Reflective Account – Joseph Oldroyd
My
main practice within film is cinematography. I eventually want to be a Director
of Photography for feature films, but before I get to this stage I need
practice in all aspects of cinematography. In the past year I have really
pushed myself with external projects, thus developing as much experience as
possible.
The
past few months have been extremely busy for me, as many external projects/job
offers have come in along side the pre-production and production of my graduate
films.
I
work for a Corporate & Private events company called Flix’n’pix, as a camera operator. This is mostly to generate some
money for new camera equipment, but I have also learnt a lot from working on
these events by observing the practice of the two company owners, as they are
very particular and caring over their kit. This is a good trait to have as I now carry
this attitude with me throughout filming. I have also learnt how to handle clients and
crowds. These events are often very busy, filled with family and friends, so it
is important to constantly be polite and friendly, but at the same time get all
of the shots that are needed. I used to be shy and reserved on bigger sets or
with people I didn’t know but this has helped me over come this, and can take
this attribute into my practice.
I
have also worked free-lance on other external projects. I have done a number of
behind the scenes videos for a new company called Wreck My Dress, which is a collaboration including the highly
regarded Manchester based production company Sitcom Soldiers, who specialise in music videos. These ‘behind the
scenes’ videos led to me working along side them as a camera operator on a
publicity stunt they did with Key 103 in February. I have also done two promotional
videos for the Cassie Lomas Make-up
Academy, owned by make-up artist Cassie Lomas, who has worked on
celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Iggy Azalea and the Brits. I have made a good
contact with Cassie and she has promised me more work in the future. I also
recently worked for the BBC as a focus puller for steadi-cam, on a live
broadcast of the 6 Nations Rugby match, Scotland v France. This was in
preparation for the Commonwealth Games, in which I am being steadi-cam
assistant/focus puller for 18 days in a row, in Scotland. This is all paid
work, including paid hotel and food/travel expenses. I am looking forward to this,
as I am sure I will learn a lot and try to get myself known in the industry,
hopefully leading to even more work. I also have two paid music videos that are
in pre-production at the moment.
My
ultimate aim is to be working on feature films, but I have a long way to go
yet. Once I leave university I plan to work free-lance on as many
events/projects as possible, to earn money to live off, and also to fund my
short films, and build up a reputation this way. Many famous DPs work their way
up by starting like I am, then moving from music videos to commercials, and then
some make it to feature films.
I
have been researching the art of cinematography thoroughly over the past few
months, reading articles and watching interviews with top DPs in the business.
I found it very interesting to see the varied opinions and tastes that these
DPs have, but yet they all seem to agree about two things. One being that the
main goal of the cinematography is to aid the story/director’s vision in the
best possible way, and another is how important lighting is. One of the main
influences in my work comes from a cinematographer who is seen in many people’s
eyes as the best ever, Gordon Willis. Willis shot films such as Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979) and The Godfather (Coppola, 1972), changing
the art of cinematography forever. Another, more contemporary cinematographer
which I am majorly influenced by is Benoit Debie. Debie shot Harmony Korine’s
latest feature Spring breakers (Harmony
Korine, 2013), and Enter the Void (Gaspar
Noe, 2009), which both have strikingly vibrant visuals and colour schemes. Like
Willis, Debie uses colours and lighting to set the overall mood/look to a film,
ultimately shaping the way that the audience feels about a scene. This is
something I have taken into my practice, as when I read a script now I
categorise the aim of the scene, and from this decide how the scene should ultimately
look.
Problem solving is constantly present on set. Especially on the low
budget films/videos that I work on, and I feel that I am good at overcoming
these problems. Time is a constant strain, so therefore I have had to learn to
work fast and efficiently. When working as a camera assistant, it is crucial to
be able to think fast and ways around things, to take a weight off the DP’s
shoulders. A good 1st AC should be doing the job without having to
be told what to do by the DP. This means checking batteries for charge, having
lenses to hand and most importantly understanding the look that the Director of
Photography is trying to create, and aiding his vision in the best possible
way. Over the past 2 years I have been a 1st AC on many shoots. I am
now much more efficient than I was when I started, as I am much more technical
and experienced. I am a kinesthetic learner, meaning that I learn best from working
practically, so getting as much experience on set as I can improves my practice
greatly. Being an Assistant also allows me to observe how other people work. It
is also a good chance to get to grips with new equipment, for example I hired a
Canon C300 for one of my graduate films, and because I had been around it
before it was much easier to get used to. I also hired a Profoto Pro-daylight
HMI that I had used on sets before so therefore I had knowledge on whether it
was capable of functioning well enough for the purpose I had in mind. Working
in film creates lots of problems, both technical and artistic. There are often
disagreements on how to shoot a certain scene or shot, and it is up to the crew
to come to a conclusion on this, sometimes having to compromise for the macro perspective
of the film. I have learnt that cinematography isn’t the most important aspect
of a film, instead, the camera is a tool used to put someone’s vision on the
big screen. This means that sometimes I have to compromise on certain shots
that I want if the director doesn’t feel that it would aid the story.
I
have improved on my organisational skills a lot since starting University. I
have seen first hand that lots of work needs to be put into the projects to get
the results wanted. Once I have read the script of a film and broke down the
scenes into how they should visually look, I then start to research how I could
best create these visuals. I look at the technical and creative side, watching
certain films or scenes from films that created a similar look to what I want,
and then researching the best technology/kit (within my budget) to achieve this
look.
There
were many techniques used on Holloway’s
Garden that I had not had experience with before, and therefore had to do
thorough research in order to pull it off. One of the most challenging of these
was the green screen. For the research film we briefly used the chroma-key
method, but this was sprung on me last minute and therefore I did not have
chance to do my research. The lighting was wrong thus the green screen did not
work correctly. As I had lots of time to prepare this time round, I did my
research on the correct way to light the subject and the green screen itself,
but I also went into the studio and practiced these methods. The tutor in the
green screen studio was very helpful and gave me tips on how to use the green
screen properly. As we needed a full body shot for the fairies, the lighting
method is slightly different and more difficult than normal, so therefore I had
to practice this a number of times until I got it right. The tests that we have
done so far look good so I am hoping the hard work will pay off in the final
film.
I
also experimented with underwater filming. Underwater filming is a specialist
area of filmmaking, which is very difficult to perfect. Although my underwater
shoot was very simple, consisting of just a few shots and a couple of seconds
of film time, it proved to be very difficult. We used Levenshume Swimming Baths
for this shoot, where they kindly allowed us to turn the house lights off, and
use 1 800w redhead to shine directly through the water, giving shards of light
into the water, which was the look I originally wanted but thought this may not
be possible in a public swimming baths. We then laid black cloth across the
wall of the pool, behind the subject to disguise where we were, and weighed
them down with weights. I used my own Canon 6D DSLR for this shoot, in a
waterproof case, which proved very difficult to use. I had to set all the in
camera settings before placing it into the case, including the focus and
aperture, and then guess the focus point once in the water as I was unable to
see the screen through the case. When we started filming we quickly found out
that our actress was a weak swimmer, although she told us otherwise in her
audition, so therefore we were unable to get the exact shots we initially
wanted. Instead I managed to capture decent snippets of footage that we can
chop up and add into a sequence. Although this shoot did not go to plan, there
are still some shots worthy of making the final film and it was a good
experience for me to learn from.
For
Elliot’s film, Peasants (working title) I had to be very organized. I was
hiring a large amount of equipment from Calumet, and also had to organize an
official police officer to be in the film. He agreed to have a small role in
the film as long as his badge number was not visible, and he checked with his
boss to make sure this was ok, which it was. The problem was that we had to
film whilst he was working; therefore I found a location suitable for the scene
in Swinton where he works, so that if he got a call he would be close by. I was
very stressed on the day of shooting this scene because I knew that so much
could go wrong. Elliot and I went to the location extra early to plan out all
of the shots. We just about managed to get the footage we needed, but the
quality of it suffered because of the lack of time. I also managed to hire a
steadi-cam at a cheap rate for two shots in the film. These shots were very
specific and would not have had the same effect if I had done them handheld so
therefore it was important to hire this piece of equipment.
I
have tried to be experimental and innovative in my time at University,
particularly in my final films where I have used many different styles and
techniques, consisting of cranes, steadi-cam, underwater filming, green screen,
and industry standard cameras. I have used the time to explore and develop my
own style, practicing and testing an array of different styles until I found my
own. Through the study of cinematography theory, I have much more knowledge and
understanding on how to tell these stories in the best possible way, through
lighting and how a character is portrayed on screen.
Bibliography
Manhattan,
1979, motion picture, Director – Woody Allen
Enter
the Void, 2009, motion picture, ICI Films, Director – Gaspar Noe
The
Godfather 1972, motion picture, Paramount, Director – Francis
Ford Coppola
Spring
Breakers, 2012, motion picture, Director – Harmony
Korine
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