Grindleford Shoot

As part of the assessment for this module, we had to create our own short film and write up a 500 word essay for an accompaniment. The film itself did not need a narrative and was simply to allow us to experiment and get used to the cameras and settings.

Unfortunately for our we group, we failed to check the camera settings prior to shooting which rendered half of our footage unusable. This however was not a complete setback as it taught us a valuable lesson in checking the format and ratios of the equipment and the effects it can have when it comes to the editing stage of film making.

Grindleford Birds Eye View

Our saviour fortunately, was as the image shows, the size of our location which allowed a range of different focus points and so we were able to capture a variety of extra footage which was usable.

The equipment we used included: A zoom audio recorder, Canon XF100 camera, Manfroto tripod, Audio Technica AT8015 and a boom pole.

When shooting we also attempted to incorporate the use of the golden ratio as shown below.

Golden Ratio (Rule of Thirds)

 

THE MEANING OF FOOTAGE

As a means of getting us into a system of continually carrying out background research around the subject, we were set the task of discovering the origins and meaning of the term 'footage' in regards to its use in the film industry. 

Naturally the term originated in the film industry and in short was used to describe the reels of unedited 35 millimeter celluloid. It was named so due to the fact that it was measured in feet during the editing process, which was done as a foot of film held 16 frames which roughly equaled 1 second of moving image and so became the normal unit of measure. 

While discovering this information, I also learned the importance of footage outside the film industry such as amateur footage in regard to worldwide events and the price this footage can reach which can be traded or sold. This is also an important plot point which will feature in Dan Gilroys upcoming crime thriller 'Nightcrawler' starring Jake Gyllenhaal, a film which I am most excited to see. 

Finally, in reference to footage being traded within the film industry I also discovered that the original ending of Ridley Scotts cult classic 'Blade Runner', originally used landscape shots which were shot for the intention of being in Stanley Kubrick well known horror, 'The Shining', giving me a deeper understanding of the production aspect of film and the way in which a film will not always turn out the way it is originally planned and that sometimes two projects can collaborate with each other in order to improve a film makers work.