Preproduction – Planning the experimental filming

 

To help me plan my filming of the experiment to show the difference that camera movement makes, I have decided to use scientific principles that I had learnt from my science GCSEs, i.e. the principles of a "Fair Test", that is that when you want to compare things you keep everything the same except for the thing that you want to compare. The things that you keep the same are called the control variables, what you change is the independent variable and you see what effect this change has on the dependent variable.

 

In this case, my independent variable is the type of camera movement, my dependant variable is the effect that changing the camera movement has, and the control variables are everything else.

 

Re Independent variable:

I have decided that the 3 types of camera movement that I am going to test are

1. Camera stationary on a tripod

2. Hand-held camera, this adds a bit of movement since it is slightly shaky

3. Camera moving on a slider track

 

My reasons are

1. I need to compare "camera movement" to "no camera movement" to see the difference that camera movement makes. This is a bit like in an experiment where if you are testing a new medicine you have to be able to compare it to people not taking the medicine. You call it having a "control" which (confusingly) is different to the "control variables" that I talk about below. However, in filming there is also the added thing that "no camera movement" isn’t quite the same as no medicine since there are often very valid reasons that a director may chose no camera movement. So as well as enabling me to see the difference that camera movement makes, I am also counting "no camera movement" as a type of camera movement choice.

2. In the Hand-held camera, this introduces a small amount of camera movement, more than stationary on a tripod but less than a slider track. So this will enable me to see the difference that just a bit of camera movement can make, before I move on to full on camera movement.

3. Slider Track – I have chosen this because it is a form of camera movement that I have had experience with, in my previous projects, so I know that I can do it. Also, my parents are buying me a slider track as part of my 18th Birthday present. I am hoping that it will arrive in time for me to use it. However, if it doesn't, then part of my research showed me a way to simulate slider movement. In the YouTube video "3 Easy CAMERA MOVEMENTS for CINEMATIC Footage" (Kellan Reck, 2018) he shows how you can put a towel on a table (if the table is smooth enough) and slowly pull the towel along at a steady speed to simulate camera movement from a slider.

 

If I had been in College, then I would probably also have tried to incorporate the Laing p-4s stabilizer (Steadicam) that we have at college. But I would need a fair bit more practise with it to get smooth enough to make it a fair comparison.  I have experimented with it previously several times when I had wanted to be able to use it to get footage for previous College projects. I had managed to learn how to stabilize it better than I did at first, and had got it a bit steadier, but this had all shown me how skilled Steadicam operators in real life films actually are, since it is not easy or straightforward, it really is a skill, and one that I hope to practise more when we are back at College. But even if that is before the end of my FMP, I think that now I wouldn’t have enough time to get good enough at it to use for this. Me not being so good at using the stabilizer could affect the effect, which I want to avoid doing, and on that basis next I consider the various "control variables".

 

Re control variables, for example:

1. I need to be equally proficient at the 3 different techniques of camera movement so that it is not just any lack of ability on my part that affects the effect. This is a reason for keeping the movement to simple ones that I know that I can do, rather that adding in the Laing p-4s stabilizer even if we get back college. However, I am considering, as an extra that isn’t part of the experiment, trying out a couple of movement ideas like using a tripod as a monopod by putting the legs together. This may or may not work, and it could be interesting to see. And I could add the Laing p-4s stabilizer into this bit if we get back to college. I haven’t decided yet, I still need to plan out the format of the film and write my script, to see what fits well where.

2. I need to use the same setting for each of the scenes, since if I use a  different setting for each of the 3 camera movement types then it could be the setting that has the effect rather than the camera movement. So, I need to have the setting the same in each.

3. I need to have the same thing happening in each version. To simplify this, I have decided that I will film the back of someone (my mum) standing still, as if they have just walked to that place and are pausing before continuing. Having the back of someone means that their expression cannot affect the effect. Standing still also means that they don’t have to recreate the same actions each time.

4. I need to have the same number of shots in each sequence. I have decided on 4 shots in each. I decided that less than 4 shots wouldn't be enough to see the difference, and more than 4 would become unnatural since you wouldn’t have loads of shots of someone just pausing.

5. I need to shoot the same sequence of shots in each, i.e. from the same positions and the same distance. I have decided on shots from 4 different positions, following the 30 degree rule as described on page 43 in the book "grammar of the shot" (Thompson, 2002). I will mark these positions on the ground so that I make sure to put the camera in the same positions each time. Also, I have decided that 3 of my positions will be mid-shots and the 4th will be a closeup version of one of the mid-shots. Again, I am trying to keep my choices from distracting too much from the differences that I am trying to examine, whilst still balancing a sense of realism to the kind of thing that a real director could chose to shoot.

6. Ideally, I need to have lighting and weather the same if I am filming outside e.g. in my first-choice location which is the woods. If it is very sunny for one of the types e.g. tripod, and much more cloudy/dark for say the slider track, then this could affect the effect.

 

I feel that I have a good experimental plan for this footage. I need to do location scouting to find the best place to do my filming. I am more limited than I would ordinarily be, due to the coronavirus lockdown, but I feel I have a few options to investigate. These are,

1. The wood that is 2 mins walk from my house and is usually very quiet, so maybe I could use it for my 1 hour exercise each day and film. However, I would need to be sure that I could get all my shots for this experiment within this time since the ambient weather could be different on a second day. I can film the other parts (e.g. me talking to camera) on other days. This needs some thought.

2. My garden, which isn’t as good as the wood, and doesn't have as many possible angles to film from, but may need to be a possibility.

3. If it really comes to it I could film indoors, but I'd rather avoid that since my house is very cluttered and currently I can’t think of anywhere obvious in my house, but if all else fails I may need to explore this location more. I hope not.

 

So I have now got in my mind the main plan of the experimental part of my film, and can move forward with scouting the location.