FMP PE

1. Experiments
Joseph Haley

2. Research Experiments
For my experiment I firstly wanted to see if I was able to replicate the camera
movement that is apparent within David Fincher movies. I saw a video on
YouTube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfqD5WqChUY) discussing how the
camera movements within David Fincher movies has the ability to capture your
eyes. In this scene in Zodiac, the character in the scene stands up, slides across the
desk with his chair and stops. All of this in a David Fincher film is timed to a
meticulous degree which means that the camera moves with the characters. The
timing of these shots is so critical that David Fincher is famous for doing many shots
over and over again to make sure that they end up completely in sync. I'm not going
to do this throughout the whole experiment because I want to make sure I try lots
of different camera techniques throughout it.

3. Research Experiments
Another area that I wanted to explore when it came to camera movements was the
use of shaky cam. In the film Bourne Ultimatum there is an excessive use of shaky
cam but it leads to some good and effective scenes within the film. The film uses
shaky cam as a way to build tension within the film, by not keeping the camera
steady it adds a level of franticness to the scene which builds up the tension. This
technique is predominantly used within action films due to their ability to increase
the pace of the film. I will add shaky cam to a scene within the film and see if it
works, for the experiment this will make the filminmg seem separate but the
experiment isn’t focusing on continuity and is instead about me trying out as many
different things as I can within the allotted time frame.

4. Research Experiments
I also want to do Matte paintings for my experiment
as well as a way to add special effects without having
any budget whatsoever. Matte paintings have existed
in Hollywood as long as film has existed. Original
matte paintings were actually painted but now using
modern technology you can use After Effects to add
the paintings that way. One of the most famous
examples of a matte painting is the one from Star
Wars (right). These are used as a way of saving
money on the budget, but also because of the nature
of them being handcrafted you are able to do
anything that your imagine is capable of.
I have decided against drawing the matte painting
myself as that isn’t where my talents are. By looking
at a video on YouTube
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5vfZPjDvkU&t
=6s) I managed to see what could be done on After
Effects to be able to add anything to the background
of a shot (bottom right). This was something I wanted
to replicate because this felt like something that I
wanted to add to my film. This technique would help
give the whole thing a more fantasy feel which would
by default improve my audience appeal which is the
most important thing to when it comes to the
production.

5. Process
To make my experiment Firstly I borrowed a camera,
SD card, battery and a tripod and began filming.
The first thing I did was film a shot where the two
characters walk up the stairs. As they walked up the
stairs I was in the corner with the tripod and was trying
to make sure that I tracked the two characters as they
were walking up the stairs. This was easier said than
done; I started by rehearsing with them the speed at
which they will both walk up the stairs and made sure
they kept to that speed. It took several takes because
of the attention to detail that was needed for the
camera to follow them smoothly.
After I had this shot I began experimenting with the
shaky cam aspect of the experiment. I filmed lots of
different shots of me running down the steps with the
character running down too. I firstly did shots where I
tried not to move the camera whilst running, I then
added shots where I exaggerated the camera
movements and shot the same scenes again. I then put
all this into an edit using Premiere Pro. I imported all
the files in and then put a quick edit together using the
cut tool to piece together the film. Because I knew that
I had to focus on the After Effects techniques I finished
this segment of the experiment quickly.

6. Process
Matte painting is a possible technique that I plan on
using when making my final product. I started with
doing some filming in the college and then went
outside and did some further filming. After I did the
filming I went inside, opened up after effects and
began to make the matte painting. I started by
adding the clip I am editing onto the timeline, I
then used the 3D camera tracking which would
track the background, I struggled with this because
it was hard to make the background stick, I had to
manually remove any of the points that didn’t stick.
I also changed the tracking to a tripod pan which
linked much better to the background due to being
the same camera movement that I used in the
actual shot. After this point I went to
composition/save frame as/file. I then went over to
Photoshop and used the screenshot from the after
effect. I then got a picture of a mountain which I
removed using the quick selection tool, this gave
me a mountain without a background, I then made
an outline around the buildings which I added to
the background of the screenshot. I then added this
back into after effects which then flowed
seamlessly in the background.

7. Reflection
The experiments taught me some very important techniques which I can use in my final
product. Whilst some of these techniques I found very helpful, I do not plan on using all
of these techniques for one reason or another.
The two main techniques I tried to do in my experiments were a complete disaster and
didn’t work at all like I had intended them to. Firstly the matte painting wouldn’t work
no matter what I did. I followed every instruction that I found within the tutorial and yet
it just wouldn’t work for me. I believe that the issue lies with the shot I had filmed as the
camera turns around as I believe that the shot has to be completely still or the matte
painting is unable to stick to the background. This could be something that I could
ensure doesn’t happen when it comes to doing my final product; however I don’t feel
like that is a risk that is worth taking as if it doesn’t work I may not be able to work
around it. The other technique of drawing out I didn’t have time to attempt because I
spent so long trying to get the matte painting to work.
When it comes to these two techniques I am disappointed that I wasn’t able to get
either of these techniques to work because I feel like either of these techniques would
have been a huge asset when it came to making my final product. I also had scene ideas
of where I was going to implement these techniques. I am glad however though that we
were given this time to try these things because I now know not to do these techniques
and they haven’t ruined my FMP.

8. Reflection
The other techniques actually managed to give me something to work with at the very
least. Firstly the David Fincher shot was smooth and was definitely something that I want
to use in my final product. I was happy with how this shot turned out because it really does
captivate the audience throughout. Overall I was impressed with the mise en scene in this
opening shot; it is so important to be able to captivate the audience but more importantly
you have to be able to ensure that the audience is looking at all times exactly where you
want them to, this shot allowed me to do that because as it follows the characters in frame
and constantly makes them the centre of attention within the frame. This camera
technique is definitely something that I want to implement into my final product as a way
of keeping the focus on the character in the frame.
The other experimental camera shot that I used was the shaky cam shot, I thought that the
shot in other films I have watched were captivating and a really good way of building
tension throughout. After the experiment I understand how hard it is to do shaky cam
correctly. The problem with the shaky cam in my shots is that it lacked any focus in the
shot , compared to the shaky cam in the Bourne trilogy where they would quickly show
something in the environment as soon as Bourne had seen it. This acted in a frantic way
due to the situation that Bourne is in; the whole thing works because it acts almost as a
POV of what he is seeing. This wasn’t the case with my shaky cam as the scene lacked any
real focus. I also found that I overdid the shaky cam within my film as many shots were so
shaky that it would probably give people headaches at the cinema. In my FMP I will
probably use shaky cam but it will be done to a less aggressive degree, meaning you will
still be able to work out what is going on within the scene.

9. Strengths and Weaknesses
• Strengths
– I had a variety of experiments for my filming.
– I have a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t work after
the experiments.
– The different camera shot experiment gave a huge insight into what will
work in my FMP and what won’t.
– The David Fincher opening shot worked really well and helped to captivate
the audience from early on.
– The shaky cam allowed for tension to build within the piece, something I can
look at for my FMP.
• Weaknesses
– The matte painting and painting out After Effects techniques were a
complete failure.
– The shaky cam was overdone and made you feel slightly dizzy when
watching.
– I focused solely on film in my experiments and so I didn’t have any thing for
radio or print.