Final Blog: TCF 312

It has been a lot fun taking this class. Dr. Raimist has come into the TCF program and breathed new life and it has never been a better time to study film at UA. The biggest thing I can take from class is that working together in an orderly fashion with everyone on the same agenda is the key to success. You have to have faith in your crew that your vision will be accomplished through the team effort. I also learned that organization and pre-planning play a pivotal role in the final production of a project. With the tools and skills learned in this class, I feel I am more prepared to face the journey at hand of creating a career in this field. I truly enjoyed working with everyone in the class and am looking forward to my next class with Dr. R in the Spring.

DP Reel/Artist Statment

Brandon Baker's DP Reel 2009 from Telecommunication and Film at th on Vimeo.

Brandon Baker
TCF 312
Artist Statement
December 1, 2009

My goal every time I get behind the camera is to capture a moment that otherwise would fade into a memory almost instantaneously. After becoming familiar with different techniques in the film genre, I have come to realize my desire to document and capture the memories and events that happen around us everyday. My aim as a filmmaker is to film an event or occurrence and capture that to my camera in order to share with the world or whoever desires to see it.

I have become enthralled with the level of technology that exists today and strive to continue to gain a mastery of all the tools necessary to make me successful. My amateur attempts at filmmaking have led me to a love for recording live music. There is something special about live music because that one performance will only happen that one time. Being able to capture that one unique and special event on a medium for those not there to relive is a powerful influence on my drive to want to continue in the field. I do not simply try to capture the event exactly as it happens, although it calls for that sometimes; I would rather take an event and turn into my own work with the original occurrence as the main influence and inspiration.

My mission as a filmmaker is to make my audience feel one with the event and to create an environment that makes the viewer feel that they never actually missed what it is they are seeing. We the people have a right to information and the ability to access that information is a necessity into today’s age, my goal as a filmmaker is to make that possible. No matter the calling, I will go where I am needed and do the task at hand to the best of my abilities.

Roger Deakins

"What I've always loved about film, documentary or fiction, is that everybody is working towards that one goal."

--ROGER DEAKINS

He has done a wide array of films, including but not limited to: (working from the most recent to oldest): The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country for Old Men, A Beautiful Mind, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Hurricane, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, The Shawshank Redemption, Mountains of the Moon, and Nineteen Eighty-Four....

Here are some interviews:

1. International Cinematographers Guild

2. The Hollywood Interview

3. InDigest

Deakins accepts Hollywood Cinematographer Award

What I really like about Deakins is his constant use of powerful imagery throughout his work. The Assassination of Jesse James has one of the most awesome scenes when the train is coming through the woods in the pitch black as the gang waits in the brush.

What is so cool about his work his he has done films that are considered some of the greatest of our generation. The Shawshank Redemption will probably be 30% of the entire country's favorite movie.

Deakins talks alot about trust between the DP and the director as that is the most important element achieving success. Even if the two aren't on the same page visually, having that trust will make things easier.

"The biggest thrill is looking through the camera and seeing a performance and a scene coming together and realizing it's special. Sometimes when something is working you get a tingle up your spine. It's a wonderful feeling when you realized you've captured a special moment."

Deakins makes an interesting argument that each film takes on a different genre and style to shooting. In his opinion,the look and how you shoot really comes off the script and the material. This is interesting because if you look at his body of work, he ranges from comedy, action, drama, black and white, music... he really can do it all and it shows with his widely successful repertoire of films.

Awesomely done Garcia/Grisman Video

Enjoy people!

Extra Blog: I Met the Walrus

A really well done video montage that I think a lot of people can learn from and also I just really enjoy the way the story is told. Here is a little background: In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon's every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries the terrifyingly genius pen work of James Braithwaite with masterful digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit, and timeless message.

Enjoy!

DP Reels: The good and not so good.

This reel is from a friend of mine named Alex Joseph.

Jon Salmon's DP reel.

This one, I do not like so much.

I will return here to elaborate on videos soon. Check back.

Camera Movement

Okay, so we figured out today that moving camera shots are a lot of fun to set up but there is much to think about when constructing a proper shot.

You need think about subject placement/action... What is your actor doing in the scene, is movement even necessary, will add to the compelling visual qualities we all try to seek when filming?

Then... AUDIO! where is the mic at? is there dialouge or a convo going on? Are we going to see the boom mic in the shot when we pull away for a dramatic reveal shot?

Important notes: When the camera changes its position by moving left or right, this is called tracking or trucking. Changing the camera's position by moving it forward or backward is known as dollying. When the camera stays in the same position but turns left or right, this is panning, and when it turns up or down, this is known as tilting. Even when the camera is stationary and not turning it can appear to move closer to or further from its subject, the camera person can zoom in or out.

Also, what I feel is most important is to not over use these techniques so they dont become to familiar to the audience or come across as overdone.

I reckon what I will do is put in some links to some nice moving shots:
1. Touch of Evil, an almost 4 minute single take of the opening scene moving through the streets. The viewer sees a bomb being planted without the passengers noticing then pans and dips through the streets establishing other characters and the location. What makes it so suspenseful is the viewers know something bad is going to happen, just not when. Then with no movement there is never any pause in the suspense until the explosion. A true camera movement master piece.

2. Apocalypse Now, I have mentioned this opening scene before but its one that seems to fit many categories and with it being a personal favorite, it makes into these blogs. There is not A LOT of movement in this shot but when it does, it just works. The opening minute or is a still shot on the jungle line but once the explosions start it begins tracking left to right on the doll which REVEALS the on going destruction of the explosions on Vietnam, a truly useful moving shot.

3. Taxi Driver, closing scene. We see De Niro pull up with his mohawk and jump out of the cab... as he gets out- the camera moves with him to the right as he is walking but never revealing his destination or motive. When we see him walk up to Harvey Keitel, we see where he was going. The camera holds as the talk and the De Niro shoots Kietel and walks away this time to the left- as the camera moves with him back towards his taxi. Very compelling with the methods of revealing through camera movement.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed yourself here at BakerMan vs. Blog.

So, your using a DP, eh?

What is there to say about doing a project with a Director of Photography?

Well, from my experience, you have to let go of your own ambitions and allow the DP to do his/her job. You have to trust that they can comprehend your requests for a shot. Of course, sometimes you may have to very in depth with your description but often times, just giving a general guideline for what you want to achieve is suffice.

The DP is responsible for capturing whatever it is the director feels is the "look" of the film. It could be film noir, tranquility, chaos, etc... the DP should know what functions on the camera to tinker with, where to start from, and how to finish the request.

One thing that is important is getting lots and lots of coverage shots. From my experiences, having more than you need is INFINITELY more important than not having enough shots. When you have plenty of coverage, you are able to remove the bad shots and include only the captivating and visually compelling shots to your piece.

Working with a DP is a little tricky in that most of us want the camera in our own hands at all times. But, it is very beneficial to the director if that person can focus solely on the overall production and not just the camera work.

I would like to just list some of my favorite DPs:
1. Roger Deakins
2. Wally Pfister
3. Conrad Hall
4. Michael Chapman
5. Phil Parmet

The Hypsys- Cosmik Prince Music Video

Check the music video I made.

It is for a great local band who is about to make it big!

Debut video for The Hypsys performing Cosmik Prince.

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jmKnsWY3pI

Visualizaton, eh, Pre-Visualization that is...

So, ya wanna know what I know huh? Well, I know lots of things, like... how to tie my shoes, how to throw a baseball, strike a match... I CAN DO IT ALL... oh but wait, you wanna know about pre-visualization and all that jazz.

Well, when planning a shoot you have to lay down some guidelines before you can actually get anything done. First, you need to establish a location for your shoot. Second, you need to have an understanding of the assignment at hand how to successfully capture what it is your trying to achieve. The next part of planning is establishing a story for your shoot... that is asking- "what are we doing here?" To answer that you need to know all the different aspects of the shoot and who all is involved.

When trying to establish "what to shoot" you need to choose shots that are visually compelling and enhance your vision. To do this, you need to know where and what time of day the shoot is happening, whether or not it is interior or exterior, and how long it will take to set-up a shot. All of these things are very important when establishing what to shoot.

You should be able to envision in your mind what the shot you want should look like on camera. Knowing what type of shots work together can help create a more cohesive and successful final product. When first getting started on a shoot, you have to establish all elements of storytelling to allow viewers to comprehend your story [technically, you don't have to follow the rules if it makes more sense VISUALLY not to].

When using lights, you need to know how the lights operate before you can understand the effect they will have on set. You need to establish beforehand what types of lights [wattage, style, etc.], where the lights are positioned [key, fill, back, etc.], and whether or not you need some sort of filter [screens, gels, reflectors, etc.] BEFORE attempting to shoot.

So, I know this post is a little more vanilla than usual but that I tried to tackle the task at hand as best I could. Hope you enjoyed my rant on pre-viualization. Come again.

Peace and Love to all of the worlds creatures. God bless us, everyone.

What inspires me?

Welcome back, today we are discussing what inspires me. Or are we?

I have no inclination to what it is that inspires me to do whatever it is I do... I have an undying dream of succeeding in what I do in life, no matter what it is. When I was in elementary school it was making the A+ Honor Roll. In high school, it was excelling in sports and school. Now, it is to graduate with a degree and become a functioning member of society.

I would not venture to say I have a certain specific inspiration for seeking my media production degree, for I really have many. Like I said, I want to be succesful in a field I enjoy, I want to be able to provide for myself and others, and give a little bit of myself to everyone when I come into contact with them... This quote for example, exudes what I would consider inspiration to achieve my goals:

"I love being alive and will be the best man I possibly can. I will take love wherever I find it and offer it to everyone who will take it. I will seek knowledge from those wiser and teach those who wish to learn from me."

-- Duane Allman's Epitaph

It is hard for me to say what exactly inspires me visually to a point. I know what types of shots or genres I enjoy to see so that may be something that influences my approach behind the camera. But, I consider myself to be more of a shooting from the sleeve type of thinker, I like having somewhat of a preset plan in my head of what I want to achieve then just go out and do it without much thinking or reason than other me thinking it will look right. Some of my favorite movies are old gangster classics and film noir but then again I enjoy more modern day horror and thriller movies...

As long as we are talking about what inspires me, or lack there of, I think it is important for me to mention what music means to me... In a sense, music really inspires most everything I do in life. I am always listening to music of all kinds... I have my favorites like The Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic, and Phish. But I also listen to funk, jam, bluegrass, electronica, house, rap, r and b, jazz from all kinds of artists like James Brown, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Kings of Leon, Yonder Mountain, Railroad Earth, Jay-Z, Prince, Disco Biscuits, etc, etc, and I could go on and on... So music plays a pivitol role in my life.

Some of my favorite pieces of "art" is album art off CDs from some of favorite bands. I would like to share those and my favorite quote from a few:

1.)

Quote, from "Built to Last" by The Grateful Dead: "There are times when you get hit upon, Try hard but you cannot give, Other times you'd gladly part, With what you need to live, Don't waste the breath to save your face, When you have done your best, And even more is asked of you, Let fate decide the rest."

2.)

Quote from "A Kiss Before I Go" by Ryan Adams: "And the pain in the morning comes as easy as it goes. Can't find the truth in a house of lies. And you can't see tomorrow with yesterday's eyes. One shot, one beer and a place where nobody cries."

3.)

Quote from "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols: "When there's no future. How can there be sin. We're the flowers in the dustbin. We're the poison in your human machine. We're the future you're future."

4.)

Quote from Bob Dylan's song "Goin' to Acapulco" on The Basement Tapes album: "It's a wicked life but what the hell. The stars ain't fallin' down. I'm standing outside the Taj Mahal. I don't see no one around."

Okay, I tried to explore this topic. Hope you enjoyed reading everything and be sure to check out the movies and bands I mentioned in this blog.

Peace, love, and happieness to all.

--BB

Look dem purrty picshures...

So, here we are again. I am little late on this but I was shooting by tribute to A Boy Named Sue lastnight which was a little time consuming and I wont be long here because I am about to go edit into a masterpiece which I figure I'll post here once done. And don't mind this little image to the left here, I just thought it a nice take on the idea of a boy named sue...

So, lets get started:

This image right here is from the flim noir mood I would say. I think it is lit very nicely with the high single key light (kinda gives it the street light on a dark street feel). It gives you enough light to see the brim of the hat all the way around but completely shadowing his eyes and facial features. The light also gives way to the cigarette in his hand. It may or may not be lit but it creates what seems to be the focal point of the image. I really like this type of shot because film noir classics are some of my favorite movies.

Next:

This was just an image I found on the intrawebs and thought it was pretty cool. It looks really overexposed at the top, so much that it is completely white until you begin to see the edge of the water on the horizon. I love the use of the sun as it shines through the opening made between her arm and torso... another thing I liked was how her body cast a shadow on the bottom of the image giving it a extremely vast contrast from the top of the image.

Annnddddd thennnnnnn:

This is an image my friend took this past spring break in destin, fl... That is my hand right there and I have always loved this image. It was a nice sunset on our first night there and there were a bunch of us on the beach for the sunset. I really like this because the sun setting in the background creates a sweet back light. It really makes the peace pop off the image causing it to be the focal point.

....

Some other examples of stills I like are:

John Bell of Widespread Panic...

LeBron James 23

Iron Bowl [36-0]... Can't get prettier than that.

View of FL coast from space...

Rainbow on Black and white....

QUOTE OF THE DAY is from The Deer Hunter (which Kate needs to see):

Michael: Every time he comes up, he's got no knife, he's got no jacket, he's got no pants, he's got no boots. All he's got is that stupid gun he carries around like John Wayne.

Apocolypse Now, Opening Scene: Breakdown

So, as I sit here on my Labor Day wondering what to do... I remember that I have my blog to do and that it is due tomorrow. So, with it being a day of labor rememberance, lets labor.

For my breakdown today, I have chosen the first 2 or so minutes of one of my all time favorite flicks, Apocolypse Now.

First off I had to learn how to screenshot on PC as I am used to doing it in the video lab on the mac's with the screengrab, but I think I got it down. So here it goes...

The opening scene is set in Vietnam... you cant hear anything until about ten seconds in you begin to hear what sounds like helicopters in the distance...
A chopper passes by and your thoughts are confirmed... The scene is held in this still shot as the area around it begins to see changes...

After the chopper passes by, you see the dust settle and napalm rise up to the point that it consumes the screen and becomes the only visible thing on screen. Also, around the :30 mark, the music of The Doors' The End begins playing. This change in the color of the Vietnamese landscape to the bright orange glow of the napalm is dynamic shift in perception and focal point. To go along with the change in scene, the music creates a different feeling amongst the viewers with the dreariness of the words and Jim Morrison's voice. (A truly fitting song for the opening scene of this movie!)

You continue to hear the music and the choppers in the background as the napalm continues to rise. Then at the 1:10 mark, the bombs are dropped and we are reminded of the damage done in Vietnam. This chilling reminder is stunning but the viewer is still unaware of exactly the are seeing for the hold on the scene has remained the same through the first minute and fifteen seconds... leaving the viewer on edge to find out what is going on.

So, the carnage continues and you see all of the destruction being done. But I feel the story is not only told viually at this point but also audibly. Read the lyrics from The End and you can really feel what is going on. They go as follows: "This is the end. Beautiful friend. This is the end. My only friend, the end."

This next scene comes at the 1:42 mark. The battle scene fades and there becomes a duel image layout with the first scene we have been seeing going on in the background but now the image Capt. Williard is intertwined with the shot and you see him laying in bed thinking (or dreaming) and you become disassociated as a viewer. You now begin to think that you are seeing his dreams as he lays in bed or is it flashbacks to his first tour of duty? You just dont know.

I love this scene because Martin Sheen's face is upside down on screen allowing it to be the focal point but not distract too much from the battle still raging in the background. The lighting falls where his eyes are lit and you can see the cold grayness in them. As he smokes his cigarette the billowing smoke creates a foggy POV and really just establishes a nice shot.

For the last scene, I would like to use the image of Capt. Williard still upside down on screen but with the image of his ceiling fan in the background. This scene creates the sense that the sound of helicopters we heard earlier was just his fan the whole time and it was just a dream.

My screenshot does not really do it justice, but I promise it is more clear in the movie and it creates said feelings I mentioned.

OKAY, so that was my attempt at a scene breakdown so I hope you enjoyed it. I know I could talk more about the lighting and what not but I dont fully understand all aspects of achieving certain "looks" with different lighting, but hey, thats why we have Dr. R to teach us.

So, since we are on the topic of Apocolypse Now... I will use the first words uttered by Capt. Williard as my routine quote:

Williard: "Saigon... shit; I'm still only in Saigon... Every time I think I'm gonna wake up back in the jungle."

Thanks for coming out folks. Have a great day. Peace.

-BB

The DP is the man, obviously,

When it comes to achieving "the look" of a movie, it all falls on the shoulders of one position, the Directory of Photography (DP). Of course, you have the director who says what he wants to see and how he wants to see it, but often times, that director is not directly responsible for actually doing it. That job is the task of the DP who in turn grants the director's wishes. After watching Visions of Light I learned in great depth what it actually means to be the DP. I even learned some of the names of the people responsible for my favorite films.

The first person I would like to throw out there is Haskell Wexler...

He is the man who achieved the look for two of my favorite baseball movies, The Babe and 61*. He paints a beautiful portrait of what it was like to be some of the first great American baseball heroes. Shot in black and white he captures the drama and love for the game that was so evident when Ruth, Mantle, and Maris were in their prime.

The next person on my agenda is a man responsible for one of the greatest movies (and subsequently trilogy) of all time, The Godfather.

And that man is a Mr. Gordon Willis.

The Godfather Trilogy are arguably his greatest works, especially when you think about how highly regarded Godfather I has been over time. The way he captured Coppola's vision for Marlon Brando as the godfather was superb. The mix of light and dark in the opening scene with Brando being begged for help his excellent. He was able to capture this look of love and nurture in the eyes of a cold blooded Mafioso.

The other DP I had my attention drawn to was a one Mr. Roger Deakins.

And with him, I would like to list all of his movies that I would consider very good and worth watching (working from the most recent to oldest): The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country for Old Men, A Beautiful Mind, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Hurricane, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, The Shawshank Redemption, Mountains of the Moon, and Nineteen Eighty-Four....

Can you see why I like this dude so much?

...and so once again we have reached the end of our time together so I will leave us with yet another movie quote I like. This one goes out to Roger since it is from The Big Lebowski:

Maude Lebowski: What do you do for recreation?

The Dude: Oh, the usual. I bowl. Drive around. The occasional acid flashback.

Thanks for stopping by guys. Take care.

-BB

My visual style...

(sorry if Mr. Cash startled you, it should make sense soon enough.)

Welcome to my blog, Man vs. Blog. I have never been an avid writer nor do I claim to be a talented one but I enjoy reading other peoples blogs and since this is required... I figured why not give it a shot. Any criticism is accepted as this is a learning process for my self...

I don't really know where to start or even how to do this but here it goes...

I had never taken notice of what my visual style was until I became a media production student and realized my love for the field and most things involved with it... I have always been able to say that I like something, but it has only been in the last few years where I have become able to say why I like something.

This is my attempt to journey down the rabbit hole of what is my visual style. Enjoy!

As I look around my den I can see 4 posters on a wall (all of the images seen here)... they are all different yet they have one thing in common, they are all in black and white. I had never really noticed it before but for some reason they all just seem to go together. I cant really explain it, maybe I am getting older or more mature, or maybe I just enjoy older movies these days... Whatever it is, I cant get enough of them. I had a class this summer on The American Gangster Film era and it was an eye opening experience. Getting to watch The Great Train Robbery and The Muskateers of Pig Alley was something I truly enjoyed.

Actors like James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and Marlon Brando put on some of the best performances in history in the early film industry. Their film noir classics are the stuff of legends and is what keeps bringing me back to watch more and more.

So if I had to label my style, that would be it...

Another way of trying to describe my visual style would be to name my top 5 directors and the movie I like best from them... that should help clarify. I am only talking about the films cinematography and director style (not so much the actual content of the movie, in some cases.)

5. DW Griffith- The Birth of a Nation

4. Quentin Tarrantino- Death Proof

3. Martin Scorcese- Taxi Driver

2. Rob Zombie- The Devil's Rejects
1. Francis Ford Coppola- Apocolypse Now

...a list of movies you need to see if you haven't:

The Great Train Robbery (1903)

Muskateers of Pig Alley (1912)

Public Enemy (1931)

Kiss of Death (1947)

On the Waterfront (1954)

The Godfather, pt. 1

...I am officially done rambling and I have not checked my word length so I hope its 350-500.

and I think I will leave a quote to close out my blogs from hence forth.

Today's will be from Goodfellas: "I'm not mad, I'm proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man and you learn two great things in your life. Look at me, never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut. "