The document summarizes Andreas Mina's experiments with different camera techniques for his short film, including point-of-view (POV) shots, dolly zooms, and walkthrough shots. For the POV shots, Mina tested using a GoPro, cannon camera, and phone held or mounted in different ways, and concluded the GoPro on a head mount would provide the most stable shot. For the dolly zoom, Mina practiced techniques using sliders, tripods, and a shoulder mount and determined editing a dolly zoom in post-production would be most effective. Finally, for walkthrough shots Mina experimented with a slider and different shoulder-mounted cameras, and felt the cannon camera on a

1. Experiments
Andreas Mina

2. Content
• POV- Head on shot from the character
• Dolly zoom- Shows shocked face from character
• Walkthrough- shows the camera operator
• Colour- The tone to fit with the mood
• Sound- Garage band Verses royalty free.
• Font- for the name of the film
Side Note:
I have included cinematic bars in some of the footage that I've
recorded, to see if it fits with the footage. I looked to see if it cuts
out any footage on the top and bottom and how effective It is to
the short film. I made one on Photoshop by putting two black
rectangles on the top and bottom of the transparent image. The
bars made the footage look wide screen and more like a film. It
worked well with the footage, as it doesn’t cut out anything
important to the video, like a head. I just need to make sure not to
film something important or key to the film on the bottom and
top of the camera. The footage looks more cinematic, as it makes
the short film practically wide screen. Without it, it just looks like
a video.
To conclude with the side bars, I will definitely include the
cinematic bars to my film. The reason is because it makes it look
more like a proper movie shot, as it gives more of a cinematic look
to the Clips I had just took.

3. Process (POV)
For the POV, I wanted to potentially use three recorders. I wanted to use my Go pro, The cannon camera and my phone
footage. For this, I had brought my go pro to college, and had been given the equipment to hold the camera on my body to
give a POV shot. I did try the body cam, but it prevented the go pro from facing up. I changed plans and used the three
armed go pro stick instead. I held it towards my body position and moved forward with it. The camera was a bit shaky when
moving it, as I'm holding it against my chest. I then decided to use the cannon camera. With the cannon, I held it in my
hands and walked down the corridor. This was a nice hold, as im supporting the camera with my two hands, making it less
shaky. I had to redo it as the first footage was set to 4 by 3 resolution. Lastly, I used my phone to go down. I didn’t really
fully intend on using my phone, but I tested it to see if it would be good as a back up camera. For my phone, I just held it.
And walked down. i should also point out that i put cinematic borders, to see If the footage works well with it. After
watching the footage, I've seen what was good and what wasn’t with all of the cameras. I've noticed that all of the footage
is a bit too shaky than I wanted it to be. Luckily, these problems can be fixed with the go pro and the cannon, as I can get
better support for them. The go pros camera was more naturalistic, as it was a lighter video. But, the canon had a more
cinematic look to it, as it had the tinted lighting. I do prefer the go pro, as the lighting is something I can easily adjust with
editing. With the phone, its not my primary camera, but I can conclude that it will be an ideal backup, as it has clear footage
that isn't too shaky. I do quite like the fish eye effect from the go pro, as it looks like your looking out from an eye.
Composition
The frame moves from side to side, but always ends up back
in the same mid point area. This effect is supposed to look
like it’s a view point from the characters eyes. It cant go up
and down, as it would look like the character is squatting or
ducking. The swishing camera is suppose to be shaky to
show the nerves through the sight of the character.

4. Footage video:
POV shots

5. Comparison
I Will be comparing my POV to the sharks POV from the film jaws. In jaws the camera will shake from left to
right to look at different things. In mine, the camera looks strait ahead, but shakes aggressively when moving
forward. This ruins the POV effect, as it doesn’t look like eyesight as eyes don’t shake like that. I should have
also turned the camera from left to right for the character to look at different objects to show that the
character is a bit paranoid and worried (as he is looking everywhere to make sure he is safe). I should have
also used the head mount to have a secure and steady shot on my head so it looks like my eye sight. In jaws,
you can tell that the shark is focusing on something. It looks around and finds someone to eat as it gets
closer and closer to them. In mine, the POV doesn’t seem to be focusing on a particular item to go towards
as it is looking strait but decides to turn a corner. To make the POV shot look more aware and focusing on an
item, I will make it look around slowly and then keep the shot on one specific area that the person is
focusing on. This will make it more exiting, to know that the character is looking at something that may be
crucial to the film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW23RsUTb2Y= JAWS

6. Reflection
From the process and practicing of accomplishing the shot, I think that I'm going to use the go
pro for the POV. Even though I didn’t have head gear this time, I'm going to book it for the
real production, as I believe it will be more stable on my head and it will also be at a
relevant height and will be an easier process to do as this process wont be needing me to
have my shaky hands hold it. I also prefer the camera on the go pro, as it has the slight fish
eye effect and because its lighter to put on your head. The fish eye effect looks like its
inside a sphere. The effect looks like its in the eye of someone which fits perfectly with a
POV. So for that reason, I will be using the go pro to record the POV. If I'm not able to get
the head gear, I will consider placing the go pro on the tri pod towards my face and filming
it, like I did in the experiment. But, I will look around more to make the scene more
exiting.

7. Dolly zoomA dolly zoom is the perfect shot for one of the scenes in my film, as it dramatizes my characters expression,
by moving the background to keep the focus on what the character is doing. I tested the shot in two
different methods and two different cameras. I used the cannon camera and the go pro. The two methods I
tested was the manual hand done way, with the move in, zoom out technique, and the edited way on
premier pro. I wanted to try out the two ways, to see which was easier to do and which gave the best
output. To accomplish the dolly zoom with the cannon, I used a slider, which goes on the tri- pod, so that I
could have a steady forward move, whilst zooming out. I practiced by zooming the camera towards another
student with the cannon and slider first. I a used the handle to push it forward whilst zooming out. I then
practiced doing it hand done with the go pro. The go pro was done by me walking towards the person. ( I
later enlarged the close up video on Premier pro. I do believe that the slider was jerky and unstable, but it
kept the camera in place, so it doesn’t shake about. There was another method I had a go at, but didn’t
work. I tried shortening one of the tri pod legs and I moved the tri pod forward, whilst angling the camera
forward. This was supposed to be another technique that would accomplish a dolly zoom, but it came out
with a hill effect rather than it going forward, as it went up and down. This wouldn’t have given a smooth
dolly zoom, as it isn't focusing on the persons head. I attempted to practice this technique many times, but I
could never get it right. With the go pro, It had a fish eye effect, which helped with the Person to look more
closer to the camera. The go pro was a bit shaky but It moved forward more smoother. I then edited the
dolly zoom in premier pro, by scaling the video down. I do believe both outputs came out unsuccessfully, as
the background position just sat still with the student In front. To solve the problem, I need to do more
research in how to have a successful dolly zoom. I need to look into how to properly accomplish the zoom,
so that I'm prepared when it comes to filming. I lastly decided to try a shoulder mount. The arm rest was on
the right hand side, but I'm left handed, so it felt awkward for me to use. To fix the issue, I put the rest
upside down and dug it underneath, which made it more sable for me . With this, I had to place it on my
shoulder, and walked towards the person I was filming. I later edited it on premier pro. As the angle of this
video was more stable and in line, the edited dolly zoom was more successful and had a better output, as it
was more strait and forward focusing.

8. Comparison
Dolly zoom Edited mp4
This is a comparison of the dolly zoom from jaws and from my practice footage. I used this as inspiration,
as it makes the character in the film have a realisation to reality moment which would fit really well with
my characters circumstances. They both are use for the same effect, to show the characters emotions, as
the footage ends with the focus being on the facial expressions. On jaws, the footage is a bit more further
out and slowly goes in with the moving background. On mine, the character stays in one place, then ends
with a quick zoom. I could have made the zoom in a bit more smoother by walking slowly or keeping the tri
pod more steady. This would have made it more easier to edit, as I wouldn’t need to track and move the
frame to make the character in one place. The dolly zoom appears to be longer on the jaws and has more
of an impact when zooming in/out whilst on mine, it only moves a few centre meters. I could have walked
from a further distance in order to make the character have more time to react and to have a more
obvious effect on the background. Lastly, the frame. I wish I recorded the character more centre frame like
in jaws, as the background slightly curves to the side which doesn’t really look like its moving behind his
face to make it look like they are the centre of attention. I should have put the grid lines on the camera, so
I could have seen where the characters face was placed during the filming.

9. Videos
Dolly zoom
Edited mp4 First DZ. mp4 Camera DZ
Two legged tri
pod DZ
Videos:
Composition
The dolly zoom consists of central framing. The persons head is placed central on the screen with the for
ground at the back. It makes sense for the frame to be central, as it builds up tension whilst showing the
background uncomfortably change. The tension comes from what is happening behind, as the background
starts to move away, showing the characters face turn to discomfort (in a films case). The centre of the
characters face will empisise there expressions, and make it more of the centre of attention.

10. Reflection
From doing the dolly zoom practice, I would like to use the shoulder mount for the actual
filming. The reason is because it gave the best support, and it was not heavy or jerky to use.
Also, It gave the best result compared to the slider and the tri pod as it was easier to move
forward and easier to control, as the slider was too jerky. For editing, I am going to do an edited
dolly zoom, rather than the practical. The reason is because the practical one is one that I cant
get right without the footage looking stiff. With he camera sat on the shoulder mount, it made
the dolly zoom have a focused look at the person, and aloud me to move forward without too
many bumps on it. The way to produce the dolly zoom will be by Premier pro. Manual technique
is an easier way of doing it and more time consuming, as it only requires me to enlarge and
zoom the footage to get the same effect that you'd get if you were to do it the more practical
way. The normal way is harder, as the zooming in is stiff and requires many takes.

11. Video:
Side view walkthrough

12. WalkthroughFor the walk through, I did one for two separate scenes. I did a side view one with the slider, and I did a front
face view using the shoulder mount. The slider was an intension that I was considering to do. I wanted to see
if it was more effective than a pan. For it, I got someone to walk across the room, whilst I grabbed the
camera strap and pulled it towards the direction that he was walking to. This made it less jerky compared to
the handle as there is less pressure on the camera. The final cut footage shows the shot following the
person.
For the Front facing view, I used two different cameras. I used the go pro and I used the cannon camera. For
the go pro, I had secured the tripod holding it under my arm and held the top of it whilst moving backwards
and following the person moving forward. The shot had a lot of stability in it, but was uncomfortable for my
arm as im having to lock it under my pit. I also used the cannon camera. With this, I did two different
techniques; I used the shoulder mount, and I used no stand for it. With the shoulder mount, I had placed it
under my arm for better support, and walked backwards with it. With no shoulder mount, I held the camera
with both hands, and moved it side to side whilst moving backwards, to give it the shaky effect. The shoulder
mount was an easier handle, as it provided better support and gave the output a more smoother video.
Without the shoulder mount, it seems to be lower and a bit more shaky. I found it more stressful to handle,
as I had less to handle it on. With the go pro, it was more stable than using it for the POV, as its tri pod was
tucked underneath my arm, whilst I was holding the top of it. It was stable enough, as it didn't’t shake too
much, and it gave the natural follow effect I was looking for, as the shaking made it seem worrying, as it
looks like someone is looking at the character. I do think the footage was good, but it has the fish eye effect,
which doesn’t really fit with the situation., as it’s a meaningless effect. To point out, I had tried filming the
scenes with a tilted angle shot. I wanted to see if it gave the distressing effect. From what I'm seeing from
the footage, it distresses the footage, making the situation look strange and unusual. I'm hoping with this
effect, It will make my audience more anxious, as it is an unusual looking shot as its not common to see or
strait. It will make them anxious, as it excaudate the character walking forward, teasing that he is in trouble.

13. Comparison
I will be comparing the walkthrough with a small snippet scene from Shawn of the dead. In My clip, the
camera is less stable. Even though the intention was to have the camera to move side to side to show
the anxious situation, the camera was quite sharp and all over the place compared to my intention. In
SOTD, it’s a steady, still backward moving shot of the character walking forward. It also zooms out to
turn into a medium shot. This is to have a smooth transition to the next shot. In mine, there isnt really
anywhere to change shot, as its in a narrow space and the character doesn’t stop. To allow a smooth
transition to the next frame, I need to film the walkthrough with a spacious background so that I can
easily change shot without there being cramped areas to limit the shot choice. The two walkthrough
sequence follows the character walking towards them. The head of Shawn is always in the same place,
which makes the shot clear and perfectly in the rule of three grid. As my shot is really shaky, the shot
doesn’t completely follow the characters head, which doesn’t make him seem like a crucial part to the
film. To fix this when filming, I will male sure the camera follows the characters head when moving so
that the characters facial expressions are clear to the camera.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqQ8Y9Sjp7o =SOTD

14. Videos
No mount
walkthrough
Walkthrough music/ Colours
1=cannon 2=gopro
Videos:
Composition
You can see in this frame that I've pushed the person to
the side of the frame. This effect was to show that the
character was isolated, seen a there was no one behind
him. This makes it more tense, as for my film, you know
he is doing a one man mission to catch this potential
burglar. I also slanted the angle of the camera to make
the scene look more discomforting to watch, as it
makes the audience have a feeling of unease and
discomfort as it teases that the situation is worse than
you think.

15. Refection
From the practice of the walk through, I feel like I would like to use the cannon camera with
the shoulder mount. It was a comfortable feel , as it gave a good strong support between the
camera and my shoulder . If I'm not able to get the cameras shoulder mount, then I will use
the camera with no stand. It will be my second option, as it was more easier to control
compared to the go pro. The go pro was too uncomfortable to hold when doing this. The
cannon was less shaky and more comfortable to handle as there is more support to the
camera when holding it. I will choose move backwards when filming the shot. To stay safe, I
will pre check where I'm moving, for me to be aware. With the tinted angle, I will consider
using it, as it makes the scene look more distressing and uncomfortable to look at. I believe
that It will work well with the scene, as it adds to the tension of the character walking towards
his “intruded” house. For the side view shot. I've decided that I wont be using the slider. It
was too unstable to move, and it doesn't move as far as I want it to. Instead, I will just pan the
camera round, as I can get a wider angle of the running.

16. Colour
For the colours, I decided to change and alter it on one of the
practice video, to see if my intentional colouring is possible. I
wanted to make the colours bland and plain to fit in with the
tension scene. If the bright colours were left, the mood wont be
as dark and tense. I added the effect to the walkthrough video, on
both the cannon and go pro footage just to test it out. I added an
RGB curve tool to the video, and done it, so the separate colours
are turned down a bit, to stop it from appearing as bright as
before. The effect did make it look both cinematic and bland. The
bland effect made the corridor look eerie, as it was dark and had
no bright colours in it to change the mood. The process for doing
the effect was very hard to get right, as the colours would either
shift and distort the image or over exaggerate the colours
brightness. To get it to the way I wanted it, I had to add another
point to the Colours curves, to stop the image from looking
distorted. The effect isn't perfect as colours are still a bit visible,
but it works well enough to create a tense environment.
Walkthrough music/ Colours
1=cannon 2=gopro

17. Comparison
I will be comparing the colours to the film inception. Both films have dark colours in the shots. In inception,
the colours seem to be more darker rather than layered. This makes the character stand out more to the
frame, as they aren't blended in the dark background. In mine, the colour makes the film seem more sinister
as its dark; But the person in the frame is blending in with the colour too much which is making him look like
a background character. To fix the issue, I will be more careful with the tint. I will tone it down more slightly
so that the character isn’t completely blending in with the colour. Also, the colours are used to represent the
situation of the film. Inception has made it dark to clearly show how its terrible weather, and how they are
in a tense environment as the shot shows a car crash. My short film is also dark, but its to show how the
character is in an unwanted and tense situation, seen as he is walking down a corridor. The way I could have
made the colour more existing with the situation would have been to add more blue rather than green, as
that makes a scene look more darker. The blue would have made the corridor look more eerie and
somewhere that nobody wants to be in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_contin
ue=154&v=Sbq38prTzxo

18. Reflection
For the colour, I will consider adding the same tone to my actual film. I will memorise the
shape and attempt recreate it on the RGB curves on the FMP. The tone makes the clip look
cinematic and eerie, as it looks dark. This effect will be added and will work with the tense
scene at the beginning, as it will remove the bright colours in the background that would
potentially change and mislead the mood into something else. I wont include it for the
surprise scene, as I need the bright colours in that scene to change the mood of the film. I
would change it slightly. I will add more blue in the shot in order to make it more dark and to
block out the lighter colours. This effect will create a drab and negative mood for my film.
The green is too obvious and doesn’t remove the colour properly.

19. SoundRoyalty free sound
Hand made sounds
For the sound, I experimented with garage band, and I browsed
on a copyright free music website for ideas for the music I could
add to the video. I'm wanting to make/find tense and eerie
music, with slow sounding, beats. When I was using garage
band, I mixed seven different instruments together, starting
with the beat, then the background noise, then the other
instruments, to make it all work together to sound eerie and
tense, as its not a build up beat that goes up and down. The
creation process was more easier than I was expecting it to be,
as it was only the case of creating one beat, then moving onto
the next and seeing how to blend the work together. The
finished song was added to the walkthrough video. The finishing
result made the video tense and freaky along with the colour
too, as the chiming's in the sound made it look like the person
was anxious and on edge whilst walking. For the royalty free
music, I had browsed on audio nautix for some fitting tense
music. The good thing about this music is that you can
categories the genres and moods, to find the right song for you.
Some of the songs were too loud and upbeat for the scene, but
there were other options that weren't. I did manage to find one
fitting for the horror genre. It isn't upbeat, and sounds tense, as
it lacks upbeat sounds. The Royalty free websites do have a
wide range of music to find, as they have separate categories to
find it, but with garage band, its your choice to make the music
right for you.
Horror 13. Available:
http://audionautix.com/index.php. Last
accessed 27/04/2018.
Walkthrough music/ Colours
1=cannon 2=gopro

20. Comparison
I will be comparing my tension music to the jaws audio. I will ignore the annoying beat that constantly plays,
as that sound didn’t appear when I first exported it. The jaws audio is two simple tracks that gets faster and
higher when the disaster strikes. this makes the film situation more tense and the beat builds up to the
disaster. It’s a scary sound that that starts to get faster when the disaster strikes. My sound was a smooth
beat with uncomfortable echo sounds and low beat sounding rhythms. The echo beat is suppose to make
the audio sound eerie and discomfort able when hearing the rest of the song. The low beat makes the music
sound all negative which is perfect for the situation of the person in the shot. From hearing the jaws theme
tune, I would say that my film music needs improving. To improve it, I could have had a single instrument
with a few beats in there to make the scene seem more quite to make it more of a tense environment. The
current music just seems to take away the tension, as it isn't building the beat up to anything or make it see
isolated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW23RsUTb2Y= JAWS
Walkthrough music/ Colours 1=cannon 2=gopro

21. Reflection
From making the sound, I will consider making my own music first, and if I cant come up with
any beats, I will always be able to find one on The royalty free websites. I would like to
create my own music, as the creation will most likely create something I definitely want to
sound like, unlike the royalty free sounds, which wont fully meet your intention, since I
cant put my own taste to it. From the royalty free sounds, I may get sound effects from
there, as a back up, if the ones I make don’t work. I may intend on having a few
instruments in the different music. It will stop the film from being silent but will also have
the opportunity to build up into a different beat to build up the tension.

22. Font
With the font, i wanted to test out what i could use
to put in the potential poster i may make. As a
notice, the text isn't the official title for the film
and is only a working one, as I may decide to
change it. I started by playing around by writing up
the working title using different fonts. I Looked on
Da font for other options too as they have a huge
range of fonts to use. As my film is a comedy,
mixed with seriousness, I looked at bold and strait
fonts, as it stands out more because it is more in
your face, as its bolder than the thin fonts. It also
looks more serious, like its being shouted at you, as
it makes the words look big. After I chose my font, I
played around with the graphics. I turned the H
into a house shape, to fit with the films theme of
the home In the film. The house was inspired by
home alone. I then played around with colours. I
looked at what colours fit with the film best. I
thought green, but its too calm and unsettling to
the films theme, so I played safe and went with
Gray. The colour is modern and will bend well with
any background. I then changed the house shape
to make it thicker. I just spaced the word out, and
added a box in the H shape. I lastly put the first
word over the last three, and lightened its colour.
This made it look less generic to the font, and it
makes the word Someone look more important, as
its different looking the others.

23. Comparison
I will be comparing my practice logo to the home alone logo. I'm not basing this on the names as mine is not
official yet. The home alone logo has a sharp look to it, but is tell able that it isn’t serious, as the lower case e
at the end of the title makes it look more comedic. It makes it comedic as the e isn't strait either, making it
look clumsy. My film uses a bold font with curvy/sharp letters. This doesn’t make the logo look sinister, nor
comedic. It makes it look neutral and less predictable for what the film will be like. The issue with my logo
compared to the home alone logo is that there isn't that much going on with it. Home alone has the slanted
e and the house; mine only has standard font and one drawn house. I believe I need to add more to the logo
(like a cut it or a drawing) to make it stand out from the font and to represent the film better. Speaking about
the house from my logo. After seeing the similarity and unoriginality it shows from home alone, I will re-
consider a new drawing for the logo to make it more original. I will potentially change the I into a balloon to
represent the party.

24. Reflection
I don’t believe that I will be using this title, as it seems to be a bit long, and the easy option, as
explains what happens, so I will be thinking about new ideas .From what I've Done with the
Logo, I would like to take on board the font. I believe that the bold font works really well with
the logo, as it doesn’t look to comedic or too serious and sinister, it levels off the theme, making
it fit with the multi genre and mood of the film. From the creative design that I did on the H, I
will consider turning one of the letters into something relating to the chosen title. The Art makes
the logo look fitting with the film, as it adds relation to the plot/story. Lastly, the colour. I would
like to take onboard on using the colour gray to represent the logo, as it will blend well easily
with a Background colour scheme, as it isn’t a too bright/dark colour that will look odd with
some colour schemes as its pretty much neutral.

25. Strengths and weaknesses
What worked well
The one thing that worked well from all of this would be the dolly zoom. I seem to have done a lot of
experiments on the dolly zoom, from the different cameras to the different techniques involved in the shot, I
managed to get better and better at doing the technique until I found the one most comfortable for me. I've
built up the knowledge of how to make a dolly zoom in the best solution for me as I've tried out so many
different ways. Another thing in which worked well would be the comparison of the projects to the real life
work. This helped me see what I can do better for when it comes to my production work to see the tweaks I
need to do to my work to make it look more professional. Lastly, the practicality of testing out the
equipment. I've tested out different equipment in different ways. This helped me decide which is most
comfortable for me when it comes to filming so that I'm prepared for booking and using the equipment to
create the individual effects.
What didn’t work well
The one thing which didn’t really work well for me would be the colour testing. Even though I've concluded
what I'm going to do to fix the situation, I was struggling to control the RGB curves to fit my intentions. The
Curves weren't meeting my intension of making it bland and instead only made colours more dark. From
this, I cant really make the colours fully bland, but by adding the blue, I can just about block it out. Another
thing which didn’t work well would be the composition lining. I've noticed that some of the shots I took
don’t fully go in line with the grids and show a proper composition. To fix the solution for filming, I will be
using the grid lines more often, in order to match the characters body with the lines. Lastly, the logo. I
believe that it came out a bit plane and would need improving to it as its not telling a story to it. I will do as I
said in my reflection and add more diagrams into the text to make it look more exiting.