Making Changes

After receiving the feedback from our teacher we went back over the points that had been made and I made the changes. The audience liked the first image however they felt as though it stood out too much and did not fit in with the rest of the footage. After attempting to change the saturation and colour in premier to make it similar to the others we decided it was not working, so because of this, we decided to delete it all together. To replace this shot we added in the boat footage shown in image two. The audience felt as though this fitted better and maintained the style of the film. The ship itself moved along the screen in a diagonal line, and our teacher didn't like the ship travelling at this angle. I rotated the footage so that the boat was level and this worked much better.
The audience weren't too keen on image 4 as they felt as though it did not fit in with the other text. To create this effect instead of zooming in, Miranda did the opposite and zoomed out so that the DIY lens hood was visible. The finished effect showed something more original and we were really happy with it. As we liked the effect so much we decided to incorporate more like this, so that image 4 didn't look so out of place. Miranda tried again, and finished with image 3. Audience members likes the adding of the 'wander' shot and felt it maintained the quirkiness and originality of the film.
A lot of the feedback we have received comments on the calm feeling which they receive whilst watching our film. The majority of the shots are slow paced (image 6) and it was suggested that we use some quicker footage. Miranda filmed some more traffic scenes which I then sped up when editing (image 5). To keep the same theme throughout I added a directional blur which blurred the footage slightly and created more pace. Audience members loved the change in slow and paced and said it explored all types of travel, whether they be slow and graceful or fast.

Filming- 11/02

After mastering the Bokeh effect, we set out when the lights would be at their brightest. Apart from it being absolutely freezing, we are really happy with the footage. Its such a step up from our AS projects, and i am very proud of it. We are unsure as to how we could link it to the drift stop motion effect and so presented it to our teacher to receive her feedback. 

Feedback

• Very ambitious, the first she has seen to try this effect and a definite step up from our AS projects.
• Need to include more daytime shots, is there a way we can create words using this technique in the daytime?
• Try using reflections of things, find objects that light bounces off- Like in The Words Of Bokeh where he captures the reflection on water. 
• Look at Tracy Emin's illuminated sign. Some of the lights reminded her of american motels
• Can we use nature to create words? eg leaves or sticks
• How do we travel? you often wander by foot
• Look into other forms of transport- trains, buses, plane's
• How will the audience view it?
• Research shapes and how the evolve
• Think about a longer phrase and the different types of travel
• We need to think about influences in terms of narrative and justify what we do

Success!

After having a play around with the camera, and then trying out the technique on a video camera we had success! We were quick to set out one evening with our make shift lens caps- and try the technique for ourselves.

Editing Inspiration

When filming our experimental piece i wanted to do some more research on the video sharing website- Vimeo. Below are a few pieces i was inspired by.



This piece uses layers of coulourful shapes, and various other objects. When editing together our final piece i want to blend together lots of bokeh lights to create something more original and refreshing to look at.



The Fragments of Iceland is one of my favourite pieces- a long with The Words Of Bokeh- that i have come across over the period of this project. I find the editing technique and style truly amazing. I was drawn in right from the very beginning and watched a number of times. The footage was perfectly editied to fit the music, when the music became more up beat so did the cuts between the pictures. Linking water with various other other water related elements, and the panning shots of various different locations which have been cut together are amazing. We are taken on a journey with seamless editing- i want our piece to have this quality about it too. Not only did this piece completely captivate me but it inspired me to create something of its quality, something that makes people feel inspired to create an experimental piece themselves.

Editing like the example above, where we see the blanket blowing in the wind which then cuts to the clothes blowing in the wind. Although different locations and colouring, they share this particular element, which makes it work. I want this style to show through in my editing, perhaps linking transport to transport or colours to colours.

This piece here uses photographs combined with stop motion and live projection mapping techniques.
To take our piece further we thought about combining the stop motion effect with our bokeh lights. Neither of us have tried this technique before and so it would be a challenge for the both of us. I chose this particular clip because they use lights as well, although theirs are projections they are till using layers- in theory- to create this finished effect.



Although perhaps not an aspect that we could incorporate into our film, it is very inspiring. Its unique and i personally haven't seen anything like it. Although our final piece will be influenced from many other pieces we have seen it is important for us to create something unique and personal to us.

Creating the Bokeh effect

Miranda changed the focus on her camera to create the simple bokeh effect. Below are some of the outcomes.

After researching how The Words Of Bokeh was created i realised that hand made lens caps have been made to create the desired shape or word. We ran a google search for tutorials and found a fantastic website called DIY- Create Your Own Bokeh, which gives a step by step guide on how to achieve this technique and offers examples. Below are some we tried ourselves.

We are very happy with the outcome, the colours are very vivid and the black brings them out. Although we are happy with them they do not look how they are suppose to. I have attached the image that the website offers as an example.

We are still trying to master how to get the image in the foreground so have done some more research!
Here is a youtube video, with visuals. 

To begin with we drew around the lens and created a border that will attach to the camera, and then drew and cut out our desired word in the middle. After doing this we cut slits around the border and then mounted it to the camera. 

After mounting the DIY lens hood to the camera we shot the pictures. Still no luck!

What is experimental film?

Experimental film covers a wide range of practice. An experimental film is often characterized by the absense of a clear and linear narrative, the use of abstract techniques- out of focus, painting or scratching on film, rapid editing- and the use of non-diegetic sound or even the absence of any soundtrack at all. The goal is often to place the viewer in a more active and more thoughtful relationship to the film. 


Our idea is to place the viewer into the view point of somebody who is wandering. Either in a drunken state or in a lonely, vulnerable state. We want to use the bokeh effect to blur lights to give off a confused or disorientated mood. As well as speeding up traffic and capturing the movement they make. We also want to experiment using photography, creating some scenes entirely from pictures and stringing them together to show a journey of some sort. I would also like to experiment with incorporating art, is there a way to add sketches, scratching, colours?

Final Idea

After a series of Spider diagrams and brain storming sessions we have decided to create an experimental film, using Drift and The Words Of Bokeh as our influences.

The Words Of Bokeh

The Words Of Bokeh from Archie Campbell on Vimeo.

The Words of Bokeh is an experimental piece which I was introduced to at a university open day. I was immediately drawn to this piece and I find it hugely inspiring and interesting to watch. After watching this piece i want to experiment and research into how this effect is created.  


Below are a series of images from the film that inspired me. 

DRIFT

Drift is a photographic stop motion piece which follows a journey through various landscapes creating the illusion of being half asleep and half awake. I really love the journey we are taken on in this film. Although seemingly a very simple idea, a lot of time and effort would have been needed to create something like this. It does exactly what it says. ''I drift, half awake, half asleep. Moving through the city I recall but have never been to.'' There is this real sense of drifting. I think it would be really interesting and hugely rewarding to try this out ourselves and take it one step further by introducing different editing techniques along the way. 

Locations

Before creating a set idea we decided to look at the locations that were available to us. To create the contrast we want run down areas compared to higher class areas. Margate is a very good example for an area that is a little more run down. I have run a Google image search to find areas that could be suitable before we take our own pictures.

I really like this image, if we can find this exact spot, this deserted, we could be really experimental with it. I think it would be perfect for showing the run down areas of the town. 

Below are images of locations I had taken whilst in Margate. We tried to focus on the run down parts of the town. The lights at this particular time (4-5pm) inspired us to experiment with and research effects and the blurring of lights. 

An Invisible Sign

Spider Diagram

We were determined to find a story line/ idea that we were passionate about. I work best when dealing with social issues, and when there is space to be a little more experimental. We decided to create a spider diagram of ideas we had. Miranda had watched a short film about a bench, in which we followed a bench where various events happened. We decided to develop this idea and use it as our inspiration. We want to create a piece that is a little more experimental and follows the the growth of a person. We thought about doing this by showing key ages and comparing things such as innocence and rebellion. 

Inspiration 3

The second idea we had was a dramatic hostage taking. Brice Partleton- our school filmmaker- has made a series of short horror films titled Locked. All of the action revolves around one room. We liked how the locations were kept to a minimum, and the tension was still huge.