Cinematography - Week 16

30/05/2019

I gave modifying the release form a whirl, but we'll see if that will be acceptable to my clients.

I received a reply to my email to Parks and Reserves and they said that I cannot film on the boardwalks because they are in bad shape from recent storms. I can get filming consent from them to film on walkway, but to film the estuary, I will need to contact Environment Southland. Since Liz's office is open today, I might pop up and see if Sue is there to consult with her about it.

I took another look at the satellite images and streetview of the estuary on Google Maps. I couldn't find where the boardwalks or walkway began and ended, and I couldn't see it well from streetview, only the entrance and along the Bluff highway.

I found a part on the Bluff highway that gave me a better look of the estuary on streetview than the entrance to the view point could. 

Ash really like my testimonial despite the framing being a bit tight. I told him about needing to get filming consent from the City Council and Environment Southland. He told me and the class that if we don't get consent by the filming date, then just film anyway. 

Ash also confirmed with me about talking with Craig McKenzie to film in the building next to Facilities. Ash has also told me that the testimonial can be longer for my client, but there is no need because they're happy with the current cut.

I started the colour grading for my testimonial and wanted warmer colours, but not to the extent where it goes fully tungsten, and I added a bit of green because the subject is environmental. I had he sequence duplicated for grading. Vibrance was able to do most of the job, but not saturation, so I didn't saturation as much as vibrance. 

The irony is that I wanted the grading to be more saturated from the ungraded version.

Adding green to the shadow tint had too much of it, but adding green with highlight tint was just right and more subtle.

However, I found achieving the same using basic correction was much more user friendly and simpler and not needing as much aspects or be complex as the creative adjustments that were made previously. In basic correction, I just had to adjust the white balance and that was that. Colour temperature being adjusted to 16.8 and the colour tint down to -21.1.

I received an email from SIT informing students that the lift in the building next to Facilities will be out of action until the 5th of June. It's a miracle that my filming in that building isn't until the 9th of June.

I have sent an email to Environment Southland requesting permission to film the estuary.

I popped by Liz's office and informed Sue about the filming permission thing with Environment Southland.

Before I added title graphics to the testimonial, I had the safe margins able to be viewed on Premiere as guided for where not to place the text. It showed me that having a letterbox crop helped with this.

When I add the title graphics, I was a bit of a perfectionist about the alignment of text with each other. I used the bottom part of the letterbox and had it temporarily adjusted to help with this, but it kept taking it up and down too low or high in terms of alignment. 

In the end, I just used my own eyes to align them together, although using the letterbox crop was a good start.

I added a smooth, additive dissolve to the end of the title graphics at the start of the video. 

31/05/2019

I helped out with the filming of Oisin's showreel stuff at CentreStage, which was convenient because of the exhibition opening tonight for us to attend. I worked as a script supervisor, but I wasn't really needed in the end because they had perfect continuity without my help. It didn't occur to Oisin until filming ended today, although I did suggest to him it's fine without me, but he didn't want to take any chances. The aspects on continuity I kept an eye on was the shoulder the actor put the duffel bag on and which one of his hands held a gun.

It was very cold inside CentreStage, which was no different to what it was like to outside.

Aside from script supervising, I helped the crew carry the equipment around if needed.

01/05/2019

We met up for filming at 4pm, at the TV studio (Downtown campus). We carried out equipment to the filming location, which was an alleyway parking behind the Kelvin Hotel. My roles for Lukas' shoot was as a stand-in, public liaison and sometimes slate loader

We had to wait another hour for the skies to get darker. It was absolutely freezing, so I went to get a Starbucks to warm myself up to start with. Lukas had a coat for me to wear for being the stand-in.

We also filmed Lukas' chase sequence on the footpath along the corner of Esk and Kelvin Street. It was interesting being involved in filming on an actual street.

As public liaison, I looked after the filming equipment and informed curious members of the public passing by about what was going on.

It was very cold night for filming tonight. It got to a point where my feet were limping because they were really cold, so Lukas let me go inside the Downtown campus to warm up for a short amount of time before I was needed to be a stand-in. Even with the most warm clothes I have, it wasn't enough for tonight. Both Metservice on my phone and the time and temperature on the building on Kelvin Street said 4 degrees, but it was more like -4 degrees.

As a stand-in, I simply got out of a car and walked towards the actors. I also had to turn on the car headlights (timing it perfectly). They also asked me to do punches towards the camera, which they thought were great.

02/06/2019

Exposure to the cold temperatures last night has made a bit unwell and caught myself a dry and sore throat. I had seen Lukas today and he was fine if I didn't show up. I ended up not attending and just stayed home in the warm to recover and not get more sick.

04/06/2019

I spoke with Sue about when would be a good time for filming my B-roll footage at the estuary. There wasn't anyone she knew that would be available in the time I have left to do it for my showreel, so she will give me a ride over there for filming tomorrow afternoon for an hour.

Caleb won't be available to help me out or provide transport for my filming equipment for my filming on Sunday. I could get my crew to meet me at the TV studio on Don Street and walk from there to the filming location, which would likely not be a big deal because the main campus is within walking distance. Otherwise, I would have to get a taxi to transport to there, to Doon Street, and back to Don Street.

Here's hoping no rain will disrupt filming for the day. If it does, I will need to get a taxi to and from the main campus (as a precaution) and wouldn't be able to film my genre sequence at all. Here's hoping nature will kind to us.

Luqman was again suggesting that I'm not doing my filming right, when it comes to pre-production stuff. However, I still stand by my decision to use storyboards more than scripts and not bring along lighting equipment for the chase sequence. If it turns out I should had done so, that's my mistake to make and learn from. 

I went by to the SIT Facilities office on Tay Street and asked to see Craig McKenzie, but he was in a meeting and so they gave me his card (which included the email address to contact him). From there, I will be able to email him about filming in the G10 Trades and Technology building next to them for filming on Sunday morning.

I had been informed while at the Facilities that they aren't normally oncampus on Sundays.

I made an effort to try and complete the filming consent form for ICC Parks and Reserves, which was for the walkway at the local estuary. I don't think it's a high priority because I'm not filming the actual walkway. However, I will likely be positioned at the walkway to film the estuary. 
I went through the form and from the sounds of it, I'm too late to submit the form for tomorrow. It would too short notice. 

Perhaps, I should just not worry about it and film there anyway. Plus, it was asking for camera plans, which is something I just instinctively do for something like this and I wouldn't know how to in my head for a place I haven't been to before. Images of the locations wouldn't cut it, I need to experience the location in person.

I may not even film on the walkway. I might just film on grass near the estuary.

05/06/2019

I sent an email to Craig McKenzie earlier today, enquiring about filming on Sunday morning in the G10 building on Tay Street. I just hope he does reply back to my email very soon.

I went to get my equipment sorted with Chris and he allowed me to extend my use of the Blackmagic equipment for another week at most to finish my cinematography showreel. 
I placed it all on a trolley and waited to be picked up by Sue to film the B-roll footage at the estuary.

I had a strict time limit of one hour and I tried to make the most of it.

I made a lot of mistakes during filming the B-roll at the estuary, not big insurance risk type of mistakes, but just practical mistakes and most of them are ones that I have learned from as a learning experience.

Looking back...

• I should got someone in my class to be AC to come along to ensure that what I was doing was correct (camera setup).
• I should had got a extra lens with aperture control because the 18-35 mm lens didn't. Plus, the 18-35 mm lens came out very overexposed, almost all white. I tried everything in the camera settings, but nothing improved. I could only use the 35 mm lens that I had on me and it could control its aperture, as well as not fill the frame with solid white.
• Because I tried to compromise where the camera and tripod would be placed and not technically on the walkway, I placed it on the straw bushes and there was only one spot where the whole thing would be level. Other spots along the straw bushes weren't level enough for the tripod with the camera on top. It's because of this that there are very little amount of shots for B-roll.
• I shouldn't had left the white balance at 2500K, which explains why the footage comes out with a blue hue. I didn't discovered the blue hue until I ingested the footage later on. I had the white balance there hoping it would improve the situation with the 18-35 mm, but it didn't and I forgot to change it. However, I couldn't guess what the white balance would be, so that's probably why I didn't change the white balance. We'll see what we can do in post.
• I should had done some filming tests beforehand at the estuary.

The TV studio at the Downtown campus has booked up for the weekend by third year students, so I had to make other arrangements to store my camera equipment for shooting my genre and chase sequence on Sunday. 

I contacted the people in the class about my filming on Sunday and only Lukas and Tim are keen to help out with filming my sequences on Sunday. Luqman might be involved as well, but not for certain yet.

I'm thinking about maybe filming my product shot in the basement tomorrow afternoon. The question would be if anyone in my class would be available and what lighting equipment I could get my hands on then. This is just a thought, but I could experiment with the light on my cellphone for some of my product shot.

We'll just see what resources I can bring together tomorrow.


I tried fixing the white balance from looking online, but it seemed like a wild goose chase of how to bring the white balance back that the footage provides, rather than changing the white balance Kelvins altogether in post.
I fear if I was try to fix it on Resolve, it would have me back at square one and take a much longer amount of time than I can afford.
I tried the fast colour corrector effect and the white balance controls in the Basic Correction tools found in the Lumetri Colour effects, but it came without much improvement to what I what I wanted. I will just have make do with the bleak looking blue hue.
With the grade that I managed to get done, the final B-roll shot in my testimonial made me realise how the shot is a bit overexposed, which was something I couldn't do much about in post as it turns out.
Attempting to fix the white balance with just the basic correction tools, only achieved a sepia colour grade.