Dance Video - Tutorial 2

We attended another tutorial with Rachel on Monday 27th Feb to discuss where we had got so far with the piece and to get some useful feedback. Here are the main points of what we discussed:

We spoke about the type of dancing that would be taking place for each Phobia-

Arachnophobia - Hand moving as and like a spider, the body small in a big space, scurrying, low levels, on hands and feet (body down low)

Claustrophobia - one dancer trapping the other, person in the middle, tracking and panning, over the shoulder, camera is trapping the body

Astraphobia - if as as duet more nurturing, dancer being electrocuted, your hand has been electrocuted, your leg has been zapped.

Now we had spoken about the way we would like the dance to look we then discussed tasks e could set the dancers in rehearsals in order to be able to provoke some interesting and emotional movement. Here is what we came up with:

- We have been getting people to fill out Phobia Surveys I made to get some first hand responses of how people react to their phobias and how they feel etc. We could take some of this language and read it to the dancers as they then interrupt it to see what kind of movements they come up with. This would be a very real way to create movement.

- We could also experiment with the idea of fight or flight as this is a big part on Phobias. We could ask the dancer for example to image they are faced with their fear and then get them to react in a fight way and then in a fight way to compare the different kind of moments we receive and see if this helps us and them.

- One for Claustrophobia would be getting a one dancer to try the other and see the different movements then used to try and escape from this space. We briefly experimented with this in a early Dance Workshop but I would want to revise it. We could then maybe remove the dancer who is trapping them and see if they are able to reenact that entrapment alone as this might be an interesting route.

- Another task for Astraphobia could be that we really play with this idea of being struck by lighting so we could as they dance and move ask them to act like different parts of their bodies have been struct or almost electrocuted and then see what interesting reactionary movements we form from this.

These tasks will give us something to work from within our rehearsals so that we can choreograph some interesting and exciting movements with the dancers that convey the emotions want.

We then discussed an action plan with her and informed her of all our dissections about the studio and dancers etc (refer to previous blogs posts). A particularly important thing we need to add to our action plan which she did remind us of was a storyboard. I am very happy to do this as I feel I have a strong idea in my head of how I want it to look.

This tutorial was very useful just to discuss much more of the dance aspects of this project and talk a lot more about choreography which has left me feeling inspired.

Dance Video Group Meeting 3

We had another meeting via group call on Thursday 23rd February to discuss an action plan and talk more in depth about the concept. Here are the rough points of what was said:

Firstly I let the group know that I had been researching into the Psychology behind Phobias and the three chosen phobias in particular. I shared with them what I had found (refer to previous blog post) and this lead me to suggest that the running order for our dance should be...
Arachnophobia - This should be first because it is the most common amongst the phobia we are doing and also is the least severe in terms of how it can effect a persons life because spider are something you can choose to avoid. Also this phobia is well know by a lot of people and therefore would be a good place to start.
Claustrophobia - This should be second because it is less common then Arachnophobia however can be more severe to a sufferer because they have to avoid certain situations in life all together such as tube stations, lifts etc. This would also be a good contrast to the previous phobia as this one is more space related and therefore fits well here to keep the viewer engaged.
Astraphobia - This should be third because it is even less common especially when talking about adults and it could be classed as more severe because it can lead to many other complications such as developing agoraphobia because you don't want to be outside incase a thunder storm strikes. This one also seems like visually it could be the most dramatic and therefore would be a good place to end the dance on.
I like this order and the other group members agreed because it will be a nice way to build tension up throughout the piece but also keep the audience interested by going from something very recognizable to something a little less so.

We then moved on to talk about the Advert which we hare waiting for our Producer to make. This will be an advert to call for dancers to take part within our Dance Video. Here is what we discussed needs to be involved int eh advert...
-Potentially Paid (we will be paying for expenses such as travel and food anyway)
-Dates them must be available, 17th March for Prelight, 27th to 30th March for the official shoot.
- 2 Contemporary Dancers
-3 Phobias
-Send a showreel to our email by the 6th of March to be considered.
-Individual and Pair submissions welcome.
Katherine as producer said she would make this into a poster which we can then circulate online and also email to dance companies and studios. We need it to be circulating as soon a possible so she agreed this would be done by midday tomorrow.

We then all greed that we would use studio B32 in university as this was free on all the dates we needed it (unfortunately other locations weren't). We were happy with this as we want a conceptual space and we by using a 3 light setup we would be able to black out the background and make it almost like a blank spotlight area in the middle for the dancers. Katherine (Producer) agree that she would go book this on Monday and a Risk Assessment would be done by then too. Sugini (DOP) is also going to get the equipment list ready by then too so she can go and book it all out on the appropriate days. We briefly discussed what kind of equipment she will be using so this will defiantly be ready for then.

We then were speaking about possible locations to rehearse in with the Dancers and we discussed the possibility of using the Actinian studios at the University to maybe at the Maltings (local theatre). Another possibility was to contact local schools to ask if they had a studio we could use. Katherine as Producer is going to look into this for us.

We then moved on to discuss music which I was really keen to do. I have a music contact who has offered to make the soundtrack for our piece so we needed to discuss what kind of thing we wanted so we could send it to him in an email so he could start working on it. We discussed the kind of sound effects we might possibly like which were...
Arachnophobia - Scurrying, Sharp ticking Noises, high pitched sounds
Claustrophobia - Breathing, Muffled and distorted sounds
Astraphobia - Thunder, wind and loud bangs.
We wanted these sound effects to hopefully be incorporated into a music track which he would mae so we started thinking into what kind of music we liked. We referred back to a Dance Video we all liked online. Here is the link -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd2KM3qjcKk&app=desktop
We liked the pace of this piece and we also thought it may be a good reference for him as it shows the kind of dance style we are attempting too. He plays a lot more modern instruments and not orchestral instruments so we knew it wouldn't sound like this but we were hoping he would be able to give us a modern take on it. We also made the decision as a group to get the track to be made 6 minutes long with 2 minutes for each phobia as opposed to 3 minutes for the whole thing. This is because we felt this loser track would allow us a lot more opportunity to make interesting choreography. We would rather work towards a longer piece with properly explore the themes then cut it back if needs be rather than it being too rushed or short. Now that we have discussed this I can write and send an email to my contact.

This meeting has been very good because an action plan for the next week has now been put in place meaning we can move forward with the piece a to more.

360 Video Preparing for Video Task

In preparation for our second 360 video workshop I thought of some ideas of what we could film locally round the university or nearby in Farnham. As we will be learning to actually use the rig properly I kept the ideas simple but also tried to come up with some which are a bit more exciting too. After watching some inspirational 360 videos I felt a lot more prepared and am very excited to get to start using thew equipment. Here is the mind map I made in preparation so we have ideas of what we could film:

I wanted to try and film the bike idea tomorrow where by we attach it to a bike and ride round however due to the weather I don't know if this will be possible so depending on what the weather is doing we may have to go with another idea as back up but we will decided when we get there tomorrow.

360 Video Inspiration and Analysis

I went off and started looking myself at 360video to analyse them and find some inspiration for what I could possible make myself. Here are some I looked at:

Roomie covering This Summer - Erfan Saadat

I found this 360video inspiring purely because I liked the idea that people had used this 360 technology and made a music video out of it. Music videos are a personal interest of mine and I would love to make one using this 360 medium because it adds a fun aspect to it. I really like the scenes in this video where there was multiple versions of the music artist playing different instruments. I feel like that was very effective with the 360 because it gave you a lot to go round and look but it also matches the surreal nature of music videos. One thing which was slightly confusing but interesting was how the space under the camera had been blurred out. I can only assume that this was to hide the tripod or maybe some bad stitching as it doesn't seem for any other purpose. I feel this is maybe a good way to hide it but I would like to maybe not have to do that if I can't not encounter those problems in the first place. I feel like this video takes on a exciting trip through London and the imagery in it matches the song as well which keeps it all flowing nicely. I feel like there is a nice mixture between seeing the singer but also having lots of nice background imagery to go off and look at as well. Overall I like this video and feels like it effectively uses the 360 to enhance the video/song.

Pac-Man in 360 - Andy Front Films
This video is slightly different because its not live action like what we are making however I just really liked how surreal and fun this 360 video was so I thought I would look into it anyway. I liked the concept more than anything of being taken into a very old fashioned game which is extremely basic but popular and seeing how it would feel. The idea that your now in Pac-Mans position and sympathising with him is very strange because its something I have personally never thought about before. One of my favourite parts about his was the way little annotations kept popping up in the game which wee telling you what was happening but also making it a more comical experience. It was all good fun really and the music also helped add to this. I also like the way this video really subtly directed you into looking at certain places and therefore you almost felt like you were controlling the game when it was actually the other way round! I feel being able to direct the audience in looking at thing in a 360 video is a very good skill to have because that what hold interest. It is again surreal but in a very good and fun way and I know we aren't animating but I would love to make something quite surreal in 360 as it seems the most fun and effective.

Five Nights at Freddys in Real Life - Devin Graham

I was drawn to watch this video simply because from the thumbnail I thought it looked quite time burton styled with the monster and I am a fan of his work. However s I watched this I realised that it wasn't actually a strong narrative piece like I thought it would be. Instead it was much more about building tension and trying to scare the viewer. The moment where I felt most on edge were when most the lights were out and it was very dark because I was scrolling round the video trying to see anything and then it would suddenly take me by surprise when the monster popped up. I feel it was successful from that point of view. However I feel like the narrative didn't really go anywhere as it was all about he child running away and then finally getting caught. I like this but I personally would have done more with the story if it were me however it has defiantly inspired me to think about how using 360 in the dark can actually be quite scary to the viewer so maybe this would be a good approach if I wanted to make a scary piece. Another thing I have now noticed is that it seems like the crew forgot they were filming 360 at a few points because if you pause the video on 1:16 you can see the whole crew behind the camera. I think this is very funny but does raise a very good point of making sure that when you film 360 you crew stand well out of shot.

Hardcore Parkore - Specular Theory

I stumbled across this video and gave it a watch because I thought the idea of videoing parker in 360 interesting because parkore happens so quickly I didn't know if as a viewer you would miss all the action. However I found there use of camera angles really influential in making you follow the action. A lot of the angles were long shots very high up so you could see a lot of what was going on and track it and these angles in themselves were really exciting even if they weren't 360. I also found there use of colour by editing the 'package' to be bright made you follow it a lot more anyway which kept you engaged as there was so much movement going on. I felt the action in this video wasn't very realistic but the way they filmed it was certainly successful. I think I would have liked to have seen a little more action in terms of actual Parkore filmed like this and less of the narrative side of it. This is something I can maybe think about filming myself though.

Swimming with Wild Dolphins in the Ocean - Jim Abernathy

I decided to look at a nature 360 video because this is a personal interest of mine and I really enjoyed the 360 rhino documentary we looked at in our first workshop. I was drawn to this nature video in particular because of the angle they have used as the thumbnail. I just like how they have thought of somewhere new and unique to put the camera such as the end of the boat which is very effective. I then like the way this flows so well to us diving in the water to get even closer to the dolphins. I like how this video again gives me a chance to see something up close that I myself may never get to personally experience. I however did feel like towards the end it lacked a little bit of motivation and I got a little bit bored. If I we're to approach this I would like to go back to some different shots off the boat again to try and adds some ore excitement as I still think I prefer the first shot to the in the water shot. I would love the chance to be able to shoot a wildlife 360 video however I don't know if this would be an option considering there isn't a massive amount of wildlife I could find round university!

I found that taking the time to look through 360 videos myself and choose which to look at has helped me find what works and what doesn't and also what kind of subjects interest me. There are a lot of possibilities with 360 which I hadn't thought of before and I am very excited to get going with this project now.

Dance Video Phobia Research

In order to begin to think about the visual aspects of the Dance Video and the choreography I wanted to do some research in Phobias themselves so I could make sure I had enough knowledge to make a piece of dance which comes from a place of knowledge rather than fantasy. Also this idea of Phobias generally interests me and I had a lot of questions I wanted to know more about.

Firstly I wanted to know why people end up with Phobias and what they physiologically are?
I found a good article on the BBC News webpage about Phobias and I found out that...
- Phobias are linked strongly to anxiety because this is a very normal response when you are faced with stress or danger. This then spurs your body to pump adrenaline so that you are able to deal with whatever you are being faced with. However the problems can start when peoples bodies start reacting in this way disproportionally to the danger actually present or even when there is no danger at all.
- The 'National Phobics Society' has recognised different factors which can trigger your body to react how I described above and therefore causing a disorder/phobia to develop. These factors are...

- Stress

- Childhood Environment

- Genetic Predisposition

- Physical factors, such as thyroid problems

- Biochemical imbalances and changes in the levels of chemical messengers in the brain

Phobias will usually be linked to one of theses causes factoring into it however it could also be a combination of these factoring together to cause a phobia. Some of these surprise me especially the bottom two because I didn't realise that your body could cause you to have a Phobia even though it would seem that they wouldn't be linked. I always assumed it was a very physiological thing but it is good to know that it can be caused for other reasons too.

- Phobias can be described as anxiety disorder which is why Phobias can if someone is willing be controlled because it is like learning to control your anxiety which many people throughout life have to learn to do.

When people react to a stress, fear or danger like I spoke about before it can be called the 'flight or fight' response which can factor into their Phobia. I want to look more into this term and find out what that means?

I found some good definitions on Wikipedia which told me...

- The fight-or-flight response is also know as hyperarousal or acute stress response.

- Flight or Fight is a 'physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack or threat to survival.' This essentially means it is how you would react when in danger.

- When put in a situation of danger the adrenal medulla (part of the adrenaline gland) produces a massive hormonal release in your body and it is these hormones which effect how you react to stress which would determine weather you will fight or flight.

- The Flight or Fight response is mainly controlled by the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system controls your heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, pupillary response, urination, and sexual arousal and acts largely subconsciously. This is interesting because a lot of these components are effected by the anxiety you feel when encountering a dangerous or stressful situation. This then makes you fight or flight.

Now that I have an understanding of where phobias come from physiologically and how they cause the flight or fight repose I now wanted to look specifically at the phobias which our group are suing in the dance video. These are Arachnophobia, Claustrophobia and Astraphobia. Here is what I found out about each one..

Arachnophobia 

(Information from an article on the 'Calm Clinic' Website)

- Roughly 50% of women and 10% of men display symptoms of Arachnophobia. It is one of the oldest and most common phobias in western culture.

- There are some theories as to why we fear spiders so much anyway. One theory is based on the idea of evolutionary phycology and the idea that because our ancestors feared spiders we do too. This could be linked to the fact that there are some poisonous species of spiders so a person who is likely to avoid spiders and keep away from them is actually more likely to survive than a person who is happy to be around them.

- Another theory about why we fear spiders is that it is culturally dependant. For example some cultures have spiders as a dietary staple were as our western cultures fears them together.

- Another much more common theory with phobias is that Arachnophobia has been taught to us by our parents in the way we are raised. By seeing a older family member like a parent show fear towards something such as a spider as a young child you would then learn that spiders are to be feared and reacted to like that. If this keeps happening then that would explain why our culture is so against spiders because we are constantly teaching the younger generation to be that way.

I then found a list of Arachnophobia facts on this website - http://www.mentalhealthy.co.uk/anxiety/phobias/arachnophobia-quick-facts.html 

Here is the list:

Arachnophobia facts 

- There are approximately 40,000 species of spiders.
- Most spiders are not capable of penetrating human skin.
- Most spiders will bite humans only in self-defence.
- Most spider bites have no more effect than a bee sting or mosquito bite.
- Recent studies show that the ‘toxic effects’ of spider bites are often of no medical relevance.
- Most venomous spiders are not capable of injecting enough venom to warrant medical intervention and of those that can, only a few cases are recorded to be fatal.
- Most researchers agree that the Australian funnel web spider is the one to avoid because of its aggressive nature, but even so, there are only two recorded bites (not deaths) a year.
- In western society, around 55% of women and 18% of men experience a fear of spiders to some degree.
- In the 20th century there were around 100 reliably recorded deaths from spider bites (one a year on average), but there were 1500 deaths from jellyfish stings.
- The house spider – usually spotted during autumn running around our carpets looking for a female mate – is not harmful to us.
- Scientists are working with spider venom to create a less toxic pesticide alternative; spider venom can be deadly to insects but harmless to other animals such as pets. - So, not only do spiders catch flies and mites, they may help us further tend to our plants in future too.
- Arachnophobia, like many other ‘simple’ phobias, can be treated very effectively these days.

Claustrophobia

(Information found on the NHS Website)

- It is estimated that around 10% of the UK population suffer from claustrophobia at some point in there life.

- It is very normal for people to fear the idea of being trapped when there is danger present however people with Claustrophobia are fearful of confined spaces even if there is little or no danger present at all. It can sometimes be linked to the idea of loosing control.

- Some people with Claustrophobia as well as other phobias can suffer symptoms by just thinking about being in a confined situation or space.

- Common triggers of Claustrophobia can be: lifts, tunnels, tube trains, revolving doors, public toilets, cars with central locking, car washes, shop changing rooms, hotel rooms with sealed windows and planes.

- Panic Attacks are a common effect caused when suffering from Claustrophobia. This can include:
sweating
trembling
hot flushes or chills
shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
a choking sensation
rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
chest pain or a feeling of tightness in the chest
a sensation of butterflies in the stomach
nausea
headaches and dizziness
feeling faint
numbness or pins and needles
dry mouth
a need to go to the toilet
ringing in your ears
feeling confused or disorientated

- There are some more severe physiological symptoms that people with severe claustrophobia can experience which are:

fear of losing control
fear of fainting
feelings of dread
fear of dying

This seems to be very serious and dangerous thoughts to have which only emphasise how dangerous Claustrophobia can be on someones mental wellbeing.

-The main cause of Claustrophobia has been found to be a traumatic experience as a child however these are the main reasons people develop claustrophobia: 

were trapped or kept in a confined space
were bullied or abused
had a parent with claustrophobia

Even thought it seems they all stem from childhood problems Claustrophobia can occur to people and develop at any time. For example you could have a bad experience as an adult like being trapped in a lift and this could cause this to develop.

Astraphobia

(Information found on Wikipedia)

- Astraphobia is a fear of Thunder and Lighting. It is also known as astrapophobia, brontophobia, keraunophobia, or tonitrophobia, or nicaduranaphobia.

- Astraphobia will mean that during a thunder storm the individual will feel extremely anxious even though they know there isn't a significant threat to them. They suffer a lot of common symptoms linked to other phobias and anxiety such as trembling, crying, sweating, panicked reactions, the sudden feeling of using the bathroom, nausea, the feeling of dread, and rapid heartbeat.

- There are symptoms of Astraphobia which are specific to this phobia such as reassurance being sought from others, symptoms worsening when alone, looking for extra shelter under a bed or in a cupboard etc, covering ears and trying to drown out the sound of Thunder, Pulling the curtains across to try and block out the lightening.

- People with Astraphobia can have a much larger interest in weather forecasts because they want to know when to expect a storm. Some people will even check the weather every time before they leave the house just to make sure that they are safe. This is why Astraphobia can actually lead to another phobia called Agoraphobia which is basically a fear of open outdoor spaces.

- Many children will suffer from a fear of thunder and lightening as they mature however it shouldn't be treated as a phobia or recognised as Astraphobia unless there symptoms persist for more than 6 months in which case they should get help to deal with it otherwise it could develop into a serious problem as they get older.

- The most common treatment for Astraphobia is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy where by they teach people to think and handle the idea of a storm differently in order to stay relaxed and eventually not feel fearful of thunder and lightening anymore.

This research has been really useful to me especially as Director because it will influence me in constructing how the dancers will represent the Phobias and now it ill come from a thought out place of knowledge which gives me much more confidence in the idea.

Dance Video Group Meeting 2

We had a group meeting over lunch on Thursday 16th February to just try and finalise some decisions now that we have had a chance to go away and look into things and think about them. Here is what we decided:

Our producer confirmed to us that the best dates for us to film would be 17th March for Prelight and on location Rehearsal and 27th to 30th of March for filming. We all agreed on these and locked them in as our dates.

Now we had decided on dates we could look into which location would be feasible. Me and Sugini were very keep to film in a studio in the university because the more we thought about how conceptual our idea is the more a blank space made sense rather than somewhere recognisable. Katherine as producer said she would enquire as to weather there would be a studio free for the days we wanted and also if not weather the scout hut/hall would be free as a back up. Katherine let us know that there was a studio free on the dates we needed however the hall was not so we made the decision to go with the studio.

Next we needed to get dancers for the proposed dates. We had a discussion as to weather we wanted trained dancers or amateur people with the actual phobia. We felt using someone with the actual phobia may put people in a very uncomfortable position trying to express it and we also felt it wouldn't be as styled. We decided we want two trained dancers, preferable a male and female so that lifts etc can be accomplished well. We want contemporary dancers as this is the style we like. We decided video submissions would be an easier way to choose dancers rather than making them audition so our next task was to make an advert expressing this that we could circulate.

Lastly we then spoke about what phobias we wanted to express. We wanted three and to have a dance for each lasting about a minute. We spoke about which phobias we had so far come across which were good to express and we felt we could do a lot with visually. We decided on Arachnophobia because we had learnt from the dance workshops that this was a good one to visually express as is also very common. We then chose Claustrophobia because again this is common an we felt we could do a lot visually with this to make it interesting by having one dancer trap the other. The last one we chose was astraphobia (thunder and lighting) because this is very common especially in children and we felt like we could really have a chance to play around with lighting effects and camera effects here. I am happy with our choices we just all need to go away and do some research so we can begin to come up with ideas for choreography.

Advanced Photography Workshop 1 - Professional Toolkit

I chose this project because photography has always been a big interest of mine and I like to take pictures as a hobby however I am going I will learn some extra skills which will help me move to a much more professional standard. Here is what we learnt in our first workshop:

Today is all about looking at file types such as JPEG and RAW which I know a small amount about but have never looked or thought into them in much detail as to what they mean.

JPEG - Joint Photographers Experimental Group
JPEG has become a standard setting for most cameras and image files however it is not good because it takes an image and in this format compresses it. This was originally the plan when this format first came about because it was to solve storage issues photographers were having with these new digital technologies. However now we have much larger memory cards and computer storage we don't really need to compress images like this so it is a very bad format to use if you are doing professional work. These files won't show the full potential of what your camera can actually capture. For example the average digital camera sensor captures colour in a bit range/depth of 12 bit colour. (This is 4096 tonal levels.) However regardless of this JPEG format only captures 8bit (256 tonal levels) so it compresses your cameras colour range way down.

RAW - This was invented by the military for evidential purposes because you can't manipulate an original RAW file. Also RAW files hold a massive amount of data in them such as what camera was used, when the image was captured etc. RAW files are much better quality because the image is basically the same output/size as the sensor in your camera. A RAW file is like a digital negative and positive of the image you have captured combined together because there is so much information you can pull out of the image. When looking for RAW files on a Canon Camera it will be named as CRW or CR2.The colour bit ring/depth in a RAW will be kept exactly the same as the bit depth on your camera so no colour or quality is lost at all.

Subject Brightness Range - High subject brightness range is bad to capture with JPEG because JPEG format will clip the image so lots of detail and tones will be lost. RAW will hold these tones and even if an image is overexposed you can gain this detail back through editing.

JPEG - This format is really unchangeable when it comes to editing because it saves all your camera setting into the image so you can readjust anything too much.

RAW - This format is unprocessed when you have captured it which is why you always have to put it into the RAW Processor window of Photoshop before you can enter the main workspace. Because it is unprocessed it hasn't saved the camera settings into the image yet so you can still adjust White Balance (colour Temprature), Gamma Correction and Colour Space.

Now we had learnt about the main reasoning for using/capturing RAW files over JPEG we put it into practice. We went out and captured some basic images in RAW to experiment with on Photoshop. Here is what we did with the one images and what we learnt on Photoshop when working with RAW files:

Firstly you can set up your workspace on Photoshop to 'Photography' which is a lot better for what we are doing. You do this by clicking on the drop down menu called 'Essentials' in the top right corner and change it to Photography-

Then you can open up your RAW image like you would open up any image in Photoshop. This time it will bring you to a different window first called 'Camera Raw' because it is a RAW format and needs to be processed first before you begin editing in the main Photoshop window. In this window though you can change things like the white balance with the drop down menu that says white balance. They all have preconfigured settings so for example 'Shade' will warm up the image. Auto however will neutralise the histogram which sometimes works well but not always. -

Some people try and use the curves on the main photoshop window to edit there exposure etc to try and pull detail bak however it still won't bring very much back. Thats because the best way to do this is in the 'Camera Raw' window we are in by using the sliders especially the exposure sliders. -

In this RAW window you can also use the white balance pipet tool found on the top tool bar to click on a grey area (This could be a 18% Grey card which you can purchase online and take on shoot for this specific purpose) as it will take this grey area and use it to work out the best white balance for the image. -

There is a very useful way to save RAW files within Photoshop Files which then allows you to go back to this RAW editing window as much as you like. You need to click on the small blue writing at the bottom of the window and it will open a Workflow Options window -

You need to change the setting in this window to Depth Option= 16Bits, Space= ProPhotoRGB, Tick Box which says 'Open in Photoshop as Smart Object'. This tick box is the most important part because if it is a seat object that is what means you can come back into the RAW data and edit it any time. -

If you go back to the Raw Window and you want to change the setting for your Raw file but yo want to save what you had you can do this. You save your settings by clicking on the Snapshot Icon in the tool bar on the right hand side. This lets you save multiple edits and presets within the Raw file info which means you can update your photoshop file to be able to access any of these versions. -

Another interesting thing with a Photoshop/Raw file like this is that it never gets rid of data. This means you can crop your image and save the file yet if you then change your mind about the cropping you can click back on the crop tool and gain it all back-

We then looked into the principles of colour spacing just to try and understand what this means. Essentially it is where colours get mapped into a given space within the computer settings. We went onto a programme on the Mac called ColourSync to look at this. It showed us how you these settings are there way of trying to take all the colours from the world and fit as many tones etc into a limited space. This is usually limited by the monitor/computer and also by the colour spacing settings you use. ProPhoto RGB is the biggest and best colour space to use yet it still doesn't fill the screen capabilities. -

We then looked into more specific ways to tackle a problem such as Conflicting White balance/light sources in an image:

Firstly a way to try and figure out a general white balance for the image is to not just use the white balance pipet within the Raw window but to actually use this tool to draw a box around the grey area which gives it a much more averaged white balance than just on pixel. If you haven't got any grey in your image and you didn't use a grey card you can just look through the White Balance presets and think back to the lighting conditions which you shot in to work out the best one like what we were using before. You can then save potentially white balance setting using the snapshot tool we looked at so you can flick between them easily to make a better decision on which ones are best.

Some setting which are best to change when on the Raw editor are...
Camera Calibration, Camera Profile has automatically been set by Adobe to 'Adobe Standard' which is controlling your image how they want. Change this setting to Camera Neutral to get the best out of your camera/image as its a more accurate edition of what you saw-

Lense Correction Tab, Then click enable profile correction which will allow you to see the settings you shot with which helps you edit your image. -

Detail Tab, Adobe has already gone and changed these settings for you again which we don't want. Are images shouldn't need sharpening as we are shooting professionally with a good ISO and these settings are intended for amateur point and shoot photographers. Therefore it is best to take these settings off. -

Then we looked at ways to use the histogram to our advantage. If you are loosing black because your image is too dark you will see this info falling off the edge of the histogram. There is a arrow on the left above the histogram which if you click highlights the areas of your image in blue which information is being lost in because they are too dark. -

and then you can do this with the other arrow to highlight in red the areas which are over exposed and loosing detail.

To change your exposure to make sure you aren't loosing any detail its best to sue the curves option. -

Once all your setting are as best as they can be and you've fixed any problems with exposure etc you can save and open it up as a smart object in the main photoshop window. You can then right click on the image layer and copy this RAW file layer as a smart object. -

This then gives you to smart object layers of the same image on top of one another. -

On the top image open it back up in the RAW window and focus on one of the light sources you have in the picture and change your white balance settings to match this. Then make sure your bottom layer is set up for the other light source. You then want to use a mask to combine both layers together to make it perfectly white balanced through out for both light sources. You use the mask tool to add a mask to your top layer. -

There are some very basic ways to use this masking tool for this process some of which are basic and others which are more complex however it always depends on your image as to which way would work best. The first way we tried was using the paint brush tool and setting it to black so that when I was on this mask anywhere I painted on the top layer would then reveal the bottom layer. -

Then I tried using the magnetic lasso tool on the top mask layer to try and cut around her in the top layer to reveal the other white balance like so. -

A much more complex way to achieve this (which didn't actually work for my images but is effective if you have the right sort of image) is to create a third version of your RAW file which is really high contrast version and save this as a masking only setting. -

Then you take this layer and insert it into photoshop as the third but top layer. Make sure the mask tool is applied to this top layer this time. Then to get onto a mask settings menu when your on the mask click select, then colour range and you will get a colour range window come up. With this you can use the pipet tool provided to select the bright or dark area of this contrasted layer depending on which one you want to mask out. You can add, take away and select with these different pipets. -

You can refine this mask area and smooth down the edges or make it more precise with the mask menu using the refine tool. However I did not do this because this process was not working with my image because I had no strong areas of light and dark which needed masking in this way. It was the model I was trying to mask out. I then went back and used the paint brush method but tried to be a lot more precise this time with the refining tools like so. -

 This left me with this image which was matched to the two different light sources/white balances. -

The last few finishing touches which we looked at how to do were sharpening techniques. To get to the rite menu you go... Filter, Other and then a grid appears which lets you change the contrasting relationships between the pixels so you can make it much sharper with these. The best settings/numbers to put in are -

This is called the 'Mexican Hat Sharpening Technique' and is a good preset to know.

You can also change the bending mode on the mask layer which usually makes a good impact. The preferred setting is 'Luminosity' over Normal as it works with tones and colours and light etc.

This Workshop has been very intense and I have learnt a lot which will be very useful to me in the future especially now I know how best to work with RAW files and why.

360 Degree Film Making Workshop 1 - Professional Toolkit

Today we were introduced to 360 videos and the making of them all in preparation to produce our own outcome. I am really interested in this project as I haven't got a lot of knowledge on 360 and the making of them as they are as a fairly new medium. Here is what I have learnt so far:

Firstly we spoke about what 360 video is and the best definition I came up with from what was said was:
'It is a video stitched together to allow people to look around the frame/space.'
Because this video is 360 it means the viewer can obviously direct and look at what they want within this massive frame so you have to think outside the box, for example things like rule of thirds doesnt really apply here. This is what makes this form of video so unique from other video work.

360 Videos can be referred to in a number of ways, these are:
Immersive videos - I prefer this term because it really describes how much more involved the viewer will be.
Spherical Videos
Virtual Reality - This only really applies on computer generated footage so wouldn't work as a name for live video.
360 Degree Video - This is the term I feel is most commonly used as it is the term I came across first and use because it gives quite a technical overview of what the video entails.

360 Video can be viewed on a number of platforms such as:
Mobile Phone or Tablet - The video uses your phones accelerometer and Gyro-meter to distinguish where you are moving your phone therefore changing where your looking on the video.
Computer - Through programmes and websites online like  Youtube 360 you can use the cursor while watching the video to drag your way around the image changing what your looking at.
VR Headset with you Phone - There are headsets such as Samsung Gear VR or Google Cardboard where you can attach your phone to the googles and look through so wherever you move your head to look your phone image follows. This is a much more immersive way to watch them.

We then looked at some examples but it is very different watching something while someone else controls it and watching it while you are in control. Therefore I have re-watched all the examples shown myself so I can control the action/view and see what I then feel about them:



This is a very surreal concept because it is a documentary/reality video with a narrative to follow yet you can look at whatever you like. What I really liked with this was how you didn't just have to watch the presenter you could scroll around and look at the amazing landscape in this video which is what I found I spent a lot of time doing. This meant at times I got distracted with what was going on but I liked it still. One thing that felt a bit jarring was the issues with the sticking in places however I understand this can always be a bit of an issue with 360 but hopefully I will learn the best ways to avoid these problems.



This video was very intense to watch especially when being able to choose where you look because its so tense. I found the beginning of the video a bit strange because of the writing setting up the narrative coming across the screen which you don't have to look out. However it is very good actually at guiding you on where to look by directing your attention with what they say. For example when they said 'come down' I instinctively looked up. I prefer the idea of making a video like this rather than a reality video. I also think this is a very high quality video technically because it is filmed and stitched really successfully.



This piece was more about looking at the landscape however you also get to explore it because you choose where to look. What I liked about this was the narration which is very guiding and talks you through where you are. If you didn't have this narration it would be a lot more boring and simply observation but this makes it educational as well. I really like the ascetics of this video and being underwater is really interesting because its some where I would never go myself however I find it a bit dull because it moves quite slowly. I would want to make something faster paced.



This is an observational wildlife documentary which is very serious and still sticks to a lot of original documentary conventions such as voiceovers however it is enhanced by having the ability to explore the images and the space. I love how you get to see such strong visuals of these animals up close which you would never get to do otherwise. I found this piece to be a lot more exciting than the last because it had a good pace to it and also the camera angles were a lot better especially the high angle looking down at the rhinos and then the low angles looking up at it all. I found this to be one of my favourite pieces we watched and re-watching it myself I liked it even more.

To be able to make a 360 Video you need an omnidirectional lens or multiple cameras because one single lens or camera hasn't got a wide enough view to it. We are using a rig called a 'GoPro Omni' which you attach 6 GoPros into and they all sync up so that you can control them all to record together at once. We are using 6 Go Pro Hero 4 Black cameras in our rig. Here is what it looks like:

We are then going to use sticking software called 'Kolor' where by we piece together the videos like a puzzle and stitch it to make it a 360 video. You can also put it into premier to edit it once you have stitched it together. We will be looking into these process a lot more in the workshops to come.

The Omni Kit consists of:
Allen Key - to remove go pros from rig and take rig apart
GoPro Tweezers - to take memory card out
Mini SD Reader  - to plug the SD cards into the computer.
7 Port USB Hub - means you can connect all cards at once to the computer which makes film management easier.
Remote - This is synced with the primary camera so you can control all cameras via this
Charging USB Cables - charge all cameras at once (battery life is only about 20 minutes)
Memory Cards - 64GB
External power cable and pack - 3 extra hours of battery life

Extra Kit (useful to get):
Magic Arm - Means you can connect the rig to many different attachments giving you more flexibility on where you can film from.
Spigot - Small attachment which connect the magic arm to the Omni Rig

I am very exciting by this equipment which we get to use next week and I am inspired to start thinking of ways I can use the 360 kit to make interesting videos of my own.

Photography Workshop - Fields and Frames

We began looking into Cameras, Artist and Processes moving from the historic to the experimental. I found the cameras and some of the process very interesting since I had never come across them before. Here is what I liked and learnt:

Wet Plate Collodion

(Photographed by Daniel Samanns)

This was one of the earliest photographic techniques which came to light in 1851. These images were captured as a negative onto the glass or metal plate where the exposure chemicals had been spread. They had to be developed while they were still wet so as soon as they had been captured they would be developed. This led a lot of photographers who used and are still suing this process to have mini portable darkrooms in there cars etc so that they could complete this whole process. These types of images give you a very smooth creamy finish which you wouldn't see on digital processes. I just like how authentic the outcome is.

John Coffer - He was a profesional photography in the 70's but began to get very interested in the Wet Plate Collodion technique and decided to start a project where by he travelled to certain places in an historically authentic way (hose and carriage) and would use all the old fashioned kit to create his own Wet Plate Collodion images. However after doing this project he continued to live and work in this very historic way. Here is an image of his work...

and here is a self portrait he took...

I really like the way he lives so authentically in order to capture photos which look over 100 years old when in actual fact they have been produced in the last 20 years or so.

Daguerreotype

(Photographed by Nicholas Shepard)

This was the original photographic practice which was developed in 1839. The image was captured on a sheet of metallic silver or copper which had firstly been polished to make it as smooth and shiny as possible. Then it had chemicals put onto which would then make the image expose onto it. The chemicals cause quite a health and safety issue because of how harsh they are which is part of the reason it isn't practiced very much anymore. Again I like how textured these images come out and its amazing to see the development of photography.

Chuck Close - Close is a hyper realists painter however he also uses this Daguerreotype process to capture amazing portraits of people...

This is a self portrait he made of himself and what I really like is how he has made it n a black background so our focus is just on this very detailed image of the face.

Jerry Spagnoli - He is also a Daguerreotype photographer and use to take pictures of portraits and  landscape as well. He just so happened to capture an Daguerreotype of 9/11...

 This is shocking that he captured this and especially using this process. However this almost cements this tragedy in history which it obviously has been.

Camera Builders:

Wayne Martin Belger - 'Untouchable Camera'

This camera is surrounded by HIV positive blood in all this industrial casing. This is why it is also more of an art statement about HIV. The blood flows over the plate of the camera which gives an eery red filter to the photos he captured with it and they end up looking like this:

This example is a very radicle example of people who have built camera however there are many simpler ways people have done this too such as making multiple else cameras, cardboard box obscures (what were building today), lego cameras etc. We also got to look at a camera mode by Peter Renn out of an old computer scanner attached to a box with a magnifying glass on the front. This is what it looked like:

I found it really fascinating how you could take some household objects and adapt them to make your own unique camera. I love the style this scanner captured the images in with a very unique rough quality. Because the scanner works across we were able to get the model to flip his head so that we needed up with two sides of his face. I love how many different possibilities there are from cameras like this.

We then had a chance to experiment in making our own basic cameras obscurers out of boxes and lenses etc. I have done this before in a workshop but it was nice to revisit it with a much wider knowledge of experimental photography now. Here is what we built:

I then attached my phone to the lid of the box and was able to capture photos with it. Here is what I captured:

This workshop has been really enjoyable especially being able to play with such a variety of cameras.

Fields and Frames Introduction to Artists and Artwork

Even though I think I will be producing a Dane Video final outcome this fields and frames project has still shown me some interesting ideas, artwork and artist I find interesting so I wanted to look into them further to see what I can learn:

This project is all about looking at the history of experimental art practices that have laid the foundations for our modern practices and using this to create our own piece of experimental art in new mediums if we choose to.

We then spoke about abstract film which as I have spoken about in other project is something that does interest me especially Surreal film. Abstract film is exciting to me because it is all constructed but for reason other than just a story so normally they will be non-linear and focus on more of a meaning and I always like to have meaningful messages to my work. It also comes very much about the medium used to create the work as well as the work itself. Mediums used in art are much more important than people sometimes realise and they can actually say a lot more about a piece. Marshall Mcluthan (media theorist) said 'The Medium is the message' and this is a very interesting perspective to take when making artwork. Each medium has its own framework  and conventions when making art so therefore is much more embedded in the message because it is specifically chosen for a reason. It is also the medium which creates the experience required for the art to portray the message.

Looking at the medium of film (which I have already experimented with in a previous workshop) when film first came about people used it to watch the real everyday action but due to its tactile nature people instantly started to experiment with what they could do with it. This practice took place majorly in the 60's and 70's however you still get people experimenting with film now. Here are some experimental pieces we were shown but I have chosen some to go away and analyse them in terms of what they were aiming to do:

'Reel Time' - Annabel Nicolson (1973)

This was an experimental film and installation piece which consisted of a sewing machine, projectors and a long loop of film. She sat on the sewing machine which was postponed inferno too the screen so that the projector cast her and the shadow of the sewiwgmachine onto the screen. She then sat and sewed the loop of film punching holes into it on this machine and this would keep the loop of film winding through the projector so the images on the screen slowly got more and more disrupted as the film when through the sewing machine more and more. I just fin her use of mediums for this piece amazing especially the though that went into it. She used the reel action of the sewing machine like a film projector and combine the images from the projector with her and the sewing machines silhouette. The message I read from this piece is very powerful, I feel that it is all about women involvement in the film world. Obviously when this was made in the 70's women rights were being fought for and here she creates a film piece of work as a strong women but incorporates an item, sewing machine, which typically stereotypically represented women in the society at the time. The way she is working the sewing machine herself and slowly destroying the film seems like a statement she is making about how powerful women can be. Looking at how other people have viewed her work I have found that other people also felt it was a feminist piece. However it has also been said by critics that it was a comment on the medium and questionable future of film. Thereby creating this unpredictable performance which eventually ends in the destroyed film you could say she is questioning how long this medium will last which is interesting to look back on now that we have seen how long it lasted and know the answer. I like this piece a lot and feel like it really says a lot technically and conceptually.

'Lapis' - James Whitney (1966)



This piece really interests me because I personally really like this style and the use of pattern is so mesmerising. You see a lot of these patterns today like mandalas in everyday life used for many different purposes such as fashion etc but is nice to see original ways that eastern and western cultures began to combine in this way through artwork. He was interested in these cultures himself and especially by the idea of meditating to gain awareness of of yourself and life. That would then explain why he has made this such a relaxing and calming piece to watch almost like you could meditate to it. It is enhanced further by the traditional indian cultural music which makes us even more involved within the piece. This piece is also very psychedelic and came about in a time when some of these psychedelic drugs were legal. Artists were not only experimenting with their art form but also with themselves and their bodies by taking these drugs in order to see what kind of artwork they could create which led to pieces like this. This obviously raised a lot of political issues with in the artwork and this is much less common now but I just like how even though this piece seems simplistic if you think about the backstory behind it and the time in which it was made it has lot more more to it conceptually and again technically. I just really enjoy this piece.

This next piece I am looking at is a current piece of work from a collective and I wanted to analyse it more just because it is so strange and I was quite taken back by it...

'The Feast of Trimalchio' - AES+F Collective (2010)


There pieces take you back visually because of how they have made it so hyper-realistic which is actually very disconcerting to watch after a while. It is almost like everything has been made to look shiny and perfect like in adverts. This particular piece was very surrealist in the actions being very representational as well as the visuals and almost leaves you trying to work out what is real and what isn't. I felt like the story of the piece was to do with the theme of 'Otherness' in particular the 'Exotic Other' and how it has led cultures to be lost of merged but not necessarily in a good way. This is a very current issue and I feel like thats why it is even more powerful because they have used very modern and current high end technology to make the piece. That could almost be thought of as very ironic. I just feel very uneasy almost watching why is happening at times and I can't quite wrap my head around the weather I like the visuals or not but I certainly like what they have tried to do conceptually by tackling a current problem with current technology.

Looking at these artworks has really helped me understand the kind of conceptual experimental pieces we could make for this project and even if I choose not to I still find learning about these artworks very interesting.

Avid Editing from Studio Shoot Footage Evaluation!

Now that my edit in Avid is finished I can take a step back to think about how it worked and how it possibly didn't work and also how I found my first project using Avid to edit. It has also given me another chance to reflect on the studio shoot in terms of what went well or what didn't work well for the edit:

Re-watching my finished edit there were a few things which I felt worked and went particularly well for me. Firstly the overlays were one of my favourite effects which I used within this piece. Our studio piece was intended to be very abstract from the beginning as it is a very conceptual idea and isn't realistic. This is why the overlays worked so well because they added to this disorientating factor in how it isn't real. It is also about how the mind works and these overlays helped to mimic how people minds can work remembering things slightly differently when they think back and memories and personal traits getting mixed together. I just feel like the overlay works visually and conceptually which is why I am happy with it.

Another effect I created myself which I liked was the glitching/flashing effect which I made by layering clips and cutting them up into very small sections. The most effective use for this was in the ending when I build the drama by having this effect slowly speed up between three shots till it is flashing a frame a second between them then cuts to black suddenly as the piece ends. I feel like this ending is much better than the slower needing I had in my rough cut. It builds tension and drama for the viewer therefore making more of an impact. Also this effect reflects the shocking ending whereby the main character looses the fight with her own mind.

I felt like the B roll footage we captured of the set was really useful to my edit to use for the title sequence which originally I wasn't sure about however I feel like it actually works well looking back because it introduces the set like an establishing shot but in a much more abstract and surreal way. It is a good comparison to see the two sides of the mind represented by the two desks and this introduces the characters to the audience almost before the piece has already started. The credits were a lot more simplistic but I liked these too because it makes it finish on a very professional looking note which is good. I feel like the titles work well for the piece without being overpowering.

The main issue I had with this edit was the sound. This issues stems all the way back to the actually shoot taking place. The sound on set wasn't recorded to a very high quality and the levels weren't set up properly so it was too low. I was so busy directing the actors on set that I didn't have time to check things like this myself but trusted the sound recordists and the main sound man to be capable of setting up and recording the sound properly. This meant a lot of the sound was unusable and also because the sound equipment wasn't working properly it cut all our takes into many segments meaning using the caller sound to like them in wasn't an option. We also didn't get the abstract soundtrack we had all planned for because our Sound man lost all his folly's we planned and also lost his soundscape edit and would not re-do this for us. As a director and editor I don't personally have the strongest set of sound skills and so I worked with the skills I did have and the time I had left and chose to just keep the camera sounds and edit them as best as I could. Then I added my own heartbeat sound effect to certain areas to add tension which I thanked worked well. I felt like the sound is the weakest part of my edit however it was out of my control and I tried everything I could. Given more time I would have gone and recorded my own sound effects to make a track and then learnt to use Adobe Audition to edit it to a high standard. This was unachievable in my time frame though but now I know for the future to always make sure the sound man is aware of how to manage and set the sound equipment and also to back up his files for him.

Another issue I stumbled upon while editing was the exposure in some of the shots. I feel like in some especially with the blue lighting it was very dark and in the red lighting it was very light. I realise that maybe this is because the camera team were rushing between each shot as we were on a tight schedule and also the different types of lighting were a very big challenge for us as a team because it meant we had to shoot a lot more footage for all the different colours and setting up each shot took longer as well because of this. I feel this was a good challenge for us though as it gave as a chance to really pull together as a team and try and achieve something different which we really wanted. We did achieve it it just meant some colouring and expire control had to been done in my edit. I mainly coloured the natural lighting shots to make the skin tones as even as possible. I then played with the exposure on the red shots to pull it down slightly without effecting the look we wanted. I then played with the blue exposure to push it up slightly. This was more tricky as it became grainy the more we put the spouse up so I could only lift it to a certain degree however these blue shots were meant to be sadder and therefore darker anyway. I felt like these different coloured shots have really show there worth during this edit because they have really helped me tell the story we planned through thesis flashing colours almost like burst of emotion.

During this editing process I have learnt how to use Avid while editing alone which is all new to me and even though I have found it really difficult learning and adapting to a new editing programme I feel like I have tried my best with it. I really liked the effects you could create with Avid and this probably was my favourite bit about editing. I feel like Avid is one of these programmes which will take me a while to adjust to but I feel like I have a good understanding of it after this project.

This editing process has also brought to my attention mistakes we maybe made on set and also good things which looked amazing from set like our Dolly shots. However the problems like the sound and the lighting on the exposure have left me with a better understanding now of how you must keep in mind the edit while filming. I was so swept away on the shoot days with directing that at times maybe the visual aspects of editing slipped my mind but I know for future now things to watch out for like the sound levels and exposure. I also feel like this project was so abstract and surreal that it really gave me a chance to edit in a very unusual way which I really prefer over perfect continuity editing. I like things which our abstract and give me plenty of room for experimenting with effects etc and here it has worked effectively on this piece. I wanted it surreal which it defiantly is and I have kept to my personal style of this through this process which has been so enjoyable to be able to do.

Overall I am happy with what I have managed to achieve on shoot and also with Avid as this was all so new to me. As always though I felt with more time on the shoot or on Avid I could have improved it further but obviously deadlines exist for a reason!