The Importance of Documenting

Documentary as a form is a powerful tool that we as humans, have been using for an extremely long time.  I recently became passionately-obsessive with documenting moments that would serve others and by extension my self. Allow me to become self indulgent for a moment:- for the past few months my photography has moved away from planned captures to more of a impromptu reportage-stance. I take pictures because I want to remind my self what it felt like to see that moment, that frame, that smile, that argument, that light. In the hopes that I would be able to capture the essence and allow others to feel-see, albeit never 1 to 1. 

As much as it may bring me fulfillment, my hope is that what I document is paid forward, for others to see and experience now and later. Not everything but the select few I choose to display. Which brings me to my next point, the quality of documentation. I have no set bar or standard to give you, nor do I have a rule book to have you reference. You should document to your highest standard. At the point at which you feel your findings are a suitable level for others to peruse, release them. Do not compare nor hesitate, just put forward your findings and rest is to the ether.      

Above (and below) are previews from a journal which took place during the filming of Are We Dead Yet. At that time I was a camera trainee on the main camera department. I would spend my time hanging back on set during downtime (whenever I could really) and observe, wishing I had my camera on hand to capture what I would now call the Frames of Life. Luckily the DIT (Data Imaging Technician) Simon Van Parjis, had his FUJI Xt20 at hand and let me use it here and there during the shoot. For me, being able to capture each persona on set was new and breath taking, spending up to 3 weeks with most of them - seeing them when tired, hungry, happy, energetic, moody, calm, focused and ready to do what they love - was nothing short of pulling the heart strings in my eye.

The more the time spent with them, the more the natural their Frames of Life came to be. I would eventually learn to capture them in their "Habitual Frames" in hopes that I would be able to convey them, to others, onlookers. As the more time would progress I took less and less pictures, learning to filter out other frames but their habitual frame. 

However that is my terminolgy and my approach to documenting, I would urge you to go out and try your own language an genreate an approach and in time you will further our ability as human beings to convey and communicate. 

Lastly, documentation is as good as the horse it came riding in on. For a long time I have pushing my efforts to document across social media platforms such as Instagram, which would have me believe that I was achieving the goal of, documenting frames that I felt were worthy of public viewing for now and near future. However after a conversation with a Cinematographer by the name of Hunter Daly - On metrification of work posted online, among other things - the one thing that stuck out to me was the point on tangibility. I had never thought of making my documentation tangible, something to hold, a tactile representation of my thoughts and process.

I can proudly say that I'm an advocate for tangibility in the real world - this is not to say that social platforms are no good, it is just that I would now not put too much stock into using it as my sole device of documenting. 

Even if one person were to see what I have offered unto the collective pot that is the ether, my mission would be accomplished. Go out there and document. Be it pictures, literature or music. Do so.  

BLADE RUNNER 2049 TRAILER GRABS & BREAK DOWN!

Warner brothers just dropped the official trailers (#1 - #4) for Blade Runner 2049 and it looks beautiful.  Director Denis Villenueve is back with frequent collaborator, Roger Deakins (Cinematographer) for the second installment of the series. Surprisingly the film has taken a unexpected departure from its predecessor. Going from a grungy cyberpunk vibe to a cleaner aesthetic; in all honesty it does take place 20 years into the future of the original movie - hence why the change? Thats another topic for another time. We're here to look at Villeneuve techniques and style, plus Deakins' cinematography. Shot on the ARRI ALEX XT STUDIO accompanied by ZEISS MASTER PRIME lenses. Since the film is not out yet I'll be looking at grabs from the official trailer #1 and #4 (2 and 3 are pretty much the same) and breaking down some techniques, composition, lighting and anything interesting that comes to mind (albeit lightly). In advance forgive my ramblings : )

Composition study

Symmetry symmetry symmetry.  Lots and lots of it. A lot the 'Formal' scenes utilise symmetry in conventional and unconventional ways. Looking at the grab below: we see it being emphasised with the method of repeated shapes and structures throughout the scene. This lend to the typical trop / theme of order / formality / corporate. Production designer Dennis Gasner's superb job in designing the sets really shines through in these scenes. Simple but at the same time engaging.

Looks like Deakins has gone for a large and soft source (which we'll discuss later) with light coming in from one direction at times. What catches my attention is that the light is being bounced of the surrounding environment to create this gradual spill with a very soft fall off, that leaves some areas in darkness. It rings of "clean" but "unknown" which resonates very well with the "replicant facility" (assumption!) 

One interesting note I wanted to make: was to bring attention to the symmetry in this scene. From the get go you notice both statues are not entirely symettrucal. Officer K is not walking straight down the middle either. I came up with 2 interpretations for this. 

1. The framing is a reflection of this abandoned town. Things are off-kilter, displaced, unbalance etc.
2. Or this is just how he chose to frame it. Maybe a restriction in crane/ studio height. symmetry in mind but details not as important?

Knowing Deakins, it most likely the former. The reason I wanted to bring attention to this scene was often at times we will look at a frame and over think the decisoins made that resulted in the frame. So it always important not to over think but to pay close attention to the details of the frame! 

View fullsize

Silhouettes

BD 2049 seems to feature a myriad of silhouettes, a favourite of both Deakins and Villeneuve. In most scenes it looks like Deakins has opted for a big and soft sources to present the silhouettes. Which in turn leads to silhouettes motivated by the environment and atmosphere. This lends to a much more "realistic" image and is aesthetically pleasing too!

Looking at  Dennis Villenueve's utility belt I'm pretty sure silhouette's are front and center, and are utilised whenever deemed necessary or crucial*. In one instance I noticed a scene that was quite simillar to his past filmography. I made a mental note.

For example looking at the grab : at first glance it looks like the dam/water (not sure what it is) scene from BD 2049, but actually its from Prisoners (2013). In terms of visual motifs it's almost always used as the characters' internal perspective of the situation, rather than exclusively trying to mold what/how the audience sees the characters. Two birds one stone, but killing the bigger bird with just as small a stone that can kill the smaller bird.

One prime example of the Villeneuve Silhouette (thats what I'm calling it, coined here first!), is executed perfectly in this scene above, lets call it the detective scene. So Officer K (Ryan Gosling) goes to this unit / house and meets Dave Bautista's Character. From what we've seen, both these characters don't know each other and or have just been  introduced. The Villeneuve Silhouette does well to show that !  Both characters profiles being outlined by the source coming in from the window. Bringing in Deakins into the equation, we see the horizontal real estate of the frame being used to separate the characters with a patch of darkness in the middle. Truly simple, clever and effective. This is why I love cinematography. Its an art of the sub-consciousnesses (say it out loud, try it) and when done right it can be a powerful thing. Hmm I'm smelling a new blog post!  

Silhouettes are not only utillised in dark scenes. In bright settings they instill the sense of wonder / mystery  and danger / mystery. Above are some grabs showing the polar opposites! Including the grab below.

I cant wait for this film, in fact cant is an understatement! I hope you've enjoyed this ramble-esque piece. I manage to find some behind the scenes grabs so here they are! ( with the surprising use of DSLR to film the miniature scenes)

Also I thought it would be nice if I could collect all the grabs from the trailer (notable frames) and complie them. I'm more than happy to share the grabs with you guys. 60+ grabs are included in the folder all at 1920 x 800-816 (don't ask). The download link is below!

DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE SET HERE

Frame by Favourite Frame.

In my spare time I've been working on something small, a cinematography study book, which I'll document all my favourite scenes, frames, camera movements, motivation, blocking and many more! Inspired by Matt Workman's breakdowns, (@cinematographydb go check him out!)

I decided to compile my favourite scenes from movies that I love, with annotations, a mini colour palette (inspired by @colorpalette.cinema definitely check them out!) and some technical info to boot. By no means am I the authority by which these scenes were lit. But it's a great way for me to visually break scenes down as well as write my thoughts. After I compile about 30 movies or so, I plan on releasing the book a long with a refined template so that everyone can put down their own annotations etc. I'll drop these sometime on the near future. So pretty much soon™ Thanks!

Discussing Cinematography #3: Concordia pt.3 – Creating Mood.

During the final parts of the film the audience can hear the sound of a heart beat monitor slowly creep in, foreshadowing Emily’s deteriorating health. I needed to create the right mood on screen, which consisted of 3 components: lighting, motion and environment. Arguably you can omit motion but I’ll argue its case later.

First, lighting. To match the dire situation I needed something dimly lit, evenly distributed and warm (light temp was a preference). This created a sombre mood in which empathy would be easily accessible. Motion. When I mentioned motion, I was specifically referring to the talents motion. How they move, how they stand and their demeanour (very similar to body language). The way in which Emily walks off defeated , greatly aides the narrative (along with the lighting!) Concordia was edited and delivered back to front, a lot of the scenes were shown in non-chronological order.

Emily is shown walking away after the phone call before having the phone call. This is more of my developed style rather than a device, it just adds flavour to the motion. Nothing fancy :). And lastly, Environment. (This ties in to lighting) Having the lobby lights spread out, and bouncing off the marble floor greatly helped with diffusing the light, and I was able to produce 2 types of shots with it. The spacious and empty lobby really emphasized Emily’s position. We were not able to shoot inside the lobby but the outside work well, dare I say better! 

Discussing Cinematography #2: Concordia pt.2 - Focal lengths and positioning.

 I used to detest wide focal lengths, upon seeing The Tree of life and Knight of cups (Emmanuel Lubezki @chivexp). I discovered my new found love for wide angle photography. A whole new world was revealed to me and my creative bank account had more than just pennies inside it. Traditionally I am a photographer, and my forte; documenting people. So I've always stuck to 28-35-50mm focal lengths, never going below nor above. 28mm was the boundary that I considered "wide", the wide focal length lent a lot to my images, allowing me to wash the audience with the scene while still allowing their eyes to breathe.

The "wide" angle focal gave off an uncanny but familiar feeling, but later on I'd come to understand that this feeling was in the vein of reality. Think about this whenever you're outside or talking to someone, ask yourself what focal length would you use to get the same field of view as your eyes at that moment. Most likely a wide angle. Hence why I shot most of Concordia utilising wide angles. I wanted the audience to feel like they were standing next to Emily smoking. I wanted to the audience to feel like the skyscrapers were towering over them, making them feel small and insignificant, just like Emily. I also wanted to discredit some of the "reality" I was trying to instil; by keeping the camera tilted, looking up at Emily.

This way the audience would feel some form of authority from Emily but see the buildings behind her and quickly discredit the former. Achieving shot 2 was a bit of tough one. I had Vitalija upon a ledge about 2 knees higher than me, I then laid on the floor and used my stomach to support the back end of the camera whilst resting the front just off my knees. This way I could tilt my knees to track. While limited it was smooth enough and covered a good sizeable area. For the shot I could not use cine lenses, as I didn't have any wider focal length that 24mm. So I opted to use canon's kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm.