Outside of University I have been able to partake in
different film jobs to help build my own portfolio. As a part of the team at
MMU Press, me and my friend Lauren from the course were able to produce a short
film on one of the days out that MMU had in store for foreign exchange students
and any other students at MMU. The idea of this day out was to draw the
different landmarks around Manchester with permanent markers onto a see through
umbrella, then later draw over with colored pens creating a finished umbrella
that you can keep. The day then finished with tea and cakes and at a secret
library located in Manchester city Centre. Our job was to film the whole day
and edit the film together to send back to MMU Press. When filming the walk and
the crowd decorating the umbrellas, I wanted to create a professional look with
a wide range of shots to keep viewers interested, I did this through the use of
pull focus shots from the umbrellas to the landmarks that were being drawn.
Other ways of doing this were through the use of wide shots setting each
location and reactions shots of the crowd who where enjoying themselves. Once
we were able to sit down with the tea and cakes I was also able to get
interactive shots with the people partaking and other shots of the stunning
location of the secret library. We decided to interview Lisa Bach the woman
running the day out and get her ideas on what the day was about and how it
helped bring the international students into Manchester and not only show them
around but make friends with people on different courses. We filmed this with a
Canon 700D keeping Lisa’s eye line high up and to the left of the screen, also
defocusing the background to help her stand out in the shot. When recording Lisa,
we used an attachable Rhode microphone that was focused on Lisa’s vocal area to
help block out background sound. Overall the job helped build my ideas for
cinematography.
Another job I also worked on was filming a music event
called ‘Sofar’. The event consists of different bands playing secret gigs in
places like offices and houses around the globe. I was able to film in a huge
office space in Manchester and wanted to focus on getting the right shots to
create a professional film. Although the lighting in the room was highly
saturated, I was able to have three different angles of shots at the same time
and white balanced to create a more neutral colour. Again I was also helped by
my course mate Lauren and when editing we wanted to focus on keeping the
different shots fluid to help create a more interesting watch. We were able to
film all three bands that took place and also used establishing shots to help
set the scene of the area that the bands where performing. This job in total helped
me with becoming more professional with my editing and cinematography skills. Sofar and Lisa Bach have also both asked me to help make other films in the future.
