Hvx - B&w - M2
- Thread starter Nathan Beaman
- Start date
Nathan Beaman
Well-known member
no biggie. Everyone has there own tastes!
Thanks for the feedback as far as the image goes, I think it really helps me develop my skills at a faster rate if I can hear the feedback and take the strengths and weakness into account.
Thanks for the feedback as far as the image goes, I think it really helps me develop my skills at a faster rate if I can hear the feedback and take the strengths and weakness into account.
If you want to "go by the book" then your "right" but, great artists step outside the "books"of your world
mjjason
Well-known member
I am all for someone breaking a rule if it serves a purpose. I wasn't sure what the purpose was here when I first watched the short plus I didn't understand the story. After reading people's posts and getting a better understanding of the story and an understanding what was trying to be achieved with the selective DOF now I can appreciate what they were doing.
I still find it awkard to watch as my eye will naturally try to focus on the characters but its now clear to me what was trying to be achieved.
wonderwall
Member
Gorgeous work. I'm a huge fan of B&W. A few of the shots I really liked:
-The up angle of the minister (with the building behind)
-The jib up shot of the tree/post with the actor out of focus
-The last shot. Fantastic. Her eyes are stunning, and the blood is amazing.
Very nicely done. Can't wait to see more.
-The up angle of the minister (with the building behind)
-The jib up shot of the tree/post with the actor out of focus
-The last shot. Fantastic. Her eyes are stunning, and the blood is amazing.
Very nicely done. Can't wait to see more.
Nathan Beaman
Well-known member
The film is up on Redrock's sample footage page! Brian Valente of Redrock is showing an HD version of the film today for the San Diego Filmmakers group. Redrock will also be playing it at Cine Gear next weekend!
So cool! Thanks Brian!
So cool! Thanks Brian!
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Matthew Bennett
Well-known member
Nice photography!
Matthew Bennett
Well-known member
Great photography! exceptional, very well thoguht out and relaxed work...I really like the focus pull where the tree dollies past, very well timed. This really shows that you 'don't mess around' one bit a a cinematographer.
Pretty serious tone overall man, i love my fellow artist, but theis one needs a wee pinch of humor or whimsy..
Pretty serious tone overall man, i love my fellow artist, but theis one needs a wee pinch of humor or whimsy..
I really like the austere New England look of the film. The acting was well done and the Puccini piece was inspired. The composition of the shots was excellent.
I do feel the shallow DOF was a bit overused (not on all but on a few). When you focus on an inanimate object, your eye is drawn to what is in focus and not to the action. The shallow DOF usually focuses on something you want the audience to see, rather than the opposite.
I like the experimental feel though and overall it worked.
I do feel the shallow DOF was a bit overused (not on all but on a few). When you focus on an inanimate object, your eye is drawn to what is in focus and not to the action. The shallow DOF usually focuses on something you want the audience to see, rather than the opposite.
I like the experimental feel though and overall it worked.
Justyn
Veteran
Very nice indeed. Never get the messages in these things but you can sure appreciate the beauty and texture to your piece. That's what jumps out. I do also think that I now have a pure example of how and where a 35mm adapter would come in handy. I especially just love the rack focus up to the guy in the window. Classic film style stuff there..
very nice demo piece indeed!
very nice demo piece indeed!
bvalente
DVXuser Sponsor
Hi everyone
Hopefully michael won't mind if I post the synopsis. After reading it the film has a lot more impact to me. More importantly, I really appreciate how the cinematography supports the story, not just adds eye candy.
"TO A FLAME" synopsis
A young man is forced to make preparations to send a girl accused of
witchcraft “to a flame” but grows increasingly conflicted as he finds
himself drawn to her.
It's a Salem witch trial story. A Nathaniel Hawthorne-esque morality
tale.
Detailed breakdown:
In the opening move down the wooden stake, the young man is dropping
wood he has collected to where the young woman will be burned. It
also represents the young man being drawn to her, like a moth to a
flame, which is the metaphor of the title.
We dissolve to an actual flame, a candle at night, and see the young
man reaching toward it. It's at his waist level and represents his
desire, as well as the girl herself, the "flame" that attracts him.
Literally, he is reaching out as close as he can to the flame to
imagine what it would be like to be burned. This feeds his concern
over the task the minister has given him.
We cut to the young man out of focus in the doorway of the shed,
behind steps, with his arm reaching out in a similar position as the
last shot. The girl hurries down the steps toward him and takes his
hand. In a series of slow motion shots, we see them run along the
side of the shed, past a fence, toward a house, and away into the
woods. The primary action in these shots is out of focus and in slow
motion to suggest a dream-like unreality. As we push in on the
window in the final shot of the sequence, and are about to pass
through it, we dissolve to the young man in focus, "trapped" behind
another window. He slowly opens his eyes. This was a fantasy of
escaping with the girl.
The young man turns as the minister approaches. The minister lays
the ax on the table to communicate that the young man must gather
more wood for the burning. The young man reluctantly nods. The
minister leaves, not convinced of the young man's intentions. In
this sequence, the young man is surrounded by images of crosses. The
window frame on his first close-up, the shadow on the wall by the
minister, the woodwork in the wall as the minister closes the door,
and the cross hung on the front door of the house as the young man
steps outside. He looks toward the woods where he should go to chop
wood, and then at the shed where the girl is held. He is conflicted
but decides to go to the shed, observed without his knowledge by the
minister. He passes through a gate, looking back to see if he is
watched. The minister follows, obscured by a stone building.
In the shed, the girl hears the young man approach and slowly looks
back. She's crying. The young man peers in at her through the key
hole. She reaches out to him. He raises his hand to the door
outside, wishing he could take her hand, as in his fantasy. The
minister's hands reach in to pull him back. The girl flees to the
upstairs of the shed. The young man looks up from where he has been
pulled to the ground. The minister looks down and shakes his head.
He turns away. We cut to a two shot past the wood piled at the base
of the stake in the foreground. As the minister walks away, we rise
up the stake. The focus on the stake draws attention to its
importance. It is the issue that divides the minister and the young
man and here it literally divides them in the frame. The young man
also rises in the frame and approaches the door. The climb along the
stake represents his growing desire. He lifts the ax in front of the
key hole. Symbols of sexuality. We cut to him in a low angle
against trees. He finishes raising the ax. To break down the door
and free the girl? He swings. The ax connects with a tree trunk on
the forest floor. A metaphoric castration.
At night, he reaches out to the candle once again. He is drawn to
her. His face winces from the heat. He knows the pain she'll feel.
As we dissolve, the candle is superimposed over him hurrying from the
house to the shed in the morning. He has been drawn "into" the flame
now. We dolly to the side with him, physically removing the option
of retreat from the frame. In the next shot, he drops the ax to the
ground, having broken the lock. The music swells with what he
perceives as a heroic act. The music quickly turns darker as we see
him dwarfed by the ominous shed. He enters, disappearing into the
black doorway.
We dissolve closer to the doorway, and the shed from the previous
shot is swallowed in the opening. The girl backs into view from the
shadows as we push in. We notice a pointed piece of wood in her
hand. A weapon she could have created from the floor or a wall of
the shed. She stops in the doorway and drops the shard of wood. We
cut to a close-up behind her. She turns slowly, evoking the first
shot of her in which she turned to reveal a tear on her cheek. Here,
we see her cheek is dotted with blood. She looks out the door,
fearful, anxious, scanning for the minister, and then leaves to one
side. We're left staring into the darkness of the shed. She had
lured the young man, reaching out to him in the earlier scene, hoping
for sympathy. But when he opened the door, desperate with hunger and
fear, she seized the opportunity to attack and escape. She didn't
know if he was there to save her or burn her, and perhaps didn't care.
Hopefully michael won't mind if I post the synopsis. After reading it the film has a lot more impact to me. More importantly, I really appreciate how the cinematography supports the story, not just adds eye candy.
"TO A FLAME" synopsis
A young man is forced to make preparations to send a girl accused of
witchcraft “to a flame” but grows increasingly conflicted as he finds
himself drawn to her.
It's a Salem witch trial story. A Nathaniel Hawthorne-esque morality
tale.
Detailed breakdown:
In the opening move down the wooden stake, the young man is dropping
wood he has collected to where the young woman will be burned. It
also represents the young man being drawn to her, like a moth to a
flame, which is the metaphor of the title.
We dissolve to an actual flame, a candle at night, and see the young
man reaching toward it. It's at his waist level and represents his
desire, as well as the girl herself, the "flame" that attracts him.
Literally, he is reaching out as close as he can to the flame to
imagine what it would be like to be burned. This feeds his concern
over the task the minister has given him.
We cut to the young man out of focus in the doorway of the shed,
behind steps, with his arm reaching out in a similar position as the
last shot. The girl hurries down the steps toward him and takes his
hand. In a series of slow motion shots, we see them run along the
side of the shed, past a fence, toward a house, and away into the
woods. The primary action in these shots is out of focus and in slow
motion to suggest a dream-like unreality. As we push in on the
window in the final shot of the sequence, and are about to pass
through it, we dissolve to the young man in focus, "trapped" behind
another window. He slowly opens his eyes. This was a fantasy of
escaping with the girl.
The young man turns as the minister approaches. The minister lays
the ax on the table to communicate that the young man must gather
more wood for the burning. The young man reluctantly nods. The
minister leaves, not convinced of the young man's intentions. In
this sequence, the young man is surrounded by images of crosses. The
window frame on his first close-up, the shadow on the wall by the
minister, the woodwork in the wall as the minister closes the door,
and the cross hung on the front door of the house as the young man
steps outside. He looks toward the woods where he should go to chop
wood, and then at the shed where the girl is held. He is conflicted
but decides to go to the shed, observed without his knowledge by the
minister. He passes through a gate, looking back to see if he is
watched. The minister follows, obscured by a stone building.
In the shed, the girl hears the young man approach and slowly looks
back. She's crying. The young man peers in at her through the key
hole. She reaches out to him. He raises his hand to the door
outside, wishing he could take her hand, as in his fantasy. The
minister's hands reach in to pull him back. The girl flees to the
upstairs of the shed. The young man looks up from where he has been
pulled to the ground. The minister looks down and shakes his head.
He turns away. We cut to a two shot past the wood piled at the base
of the stake in the foreground. As the minister walks away, we rise
up the stake. The focus on the stake draws attention to its
importance. It is the issue that divides the minister and the young
man and here it literally divides them in the frame. The young man
also rises in the frame and approaches the door. The climb along the
stake represents his growing desire. He lifts the ax in front of the
key hole. Symbols of sexuality. We cut to him in a low angle
against trees. He finishes raising the ax. To break down the door
and free the girl? He swings. The ax connects with a tree trunk on
the forest floor. A metaphoric castration.
At night, he reaches out to the candle once again. He is drawn to
her. His face winces from the heat. He knows the pain she'll feel.
As we dissolve, the candle is superimposed over him hurrying from the
house to the shed in the morning. He has been drawn "into" the flame
now. We dolly to the side with him, physically removing the option
of retreat from the frame. In the next shot, he drops the ax to the
ground, having broken the lock. The music swells with what he
perceives as a heroic act. The music quickly turns darker as we see
him dwarfed by the ominous shed. He enters, disappearing into the
black doorway.
We dissolve closer to the doorway, and the shed from the previous
shot is swallowed in the opening. The girl backs into view from the
shadows as we push in. We notice a pointed piece of wood in her
hand. A weapon she could have created from the floor or a wall of
the shed. She stops in the doorway and drops the shard of wood. We
cut to a close-up behind her. She turns slowly, evoking the first
shot of her in which she turned to reveal a tear on her cheek. Here,
we see her cheek is dotted with blood. She looks out the door,
fearful, anxious, scanning for the minister, and then leaves to one
side. We're left staring into the darkness of the shed. She had
lured the young man, reaching out to him in the earlier scene, hoping
for sympathy. But when he opened the door, desperate with hunger and
fear, she seized the opportunity to attack and escape. She didn't
know if he was there to save her or burn her, and perhaps didn't care.