Microcinema

With this article, this was the first time, that I can remember, hearing about the topic of Microcinemas. But, find it interesting about these small, non-conventional places, such as bars and so on, that can serve as little community movie theaters from time to time. Reading about what makes a Microcinema, reminded me of an area where I used to go camping when I was growing up. In the campground there was a pond, where people went swimming in the summer. Every Monday during that time there would be a movie that would play, in the grass area, at the pond and that was something I enjoyed thoroughly.   

What I Learned from assignment 1c

What I learned, from shooting on film, for assignment 1C is incorporating time into production and being more cautious with what needs to be shot. When working with digital, one may be able to take as much time as they would like to take as many pictures as they would like. But, contrary to what the Rolling Stones may have said, time was not on our side. My group and I had to make sure we took the pictures that we needed, but made sure that we had incorporated time to make sure that our pictures developed. Also, seeing that the we had a limited about footage space for the pictures we needed to take, we had to be cautious, with each and every shot.

Our group had four people, four shots each, and (for each shot) three takes each. So, we took 48 takes total and we only had 20 plus spots available on each role. So, my group and I had to make sure each and every shot was well thought out and close to perfect as we could get it. With that, for me, having digital cameras (both picture-taking and filmmaking) for most of the stages of my life gave me the benefit of having the actual image immediately, where with the cameras we were given for this project, we didn’t have the instant gratification of seeing the pictures, right after week took them. All we had was the camera’s viewfinder to help set up each shot, and we all hoped that by the time we got the pictures back, that they had turned out ok. If they turned out great that there would be a sigh of relief, at least from me, but if there were any that sucked, there would be some swearing made, as we would get ready to make some more.

                I had realized with this project that I had taken advantage of digital cameras, and wondered how much of pain it was to take pictures for digital cameras came into play.

Light Observation 3

My third, and final, light observation was the group working together and figuring out, with the light meter, the lighting for each shot, before they were taken. During one of the shoots, during the interior photo session, we had to make sure we were close enough to a light for the specific shot we were trying to get, so that we had room for the normal looking shot, the overexposed shot and the underexposed shot. That instance was the only time, I believe, that we experienced that issue. The other photos shoots didn’t give us that issue and each time it took a few minute to figure out the lighting for each image.

Light observation 2

Another observation I had made during the course of this project, is that timing is everything. I mentioned in my blog about my first observation about coincidences with the weather. One example, is that one of the days we were planning on taking photos, started as a good day for it, but it ending up raining, so we had to resort to taking interior photos. Also, a couple of days later we all met at about 9:30 in the morning and were trying to figure out how to work with the light. But, all in all, a perfect moment was when we came across someone who was meditating while working on our shots and he had allowed us to photograph him.

Light obseravtion 1

One observation I made, about lighting, while doing this project is how much it takes to make sure that, for exterior shots, the lighting at a specific moment works for a photo, not just footage. Depending on the time of day, someone decides to go and film, or take a photo, I had to make sure it worked with the photos I wanted to take. Sometimes the weather does not want to work with you, and sometimes it does. Also, sometimes  there are the weird coincidences in which the day you plan to shoot, the lighting seems to be perfect, but it changes once you are ready to get your photos or footage.

Absolute

While reading, I enjoyed the comparison of film and music within the article. Both can be elegantly composed as a piece of art, though usually with film we have a visual to go with the sounds, whereas with music we have just the sound. My reaction to that section is the same as to my reaction for the second part of our soundscape project, it is all about the imagination aspect, where I tend to mentally compose a story in relation to sounds I hear throughout reality, as I feel occurs with others. What also caught my attention, in the article, is the connection of Avant-garde and experimental to politics and the military, which had never occurred to me before.

Presentation #1

 I had learned quite a bit from Natalie’s presentation. I didn’t know who Jonas Mekas was before her presentation. I had gotten to learn about him not only as a filmmaker, but as a person. I thought she presented the material very well and I enjoyed her power point and how she had woven the video clips inside. I also enjoyed how her power point had gone from slide to slide. Instead of the unusual slide transition, it felt as though I was watching an episode of history series on tv. She also seemed to have a clear understanding of the material to which she had presented. Through her presentation, I felt that I had gotten familiar with Mekas’s style as a filmmaker and I had found it very unique.