Moving the camera - 'The Extended Take'.

Over the last few weeks we have been concentrating on editing in terms of continuity, montage, and conventions. This week we want to shift emphasis to the camera and the frame - where we started at the beginning of the term.

There are times when, for artistic reasons, a Director will avoid using the cut.  Hitchcock shot 'Rope' in 4 unbroken takes (Each a reel of film).  The actors and the camera were choreographed to achieve the desired variations in shots and framing.  Since the film is based on a play the result is very theatrical in effect.  Other Directors have used the technique as a way of making a statement about their skills.  A famous example is from the opening sequence of "Touch of Evil'.  Orson Welles wanted to impress prejudiced Hollywood Producers in an attempt to re ignite his Hollywood career.  Below is the 4th and final take of the day.  Many of the extras had gone home but it's the one that made the edit.  It has a beginning, a development and conclusion.  It also serves to introduce the theme, main characters and context of the film.




That opening scene is SO famous that here it is referenced in Robert Altman's 'The Player'.  (This movie is stuffed full of insider references.  But the 'hommage' to Touch... is obvious and flagged up in the dialogue!)



One shot movies take the idea of 'extended takes' to it's extreme.  'Russian Ark's a whole actual film that was shot in a single take.  It was a huge undertaking.  It was shot on a video camera but the batteries meant that there was only enough battery power for a limited number of takes on the day.  Permission to use the Hermitage Museum meant that there was only ONE day to shoot.  Oddly it's the 4th and final take that was completed (it was the ONLY complete take).



Which brings us to Timecode.  Here we have 4 cameras all shooting simultaneously and then shown simultaneously as a split screen movie.  This movie was shot on new for the time Sony video cameras.  It was shot 14 times - they started shooting once a day.  Then the cast would watch it, agree changes with Mike Figgis the Director, then repeat the next day.  Sony pulled the plug so they went to 2 takes a day - making the full use of daylight hours.  The finished film is also the final take.  Take 14.



Can you actually tell a whole 'story' in a short single shot film?  Yes...



These films were made by Artists for the Arts Council a few years ago.  Their strengths are a simple idea, carefully staged and filmed.



We will do this as a team activity on Wednesday 12th December.  Meet at 2pm in GH201.  So prepare your teams and ideas ahead of the session.  You might want to get some props etc.  One member of the team will need a digital stills camera.

Final Task of the year! Plan and shoot single shot movie.  Slate your takes. Upload/embed reflect and review on the blog using behind-the-scenes photos. (So each team needs a photographer too.)

Remember to 'block' the movement through.  Plan the movement of the camera.  Hitchcock's advice is valuable here

“Make the most important thing the largest thing in the frame.”

Careful handling the camera.  Minimise rotation on the axis.  Be careful of risks of tripping and dropping the camera.  Focal length is important.  Use WIDE.  Why?

Rich Wood has prepared a screencast on 'grips' to help you.



Remember the action/narrative is a single ‘action’.  It needs a beginning – Inciting incident – development – resolution.  Beginning/middle/end.

Finally here are a selection of films related to expended takes in a single YouTube playlist.

'EXTENDED TAKES'

 

The cost of free music! (Permission Vs time)

What is 'free' music?

http://londontheinsideswag.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/free-burritos.html

When someone makes or creates something the ownership of that item belongs to them (unless they do it as part of their paid employment).  The copyright is the Creator's.  If someone uses the item subsequently then they should do so with the Creator's permission.  That might also include payment.  The internet makes it possible to distribute material separated from it's original context and Creator.  The ownership and property rights of online material is a very complex issue.  Check out the film below.

Rip: A remix manifesto

RiP! A Remix Manifesto by Brett Gaylor, National Film Board of Canada

Just because you can find music on the Internet doesn't make it 'free'.  It just means that it's available to you.  In the work that I do with students I always insist that the music you use is copyright cleared.  That is to say that you can demonstrate that you have permission from the copyright holder (who may not necessarily be the Creator) to use that music for your specific project/film.

It is quite easy to find 'copyright free' music.  It's sometimes referred to as 'copyleft' music. It's still not actually really free - some rights are reserved.  Most commonly it is licensed under a 'Creative Commons' license.  These are designed specifically for the Internet Age - since previous copyright structures have proved difficult to employ a global web context.  Student work is 'non-commercial' so the most basic CC license allows Students to use the material as originally created with just a credit.  This is an easy request/requirement to meet.

What is 'Royalty free' music?  

This is music that doesn't require a User to buy it but often still requires  licensing payments depending on context of use and repeats etc.  It's not 'free' as in 'nothing to pay'.

What is the downside of using copyright free music?

There is so much out there that is unsuitable for your project or plain terrible.  So it takes time to find what you need.  But if you have a good idea of what you want , then it's just a matter of time.  So start looking AS SOON AS YOU CAN.  If you are in a group then nominate a 'music researcher'.  Get them to find a selection to play to the team.  Remember to collect the details of the musicians, lable, webiste etc.  You will need these in you documentation.

Isn't this all rather uncessary.  No one else bothers with it!

Put yourself in the position of the musician, artist, writer, Poet, scultper, designer, Record label etc.  It's their work so they should make the decision.  You will own the copyright for your project.  If you want to enter your film into a festival they will need to know, from you, that you have the rights.  All the rights which includes any material created and used in that film.  If you don't then they can't show it.

Where do you look for CC music?

Creative Commons

Vimeo Music Store

Internet Archive

Freesound.org

Opsound.org

Philharmonia Orchestra (samples)

Jamendo

As a big fan of Soundcloud I would also suggest that you could source some really great music here too.  It's not CC'd but it's quite easy to contact the musicians via SoundCloud to ask permission to use it for a project.  Here's a 'User' called 'Music for non profit films'



You can also contact 'Record' labels directly too, if they have a track or artist you like.  They will often grant you permission in an email.  That email is enough prove for me!  The smaller the label the more student- friendly they seem to be.  But you need to allow time for them to grant you permission.

Workflows – or the dull art of planning ahead.

Now you have worked on your personal projects it might be a good time to reflect on your media production working practice.  We could refer to this as ‘The workflow’ of a project, primarily in post production.  Why now and not before you went into production?  Well it’s hard to understand why you need to think about this until you discover its importance.

At first glance it seems over-complicated and time consuming.  You can make it as complicated as you like – that’s your choice.  If you get stuck during post production, you might decide that a little planning might actually save A LOT of time!  (To say nothing of the stress and frustration.)




What format are you shooting in?  What camera will you be using?  What arrangements for sound will you make?  What control will you want to exercise over the material?  There are consequences for all these decisions.  Just deciding to shoot on the ‘best’, most expensive, highest quality camera is not necessarily the obvious choice.  You need to work it back from the ‘deliverable’.  What does the client want?  What have you been asked to provide.  This will suggest the minimum for the project.  If you think there is an advantage in ‘future- proofing’ your work then you might want to increase the technical spec of the project.  Mixing formats, codecs and frame rates is possible on one Premiere timeline but it’s worth trying to avoid this if you can.  At least minimise it.


When you create your Premiere project make sure that your Timeline uses the settings that match your shooting format.  (Tip:  The first time you drag a clip into the Timeline if the settings of the clip don’t match the sequence settings Premiere will ask you if you want to change the sequence settings.  Yes, you so do!  GOTCHA! If you use a keyboard short cut to place the clip it doesn’t offer you this option.)



Once you have decided on the camera, frame rate/size and codec it’s worth thinking about the organisation of your project.

This seems rather dull in comparison to being on location or editing.  But it can have a huge effect on the ease with which you complete post production.  How complicated can it be to find something on a computer?  Answer – very!

Macro level – file structure

When I work on a project I use a pre-created folder structure and I then stick to it religiously.  Because everything has a place – the same place for each project – I can always find things.

Here is my Folder Template

Here is a link to the folder.  Download a copy if you want.

I don’t use every folder in every project but it covers most of the situations I meet.  If it didn’t I’d adapt the template.

There are moments when this approach really shines; when you move or copy the project.  You get ALL the files.  Also when you are sharing post production.  Your colleague can follow the pattern and everyone can save and file things logically.

Notes and paperwork and should be stored too with the project.  CS6 offers a wide range of applications that you might use on your project.  All these different application files need to be stored together.  These programmes generate supplementary files.  Make sure these too are stored in the place you want them.

Micro level – naming conventions

Is that all it takes?  If you just did that, you would find things much easier.  But you can take it further.  When you look for a file on a computer you start by looking where you might have put it.  If it isn’t there you do a search based on titles or words.  Deciding on a ‘naming convention is a small housekeeping step that can have a large effect.

I name my project folders using the US date format plus a logical title.

See how the use of the date has automatically organised my projects in date order.  You need to use the MM-DD-YY date format.

When you are shooting a narrative based film deciding on your naming convention and using it on location will mean that you can find the material based on useful criteria. For logistical reasons most films are not shot in story order.  Therefore slating a take using

Scene:Shot:Take (00:00:00)

means that when the shots are logged or subclipped, the result will be that all the takes automatically end up in script order (and take order).

If you are using ‘dual system audio’ using the same convention with the addition of an A (00:00:00A) for audio will result in the video and the audio of the same take being listed with the video first and the correct audio immediately below.

You can customise your naming convention to include information that will help you later, and that’s the key.  You need to PLAN AHEAD.  You might want to add a camera operators initial, a camera number (for multi-cam), or location tag or similar.  You are effectively adding your own ‘metadata’ in the file name.

Organisation = time, on even a small job this might make the difference between breaking even or making a profit.  The bottom line is that organising IS editing!  The ‘Pareto Principle’ can be applied to editing – 80% of your editing time will be taken up with the last 20% of the edit.  So once the rough edit is complete you will probably need 4 times that time to complete the edit!

Exporting

The care and attention you have spent on your production workflow and edit can all be undone by sloppy exporting of your project.  When this happens it’s possibly a result of rushing, and therefore bad planning, or a lack of understanding of the source and output settings in Media Encoder.  Play spot the difference – then figure out if the differences are what you want!

If you export using the sequence settings you will get a rendered output file that is identical to the sequence.  However it’s more likely you have a particular use or format in mind such as YouTube, Vimeo, disc, USB etc.  Whatever settings or pre set you use (and the Media Encoder’s are good) the rendering and compressing can take quite a while.  See the example above the frame rate is identical but the frame size is reduced and compressed using the H264 codec.

It’s worth selecting a short section that best represents the encoding challenge* and just exporting that.  Then check the playback and framing, before exporting the whole sequence.  You might also want to experiment with a variety of settings.  Label these carefully and store with your project.  You may want to refer back to them again.

* What would be an ‘encoding challenge’?  Think about the process of compression and the answer is quite logical.  Any changes in frame size, codec and frame rate (particularly an increase) will require the computer to perform calculations.  The compression algorhythm has to interpolate and generate frames so the amount of compression can hugely affect export times.  Pick a section that includes rapid change from one frame to the next.  If movement is predictable it requires less compression than movement or change that is really random.  Think water or smoke verses movement from left to right.  Rapid lighting changes or any section that involves graduated change.  Artifacts are often very visible at these moments.  If the effect is bad you may have to adjust the output settings.

Filming with the Canon 600D

The Canon 600D is an amazing camera for shooting video at an almost unthinkable price.  It was originally designed for taking stills, which explains some of it's design oddities when it comes to video.  It's works quite differently from a video camera like a Sony Z1 etc.  The camera shoots in FULL HIGH DEFINITION with a wider 'latitude'( ability to handle a wide contrast range from light to dark).

Here are ten points that highlight some of the issues I have found when filming with the camera.


1.  Movie mode.  When in movie mode the camera will automatically focus.  However to have better control you will want to shoot in MANUAL mode for both exposure and focus.  If you have to change either during recording you need to be careful.  Exposure increases in steps and changes are visible.  If you 'lose' focus it can also be very visible. You see both these mistakes a lot.  Built in focussing aids don't work while recording.

2. Depth of Field.  Because of the design of these cameras you can get a 'cinematic' DOF look.  One part of the scene is sharp and the foreground/background are thrown out of focus.  The wider the aperture used, the shallower the DOF.  You will need a 'fast lens'.  One has a low 'f stop' such as f2.8 or below.  Focus becomes really critical.  We see this effect overused now and many more focus issues too.  Similarly as you 'stop down' you get a wider range of things that will be sharp.

3. Focal length.  The lower the focal length the wider (the field of view of) the lens.  The wider the lens, the deeper the DOF and the easier it is to focus.  More objects are sharp in front and behind the point of focus.  There are 3 lens for these cameras (at BSU).  35mm, 50mm and the standard 18mm - 135 mm Zoom lens.  The 35 and 50 are 'fast lens' with f1.8 as their widest aperture.  They are letting a lot of light pass through to the chip.  So a wide angle lens stopped down to f11 or more will have a huge range of objects in focus.  But it will require much more light for a given exposure.

The zoom is much slower.  Zooms are popular since they seem to offer a wide range of focal lengths in one easy to use package.  Downside is they are 'slow', the maximum aperture is f5 making it hard to get shallow DOF if you want it.  Often used to avoid moving the camera.  Lens/focal length use is one of your key cinematic storytelling tools.  Use your feet to move closer not the zoom.

4. Shutter Speed.  The shutter speed you chose will affect the way motion is recorded by the camera. 1/50 of a second is a good all round choice.  Lower will add distinct blur to moving objects.  Film has blur because of it's frame rate of 24 frames a sec.  High shutter speeds make fast motion look jerky.  Think 'Saving Private Ryan'.  At some frame rates shooting under LED lights you will get a flicker.  To get rid of this you will need to increase the shutter speed.  It can be hard to spot on location - unless you really look for it.  You can't fix it in 'post'.  On the camera, shutter speed is the rate at which you expose light to the chip, the frame rate is the rate you record as a movie file.  This is selected in the set menus.  25 frames a second is a good all rounder.  Higher means larger files and a higher data rate.  Higher frame rates gives slo-mo with less blur ie 60 fps or more.

5. ISO.  This is not something you have to deal with on a DV camera.  The lower the setting the more light needed for the images.  In lowlight shooting the camera can often record but will need a high ISO (1600 and over).  Downside is that the images are often grainy and lack deep colour.  The lower the ISO the higher the definition and the richer the colours.

6. White Balance.  Light has a colour temperature and therefore 'cast' which our brains make adjustment for.  The camera sees the lighting sources colour cast and tries to guess the correct adjustment when in 'auto' mode.  You can sort some WB errors in Post.  Getting it right or close to when you shoot will give you less to do in Post and more flexibility when you colour correct/grade.  Use the presets if you are in a hurry they provide a good starting point.  Manual WB is not neat on the 600D but is possible.  Use the same preset if you are using two cameras to shoot a scene. That way the WB will match in Post.

7. Audio.  There is a built in mic and it does actually work quite quite well under some limited conditions.  However it's best not to rely on it for anything other than audio to sync separately recorded audio.  Leave in auto.  For drama, use a slate and clapperboard to mark and Post sync your shots.

8. Post.  The 'workflow' when working with DSLRs is substantially different from Film and DV cameras.  The aim with those cameras was to create the 'look' in the camera.  With DSLRs the 'look' is created in Post after editing.  The Look starts with the camera settings.  If you want the most flexibility in Post then you try to get as much information - digital detail - in the shadows and highlights as you can.  Avoid any in-camera processing of the video.  No sharpening, no contrast, no colour enhancement.  All of these things are best done in Post.  But they will take time and judgement.  Create your own 'User Preset' in the camera.  Dial Contrast down to zero, Sharpness down to zero, and Colour to -2.  Your images on the LCD will look less punchy but you will record much more detail in your footage.  Slight under exposure is better than over exposure.  You can't put detail back if it wasn't recorded.  If you are used to Colour correcting DV footage you will be shocked at the range of CC you will have without creating too much grain.

9. Handling the footage.  You will generate a larger amount of digital material than you expect.  So you need to be ready and organised for this.  Have enough SD cards and a workflow for labeling and 'ingesting' them.  I use 'Bridge' in CS6.  There is 'Prelude' too.  Make sure you have enough batteries for the camera.

10.  Additional items.  You will need to support the camera properly.  You can't use the viewfinder in Movie Mode.  That's fine in dark situations.  But when shooting in daylight or situations with high levels of ambient light, it's very hard to see the shot, framing and focus.  So 'lupes' or similar are very handy.  Magic Lantern is an open sourced firmware update that goes some way to improving the features and functions of the camera for video recording.  Installing it does invalidate the products warranty and comes with no guarantees of it's own.