Wells Project Update

Over the past few weeks over various moments I have logged and captured the Wells Christmas Concert Tapes into Final Cut Pro. This morning I began editing the footage to create a picture rough cut – as the sound will be imported later from other sources.

As my main focus was on the picture, I tried to use the best possible shots we had filmed, but found this was fairly difficult at times as some of our footage from The West Front camera was of low quality due to the limited lighting we had in the evening. However other parts of the footage looked really effective, yet we didn’t storyboard these images but I made a decision to include them within the first picture rough cut to help include a variety of shots from various angles.



One shot both Adam and I were concerned about was the Time-Lapse (seeing the Cathedral light up with candlelight) because when the camera was set-up at some point during the filming, it got moved and we both thought this would ruin the shot. However when I was editing today I discovered that the shot was not ruined and was still usable.

Below you will see I have adjusted the speed of the shot; making it faster to create the time-lapse.
(This is still rough and needs some adjustments and is still in working progress, but it gives you an idea of the effect we are trying to create.)




At the moment the rough edit is just over four-minutes long, and our required brief is to produce a three-minute film so we need to make some alterations and adjustments to the length of the film. Overall the edit is coming along well.

Moving on from the Christmas Concert Edit, I have also been researching and planning for the next three-minute film; which Adam and I have chosen to base the film around The Choristers and possibly focusing on ‘A Day in the Life of a Chorister Boy’.

After some research I thought it might be a good idea to focus the film on a Girl Chorister, as they are a recent tradition to the Cathedrals. However after some discussion with Adam we decided it would probably be best to focus on a Boy Chorister, as it’s more traditional and less boys are showing interest in becoming a Chorister than the girls are, so this film could work slightly as a promotional video demonstrating what a Choristers role entails.

Below I have uploaded some copies of my notes and a first draft storyboard to document some of my ideas for the second film.










Before we can really move on from the planning process to the production stage we have to await Ali’s response to the idea, which means we have to await her return to Wells Cathedral as she has been working away – until then we will continue brainstorming and developing ideas.

Experimenting with Painting on Glass

A couple of Thursdays ago Dani ran a workshop on ‘Abstract Film-making’. In this workshop we looked at various pieces of work from different artists such as Hans Richter, Man Ray, Reiniger, Guy Sherwin etc; All using different techniques and approaches to experimental abstract filmmaking.

Two of the techniques I particularly liked were placing objects on film and painting on glass. I thought either of these techniques could work well as a backdrop for the Vanessa and Virginia project.

I decided to carry out some research into Painting on Glass, looking at various work online from other people to get some inspiration and ideas of how I could create some abstract images. Below are a few links to some videos which I looked at, which I thought had some good effects and designs in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-xWvpLat00&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw00u6afIew&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tMDzFhVppQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLJoNMfpnto

Last Monday and Tuesday with the help of Ollie I experimented with creating abstract images using the technique of painting on glass. Before we began painting, we lit the glass table with two lights from above and one light below to create a white canvas effect and placed the video camera underneath the glass table.


























We then began experimenting with the paint, creating a couple of different effects using brush strokes and pouring the paint onto the glass. After a couple of goes, we captured our footage into Final Cut Pro, then imported it into Motion, where we began manipulating the images using different filters, masks, and mattes.






























As you can see from our first attempts, my hand, arm and the paintbrush appear within the image- this is something I wanted to try and get rid of.











We then experimented with using only black paint this was o.k. when we imported it into Motion but we still had problems with trying to remove my hand and arm. The other problem we encountered was the top of the paint bottle - this too was appearing in the image. Experimenting further we found the best way to remove my arm, hand, paintbrush and paint bottle from the image was to cover everything in white and use only green paint. Improvising with the materials we had, we wrapped my arm in white toilet roll, placed both a latex and white glove over my hand, covered the paint bottle in white paper and wrapped white tape around the paintbrushes.

We then experimented with different consistencies of paint, from thick to liquidly to try and create various abstract images from brush strokes to splashes of paint. Importing the footage into Motion, using effects of mattes, masks and various filters and behaviors we managed to achieve our goal of removing my arm and hand from the images. We did still have the small problem of trying to remove the paint bottle top from the image, but after more practice and experimenting we final managed to get rid of this by transferring the paint into another shaped bottle.

This is one of my favorite images we created, because I like the look of the brush strokes, the effect the noise (flickering parts) creates within the image. I personally think this could possibly work well within the water scene during the Vanessa and Virginia play.



Another one I particularly like is this one. What I like about this image is how the paint eventually fills the screen. – I feel this image could work well at the part where a violent image is seen.




As I mentioned above the best way to create the abstract images is to use green paint, and cover everything else in white. The background and paint colours can then be changed within Motion. If we decide to use this technique as part of the Vanessa and Virginia backdrop we could possibly think about using Vanessa Bell’s colours from her paintings.

I have exported the different images as QuickTime Movies to take with us to present to Beth at the next Vanessa and Virginia meeting.







I loved experimenting with this technique and I feel it could work really well within the Vanessa and Virginia Project.

Vanessa and Virginia - Motion Designs.

One of the group projects I am heavily involved in is 'Vanessa and Virginia', which Sam and myself are leading. ‘Vanessa and Virginia’ is a story about two sisters and their relationship written by Susan Sellers. Dr. Elizabeth Wright (our client) has adapted the novel into a stage production, which will be directed by Emma Gersh. Our brief is to create a backdrop for the set design in which the two actresses can interact with.

During the Vanessa and Virginia meeting on Thursday 14th January 2010 with Elizabeth (Beth) it was agreed that members of the Artswork Team would come up with some ideas to present to Beth at the next meeting on 3rd February 2010.
In the meeting Beth was very open to different ideas and suggestions, however she did say she would like the backdrop to be abstract, experimental and possibly dream like.

Taking her suggestions Sam and myself decided to create a couple of scene images using the computer programme ‘Motion’,As we had only had a brief introduction to the programme, we were unsure of how the programme worked and how we could create certain images and effects. Ollie showed us certain things we could do, and how we could manipulate certain images.

One of Sam and my ideas was to create different images using Vanessa Bell’s Paintings and the colours from them.

The first image we created was the opening scene, which is described as:

Childhood. I am lying on my back on the grass. Thoby is lying next to me, his warm
flank pressing into my side.

Using Photoshop we cut a cloud from one of Vanessa Bell’s Paintings, imported the image into motion, where we then enlarged the image, added a blur and animated it; getting the cloud to move from left to right as well as moving forward to eventually filling the entire screen.




After viewing this image, we decided to change the black edges to a green colour to
give the suggestion of the grass, as well as adding a light ray effect to create the
haloed in light idea.



Looking at both images, I personally feel the first one works best as it’s fairly simple, not to much action and less distraction for an audience. I feel the first image has more of a dream style effect seeing the blurred edges of the cloud. The second image has too much going on, and could become very distracting.


The second scene we chose to make is where Virginia enters the stream.

Here we used a pre-set Motion effect, which we manipulated using Vanessa Bell’s painting colours, added a grain to create a flickering effect, as well as added a speed behaviour to slow the image down.



I personally like this image, but am not sure whether it would work that well within the finished backdrop, as it could be a strange change going from created images, to film footage that has been manipulated. Although it does have a fantastic look and would suit the part of Virginia entering the water well.



These are just a couple of ideas Sam and myself have come up with to present to Beth at the next meeting, to find out whether we are heading in the right direction.

A link to some of Vanessa Bell's artwork.

http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/searchresults.aspx?entry=vanessa%20Bell%20&searchtype=p#action=refine&entry=vanessa%20Bell%20&searchtype=p&sid=af91ddcb-70ec-4c3d-805f-05aac975ac8e

Wookey Hole Shoot

Thursday 28th January was an early start for a group of us, leaving my house at 7am I headed over to Taunton to collect Adam from the Train Station, we then carried on over to Wookey Hole, where we began setting up the camera (Sony Z7) and lights. Tom and Kate soon joined us and also began helping to set up the equipment.
I had organised job roles for each of us and told everyone in advance so they all knew what everyone was doing. Adam had the role of Camera Operator, Tom was the Sound Recordist, and Kate took on the role as Stills Photographer. My roles were to set-up the lighting and direct the shoot.






Over the past few months I have been corresponding with Gayle via e-mails and meetings to arrange everything I needed to get from the shoot, and timings that would fit around Wookey Hole’s busy schedule.
Gayle had confirmed we could film in the caves during the course of the morning, as we would have exclusive access to the cave chamber, without any intrusions from the public. This was fantastic because we were able to use their coloured lighting they have installed within the cave, plus our own lights, which I took as part of the equipment kit.
Gayle had also arranged Wookey Hole’s head tour guide, Mike to tell the story of ‘The Wookey Witch’ to camera for me.
Mike arrived at around 10.15am when everything was set –up and we were ready to begin filming. Tom fitted Mike with a mic and checked all the sound levels were being received, I adjusted the lighting slightly to light mike and Adam framed the shot…..and then filming began.


































I found with my Yeovil shot, I lacked a variety of camera angles and cutaways although I had some I didn’t have enough; so I wanted to ensure I had plenty of material during the Wookey Hole shoot. This meant filming a number of different takes from a variety of angles, although most of the story-telling was filmed down by the river due to the lighting conditions and beautiful scenery.
Once we had completed the story-telling shots with Mike, we then were giving time to get different shots and sound recordings from within the cave, such as ‘Hells Ladder’ which was lit with red flashing lights that added a cool effect to the shot. The Witch’s dog known as ‘Doogle’ and the stalagmite of the witch.
We then moved outside of the caves and filmed some footage of the Cave cliffs, and The Paper Mill.
After a busy morning, we all went for lunch in the ‘Wookey Inn’ where we discussed the morning events and talked about what I needed to get during the course of the afternoon.
After lunch we filmed some footage of ‘Wookey Village’ and got an amazing shot of a horse and rider passing by, which looked fantastic and added real character to the village.
The final shots we got of the day were landscape and country images. A variety of shots I can use within the full documentary to help piece everything together.
Overall I think the Wookey Witch shoot went a lot better than Yeovil, we got some brilliant footage, everyone worked well, all contributing shot ideas which I thought was really good and helpful, especially to get over people’s opinions.
I thought the crew all did a fantastic job; they were organised and professional with their job roles.

The Start of Molly the Tea Lady’s Edit.

Over the Christmas break I have been working on creating a rough cut for the story of ‘Molly the Tea Lady. Originally I was going to make a fifteen-twenty minute documentary containing various mysterious stories from around Somerset. However I have now decided I will edit each individual piece to make single units as well as feature them all within the documentary ‘Myths, Legends and Hauntings of Somerset’.
When I first began the edit, I was unsure of where to start because I had quite a bit of footage of Ros telling the story and her various encounters and I wasn’t sure what parts to include and what parts to leave out. I decided the best way to try and resolve this problem was to go through my transcript thoroughly – referring back to the footage marking down all good shots, and stories. Then numbering each shot I thought would be great to include and in what order. I found this helped me a great deal, by getting my edit going although I did find once I had engrossed myself within the rough cut I tended to forget about the transcript and my notes and just started moving, cutting and altering the material to what I thought looked and worked best.
As I mentioned in a previous blog entry I did have a feeling I may encounter a few issues with some of the footage we had filmed due to it being a little shaky and possibly unusable, this was the case for some of it – which was slightly frustrating, but I was able to overcome the problem and I did find although some of the visuals were shaky the sound was still fully useable.
During the edit, I realised that some of the additional and cut away shots were not always long enough for what I required, this is something I defiantly need to take into account when filming the next story.
I have now completed a first rough cut, which lasts five minutes, thirty nine seconds, which I personally feel is too long for this story. I originally planned to make each story about five-minutes but with ‘Molly the Tea Lady’ story I now feel it only needs to be around three-minutes. I know this will alter the duration of my full documentary but ‘Quality is better than Quantity’. Also I could possibly submit the completed short film of ‘Molly the Tea Lady’ into Channel 4’s ‘Three Minute Wonder’.

Filming of The Christmas Concert, Wells Cathedral

Yesterday Adam, Sam and myself all went over to Wells to film the Christmas Concert at Wells Cathedral for the first of the three, three minute films we are making for them. Adam had previously filmed the rehearsal on the Saturday, and our main aim on the Sunday was to capture some good shots that would showcase a taste of the Christmas Concert, where the cathedral is entirely lit by candles.



(Picture similar to the Concert's Lighting)

Although this was very beautiful and amazing to look at, it was extremely difficult to film the concert due to limited lighting and the positions we were located in (we were high up, looking over everything). Although I do think we managed to get a variety of good shots of the choir, candles and audience.
We all arrived at Wells at around half past three, met up and went across to the cathedral, where we got everything set up straight away ready to begin filming the Vergers lighting the candles.
Adam and myself had planned to create a time-lapse of the cathedral being lit, both of us thought this would be a great way to show people how wonderful the cathedral looks lit just by candlelight; but also to help show how this Christmas concert is different to the Christmas service. Adam set the camera up on the tripod and placed it on the West Front Balcony to capture this time-lapse, the plan was to leave the camera recording and not move it until all the candles were lit, and the whole cathedral glowed in candlelight. However I think the camera accidentally got moved, so I’m not sure how the time-lapse material will turn out. It will be extremely disappointing if it hasn’t worked to how we had both imagined because we were hoping to use this material has a transition from the rehearsal material to the Christmas Concert material.
We all arrived at Wells at around half past three, met up and went across to the cathedral, where we got everything set up straight away ready to begin filming the Vergers lighting the candles.
Once we had filmed some material of the Vergers and candles we all took a quick break, had some dinner and then got straight back to work, filming everyone entering the cathedral. We made the decision that we would only capture sound using the camera mics because of limited spacing, time and the fact we had to be really discreet and not seen by the public; most of the finished film will contain soundtrack material.
The only major thing that concerned me during the day / evening was the weather conditions it was very icy and I hate driving in it; so it took us a little longer to get there and back. But luckily everything that was being filmed was filmed inside so it didn’t affect the filming of the concert.


Overall I think everything went well, although we couldn’t get all the shots we had planned because of health and safety issues and lighting I believe we have enough to produce a strong finished short film. After the concert I spoke to Ali and she seemed really pleased with what we had managed to do and she understood that it would have been impossible to film the whole concert, getting a variety of different shots but she was pleased with what she had seen so far.

1st Filming Day

On Tuesday 8th December 2009 I completed my first filming day for my Individual film ‘The Myths, Legends and Hauntings of Somerset’. As the project is a small production, I arranged to take a small crew along with me to help out. Aleicia took on the role of Camera Operator, Tom was the Sound Recordist and I took on the role as director. I met Aleicia and Tom at Weston Train Station around 8.45am and we went on from there to Yeovil Junction Train Station arriving at around 10.15am. When we first arrived the café was fairly busy and Ros was a little tied up working. We took this opportunity to get everything checked and set –up. I did plan to use some extra lighting, but for some reason we had some lighting issues, the light we had taken didn’t seem stable, in the end I made the decision to abandon the light for health and safety reasons plus the camera picture looked well lit anyway.
Once we had Ros mic’d up and Tom had checked sound levels, we were ready to go. I had planned some questions in case Ros was stuck with what to say; however these weren’t really needed. I felt Ros told the story really well, and she was full of character and enthusiasm. We did a few takes of Ros telling the story stood behind the counter. During the first take Ros seemed o.k. but I knew she needed to be made comfortable so I decided to get Aleicia to film a conversation between Ros and myself discussing ‘Molly the Tea Lady’. I felt this take put her at ease and she seemed comfortable during the next few takes.





After filming Ros telling the story, we then worked though my shot list filming a variety of cut aways and additional material to use within my final edit, these included: establishing shots of Yeovil Junction, Trains passing through, clocks, basement, freezers, kitchen, tea, etc.




We ended up finishing around 2.30 – 3pm. Got everything packed up and made our way back to Weston.
The following morning I captured all my material onto the computer, making some logging notes of the footage to help during the editing stages. After looking back over the footage I was pleased with what we had filmed. I did have a few concerns as some of the camera footage was a little shaky (during the hand-held footage) some possibly unusable, which is a little disappointing but I wont know for sure until I get into the editing stage. However as Dani mentioned to me we are all still in the learning process and this will all come with experience.
Overall I think the filming day went well, I was pleased with how organised and helpful everyone was and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Aleicia and Tom for their support and help with the project. :-)