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.