titled: "A guide to basic cinematography" essentially outlined some of the functions that correct positioning with the camera could provide visually. An extreme close up, which focuses typically on the subject's eyes, provides subtle information or even clues to the audience. A wide shot, centres the subject within the screen among a dense landscape, to purport a general idea of where that subject is, and to potentially suggest the subject's isolation among its surroundings.

A guide to basic cinematography: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQnKGXHbgMA

While the video provided interesting stimulus in regards to shooting techniques, the main point of calling that the evening was to offer, was cinema. And she provided alright. From American Psycho (2000) to Chopper (2000), I sat unbounded from anything else and analysed the particular components used to accentuate the visuals of both films. While both films for the most part, narrowed their lens to focus on the primary character, I noticed both films used a wide shot invariably. This may have been used, from what I could see, to pinpoint the character within the world to detail the distinctiveness of both controversial characters.

Which would be an ideal archetypal standard to follow for our own video.

Follow we will...

Ceysun Dixon KU ID: K1326851