Thanks
I just built a LEGO tripod which turned out to be a lot less tricky than I thought it would be. This tripod will play a surprisingly important role in the film!

This is still a "prototype" since I would like to change it's legs to black to make it look a little more up to date. Anything else any of you guys might add to it or do you think it looks good?

WATCH NOW

Thanks, yes they do move but not so easily unless you deliberately move them . It will be stationary most of the time but a minifigure will pick it up off the floor in one scene. I'll have plenty of time to try some different designs since I am not animating the scene its in quite yet.

WATCH NOW

Isaac, you really never cease to amaze me. I love this frame!!! The lighting coming from the room behind the two figures is perfect, and I admire your thoroughness in set building as even the parts that are out of focus are detailed. Way to go Isaac, every frame makes me want to see this film more and more, can't wait.

Since this is an "adventure in cinematography" I'm intrigued to know what you guys think about symmetry in frames :

Type 1, almost or everything symmetrical:

Type 2, Centre framed and no obvious symmetry:

..and lastly type 3, Not centre framed and no symmetry:

I find myself often having small amounts of symmetry in lots of my wide shots, eg: type 2 however it has rarely if never been taken to Wes Anderson levels of symmetry. Which type if any do you folks prefer?

Last edited by animationIsaac (June 2, 2015 (11:58pm))

WATCH NOW

There isn't really a right or wrong answer to any of this--it really boils down to personal preference and what you want your scene to look and feel like.  For example, the symmetrical shot you used for the school classroom (if that is what it is) works very well since schools are often very regimented and controlled environments, so it makes sense to reflect this using cinematography.  On the other hand, if you want to convey chaos and ambiguity, a disorganized and asymmetrical frame would be a much better choice.  Symmetrical frames also lend themselves well to visual comedy, I think, since there's something inherently funny about people or objects lined up in a certain way. 

You could also play with these expectations as well, by, for example, having a very symmetrical frame and then have a character walk into the frame and disrupt the symmetry to show he/she does not fit in.  It really depends what you're going for--the cinematography should fit the scene you want to convey.  Either way, it's best not to overuse one particular style.  I remember watching The Grand Budapest Hotel, and becoming annoyed because the movie overused symmetry and head-on/profile shots to the point where the cinematography and editing felt choppy and mechanical, which disrupted my immersion in the story.  (Having said that, I feel like this film has grown on me considerably since I've seen it, so I'll likely feel very different about it if I watch it again sometime.)

Also, if you want to improve your cinematography skills, I would highly recommend looking at this YouTube channel, if you haven't already (it's been mentioned on this site a few times already, so you may have already come across it).

I have finished my exams and I am going to have plenty more time to work on The Long Way Home which is exiting. I'm going away for a few weeks though beforehand to climb some mountains meaning this thread will not be updated again for a while.
In the meantime what's your thoughts on this?

WATCH NOW

While it may be just a little on the bright side, I don't see that as much of a problem.
You can darken it easier in post than you can lighten it, and better to see too much, than nothing at all.

The set looks good, and I love the use of the LED. One would think that having so little color would make the yellow pop out more. But it sees to go very well with the rest of the set, and is noticeable, but without being obnoxious.

So here's a set I'm working on:

In the scene where this set is used, I'm going to shoot a continuous shot following the main character as he comes in through into the garden, through the back door, through the kitchen, through the lounge and finally stops tracking him once he heads upstairs. I've been wanting to do shots like this for a few reasons, I really enjoy seeing shots like this in other films as for me it improves the feel of realism in the film since it feels the camera is not confined to a single set. There's a scene in Alice Doesn't Live Here Any more (Martin Scorsese) that I particularly like where the main character is taken from the front of the cafe through a corridor out to the back of the cafe into some outside toilets whilst the camera follows them. Funnily enough in the corridor you could see the camera man's shadow but for me this all added realism to the scene; showing us that this is in fact a real cafe since the camera man can move freely throughout the cafe without being stopped at the end of the set. It also shows the limited control the camera crew have over the surroundings since in a studio you could easily remove the shadow of the cameraman by moving the positioning of a few lights.
The other reason was that in my last film, BULB, I moved the camera position way too many times making parts of the film not containing action feel weird and chopped.
Wow, that was long!

WATCH NOW

I have the same problem...