This Week, So Far

Alright, so, here is what has been going on this week!

Sunday - I scouted and secured a location for my video shoot with Jimmy and Hailey and called a friend of mine who works in video production for lessons on how to improve the quality of my film on my camera. We spoke on Skype for a little over an hour and I showed him my test film.  I came away with a knowledge of how many frames per second I should shoot with and the suggestion that I should cut between macro shots and shots of the action to include symbolism in my film. I also learned how to shoot in black and white, rather than making that decision during the editing progress. It gave the film a more definite direction.

Monday - Early in the morning, I prepped my photography equipment and went around to test the locations and shoot a little of the locations without Hailey and Jimmy. When they arrived at 1 pm, we went out to a newly built fence near the field and i shot them again in the same style as I did at the beginning of the test film, but instead of panning vertically the way I did in the first cut, I focused on specific parts of the body that I thought would be important to the overall meaning of the project.
We then rode out to the field and they warmed up as I set up the equipment. I decided, after editing the first piece, that I wanted to do more shots of them together, and I did not want all of them to include the acrobatics of the first day. As much of the time that I wanted to cut from the first one, we shot even longer than we had before.

After shooting with Hailey and Jimmy, we drove back up to the farm and I began setting up for my shoot with Katherine. She hired me to do her senior portraits and about a week in advance, we began to plan locations and outfits for her portraits. She arrived at the house around 2:45 and we began shooting at 3 pm. The first location was a field of dark burnt and wheat-colored grass. She wore a lovely tribal maxi dress and brought along a straw hat. Next we found an old rusted gate, leading into a field of tan grass, fenced by tall trees. We walked through and shot there for a while and then came across a felled tree from the last hurricane season. She leant on it and we captured a few photos before she changed into her second outfit. From there we ran to the lush greenery at the edge of a grassy opening and shot between the branches and in an old green fishing boat. Finally, we drove to her home on the Vermillion River and shot in her backyard until my memory card was full and the sun had all but escaped behind the rooftops.

 Yesterday, on Tuesday, I began to edit Katherine's photos and the shoot of Jimmy and Hailey. I also called Alexa and Mason for a shoot this Sunday afternoon and began researching for the proper wardrobe, lighting, and locations. I think I may play a little more with black and white, but we'll see!

Week Two - Summary

This week has been so busy! On top of editing and delivering two shoots for clients, I've been ill all week :[.

So far, this week has been about planning. Normally, with photoshoots, I do research and create collections, first of ideas, and then colors, poses, people, and from there, I rehearse how I want a shoot to go. In this case, making a short film, I found that there are very different steps involved. First, i chose a subject. As my first moving picture, I wanted to explore the dynamic between two people through movement. I asked Jimmy and Hailey, who possess the skills and chemistry I needed for the short film, and who I've had the pleasure to shoot with several times before.

Next, I decided on a song entitled "Her" by a young artist in Australia and I emailed him asking for permission to use his music. He agreed, and I proceeded to choose a location, a field out in rural Southern Louisiana. Next, I decided on wardrobe. My initial thought was that I wanted the film to be in black and white, so i had both of them bring dark clothing, to create the greatest contrast.

I first wanted to shoot on Friday but,  unsure of the lighting conditions I wanted for the film, and because I had never made a film before, I wanted to do a test shoot. 

Hailey and Jimmy walked out into the pastures of our farm with me late in the afternoon and we shot for a little over an hour. I took mental notes of what each could do and what they could do together and we set a date for the actual shoot, Monday.  From editing the film, I learned what I wanted to ask for next time, and what things I wanted to add in during the actual shoot. The following film is the test shoot for "Her."

Go Your Own Way

Tomorrow

Just a short update: Tomorrow I will be posting photos from the shoot, along with a short creative write-up and I will begin preparing for filming. Stay tuned!

The Weekend

Over the weekend, I continued to edit the images and focus on another shoot as well. On my photography site, I posted a preview image and started lining up people for my film this coming week.

Day Three - Editing

At the end of the day, back home and happy with my cup of mint tea and electronic stack photos, I began to edit.  And with editing, flipping through images and pulling from the ranks those which I felt something for, the life of Olivia's character began to emerge even moreso than it already had.

Day Three - Shooting Day

Today was the shoot with Olivia. It started around 2 pm and wrapped about 4:30.
We started by lifting ourselves up into the old camp house, situated atop pillars to protect against hurricane flooding. Once in the back room that I had cleaned out the day before, we began to throw the blankets over the bed and situate the furniture in order to create a bedroom for Olivia's character. Before going to the camp house, I told her a little about the kind of energy and storyline I wanted to convey through the photos. So after we wrapped prep, she curled up in the bed, as if preparing to wake from a long sleep, and we started the shoot like a loosely-directed film. I followed her with the camera, making quiet suggestions behind the lens as she beautifully embodied the character and gave me a glimpse into her morning.
From there, smelling of clove cigarettes and a bit dusty, we climbed down onto the soft turf around the pond and explored the area nearby, snapping a few photos and enjoying the easy wardrobe changes brought on by isolation. Placing my camera snugly into the case, at the end of the shoot, I felt the familiar grip of excitement take hold of my chest, and could not wait to look over the photos.