For this project I had to record a 1-2 minute conversation and then write a screenplay following the dialog. I wrote the screenplay using Celtx.
I learned more about what natural conversation sounds like, and that writing a screenplay following natural dialog is a lot easier and simpler then trying to create your own dialog that sounds natural.
Setting and Expressionism
Lighting and Familiar Image
Composing The Frame
Costume
Resources
Role
Cinematographer
Goal
My goal is to learn as much about the art of cinematography I can during the school year and incorporate my knowledge in my own movies.
Why
I want to achieve this goal because to me cinematography is one of the most powerful elements of film, and whenever I watch a movie I always find myself examining and picking apart the way the camera moves, the lighting, the colors and anything else I can find.
How
To achieve this I will work hard on remembering and taking notes on even the smallest details that could help make a movie’s cinematography better. I will always put in all my effort on assignments, and I will put forth all my attention during class. Outside of school I will do my own research on cinematography and help myself learn as much as I can.
When
I will work on being a better cinematographer in class whenever I have the chance. Out of school I will do things at least twice a week to help learn more about cinematography, like watching YouTube videos and researching famous cinematographers and their methods.
Resources
To achieve this goal I will need the internet for research, filming equipment to practice, test out and use cinematography techniques, and people like my teacher, role models and peers to help me get better.
Milestones
After my third time as working as the cinematographer on a movie my goal is to have a pretty good understanding of the process a cinematographer goes through. Around the middle of the year my goal is to have a good understanding of some techniques used in cinematography.
Heroines/Heroes
Bill Pope is known for being the cinematographer on many of Edgar Wright’s films, including an all-time favorite of mine Baby Driver. The reason I like Baby Driver is because of all the details you can find in one scene. For example, after the opening scene, there’s a scene of Baby getting coffee that is all one long shot that flows super well. As he is walking down the street listening to music, the words to the lyrics show up in the world around him; on the sidewalk, graffiti on the walls, on electrical poles, etc. The first time I watched the movie I didn’t notice it, but the second time I caught it and it was one of the coolest things I’d ever seen. I really like how the details are so small you might not catch them at first, but once you do it really shapes how you view the movie, and that’s one of the reason I like Pope’s style of filming.
Linus Sandgren was the cinematographer for a movie with spectacular cinematography, La La Land. That movie will forever be another one of my favorites because of the way it was filmed by Sandgren. First, the colors of the movie are so precisely chosen it makes you feel like you really are in a La La Land, and some of the scenes are so beautifully filmed it makes you just float away with the story as if you are apart of it. I love his techniques with filming and the way all of the shots flow so perfectly together, and his use of lighting and colors is what I strive to do one day.
One of my favorite directors is Steven Spielberg, as I’ve always loved the way he interprets stories and finds the perfect way to film them that leaves the audience in a state of awe. Janusz Kaminski has worked with Spielberg on many movies, including one of my favorites, Schindler’s List. One of the things I liked about Schindler’s List was its use of black and white to give a feel of the time the story took place, but also the small use of color for a character involved in some major plot points in the story, the girl in the red dress. I think that was a phenomenal choice made by Kaminski and Spielberg, and still to this day I think that that movie was the most impactful movie I have ever watched.
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