As the sun came up and many of my friends came back from a drunken night out in town, I came back from a full day of shooting a music video for To Kill a King. This weekend, I was 2nd assistant director and production manager for TKAK's video for their song, Rays. 

I am extremely pleased to say that Sam Briggs won the Crossfit Games 2013 competition, and is officially titled the fittest woman in the world.... AND Sam has kindly said yes to being my contributor! 

This is a fantastic opportunity for myself and my crew, as we will be able to interview and make a short film about the fittest woman in the world - bet you can't say you've ever done that before?! She is recognised world wide and has a huge fan base in America, so no pressure, eh? 

I'm extremely excited and cannot wait to get started in the pre-production over the next few weeks. I've already started with idea generation and some research. You can never be too prepared! 

I'll keep you all updated in the near future, but for now, here's a picture of Sam doing what she does best...winning!

I should use my summer holidays to go out, party till I can't feel my feet and eat everything in sight, but nope, I can't help myself but to think of more film ideas for my first 3rd year film! 

These are all brief and need lots of improvement, but these are my thoughts so far...

IDEA 1:
My mums friend, Sam Briggs (American fitness fanatics will know her), is currently taking part in the Reebok Crossfit Games in USA, and is ranked #1 in the WORLD for women's fitness. 
If she wins, she will win the title of 'worlds strongest woman' (and just to think a few years ago she was helping my mum put a fence up in my garden!). 

At university, we get taught two main things: network, and use your contacts, so I think this would be the perfect opportunity to use my contacts and get a fantastic film out of it. Let's face it, no one else can say 'I know the strongest woman in the world'. 

Audience wise, the primary target would be fitness fanatics, and fans of Sam. Bob Harper (trainer on The Biggest Loser USA) took a picture of himself at the Crossfit games whilst he was watching the events, so you never know, if he's a fan of her, he might become a fan of the film! 

Here I am, trying to develop my cinematography and camera skills for the 3rd year, and I decide to film my mum making Tapas. It's an easy, simple idea that can literally be stitched together in post production, except for of course.... my lack of editing software!

I'm stuck with iMovie. Not even the HD version, which I used in sixth form. You'd think it would be easy, especially because I work on Final Cut Pro to edit my films at university, but for some strange reason, I'm finding it ridiculously confusing and tedious to do. 
I love editing, and I love the process of it, but oh how I wish I had a laptop new enough to install final cut pro! My macbook is so old I'm having to delete precious photos and all of my work from previous projects to make room for the new ones. *sniffles*

So whilst I try learn how to use this bloody software, here are a few screenshots of what I'm doing. Some shots need a little colour correction (if I ever find out how to do it on iMovie), but other than that, I'm really happy with the outcome. The quality of my cinematography has improved greatly, and my thought process whilst filming is more productive! Instead of thinking 'I'll just film it like this and hope for the best', I found myself thinking 'okay, the lighting is a bit dark, so I'll do this, oh now it's a bit grainy, so I'll lower that' and so on. 
Watching shorts on how to use my DSLR and researching things has helped me so much in my journey to becoming a DOP - and I'm hoping I'll get to develop those skills even more in my 3rd year at university! 

Whilst filming my mum doing some cooking (which will be ready for people to see within a few weeks), I decided to take some photographs of my dog, Millie, and my cat, Ebony. I also took some standard wildlife pictures too. Enjoy! (P.S, I'm really happy with the quality of these photos. I feel like I'm progressing a lot since I got my camera at Christmas. Yey!)

So I applied for a 4Talent day in Lincoln, and to my suprise, I got it!

For those who don't know, a 4Talent day is the only way you can get work experience, placements, apprenticeships and internships at Channel 4. There are only a few talent days a year, and a limited amount of spaces. 

Both me and George got a place, which made the whole experience less nerve-wracking. Thank god! 

The day started by registering, choosing your workshop (out of four options; the art of documentary film-making, acting, presenters and standing out), then we got our goodie bags! I love free things... who doesn't? 

A hot day can only mean one thing: hide indoors and close the curtains so I don't get burnt alive. Well, that's what I normally do anyway. But last tuesday, I decided to go crazy and actually go outside, how adventurous of me! 

I went to Twycross Zoo for the day. It was ridiculously hot and my palest-of-pale skin could not handle it, so I burnt. What a suprise! But I managed to get a few pictures whilst I was there. I took them all on my 50mm lens, which proved to take some lovely photos. I found a technical glitch with my lens (or my camera, or my settings, or me...) which stopped me from getting some nice DOF in my shots, but I still got some good snaps. Here are my chosen few! 

Vimeo is such a magical place: you can find inspiring shorts, how-to videos and a glossary on terms. I've never seen them before, but once pointed in the right direction, I've managed to find dozens of videos that are helping me learn how to use my camera. 

Here's the link for the glossary on terms, including some short films about how to do certain things such as timelapse, frame rate VS shutter speed (which helped me immensely) and more. 

Okay, now to Philip Bloom. I was shown a video of him and his friend Andrea, where they give you an introduction to DSLR's. After watching this, I went to his other videos. You can learn about lenses, how to shoot at nighttime, how to change your settings, timelapsing, great accessories and more. They're all short and sweet - around 5 minutes long, and give you a recap at the end so you can write stuff down if you're taking notes. Perfect for my short attention span. 
Here's some of my favourite ones (pretty much all of them, they're just so helpful!):


Introduction to DSLR Cameras with Philip Bloom from Vimeo Video School on Vimeo.




Nighttime Shooting with a DSLR from Vimeo Video School on Vimeo.



DSLR Lenses from Vimeo Video School on Vimeo.



Shooting Video with a DSLR from Vimeo Video School on Vimeo.


For the other DSLR shooting videos by Philip Bloom, just scroll to the bottom of one of the films and choose from the selection. Otherwise, you can click the 'Vimeo Video School' link above, where it has a huge variety of other people demonstrating how to use DSLR's.

Another one that helped me - although his voice is incredibly boring - is a man that calls himself '--jL'. I've struggled with the difference between shutter speed and frame rate, and how to change them. This man explains what the difference is, and shows visual examples. I learn from seeing examples, not numbers and words on a board - so this is extremely helpful.



Part 6: Shutter Speed & FPS from --jL on Vimeo.


Although it's not a video, I've had another major help on my process to becoming a DOP. Blain Brown is the author of a book called "Cinematography: Theory and Practice". The book is around £23, but has had a massive impact on my learning. It uses visual references from films most people have seen, and explains things easily. It's quite informal - using chatty language rather than a report styled format, but I find that easier to understand. I'd recommend it to anyone! I take the book with me when I'm practising how to set up lights/camera, and refer to it when needed. It has an easy to understand contents page, so if you want to find something specific, you can! 

These are just some of the films and books I'm learning from. I recommend all of them for anyone who wants to know about DSLR's, filming, cinematography, lighting and just films in general. Enjoy! 

So, remember my post about the things I bought? (camera batteries, big camera bag, macro extension tubes and a 50mm lens)

Well, they arrived! And they are amazing, I definitely suggest them to any photographer/cam op.

So it's been a long journey of thinking of boobs, filming boobs, and editing boobs. But finally, it's free to show the world! I'm extremely happy with the result of my film - I cannot thank my contributor (Lesley) and my crew enough! Take a look here:

Okay, so lets start with a little backstory first. Coming onto my university course, I wanted to be an editor - it seemed to be the only thing I was good at whilst making films on a tiny flipcam in Sixth Form. However, on arrival, I learnt that my 5 GCSE's and 2 A-Levels in Art and Design have helped me to develop a visual style and how to make a shot look pretty with content and meaning - thanks art teachers! 

My ideal role is to be a Director of Photography. I love the idea of being in control of what the shot looks like, and developing a close relationship with the Director. It's great for me, because I like to tell people what to do, but I want an input in the creativity of a production, so this role is the best of both worlds. 
But I'm not going to lie, these past few weeks I've felt like I've been tested as a DOP. I feel like my extremely naive knowledge into lenses and cameras has stopped me from being crewed for my year group (my lens knowledge = the 18-55mm lens does an okay job of things). 

So, what am I going to do about it?

Well, I'm so glad you asked! Firstly, I took the role as Camera Assist on Jamie Sergeants production, Tent. Initially I was shitting myself. I was scared to even touch a lens - what sort of DOP would I have been? Anyway, I plucked up the courage and just simply got on with it. I asked questions, learnt things about lenses and what they do, if I didn't know what something was I just simply asked (who'd a thunk it, eh?) and I even did some filming on a shoulder mount for the first time! You could tell I was nervous - the first take I did was so shaky, I'm pretty sure it looked like there was an earthquake. But the 2nd take I did, I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. And - hopefully - it looks great! 

1. Test out my camerawork/lighting this friday (3rd May). 
2. Make a little short out of the footage and make it public for the world to see
3. Develop my photography skills - go take some photos to look at my style of cinematography.
4. Practice, practice, practice!
5. Rent out a wide lens and test out some filming with it. 
6. Make a short film during summer to show everyone what I've learnt. 

So, these past few days I have been extremely proactive with my career path.
I've created a CV, I've emailed people for my Professional Practice report, and I've even rang an executive producer from a well respected company! 

A CV, you say?
I procrastinated a lot with my CV. There's a lot of debate as to whether it should be professional, short and simple, or chatty, light hearted, and 'stand out' material. 
Me being me, I obviously chose the latter - in my mind, it's better to stand out and seem creative than be boring with my CV. It needs to catch the attention of the director/company, so something that is set out in a boring manner, with boring context and a boring layout would make me chuck it away straight away! Still, there's a little part of me that's wondering whether I should make my CV more professional...I guess only time will tell. 

Pro-pro-pro....practice?
I'm at that stage in my University degree where you have to decide what career you want to pursue, and actually (wait for it).........talk to people! An admittedly terrifying thing to do for me, as I struggle to even call a taxi or a takeaway. 
My topic if choice is Director of Photography. I chose this because I have such a passion in cinematography and everything involved in making a shot look utterly stunning, that this role seems perfect for me. 
The essay made me realise how much being a DOP would suit my preferences whilst being on set. I love the rush of being in control of what's happening around me and working with the camera man/woman. The controlling side of me gets what it wants, and the 'make everything look pretty' side to me gets what it wants too, a win-win situation for my inner me!
I'm nearly finished with my report, which is a great triumph for me as I had to re-do it all and I've had an operation recently so I'm still recovering from that - which is a definite set back. But have no fear, I've manned up, conquered on and caught up on all of my work. 

Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring, banana phone...
Nerves are a terrible thing. I hate nerves! It stops me ringing taxis, takeaways, doctors, hospitals, production companies and work possibilities. I'm always being a nervous ringer.
Even though they can't see me, my face goes bright red and I sweat in places I didn't think was possible. However, today I looked at my fears in the eyes, and defeated them - hoorah! 
I rang an executive producer for a huge production company based in Leeds, and it was a refreshingly light and cheery interview with a more than happy contributor. I was given invaluable advice regarding my career, how to get into the industry and how to stay there, as well as answers for my report. It gave me such a rush (nervous energy, but energy regardless) I felt like running around for hours to burn the energy off! Why did it give me such a weird rush? I have no idea. Maybe that's something I should look into. But today was a stepping stone for me, and I'm happy that I did it.

So that's my day for you. Because you obviously wanted to know...