Gayle Woodruffe - Talk

Today we had a quick presentation with a representative of Northern Film and Media. They look and host a lot of events in the area related to the film industry and also offer talent development, some small funding and a production service. They host four main events; careers and networking events, bootcamp (which happens every quarter of the year), masterclasses and workshops. More info is on their website. 

Mostly, Gayle offered us advice on what to do after University which is useful for my Professional Practice module. Firstly you should know for certain what you want to be and what the role entails; for camera look at things like what cameras to use and where from. Next, there are two main production services/databases, one is north east exclusive (Northern Media) and the other is wider (Creative England). There's also two Facebook groups to join which I have already done. Creative Skillset offer further training and websites also have a Trainee Finder and traineeships is another option for getting into the industry. 

For looking at jobs in he industry, always find a person to contact rather than an overarching email address, and make sure it's the right person (usually a Line Producer). CV's should be one page ideally, and must hook the reader in half of that. Put the most relevant to the job first such as experience and expand on it. If something is not relevant, use transferable skills and make it relevant. Show your personality. Learning to drive is also pretty much a must (unless you're based in London).

Social Media

I have created a lot of social media accounts for my cinematography. I will include links to each on this post and how I will be managing them;

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahmahermedia
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahmahermedia
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmahermedia/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-cbDMpEswewE0ZXgObzM3Q (can't seem to change my URL)
• Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/sarahmaher
• FilmFreeway: https://filmfreeway.com/sarahmaher
• IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm8574445/?ref_=tt_cl_t8
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmaherfilm/
• Website: https://sarahjoymaher.wixsite.com/media

I have had my Facebook account for a while and have even had a job from it (see my blog posts about the wedding photography and editing). I have linked my Twitter and Instagram page to my Facebook page, which means when I post to Facebook, it appears everywhere else too. I have done this before with the Facebook page for Cirque du Muerte. I'm currently updating my Facebook with new projects, as well as introduction posts to Instagram and Twitter as they are looking a little empty at the moment.

My website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter will be my main social media accounts as these have the most viewing figures and best coverage (LO1). My Facebook page is already proven to have employment potential. Instagram is perfect for photographers/cinematographers as it's very visual, but will be more of a portfolio as I have not seen a lot of people gain jobs from Instagram (Linkedin is best for applying for actual jobs, which now I think about it is also a main social media account for me). Twitter is quite similar to Instagram but with more professional connections so people may see it in passing. My website will be the main focus and tie everything together with my showreel and projects all in one space for people to see; this is where I will direct people to go. 

I have had my Vimeo channel for a while, mostly for college work which is a bit embarrassing. So I put those videos on private and changed my account picture. I am in the process of uploading videos from my old channel which is clogged up with gig footage to my cinematography YouTube channel but it is taking a while as I'm having to do it manually. 

I am also updating my FilmFreeway profile. I can't seem to add more credits to my account which is a shame, and doesn't look great with one project under my belt (Afflicted, which doesn't even have a poster or still). I have also had an IMDB account for a while, but can't seem to upload any headshots sadly. I have added a few official sites so people may even click on these. Hopefully these professional ones are decent enough to include; I can do this by signing up to a 30 day free trial, claiming the profile, and adding my picture to it.

Media City Jobs

Last year I asked my brother (who knows someone who works in Media City) for work experience for me over the summer. This didn't happen mostly due to communication errors and also being very busy ourselves. So I asked my brother for some contact details and I now have an email. I sent out an intro of myself (in case they didn't know who I was!) and also a CV and my final version of my Showreel. Below is the email I sent;

I have blanked out the email and names

Hopefully I didn't sound too needy and hopefully I hear back from them soon! Will keep this post updated if I do! This hits learning outcome three and demonstrating my potential to employers as well as independent research.

Echoes of Silence Extra/ITV News

This afternoon, ITV Tyne Tees news came in to do a feature on the college after Sir Ridley Scott mentioned CCAD in his BAFTA acceptance speech. A life goal of mine was to appear on TV so I followed the crowd and tried to get in as much as possible. There were two cameras so naturally I gravitated towards the second camera, but I ended up putting make-up on Andrew somehow. The news reporter then did a few VoxPops of us, I panicked and pretty much just repeated what the news reporter said. 

Thanks to Sir Ridley Scott, for mentioning ccad at the baftas last night. Itv coming in to interview some of our current students in the new studio. . . #bafta #ccad #artschool #itv #ridleyscott #filmproduction #director #alien #bladerunner #inspiration #northeast

A post shared by Film & Moving Image Production (@ccad_cfmip) on Feb 19, 2018 at 7:34am PST

Luckily I was dressed for the occasion as I was filming with Echoes of Silence as an extra afterwards. I also took a few behind the scenes pictures and also put eye shadow on Graham's knuckles to took a bit bruised and bloodied. The shoot went quite smoothly, however I couldn't get the ear piece in my ear very well. It managed to stay in for about a minute at one point so there should be stuff to work with! 

My Name is John - Poster

For my Professional Practice and FMP modules, I have created a poster for my main project My Name is John. I have had a few ideas for the poster for My Name is John. I wanted it to be quite minimalist as I don't want it to reveal too much about this film, but also generate intrigue. I took inspiration from the Alien, Jaws and this Gravity poster, there are also a lot of unofficial minimalist movie posters that have a similar look and feel to what I have imagined. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/11145730/Alien-Ridley-Scott-poster.html

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/movie-posters/

http://www.adoptionlcsw.com/2014/04/gravity-adoption-movie-review.html

Screengrab from Google Images for 'minimalist movie posters'

I have three ideas for the film poster. One could be challenging in photoshop, which is a briefcase with a bit of bowling ball showing inside it. I am going to try and recreate this and update this post when I do. The second and third ideas are quite similar, my next favourite being just a briefcase in the middle of the poster, and the other being a bowling ball. I think I'm going to try all three and see which turns out the best. I am also going to include the name of the film and also the cast list. I was debating whether to include a tag line, if I have any ideas I will update this post.

That last one with the bowling ball looks really bad now I look at home

I experimented with the pictures I found on Google. I struggled to find any that were ajar and that last realistic briefcase just looks awful. I'm unsure about the cartoon one as it looks weird with a real bowling ball. Might try this one again with a cartoon bowling ball. At the moment, the briefcase and the bowling ball on their own look the best, but the more I look at the bowling ball, the more it looks like a shocked face. I need a break.

UPDATE 04.03.18 - I have decided to scrap the bowling ball in the suitcase idea because my photoshop skills just aren't up for it. I have also decided to scrap the minimalist idea with just the suitcase or the bowling ball in the middle of the poster as it just looks amateurish and blank.

I then decided to focus on the background and found three royalty free images; one of an alley, stage and a theatre sign. I experimented with all three and put the suitcase on each one but the scale was wrong and just made it look like the suitcase was floating in mid air.

I also tried putting the suitcase on the side of the street but couldn't get rid of the glow. 2/3 people managed to spot it. I also don't like how it's on the street next to some garbage; it's an important suitcase.

I went back to the minimalist feel I wanted for the poster, and removed the suitcase as it just wasn't working. I used the stage background next which looks a lot better. However it might be too minimal.

I then experimented with my other background of the theatre sign in both black and white and RGB colour. I exported it in colour and thought it looked to clean, so also did it in black and white, but I ended up liking the colour one better anyway! I'm unsure about the main font (been looking for two days now...)

After asking for opinions I have further updated my poster by changing the font to something a bit skinner to match the other writing. Consensus says they prefer the colour poster. I decided to have another experiment using colour splash on Photoshop (following this tutorial) and picking out the colour of the sign, and the rest in black and white. 

Basically I added another black and white layer and started erasing it to reveal the colour underneath.

I really like how this turned out and is my favourite out of all that I have made. This is my final design of my poster.

UPDATE: I really prefer Jack's poster design, but this was my first proper attempt at Photoshop and I think I did well considering my skills are basic. I have learnt a lot and have more skills in Photoshop which supports my individual practice according to LO2 in Professional Practice.

Business Cards/Logo

Today I have been working on my overall colour scheme of my website (which .I have changed about 10 times already) and business cards. I found a business card design I really liked on Vistaprint and filled out my details (blanked for now, don't want my personal info online). I found matching the best colour scheme for your favourite business card design is the best way to go, and changing your website accordingly. Even though it looks blander than before, they match, so people who have my business card know they are on the right website.

I wanted the business card itself to immediately link to cinematography or photography at least, and I really liked the minimalist design. I also wanted it to be clean and easy to read. I'm going to get my lecturer to look at the two and see if the synergy works, then I can order them!

UPDATE 26.02.18 - Yeah so the business card is a little blank and fits in with the rest, and also doesn't fit with the synergy of the site. My lecturer has suggested using the image on the home page with the business card. I am unsure how I feel about this only because I have never seen a business card with someones face on before (unless you're an actor). I can have an experiment with the picture on Vistaprint. If I don't use my face, I just need one that's more eye catching, but the colour scheme of the picture maybe an issue. I'll do a few colour palettes and see if any preset business cards fit.

UPDATE 04.03.18 - Above is the colour palette of my home page picture. Vistaprint only had a few business cards that matches these colours and I hate every single one of them. I do have a small logo at the top of my site, but it just looks out of place no matter what business card I put it on. I did manage to find one card that stands out and relates to cinematography and kind of matches the colour scheme. It's probably the best I'm going to get: I have been working on these for nearly a month. I would say it is synergised and people will know they are in the right place as it clearly says my name and my job on it, and also has a camera on it. I have also changed the font so it is similar to my website.

I have a small logo on my website which is a minimalist camera lens. However this just didn't look right on a business card. I have still kept it on the website as it just looks weird without it for some reason. However my business card does have a lens on it and is synergised.

UPDATE 31.03.18 - Found out that a lot of people have double sided their business cards. I did an experiment to see how mine would look but it wasn't great. Couldn't find the right picture to synergise everything. Business cards usually have a blank side for people to write appointments on anyway so I thought this would be wise.

UPDATE 14.04.18 - Business cards arrived today and the writing is a little smaller than I would have liked. Going to have to live with them! However, I compared them to another professional business card and my writing appears a lot larger than that, which made me feel a bit better.

Wix Website - About Me

I spent the most time on this page looking for a good picture. I ended up swapping my main picture on the top menu (which I may end up deleting) for my original About Me picture. And using another picture of me taking photos on top of a cliff for the new one. I was going to use a picture I had professionally taken a few years back from Rundown but I felt it was a bit too model like and just didn't really like it. I'm also unsure about this one of me on a cliff.

UPDATE: Yeah I ended up changing the picture. This one is me working a Jib on the set of Cirque. The only thing putting me of about this one is that is's the back of my head, however I use pictures on the home page of my actual face.

The about me text is a draft at the minute and could be written a bit more eloquently.

UPDATE 26.02.18 - Asked my lecturer for opinions and I should change the picture. I got my headshots back however I am having trouble photoshopping my hair against the green screen. I also like the picture of my using the jib as it shows that I just don't point and shoot with a camera. I also need to change some of the language so it is more universal and to talk more about clients. Another update, I have changed the aqua blue colour to a grey. Doesn't sound very exciting, but it links with my business cards and other websites, creating a synergy. Also looks more professional.

Wix Website - Features and Benefits/Portfolio

For my Portfolio part of the website, I have included my best project and the best video (the Wynyard project has three so I chose the best one). I have also made sure to include benefits as well as features, such as what I have learnt from each project, and the issues and how we overcame them. The IMPACT video does stand out from the rest though as it's the only Vimeo video, so I might upload it to YouTube to match the others. I may also upload the others to a new YouTube account that is more professional (and not full of my gig videos)

I have also added a small section at the bottom of my education and Degree. I didn't really want to put this in the Home page as I didn't want to seem like a brand new graduate, or in the About Me section as features and benefits are more important here.

Oh yeah I changed the colour scheme to a nice aqua blue. I might go back to purple, I'll have a think.

 Ignore past me, I have not decided to go with aqua blue, it's more grey now as it looks more professional and links with my business cards and documents more.

UPDATE 26.02.18 - Asked for opinions from my lecturer on this page and I have a lot of work to do! Basically I am too specific about having "two music videos" and I also need to emphasise working with clients more, and make the headings more universal. I agree with this, but I have done some independent research regarding the phrasing of this, which I talk about here.

Afterlife - Day 1

First day of Afterlife production today and we are filming the Facetime scene. We were all set up and ready to go at 9:30, we just needed some extra bits of equipment. However, we had a few mishaps on the morning which meant that I was incredibly poorly and we didn't get equipment until about 10:30. We managed to get everything set up and started filming at roughly 11:15. We had a few extra hands today too which was very helpful as sound required two mics as two places/dialogue were happening at the same time. 

The shoot went rather smooth after that and better throughout the day as the actors started to know their lines. The only trouble shot wise I had was lighting the phone. I used two LED lights for this shot to light up the phone as it kind of blended into the black surroundings. However, the director didn't like the lighting here. So we did one with one without. We also did a slider shot of going into Gabi's mouth wide open which will be match cut in edit. This one was very similar to the trombone shot in Cirque and was hard to get right and to pull focus (I was tracking in, tilting up, and pulling focus all at the same time). We did quite a lot of takes so there's plenty to pick from (I like to think it worked at least two times).

I am a bit concerned about the over the shoulder shot of the phone as 1) I don't know what the editor is after and if we needed a portrait version of the scene to edit over the top of a green phone, and 2) we don't have a real time version of the pink bedroom over the shoulder Facetime call as the phone died, so we just had to do a blank screen. Hopefully the visual effects editor has enough to go on.

Wine Glass Test #2

After setting up for the Facetime scene, me and the director went to test the wine glass shot on location. The idea is that we would pan in to the wine glass which would reveal a landscape upside down. The camera would then spin 180 degrees so the landscape is the right way around. I did a few quick tests over the weekend and concluded that it was doable with a fig rig. Today we have a fig rig and put a new Blackmagic on it. Even though it was secure, part of me was petrified if I dropped it. The director changed the landscape in the glass to a bottle, but it had to be very close to one another for it to show up, but the director wanted the bottle not in shot. I zoomed in as far as I could but the result was very shaky as I was zoomed in so much, and also essentially going handheld. So we ditched the 180 fig rig idea. Instead, it is a tracking shot going from the Mother's shoes, up to the wine glass where we see her face, then of her phone which rings, then back to the wine glass where she downs it and leaves. It's now a very simple tracking shot (but requires me to do a lot of squats from the wine glass up to the phone to see that the screen is lit up). 

Yes I am using the fig rig wrong, this is when we ditched it and decided to do the tracking shot.

The lighting in the Wetherspoons worked very well inside the wine glass, but there is also an LED to the side (with a pink gel on) just to give some more light and depth to the shot.

Facetime Test Shoot

We booked the equipment and location out a day early so we could test lighting, camera angles and if we need any other equipment that we have forgotten. This scene involves the protagonist waking up from a 'dream' and video calling her friend. There are two cameras on this shoot, and I am in charge of the dark room set (the second camera op was in charge of the pink bedroom). The pink bedroom was the main focus of today and dressing it up, so I offered some input. Upon further inspection, we also need a smoke machine for the dark corner just to add some more depth to the shot and make it a bit more eerie. The director wanted the dark room to not be obviously evil looking, so I went with a blue gel for the lighting, which is lit from below, acting as a practical light for the phone. For a few shots on the day, another LED light was also used to light some parts of the face and hair.

Wine Glass Test

Just had a quick test with my camera and a monopod of the opening wine glass shot. I did a few in my kitchen with the most light, however, there was no distinguishable features or landscapes, just a load of bottles on the windowsill. 

So I decided to get a pretty picture up on my TV. It took a while to figure out where to put the wine glass so the scenery was visible, I ended up putting it very close to the TV and then putting a wine glass on top of a lot of boxes.

Using a monopod was also tricky for the shot as it came out very wobbly but the idea is there. It will work on a fig rig and look 100% better.  

If we have time, we are hopefully going to test the shot on Tuesday with a fig rig and the blackmagic.

My Name is John - Editing

The editor showed me the first draft today of My Name is John and I'm quite happy how it's turning out. The editor also needed to straighten one of the beginning shots, and John's eyes go out of frame for a few seconds which is annoying, but we don't have any alternative (it looks awful originally), we could try and get some cutaways, or just leave it as is. There are a few fine tweaks and re-organising that needs to be done which I will talk about more in this blog post. 

• Need kitchen cutaways to make cuts smoother
• Possible cutaways of self help group
• ADR of dog interview, "ouch", and clapping
• Include dog interview in edit
• Put Debbie calendar where Julie talks about "working hard at a marriage"
• Possible name tags at the bottom of frame (suggested by the editor)- see how this looks
• Credits and titles
• Music (which I am working on)

For the music, I have spent a good few days looking for royalty free songs. Only one I could find was suitable (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eSSIKUOUZU). Alternatively, I have written a song but I don't know anyone who could sing and play ukulele (ideally) for it.

Chris Campbell

Today Chris Campbell came in to give a seminar about post production workflows. Chris has 18 years experience in the industry in editing. Even though this doesn't really apply to me, I find editing interesting and came along. 

One of the main things covered was the difference between online and offline resolution in the industry, which is very important and can vary your salary. Offline editing is when you transcode videos to a lower quality so it's faster to work with, and exporting it as the original quality, useful for narrative editing. Online resolution is editing with the higher quality footage which takes up more processing power and storage. This is more useful for colour grading. It costs a lot of money to edit, even more if you are online editing. And you also need to make sure your computer can hold the native media and is powerful enough to edit. 

Naming conventions are also important and can be beneficial to the editor later on, so they can find clips very quickly. Chris' system is usually;

Project name - year, month, day - camera ID - card number

Folder and edit bin structure is also important for finding clips fast. The set up should usually look like this;

• 01_Media
• 02_Audio
• 03_GFX
• 04_SFX
• 05_Music
• 06_Outputs
• 07_Cuts

Always duplicate sequences in case the new edit doesn't work or the client liked it better before. If you save to a desktop, always make sure to take it off and relink the media.

Chris then went to talk about four main post production job roles in the industry which was very interesting, even a few of these appealed to me.

A Data Wrangler takes the footage to the editor without loss. They keep a log and back it up onto two drives. They also use Shot Put Pro to ensure integrity of the footage. Make sure you copy the entire contents from the camera and never put contents of two cards into one folder. This is usually the way in the industry for aspiring editors.

A DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) is in charge of image quality control and essentially do on set colour correction. They also manage the production's workflow, as well as check exposure levels, applying LUTs, looking at focus errors and unwanted shadows, etc. 

An Ingest Operator ingests rushes in a range of formats; cards, cameras, drives and FTPs (file transfer protocol). They transcode the media to editable formats and frame rates, and set up project files, sync camera footage and audio, and generally organise footage for the editors.

A Logger looks at the footage and makes detailed notes for the editor/producer, which usually includes the time, subject, location and dialogue. They also look at the themes, sync (of dialogue) and arcs in the story. Time codes and paper logs are also very important for this job. They must have an eye for what the editor wants as well as identify tones of voice, camera movements, too much light in shot, etc. They often go into Assistant Producer roles. 

The client is always right, you will have to make choices you don't like to make them happy. Always listen with an open mind. Consider the impact and suggest an alternative and say why it won't work. Always meet the objective. 

Always check the film twice, for picture and audio. Fix these issues. Send off a timecoded copy (drag and drop). Always double check and make sure there is no miscommunication. Editing in a full room of people could also happen which is fun, but stressful. Also, get in with the film crew to make sure the edit is easier.

Echoes of Silence - BTS

Whereas I am not credited or crew on Echoes of Silence, I have offered myself to take stills and videos of Behind the Scenes footage and also as an extra in this particular scene. The shoot went slowly but surely and I think the footage they got looked good. 

 

Showreel Drafts

Started editing my showreel last night and I found it quite hard to pick what to showcase. Since I am focusing on my cinematography work, I couldn't include projects like IMPACT from the BFI Academy as I directed that. I made a quick first draft last night. I am removing the last Freak video as it doesn't quite fit, and adding more Pink videos when I have them (and maybe some of my Minor behind the scenes). I wanted a few opinions if the song was too angsty (I really liked it and it's royalty free. I do have a back up if people hate it though). I'm also thinking of making another showreel with all the films I have been a part of if I have time. 



Added the Pink videos (and one from my Minor) and just generally rearranged some videos. I think it flows a lot better. Had a few responses saying the vibe is dramatic, but I like to think your showreel has to be dramatic to gain interest.



After feedback from other people and the lecturer, I have changed the song, however I am not 100% sold on it. I'm not sure if it sounds too 'royalty free'. I'm really struggling to find some decent music which I can use publicly. I'll ask for more feedback on the above version.

UPDATE: Okay so I have once again changed the music and I'm finally happy with this song for my showreel. I have put it on public.



Asked my lecturer for opinions and the music is a lot better. However I have been advised to have the corporate videos at the start (including the music videos) and then the narrative films where the song builds. I can totally understand this, I might put the lighter shots at the start, but keep the music video at the end mostly because it's more fast paced and dark. I will have an experiment with it through the week.



Fifth and hopefully final draft of my showreel! I have made my videos a bit more succinct and tried to relate them to each other (mostly by lighting). I put most client stuff at the start as well as videos with bright lighting, then narrative and darker lighting stuff halfway. I also put a few behind the scenes videos on the end. One criticism I received that it doesn't end on a full stop, so I extended the track and added another clip that is more definite. I also added a title card of my name and job role so it's clear.

Photoshop Lessons

On Thursday afternoons, we now have basic Photoshop skills lessons. This is very good news as I only know how to edit RAW pictures, rather than looking at editing, adding text, making posters, etc. I won't be including the very basic and common sense side menu which is pretty straightforward and I already know where most things are.

I was the only person from my course that turned up which was a shame (plus a few Production Design students). We looked at making business cards as well as the basic tools like the magic wand, text, layers, etc. The history tool is particularly helpful so you can see where you have made a mistake and delete it. 

Holding shift while drawing using the pen tool draws a straight line. The layer tools can also edit text by adding outlines (edit then stroke) and also a nice embossing effect (bevel and emboss). You can also drag documents from the tab menu and put them into other documents. Holding the shift key while selecting can make you select specific areas. 

Going into select then transform will bring up the resize options. Free transform will resize the image and holding shift will keep the dimensions. 

Next week we will be looking at images and editing them which will be useful for everyone in our year for making posters.