A couple of new video clips of experiments I've been playing with recently:
'A Month of Rust' is a 30-day time-lapse shot in 1.5:1 scale macro; what you see in the frame is about 5mm across.
'Orbs' is my first attempt at combining CG animation and live action video.
Showing posts with label my films. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my films. Show all posts
04 April 2013
06 March 2013
New film: In Flight time-lapse
It's been a lengthy hiatus since my last post, and a while since I've edited and finished a film. Here is a brief compilation of time-lapse clips from a recent flight from Manchester to Shetland.
Music: "Interlude VII" by Ending Satellites (endingsatellites.com).
All footage is from stills shot on an iPhone 4S using the TimeLapse app. There is a free version which allows 50 shots to be taken at a time, which equates to about 2 seconds of video. Upgrade to the paid version to shoot unlimited images. The app works well, allowing you to choose image size and to lock the exposure and focus. The app recommends you switch on Airplane Mode to prevent any notifications or calls interrupting the shooting (and you'd have Airplane Mode on anyway during a flight); an interruption can stop a shot being taken or can rotate the image 90 degrees, but then shooting resumes thereafter. For one of the sequences I was shooting for about 20 minutes without a problem.
All shots were taken from behind windows. Sometimes I set the phone on the window ledge, or held it as solidly as I could against the glass for short periods. Later I found that my sat-nav suction mount could be used as a makeshift shelf on the window, and the phone would sit there happily with a bit more freedom for composing the angle. Luckily I didn't have many problems with reflections, even when the sun was shining in through the window.
Music: "Interlude VII" by Ending Satellites (endingsatellites.com).
All footage is from stills shot on an iPhone 4S using the TimeLapse app. There is a free version which allows 50 shots to be taken at a time, which equates to about 2 seconds of video. Upgrade to the paid version to shoot unlimited images. The app works well, allowing you to choose image size and to lock the exposure and focus. The app recommends you switch on Airplane Mode to prevent any notifications or calls interrupting the shooting (and you'd have Airplane Mode on anyway during a flight); an interruption can stop a shot being taken or can rotate the image 90 degrees, but then shooting resumes thereafter. For one of the sequences I was shooting for about 20 minutes without a problem.
All shots were taken from behind windows. Sometimes I set the phone on the window ledge, or held it as solidly as I could against the glass for short periods. Later I found that my sat-nav suction mount could be used as a makeshift shelf on the window, and the phone would sit there happily with a bit more freedom for composing the angle. Luckily I didn't have many problems with reflections, even when the sun was shining in through the window.
26 August 2012
New film: Burpee Mile
Recently I helped edit a film for a friend. Caroline Birkinshaw, a personal trainer from Leeds, decided to do the Burpee Mile, a full mile of one of the most gruelling exercises ever imagined. Dave Hackney was on hand to shoot the event, getting some great shots of the hard work and the struggle Carrie went through to complete her task. After a bit of a delay Dave and I sat down to review the footage and I put together an edit.
Going through the raw clips I could see there was plenty of great material to use, and seeing them chronologically there was a plot arc of sorts emerging. Caroline begins alone on the running track but is soon joined by her parents, more family and friends and by the end she had a small crowd cheering her on, jumping burpees alongside and celebrating when she made it over the one-mile mark. This slow build up of momentum was a key feature I wanted to preserve in the edited film. The latter shots of Caroline feeling the strain contributed to the film reaching the peak of tension before the relief at her achievement.
Originally it was discussed this film would be set to rousing music, but when I saw those raw clips I was certain that a documentary style would suit it better, lending more gravitas to Caroline's achievement. A little comedic relief is provided by interviews with Caroline's dad and some spectators who were impressed by her determination.
Going through the raw clips I could see there was plenty of great material to use, and seeing them chronologically there was a plot arc of sorts emerging. Caroline begins alone on the running track but is soon joined by her parents, more family and friends and by the end she had a small crowd cheering her on, jumping burpees alongside and celebrating when she made it over the one-mile mark. This slow build up of momentum was a key feature I wanted to preserve in the edited film. The latter shots of Caroline feeling the strain contributed to the film reaching the peak of tension before the relief at her achievement.
Originally it was discussed this film would be set to rousing music, but when I saw those raw clips I was certain that a documentary style would suit it better, lending more gravitas to Caroline's achievement. A little comedic relief is provided by interviews with Caroline's dad and some spectators who were impressed by her determination.
25 June 2012
Rapid film making
I've made an entry for a video competition run by Viking office supplies:
It was shot in about 30 minutes in our tiny office at the end of the day. Luckily my boss Gareth was willing to act in front of the camera, or it would have been just me!
Setting up the camera and leaving it to record takes a bit of practice, as can be seen in a few wonky shots. We didn't have time to re-shoot anything so a bit of clever editing hid the problems to some extent.
Jumping into a project and shooting it quick is incredibly liberating. Knowing that the project doesn't have to be your best work frees you to try things with little expectation. It's been the first time in a few months that I've just gone out and shot something; it was very satisfying and good skills practice. A while back I read a blog post explaining there's no speed limit to learning things, and it certainly applies here.
It was shot in about 30 minutes in our tiny office at the end of the day. Luckily my boss Gareth was willing to act in front of the camera, or it would have been just me!
Setting up the camera and leaving it to record takes a bit of practice, as can be seen in a few wonky shots. We didn't have time to re-shoot anything so a bit of clever editing hid the problems to some extent.
Jumping into a project and shooting it quick is incredibly liberating. Knowing that the project doesn't have to be your best work frees you to try things with little expectation. It's been the first time in a few months that I've just gone out and shot something; it was very satisfying and good skills practice. A while back I read a blog post explaining there's no speed limit to learning things, and it certainly applies here.
18 May 2012
New film: Vintage Kino promo
For the past six weeks I've been working with organisers of the Kinofilm Festival based in Manchester. The festival has been in existence for many years but has recently been subject to a rejuvenation, with regular showings of local and international short films, feature films, and 16mm curiosities from the archives. (For news on upcoming events, see the Kinofilm page on Facebook).
This promotional film is for the Vintage Kino events where a programme of shorts are projected from the original 16mm celluloid. The films vary from documentaries such as We Are The Lambeth Boys, to public information films on the dangers of drug abuse, to short cartoons and comedies. Each event aims to focus on a particular year and includes Pathe news reels that summarise the year's events.
It is the first film I have produced under my new brand, aenimated films. It serves a basic function of giving my films a shared identity, and a website that collects all my various scattered media across the web into one place. It was chiefly motivated by working on the Vintage Kino promo, which may be seen by people interested in my other short films.
This promotional film is for the Vintage Kino events where a programme of shorts are projected from the original 16mm celluloid. The films vary from documentaries such as We Are The Lambeth Boys, to public information films on the dangers of drug abuse, to short cartoons and comedies. Each event aims to focus on a particular year and includes Pathe news reels that summarise the year's events.
It is the first film I have produced under my new brand, aenimated films. It serves a basic function of giving my films a shared identity, and a website that collects all my various scattered media across the web into one place. It was chiefly motivated by working on the Vintage Kino promo, which may be seen by people interested in my other short films.
Post processing
All the shots in the film were heavily colour-corrected in After Effects, usually with Curves effects. The captured projections usually needed to be squared up and brightened; some needed work to remove a colour cast. The outdoor shots on Oldham Street had some 're-lighting' effects to draw attention to the murals and signage.Camera settings
The film was shot using a Canon 600D (T3i). The material in the Three Minute Theatre we mostly shot using a 50mm f/1.8 lens (the brightest I have) and some were with a 10-24mm f/3.5. ISO was set to 800 except for the occasional shot where it needed to be pushed to 1600, along with 1/30th shutter. Interview sound was recorded separately using a Zoom H4n with a Rode VideoMic plugged into the mini-jack.27 February 2012
New film: Lock Gates
This short video depicting the hand-construction of a pair of canal lock gates is a natty combination of time-lapse sequences and live action clips. I helped shoot the time-lapse for my work during the three week process, and went back to the workshop to shoot some extra live action video, up close to the materials and the craftsmen who work them.
17 February 2012
17 October 2011
New film: The Wheels
"Sometimes you don't realise you're working too much..."
A short film created specially for the fixed theme of "The wheels went round" for the Chairman's Challenge at Huddersfield Film Makers Club, October 2011.
Although the upcoming Chairman's Challenge had been known of for some months, it didn't feel like a proper challenge if we couldn't cram all the work into the final 10 days before the show. It was at this point that I, and my semi-reluctant star Dave, realised we had just one weekend left.
I cobbled together the basic premise of the story and drew up a storyboard, only the second time I had bothered to do so. I thought it would be useful to tick off shots once they were in the can* but it was also very handy to ensure shots followed-on from one another and didn't look too disjointed. And of course I looked very professional, so much so that I left the beret at home.
We shot during Saturday and Sunday and I spent the next four evenings beavering away at the computer. There was a lot of time consuming post-production effort for a modest project like this one but the deadline really helped to spur me on. By this time Dave's work was done and he was relaxing in his trailer.**
Shot on a Canon 600D digital SLR with Rode VideoMic. Raw footage was transcoded to Apple Intermediate Codec using MPEG Streamclip. Edited in Final Cut Pro, transferred to After Effects using BasicFCPtoAE, where graphics were composited and shots were colour graded.
* I keep all my camera memory cards in a biscuit tin.
** Dave lives in a trailer. The house in the film has been empty for months so we helped ourselves. We call it 'being resourceful.'
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)