Production Evaluation (Cinematography)

Cinematographer

As soon as I took on the role of cinematographer, I realised that my main responsibilities would fall during the shooting of the film, and that has certainly been the case. I have tried to take the lead throughout the filming of our scenes, and have done this through several key aspects.
Firstly, I have assessed each location at which we have filmed, ensuring that the mise-en-scene is fitting for our genre, as well as for the ideal scenes that we wanted to shoot. Furthermore, I had to work in conjunction with the editor to check that every shot would allow for good continuity when used in the editing suite, making sure that all costumes, lighting and props stay constant throughout. Keeping the length of each shot long enough meant that the editor would also find it easier to cut each part and fit it with others; we understood completely that shooting more shots than were needed would mean we would NOT have to reshoot at another time.

Personally, one of my favourite aspects of being the cinematographer is shooting aesthetically pleasing shots with good composition, thus making the film look professionally done. For this reason, I spent lots of time before shooting each single shot to ensure that no shots were of a poor quality. Using the 'rule of thirds' (helped by a nine square grid which I activated on the camera screen), I was able to shoot each shot with good composition, making sure there was little room above the head, and not a lot of empty space at the sides of shots. This also helps in the editing suite.
One scene I am pleased with is the scene in which our protagonist arrives home and enters the kitchen, oblivious to the fact that the fridge door is opening behind her. I managed to shoot lots of shots from various angles (adhering to the 180 degree rule) throughout the scene, using panning to add effect. Furthermore, after shooting several shots, we assessed the lighting and after deciding it was too bright on the girl's face, we changed the angles of the lights, allowing a softer light to fall onto the setting. Finally, we shot an over the shoulder shot to finish the scene, which is something we were very pleased with.

Overall, the scenes that we have managed to shoot so far look quite professional, and due to the fact that we have shot so many this will allow us a lot to use in the editing suite. However, I am most pleased with the composition and continuity of the shots, as we have used a range of shot types and angles whilst still ensuring that it is aesthetically pleasing and fitting for the horror genre. We do understand that there are some sections which may need reshooting, such as in the mother's bedroom, but our grasp on aspects such as lighting and mise-en-scene has improved throughout production, and this will definitely help when we shoot our final scene at the graveyard, and then continue to edit 'Home Video'.

Josh Murray- Incentive