Final Outcome- Featurette

Music In The Round Featurette from Katherine Muldowney on Vimeo.

Featurette Shoot

As arranged with Simon, on the 1st of March we had the opportunity to film for our featurette the interviews with both pianist, Tim Horton, and page turner, Rachel Shirley. On this day we also filmed the final concert of the Haydn festival, including Tim's rehearsal beforehand. We were told when we arrived that we were on a very tight schedule, as the concert was to start promptly at 2:00pm that afternoon.
Before the concert began, we were given 10-15 minutes to film Tim's rehearsal.  I was the sound recorder for this shoot, but given the short timescale, I was unsure and unable to test as to whether it would be best to use the Zoom microphone or the shot-gun mic. I eventually settled on the shotgun mic, as there was a a lot of background noise which was beyond our control, and the shotgun mic picked up very little of this. It was after this that we got the opportunity to interview Tim, we used a two-camera set-up, with sound recorded through the shot-gun mic. Immediately as we started, I noticed that we had failed to used the clapper-board, Aidan had already began the interview and Tim was incredibly talkative, so there was no opportunity to re-take. We had barely gotten through half of our questions when we were hurried a long by the stage manager, so there was no time to rectify our mistake.
We had been reserved three seats in each corner of the studio, as we had all planned to have our own camera set-up in order to capture the concert from different angles. We originally intended to stay for Tim's performance only, but ended up staying for the entire concert. This actually turned out to be very beneficial, as although our film is predominantly about Tim, there is a mention of how musicians as a whole feel about their sacrifices and achievements. Also, Tim featured throughout the entire performance, not just on his own, so it was useful to get the extra footage.
Finally, we had the interview with Rachel, the page turner. At this point, the crew had began to dismantle the stage and move all of the instruments, so there was a lot of banging and background noise. Also, we had very little options available to us as to where we could stage her interview; in the end we were given a corner in the foyer, right in front of the stage door where everything was being transported. We conducted the interview regardless, as we were only able to stay for 15 minutes or so before the theatre was shutting. We used a 2 camera set-up, using the shot-gun mice for audio- and again, a clapper-board became an after thought. The interview itself though was successful, and Rachel gave us some really interesting material.
I think considering the extremely tight schedule, we did very well on this shoot and managed to gather some very interesting shots and material. There is just the matter in post-production, we're hoping that our fatal flaw in not using the clapperboard doesn't produce too many problems while trying to sync our visuals with the audio.

Blocking workshop

This session was about lighting and blocking, and gave us experience with setting up a scene in terms of the directors intentions, including lighting, directions of the characters and the position of the camera. The scene we were setting up and re-creating was from 'The Last Tycoon' (Elia Kazan) of which we noted different elements of the set, the characters movements and directions and the positions of the studio lighting/cameras. On examining the scene, we first noted the various light sources within the scene ( I noted specifically the fact that the windows of the set provided no light source).  The light appears to be coming from the sources illustrated below. We re-created this lighting set-up in our own re-creating of the scene. The fill-light used we found cast far too harsh shadows in the scene, shadows which are casted on objects and actors can be very distracting for the viewer as a result of this. A piece of white nylon covering the fill-light softens the shadows, and improved the lighting of the scene, a long with the correct positioning of the key-light and the back-light.

Also focused on in this session was the performance of the scene, and how it requires careful planning and relies heavily on the collaborative view, patience and effort of the cinematographer, the actors, the director and the asst. director. This is to ensure that the shooting of the scene remains fluid and consistent, preventing the need for time-consuming re-shoots. This is achieved by letting the camera record while capturing the action from various different angles (5 all-together we arranged). This creates consistency, and allows the audience a natural view of the scene unfolding. 

DSLR workshop

This session was an introduction to filming with DSLR. I had used a DSLR to film projects in the past, mainly out of necessity, but was unaware of the actual differences between filming with a DSLR and using an actual digital video camera, such as the Canon XF100. Dom explained briefly the difference between shooting on the XF100 and shooting on a DSLR.  A notable difference is that the DSLR is designed to focus in on and gather more specific features and information from the shot, whereas the XF100 gathers wider and more information. It is quite noticeable that the DSLR produces a clearer and more enhanced image, whereas with the XF100 it can be a little more grainy at times.

Depth of Field-
Before now, I was unaware of the exact definition and differences between the two cameras in regards to depth of field. Depth of field simply refers to the focus of the camera both in front of and behind the subject in the frame. The DSLR focuses much less than the XF100, mainly due to the amount of information each camera captures. 

Dual System- 
The sync up of audio when recorded on DSLR.

Aperture-
In photography/film, aperture is the unit od measurement that defines the size of the opening in the lens that can be adjusted to control the amount of light reaching the film or digital sensor.

Pinhole photography (useful when looking at aperture)-
A small box with a hole in the one end, the light passes through the box and when removed the camera becomes more focused as the lights bends and the light is left through, making the image appear sharper.

Rolling Shutter-
Usually found in CMOS sensors, is a method of capturing images that does not expose the entire sensor simultaneously but rather exposes different pars of the sensor in different points in time.  

Sound and Sync Workshop

The rest of my group and I unfortunately missed this workshop, as that time was our only opportunity to get some important shots for our client work. However, with Taz's help I managed to catch up and familiarise myself with the basics regarding audio recorded with boom and radio microphones. Also, the importance of using a clapper board during production, in order to ensure that both the visual and audio elements are synced up correctly during post-production.

Featurette Planning

The plan for our featurette was for it to follow on from the viral ad; answering the questions posed in the first piece. The two/three minute film is to include at least two sit down interviews, and considering our first piece concentrated on the scores of music that had to be learned by Tim, it is vital really to include him as one of our interviewees.
After corresponding with Simon about filming opportunities, we are really keen for the possibility of shooting during one of the performances as part of the Haydn festival, which features Tim playing one of Beethoven's sonatas. We we were also given the opportunity to interview one of the stage crew responsible for moving the instruments, or the page turner who works with Tim.
However, we have had some difficulties arranging this with Simon, the main reason being that MITR does not own the Crucible theatre, the only operate within the building, therefore timing and availability is something of an issue. A further problem has also been raised due to the availability of the musicians, Tim in particular, as his schedule also is uncertain and unpredictable.

Update

We have received the following confirmation from Simon in regards to filming our featurette;

Hi Aidan Right, we have everything sorted I think. Tim is happy for you to come into the rehearsal on SUNDAY afternoon at 2pm, for the last 15 minutes of his rehearsal, which you can film, and then he is happy to answer questions immediately afterwards. Then there is the concert, and he would be happy for you to film his solo sonata, which he is playing in the second half of the concert, with Rachel the page turner. We will get you a fixed camera position on the first tier of seating for the concert itself. The page turner is also happy to be interviewed, either before or after the concert (tbc). Then at the end, you can film the piano being carefully wheeled back into its piano store behind the theatre, and also talk to my colleague Kathryn about how the piano is looked after and stored. I think and hope that gives you every element you need. I will be there too – please can you ensure you are at the Crucible Studio main doors (in the foyer) by 1.45pm on Sunday, and let me know via my mobile, below if this is going to be a problem. FYI, I am NOT going to ask the Theatre for permission for you film elsewhere in the building – foyers, etc – as it will open a can of worms, so I hope you can get what you need from the above Let me know if this causes any problems Simon

(Via Aidan Oldroyd)

The plan now is to film Tim's rehearsal before the concert, a long with his interview. We then intend to film his sonata during the concert, as well as interviewing Rachel, the page turner, after the show.

MIDI Workshop

In this session, we were taught an alternative way to add audio and sounds to visuals by using the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) and various plug-ins using pro-tools. It was explained to us that the MIDI itself is not an actual instrument, but a tool used in conjunction with the plug-ins installed on Pro-tools. When the keys are hit, it tells the software which notes to record. Darryl also explained some basic controls of the MIDI, including how to move down an octave and adjustments of the sound. I found this to be an incredibly useful workshop, for the reason that it has been a struggle to find music and sounds which have the ability to set a mood or provoke an emotion, without having to deal with the issues of copyright. It also provides us with the ability to be able to create and control every aspect of a projects.
Once the basic controls were explained, we were set the task of creating a short piece using the MIDI and the pro-tools plug-ins. This was to go along with one of a selection of clips provided, in order to try and set a mood and pace with the visual image. The variation of sounds available in the different programmes is huge, but it took quite a lot of sorting to find a selection of sounds which didn't sound comical or inappropriate. Once selected, there is the option to edit the notes that you have laid down, including changing the sound, looping, moving it up/down an octave and so on.
We were given a few examples of electronic compositions for various film sound-tracks. A notable one was of David Fincher's Gone Girl. The soundtrack composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The track is very provocative, and it's purpose is definitely to push a certain mood or emotion within the viewer. The high-pitch and pulsing notes definitely reinforce the mood set by the scene.

When it came to experimenting with the sounds to produce a short piece to go with the provided clips, I became quite personally overwhelmed by the huge choice of sounds, but quite intimidated because of the fact that I have very little music ability. However, it soon became apparent that this was not entirely necessary. I chose to create a short composition for a si-fi/space scene, managed to use the MIDI to create a track to go with the atmosphere and tone of the scene. (Due to the Mac I was using crashing I was unfortunatly unable to save an example of this).

Example of how the notes are laid down in pro-tools