The third task provided to us was the final task in where a specific brief had to be met and was focused more directly upon the cinematography side of the module however did still require production design elements to portray the nature of the character. This task asked us to produce a character introduction that was of a length between 20 and 60 seconds long. This gave a very short and limited time frame and meant only key shots were to be included within the final product. As I had focused largely upon production design during my previous two tasks, I used this opportunity to simplify that side and instead experiment with the camera using a new camera frame which would allow handheld, juxtaposing a fixed tripod.

As I wanted to steer my energy more towards cinematography, I kept my characters nature simple. I chose a character that would mirror a similar life to the one I lead of a young adult female who is starting to make her way in the world. As she was of a younger age bracket, I required her clothes to be simple and comfortable but with one item that may make her stand out. This was then done so through the use of a brighter coloured jacket against the rest of her monochromatic clothing and footwear. I also had the character walk along a hall way that followed the same colour scheme of monochrome that held bright light to make the walls seem whiter. This worked very well during the filming of interior and exterior and the character stood out clearly and the focus point for the audiences’ eye was always upon her. Her nature was to portray a sense of importance and somewhat confidence in her surroundings, leading her to the next part of her journey.

Before I started filming, I wanted to familiarise myself with the importance of particular camera shots and movements that can add to a character introduction. As stated, I wanted to explore more aspects of using camera frames that would allow me to use a camera hand help. This was important to me for this task as I wanted to move along screen with my character and have smooth movements within the frames. For this, with assistance, I was able to use the Ronin camera frame which held a Canon DSLR 70D. This frame allowed a range of movements by the camera operator whilst keeping a steady focused shot. This opened up the range of shots I was able to achieve through filming and help keep the face of my character hidden during a large part of the finished product by using lower angles and careful movements that are easily achieved with this camera equipment. This frame can be linked to the use of a ‘Steadicam’ which In Point states “suspends the camera in such a way as to remove the jerkiness of handheld shots as the operator moves across the ground” (no date).

However, because I wasn’t too familiar with the new camera equipment, I found there were the odd difficulties to try and over come. The equipment can be quite heavy to hold when trying to achieve certain shots and when handling the equipment low down you have to be extremely difficult not to knock the camera when shooting and walking in conjunction. As well as this the pre-view screen linked into the camera is not accessible to viewing during filming. This would not stop me from using this equipment again however, and I would instead just familiarise myself with the camera frame more and attach an extra pre-view screen in order to view the shot during actual filming.

In point. (no date). The Film Shot, Camera Angles and Movement. [Internet] Available from: http://thecinematheque.ca/education/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/LanguageofFilm06.pdf[First accessed November 2018]