health & safety

in the studio:

- check to make sure wires are tied down to the floor to prevent tripping over them. as well as other objects lying around on the floor 

- make sure equipment is hooked up properly without lose wires. if anything was to happen with the equipment, it is important to alert a member of staff as soon as possible to help resolve the problem

- no food and drink are allowed in the studio. this can help prevent damages to equipment from spillages. no food also means no crumbs which will help to keep the studio clean 

- once finished in the studio, make sure to tidy up after yourself. put equipment away in its designated place so it is ready for the next person to use it

due to covid-19, it is important that only a small amount of people are in the studio at a time. people that are in the studio should wear a mask apart from the person being the subject. it is best to keep a safe distance away from each other which is why the studio shouldn't be too crowded.

ISO

ISO is the sensitivity to light. a lower ISO setting makes the sensor less sensitive to light, meaning it either needs more illumination or a longer shutter speed to achieve the correct exposure. a higher ISO setting will make the sensor more sensitive to light and therefore makes the image/video brighter. 

increasing the iso creates more grain or noise, it can also deteriorate the dynamic range which is why you tend to keep the iso as low as possible. because having a low iso can make your image darker, you may need to change the shutter speed and aperture to get the right exposure. 

using a fast shutter speed with a high iso can help to prevent motion blur, leaving you with a clear and sharp image/video.

the iso values are: (from lowest to highest)

- ISO 100

- ISO 200

- ISO 400

- ISO 800

- ISO 1600

- ISO 3200

- ISO 6400 

this is a video of the 3 different iso settings in video. we used ISO 100 for the first clip which has no grain or noise. the next clip we used ISO 200 which again has no grain. for the last clip, we increased the ISO to 1600. there is a bit of grain in the last clip as we used a higher iso. we lowered the shutter speed and aperture as the video was slightly over exposed. 

new wave research

american new wave

American filmmakers in the 1950s, New York, were concerned with realism and a truthful deception of American society during the time, the first American new wave. The second new wave known as New Hollywood in the late 60s brought a new set of values representing the counter-culture and aesthetics of the French new wave. During the late 60s and early 70s, there was a new generation of filmmakers whose work was complex, innovative and morally ambiguous. They spoke for a generation disillusioned by the Vietnam War. 

the new hollywood new wave of cinema sprouted in the late 1960s for a variety of reasons. for one, the academic study film became more popular than ever. the distribution of international films from auteurs like Truffaut and the french new wave simply fed their inspiration. it was also a response to a perceived staleness in hollywood's studio films that dominated the marketplace for decades.

new hollywood is a film movement that took place in the united states from roughly 1967-1976. the movement was led by a group of film students with a passion for filmmaking and the desire to challenge the stagnant status quo. also known as the hollywood new wave, these filmmakers often worked within the studio system but brought an independent and radical perspective to mainstream filmmaking. 

chosen films:

          bonnie and clyde (1967)             jaws (1975)                taxi driver (1976)            

                              arthur penn                    steven spielberg              martin scorsese

high key lighting

high key lighting involves a lot of whites and light tones. there are very minimal mid-tones and blacks. it is used to produce images/scenes that create an optimistic and upbeat mood. a high key lighting style often involves a soft key light that is placed near to the camera but not too near to the subject. when positioning the light directly in front of the subject, less shadows are created, making the skin look softer and smoother.

in harry potter and the deathly hallows part two, high key lighting has been used as the background is lighter than the characters. in these two shots, they are no blacks or other darker colours, only white. using high key lighting in these scenes creates a soft and almost angelic look and feel. 

https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/basic-light-placements/

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/film-lighting-techniques/

https://nofilmschool.com/types-of-film-lights

rembrandt lighting

rembrandt lighting is a studio portrait technique where a small inverted triangle is visible under one of the subjects eyes

to achieve this lighting technique, the key light should be placed at a 45 degrees angle facing towards the subject. place a reflector on the opposite side of the subject. the camera should be in the middle right in front of the subject. 

butterfly lighting

butterfly lighting is a technique that involves the key light. it creates flattering features and sculptures the face nicely especially with people with high cheekbones and a defined jawline. this lighting technique was particularly popular in the glamorous, early Hollywood era. 

to achieve butterfly lighting, place the key light above and directly centered with the subjects face. doing this creates a shadow under the nose and chin that resembles a butterfly. the lighting is usually soft on the face. 

split lighting

edge/split lighting only requires one light source, usually the key light (natural lighting can also work). by removing the fill light, a shadow is created on one side of the subjects face. in film, this lighting technique can create a dramatic and mysterious effect.

to achieve split lighting, place the light at a 90 degree angle to the direction your camera is facing. having the light on only one side of your subject will create a split in the middle of the subjects face. one side will be lit up whilst the other will be dark. 

this is my example of split lighting. we placed the key light on the left side of the subject which then created a line directly in the middle of the face. one side is lit whilst the other dark. to get this outcome we didn't use a fill light in order to see the shadows that the key light creates. we turned off the lights to do this so we could achieve a better outcome.