Reading Assignment : 4 [Shape-Ups for Film!]

I tried Shape-Ups on once.

It's not something I freely admit very often, so if you're reading this, consider yourself lucky. (And try not to share that information with too many people that you think I might be trying to impress.)
Those shoes are like boats. Seriously. They're huge, and... wavy... And I feel like I'm walking on water (shout-out to JC, hollaaaa!) when I wear them. It's very strange. I don't think I could've handled Shape-Ups as shoes. However, I can handle a reading about shaping up film!

I will write about this reading through one of my favorite literary devices: an acrostic poem.

S - Style. Style, in the sense of film, is best friends with Imagination. The two hold hands and skip around the filming world, limited only by each other in the filmmaker's mind. You can have a documentary in a realistic style, yes, but why not fantasy, humor, parody? The more original the style, the more memorable the film.

H - Having some type of HStructure. Structure is probably the most confusing element to read about, and the most difficult to find, but from what I understood, it encompasses the way in which a filmmaker will organize the film and how it moves from one topic, location, or time period, to another. It can be either 'natural or invented' and finding the right structure is, as Rosenthal suggests, 'a gift from God.' Can't say I'm aware of that gift in my heaven-sent care package.

A - Approach. The main two choices for approaching a film are essay or narrative, but choosing one depends on the topic and characters. Most people prefer stories, so narrative might be a good way to lean.

P - Please remember to include PForm. Form, although closely related to structure, is still very important to include, and is another way in which the plot is organized. It focuses more on the framework of the film, though, not so much the order. (To be honest, there was no actual titled paragraph about form 'til it was mentioned at the end of the reading, so it's hard to tell any other differences. Maybe that in itself is another 'gift from God.')

E - Examples to End with!  The end of the reading included a bunch of examples! Which means I can go back and refer to them for further clarification, if I want. And that's just magnificent.

Cue: snaps for my original acrostic poem. I know you all will want to print this out and hang it on your wall, but please, allow me to autograph a copy of it, first.

Also, I dare you try on a pair of Shape-Ups. And then explain to me how they can be worth $149.99.

Reading Assignment : 3 [Lighting]

LET THERE BE LIGHT!

(I figured that's a fairly relevant quote to open this one off with. Plus God said it, so that alone should get me some points, right?)

Light was the first creation of God.
I mean, that's saying something.
Obviously, if that's what He created first, it must have been necessary for the rest of creation to operate. So why wouldn't that be an initial consideration when I am making my own creation?

Our sight is based on light. Without it, that entire sense is eliminated. So, for an art or media where visual elements are the primary components, light is essential. Badda bing, badda boom... that's the bottom line I got from this reading. Light: ya gotta have it when ya film, and ya gotta do it right.

Ronald J. Compesi, lighting extraordinaire. His writing is very straightforward, a basic manual to follow, and many of the sections discussed items that I had already known or we just practiced in class. There are several pieces of the lighting puzzle, however, that he pointed out which I hadn't before realized. They are as follows:

1 - There are physical factors and aesthetic factors of lighting. [You don't just need the right equipment to do the right things, you need to know how to use this equipment in order to achieve the best quality shot.]
2 - Three point lighting = best case scenario. Use it, and use it well for a (mostly) trouble-free shoot.
3 - If you're not attaining the lighting you want, there's a lot you can do to change it, while working with the same lamps/lighting equipment. Making the lamps play dress up with gels, veils, or cloth can dramatically affect the shot, along with the position/location of the lights, and additional props, like reflectors.
4 - It's probably best to look into power requirements before you plug in a lamp and blow it/you/a fuse up.

I also thought that the table of Common Lighting Problems on p. 192 looks promising. A good go-to guide during set-up (while I'm still a total amateur, you see).

Overall, I'd say the read, while pretty dry, was fairly enlightening.