Documenting The Doing #27: Havoc

This particular production was something I took a shine to from the minute we were told the initial idea. A video in slow motion. I have always wanted to complete and produce something like this ever since I watched The Slow Mo Guys on YouTube.

On Monday, we were instructed to go to the theatre, as this is where we'd be filming and producing our rendition of "HAVOC". Our morning began by watching this production and we were all super excited to put our own stamp on it and create our own. It all began with head tutor, Tim, giving us an introduction to the set-up of our project, choosing the production team and picking our own individual groups of four.  Myself and my colleagues; Naomi Doddridge, Charlie Baylis and Sam Shaw all decided spontaneously that we would work together. It began with us not really knowing what to do, but we had 3 hours to plan before we filmed our segment of the video at 12.15 so we had a while.

After we went for a quick tea break, we watched a couple of videos of slow-motion techniques on YouTube and began falling in love with a few ideas that we thought would look amazing. As we all wanted to go for something different, Sam and Charlie went with a 'shaking head and body' technique, whereas myself and Naomi decided to get some party-poppers, as we thought the confetti effect would look really illuminative slowed down.

Our group in the filming theatre

When it came for our turn to film, it didn't take as long as I thought. My colleague's; Liam Woodridge, Abi Cannings, Sam Sheard and Nick Bennett were the production team and Tim, Billy, Neil and Wendy were there to observe and direct. With Liam and Abi operating the camera dolly, which would ensure a smooth running circle around all 4 of us. It only took us 2 takes to get it spot on, with the first take being a practice run. I really enjoyed filming this as I was in the same boat as everyone else, which meant my anxiety wasn't as bad as it normally was.

After we finished our individual group shot, we had about 2 hours to kill again. When it was time to film the second production which involved everyone in our group, we all gathered in the studio theatre to take part in the final production which would be the main attraction for the project, the main course if you like. This part involved getting into pairs, with one person standing behind the other, and the camera dolly would then continuously loop the attractions until it had gone round a total of 3 times.

Behind the scenes pics - Camera Dolly on the left

The logistical side of this whole production was that our tutor, Tim, was the main director. Having done this over the years with a number of different classes, it was easier for both him and us if he directed. Throughout the day, things were very organised and that's why I think I enjoyed it so much. The first part of the afternoon class productions was to rehearse the layout and content of the clip we were about to shoot. In pairs, we had to stand behind one another around the 'clock face', and perform our individual set actions, which would look amazing in slow motion.

It took a few rehearsals before we could get it absolutely spot on, but I think considering there were 50 of us, we did pretty well with the timing's and synchronisation of the whole thing. The second part of the class filming was the 'switch'. This was quite similar to the previous segment, except when the camera came past us on the dolly, we would switch places. I personally found this one to be trickier than the first film, as it involved us having to be spot on, and if one person was too early/late, it would look totally fallen through and rubbish.

The switch from Emily in front, to me in front

We filmed two segments as this would give us a lot more to play around with in the edit. The whole point of this production was to learn the importance and simplicity in the effect of the 50 frames per second (fps), instead of the default setting of 25 frames per second (fps). This was slow down the footage in the process of editing so it was 50% slower than what we originally shot it in. As we had the freedom of doing our own thing within the edit, it was a real eye opener for me as I was really looking forward to doing some real creative things with the footage.

For the edit, there was only one 'rule' we had to follow, and this was to make sure our footage meet the total length of the soundtrack, which Neil Rose had produced for us. We had to play around with the clips of all the individual groups of four, and the 2 class videos we filmed in the afternoon. Speeding up, slowing down and mirroring the footage was the sort of thing I wanted to go for, and I really wanted to match the video with the correct sound of the soundtrack. Similar to a soundtrack Neil had produced before, it was in almost two halves. The first half was quite calm and reserved, yet the second half just went mental and meant we could really go to town with our editing.

MY FINAL PRODUCTION: Havoc

With editing, I started at 9.45am on Tuesday and didn't finish until 3.15pm the same day. It was all going really well. I had began with the shot of our class 'switching', and then gone into a montage of the individual groups of 4 shots which would match the beat of the soundtrack when the bass-line dropped about 1 minute in. I then began to fill the rest of the footage in by switching it round, mirroring, rotating the frame so it was the same thing but upside down, and making it really quirky. The final cut was absolutely incredible in my opinion, and it was one of my favourite productions I had edited as it really made me think about the soundtrack and footage we had to expand to fill the time.

Unfortunately, that edit is nowhere to be seen. This is because Premier Pro decided to crash on me whilst I was exporting, and it hadn't saved the original file either. I was/am absolutely gutted. I had put so much effort into it for it to just disappear in seconds. I had spent a lot of time making sure the sound effects during the 5 minute long soundtrack were synchronised with the footage we had taken for the final production. As I physically had no time left to edit, my friend and colleague Sam Shaw managed to let me have his edit so I at least had something to play around with. There were a few bits I kept the same, but other bits I changed and put my own spin on it.

On the whole, I did really enjoy being part of this production, and I thought the directing and production teams did an amazing job with controlling 50 of us in a routine mechanism light and thought we all really pulled it off to the best of our ability. My favourite part of this production was the way we used the camera dolly to make the production very professional looking and almost making it look high budget.

I look forward to using the camera dolly again as I feel it really made a big impact to the production on the whole.


Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.

Critique: Havoc

Havoc is a music video directed by André Chocron and produced by Andrea Berentsen Ottmar. It was shot in one take at 300fps using a Red Epic with a 75mm master prime. This music video by Norwegian band While You Slept features elaborative live special effects, pyrotechnics, and choreography, all captured in a single 18 second shot. Filmed at 300 frames per second, the footage plays back in beautiful slow motion over the course of 3 1/2 minute video.

The percentage in which André had to slow it down by was 8.3%. 25fps was the normal speed, and this was then divided by 300 (the highest speed), which equals 0.083, then times by 100 would total the 8.3%.

8.3 / 300 = 0.083 x 100 = 8.3

Havoc - While You Slept

This music video begins with an out of focus shot of the main model, which creates a mysterious atmosphere and a brilliant opening scene for any music video. It intrigues the audience into wanting more. This opening shot lasts for approximately 9 seconds, before slowly coming into focus and revealing a very sinister look on the models' face. Being in front of a black background, it's clear that the main focus of this shot is still on the woman. Lights and camera flares begin to flash up on screen, before the lighting appears to make a significant change. With the background colour grading changing from black to white in a matter of seconds, it experiments with the audiences' mind to capture the essence of this mysterious and endearing video. 

The next significant segment begins at around 29 seconds, and this is the part the video gets going and grips the audience in a way that I have never seen before. With the figures slowly emerging from the background, it begins to layer the production to create more depth and a story-like theme which continues to take an interest in the audience. This segment lasts for around 50 seconds before the whole video just comes to life. The mysterious figures in the audience begin to make sudden movements and approach the foreground to throw themselves around in a number of different shapes and positions. 

By the time the video has reached the 2 minute mark, there are a number of different actions and events going on, which looks completely random, but somehow works. We now have the main model, the 4 men in the background and a number of artificial lighting techniques; such as fire, flashing and confetti. 

2 minute mark of Havoc

There are a number of segments during this video that I really like, but there is one that stood out amongst the rest for me, and it's' by far my favourite. The scene from 2.12 - 2.21, in which the main female is dancing to the theme of the music. When the music seems to drop and become quite simple, so does the video. I really like the contrast of this and how it matches because I think it's something that not many people will notice, but when they do, it's a beautiful feature.

There were between 40-50 people involved in this production, and the director had to ensure everybody had a job, as with a shoot like this, dead weight is just impossible to control. As everybody had such a crucial role within the shot, one person missing would be a disaster for the whole thing and it just wouldn't work. Responsibility and dedication was one of the key factors for this production, in my opinion.

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With this whole production being a one shot, the editing of this would've been quite simple. With the layout of the video set up before hand, and a singular song as the soundtrack, the only editing I can think of that was completed was the lighting, brightness and contrast of the whole thing. I really like the way this was edited together, and the lack of bright colours made the whole thing very dark and gloomy, but I really liked this. The bass drop of the song really set the scene of the whole production as a mysterious and I feel all of the features throughout this video interlocked with each other, which is quite a difficult thing to find in music videos in this day and age.

After watching this production, I then went and watched the behind the scenes video. This gave me a real insight as to how much thought and knowledge went into the production as a whole. The most important technique the cast had to master was ensuring they knew their cue and when to appear within the production. With this, it would be crucial for everyone to do their best to complete their part in the production to the cue. As it's a one shot production, there are no cuts or second chances. It's all or nothing. 

Behind the scenes of Havoc

Another concept the directors would've had to take in the fact that the floor wouldn't have been possible to be in shot, as this is the pinnacle of the success throughout the video. the crash mats, camera dolly, lighting and wires would've been impossible to hide, and there would've been no other way of recording this shot. As there is so much going on in the video, nobody would tend to notice the fact the floor isn't visible.

The behind the scenes video was absolutely fantastic - I love the concept of having the shooting being recorded itself. With this, the director can look back and see it from other people's angles and points of views, and take into consideration any advice they have. 

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On the whole, I absolutely love this video. I really like the frame rate during the whole production as it gives a different touch and technique for the audience to enjoy. I really like André Chocron's work, and look forward to seeing him again in the future.

We had the pleasure of getting to recreate this video with our own twist, in both a class production and individual groups. Read the blog post here: Recreating Havoc


Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.


http://laughingsquid.com/havoc-by-while-you-slept-slow-motion-music-video-filmed-in-1-shot/ - accessed on 3rd-June-2014
http://www.frokostfilm.no - accessed on 3rd-June-2014
http://www.directorsnotes.com/2013/08/15/while-you-slept-havoc/ - accessed on 3rd-June-2014

What is a Camera Dolly?

A camera dolly is a specialised piece of film-making and television production equipment design to create smooth camera movements (cinematic techniques). The camera is mounted to the dolly and the camera operator and focus puller or camera assistant usually ride on the dolly to operate the camera. The dolly grip is the dedicated technician trained to operate the dolly.

Types
Studio dolly's are large, stable and can feature hydraulics. These are the first choice for studio, backlot and location shoots when using professional cameras. A studio dolly usually needs a specialised operator called a 'dolly grip', and many are built for the operator to ride on the dolly with the camera.

Lightweight dolly systems are more simple, affordable and are best used with lighter-weight cameras. Lightweight systems are usually favoured by independent filmmakers and students because they are easier to carry and operate. These dollies support only the camera, and the operator needs to move alongside. Some lightweight dollies are small enough to be carried in a backpack.

Left: Studio dolly - Right: Lightweight dolly

There are many films in which the 'dolly shot' is used, as it creates a steady camera angle. These are also known as tracking shots, as the camera follows a character or object during a scene in a smooth and paced direction to create a neat finish. I recently discovered this shot from The Avengers, which was filmed with a camera dolly. 

In this scene, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is being chased by The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Whilst running through a tight narrow space, a camera dolly moves in a backwards motion within synchronicity to the character. This shot has also been slowed down to emphasise all of the explosions and scenery behind Black Widow. As a camera dolly has been used, the footage is much clearer that what it would've been if a hand-held camera was used.

There are many films and television productions that have used a camera dolly as it ensures a steady motioned shot which can be edited however many ways, and it makes it a lot easier as it is so still.


Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.


https://vimeo.com/40689260 - accessed on 7th-May-2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_dolly - accessed on 7th-May-2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tffnWvaFkI - accessed on 18th-May-2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KBp9bw3iPw - accessed on 18th-May-2014

Documenting The Doing #26: Zombie Apocalypse

For the first day back after the Easter break, we had the most exciting production ever. A zombie apocalypse. What a way to start this term! Our tutors, Tim and Billy, had told us we would be shooting our footage on Plymouth Hoe. A big open space where we could really go to town with the video and make the most of the topic.

Our first section of this 1.5 day production was to come up with a plan of attack and an escape route we would take if this zombie apocalypse was to happen in real life. I, unfortunately, didn't really think this was serious and kind of came up with a random selection of ways to kill all the zombie's, and my friends helped me...

After we completed our plan of attacks, we had to decide what sort of 'costume' we would partake in during the film. Zombie's, victims or directors; and I personally chose a victim. This was because I'm pretty sensitive to anything with artificial colours/flavours on my face, so I couldn't wear any make-up. I was pretty gutted, as I quite fancied being a zombie!

Zombie Apocalypse - fun plan

We all made our way up to Plymouth Hoe; yes, all 50 of us, with 25 of us looking like full on Zombie's. The looks we were getting from the public were absolutely brilliant. Thankfully, the weather seemed to be on our side, it was mild and overcast but suited the mood and atmosphere for our shoot just fine. 

Joe, Kim, Chloe & Charlie

When we reached Plymouth Hoe, we were split in to 6 mini groups to each film our own scene for the final mass edit we would be doing on Wednesday. With this, it was a better way to get more footage, and we would interlink groups together during editing. With just 90 minutes to film our mini scene, which had to be at least 2 minutes long, we had a lot of work to do. I worked with my colleagues Naomi Doddridge, Chloe Binding, Tyler Sinclair, Jess Mitchell-Fowle, Abi Cannings, Simon Childe and Matthew Jury. We began to film near the lighthouse, and really wanted to create a spooky atmosphere with this shoot, so we took things quite slowly in terms of camera angles and scene lengths.

Our footage took the full 90 minutes to film, as we were given 2 main rules which we had to complete. The first rule was that we had to have a shot of a newspaper just gushing in the wind, and the second rule was we had to have the finishing scene shot in an enclosed environment, as if the victim was trapped and couldn't leave, just like a real horror film!

Our footage was finally complete, and after we had filmed our individual groups, the whole of the class came together in one mass zombie gathering at the end, completing a number of different scenes which would be included in our own final edit. These shots consisted of a number of different concepts, in which all the zombies would walk together towards the camera, and another using a GoPro, which ended up as a mass pile of zombies on top of Matt.

Final group shot - behind the scenes

The shots above are taken from the making of the final shots which involved all the zombie's creating a group shot. It was absolutely hilarious being on this side of the camera and watching them all act - they were brilliant. Round of applause to the zombie's! 

OUR FINAL PRODUCTION: Zombie Apocalypse

When it came to editing, myself and my colleagues; Matt Jury, Naomi Doddridge and Chloe Binding all decided to chip in and complete a group edit. This would save time for all of us, as we feel they would've been pretty similar had we have edited our own individual productions.

We chose to make the whole production black and white as this would create the correct atmosphere needed for the zombie technique. Before we began editing, we were given the soundtrack which would go over all of the sound of the production. There were points in this where it was slow pacing, and other points that were a lot faster. Our challenge was to synchronise the soundtrack with the footage, ensuring the theme of the sound would match the pace of the video.

In my opinion, I think our edit went really well. There are a few points, that looking back on, I would change. The section from 0.20-1.05 went on for a little too long, and should've perhaps had some cutaways of scenery around. However, with only 90 minutes to film, it was quite tricky to get everything spot on. My favourite part of our personal edit is the section at the end, when we see Tyler and Jess running from the zombie's into a dead end, and the camera is cutting from them to the group of zombie's. 

I really enjoyed this production and hope we do something vaguely similar in the future. This time around, I would love to be the equivalent to a zombie as opposed to the victim!

Cheerio. :o)

- Olivia.