New Toys/New Skills
Last week I was finally able to take a short break from working on the post for my film, Sacrifice and concentrate on other projects. Our film is currently being graded in two different countries; we have managed to get a studio in Soho, London, to grade us their version of the film (for free!) and a freelance colourist in Barcelona is working on his own take for the look of the period.
Of course, free time in this industry is always both a blessing and a curse - I’ve got a busy month next month with two corporate shoots and a music video scheduled within a week of each-other but right now I’d be glad of something to fill my time (and boost my bank balance) a little.
I love gadgets and anyone who reads this blog regularly will know I can’t go too long without acquiring a new bit of kit for my shooting set-up. Last week that new bit of kit was the ‘Shoot RS-60E3 Remote Cord’ - a shutter release remote for my DSLR that means a) I can finally be in family/group photos and b) I can finally do some sweet timelapses using controlled shutter photography.
Now timelapse and HDSLR is admittedly becoming something of a cliche but it is still a useful skill to have under your belt and makes a nice addition to various projects - long establishing shots that introduce both a location and scene change in a fiction film, a quick fly-through of the creation of something in a documentary, a stylish effect in a music video that seems to isolate your artist from the fast paced world around them. Me, I just sat my camera on my windowsill and shot the street below it, but that’s guerilla filmmaking for you! So here’s my ‘Bethnal Green Timelapse’. Anyone in the know will recognise that this is the corner of Approach Road - next time you’re down The Approach for a swift pint you can ruefully smile to yourself at the art that might be happening incongruously around you.
Of course, there’s a lot still to be learned about timelapse from my position, but for something put together a few minutes after I ripped open the remote’s packaging it’s not too bad. There is, however, more to this story than just a tale of new toys. As I mentioned in the title of this post, I’ve also been honing a few new skills this week and as a freelance editor my focus has been on colour grading. As I’ve said, my current film is being graded professionally right now but that doesn’t mean grading isn’t something I enjoy and am able to offer my clients. Here’s a little side by side comparison to show you what I managed to achieve with the colouring on my timelapse stills:
There’s room for improvement, clearly - the reds I think I pushed a little too far into magenta in some cases, but I’m really pleased with the colour and shine I brought back to the car that sits stationary throughout the timelapse footage, and how much the flower bed ‘pops’ off the screen. I clearly also should have set up my camera to take better pictures in the first place! That washed out grey looking ‘before’ picture is frankly terrible, but it’s a great indication of what a talented colourist can do to a film.
As always, if you’re looking for a freelance camera operator/DOP/Director or Editor/Colourist please do get in touch. Until we meet again, I’ll be refining my colouring skills and finishing the screenplay for my latest short.
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