312 Reflections

This semester in TCF 312 has taught me so much it's hard to put into words. Each assignment taught me something new that will help me become a better videographer in the future.

One of my greatest experiences through this class was being able to learn about and use a lot of new equipment that I have never used before such as the Kino lights. I have found the Kinos can be a great lighting source in a variety of scenes from key lights in night scenes to fill lights in indoor scenes especially since you can not only change the color temperature with different bulbs but also the brightness. They came in great for a lot of scenes during Cherones's class and I even advised students from another shoot to use them. I think Kinos might be my favorite light kit from now on.

Probably the most important among anything else is how critical the preproduction stage of filmmaking is. Without preproduction the whole film will fall apart, there is no order to the process which causes very little to get done. Things such as visual references, properly formatted shot-lists and storyboards help the shooting go along a lot quicker and helps the cinematographer and editor understand what the director wants the final product to look like. Scouting locations is also a very important part of preproduction, you have to know how the lighting will be how your camera movement and the subjects movement might work on set. With proper preproduction my documentary assignment would have turned out a bit better.

Scheduling is also another important process of preproduction and probably the hardest part, it is important to plan your schedule around your actors availability which may cause a lot of rescheduling in your own schedule. Sometimes the actors you originally scheduled have to back out so you have to think on your feet to find backups, like during my scene assignment. This assignment also reinstated in my mind the need to check your equipment before the shoot, during my shoot the mic kept cutting off so I ending up using audio from my camera. And finally I've also learned that multiple takes are definitely your friend. During the editing I  felt like I didn't have enough footage and it was stressful process but when I managed to pull through it I felt so relieved.

Overall I know that I had a lot of bumps in this class but also plenty of great times. I've learned a lot, got to work on some great shoots and met great people. I worked on new things that were out of my element and worked on things I've already knew how to do. This class made me realize that even though I still have a lot to learn this is without a doubt 100% what I want to do in life.

Scene Analysis: Dark Knight - Bat Pod Faceoff

As a DC fan I hold a huge place in my heart for one of DC's prime superheros Batman. While Batman has graced the movie and television screens for many years Christopher Nolan's adaptation is by far my favorite. One of the things that separates Nolan's Batman films from it's predecessors is that it's much darker, one scene really encompasses the darker side of Batman which is my favorite scene of the movie is the Bat-pod Faceoff. Besides from being an amazing action scene it is one of the most intense faceoffs of all time because Joker will try pretty much anything to get Batman to break his one rule because that is the one and only way Joker will win against the Batman...Well that or kill him but Joker states many times that Batman is to much fun to kill, but no one is really how serious he is about that. 

The first shot takes place as the bat-mobile crashes under the bridge in front of a group of homeless men immobilizing it, for a time.In an odd parallel Joker's truck has also crashed and his driver has died leaving him also with a slight handicap, these events lead to a number of shot reverse shots back and forth from Joker's truck to the bat-mobile. As Joker continues his chase Batman initiates an ejection from the immobilized bat-mobile which most people would assume means he will simply leave the vehicle, however the scene cuts to a medium closeup of one of the homeless men staring at the bat-mobile and then there is a cut to a wide shot of the bat-mobile as it stirs, with the wheels revving up. Next there is a cut to the side of the bat-mobile and the camera pans as the machine seems to take itself apart. There is a cut back to the front of the vehicle as two guns appear on either side of one of the tires, then there is one final cut to a close up of Batman inside the bat-mobile as you hear the computer says goodbye.There is one last close up on the bat-mobile and a cut to a wide as the bat-pod emerges as the bat mobile self destructs in the background.

The next shot is an OTS of an helicopter pilot as he looks over Gotham as he loads his gun, and then there is a cut to a wide shot of the helicopter as it flies over Gotham. Cut to a wide low angle shot of the Swat truck being chased by the Joker's truck the lights of the helicopter are seen in the background with a shallow depth of field. There is then a cut to the men in the Swat truck as the unmasked man takes notice of the helicopter. The scene next cuts to a close up of a car mirror as a man looks at himself in it, in the mirror you see reflections of sparks and suddenly the Bat Pod speeds by knocking off the mirror, the scene cuts to the man in the car for a reaction shot. There is then a cut to a close up on the wheel of the Bat Pod and then a cut to a wide shot as it weaves through the traffic, sparks flying as it knocks off more mirrors.

Cut to a wide shot as the helicopter flies between the buildings and then a cut to a close up of Joker as he tells his goons to "rack'em up". There is a cut to a wide of one goon climbing up a fire escape aiming his gun and then a medium of another goon on a fire escape aiming his gun. The goons shoot and then there is a cut to the lights of the helicopter in the distance and then the camera racks focus onto 2 crossing wires.

The scene cuts back to a med behind shot behind the Bat Pod and then a close up on Batman's face followed by a Batman POV. The next shot is of 2 kids playing in the pretending like they are shooting guns, there is a cut to a wide shoot revealing what the children are aiming at as explosions are heard in the distance. At this point there are shot reverse shots from the Bat Pod to the kids back to the wide of the cars as they explode and Batman speeds by.

The next sequence of events starts off with a low angle shot of Joker's Truck with the Swat truck and helicopter visible in the distance. It cuts to the 2 Swat officers in the truck and then to a low angle wide of the helicopter as it flies over the camera. It then cuts to a wide shot in front of the helicopter as it is tangled in the wires. Fromm here there are a lot of shot reverse shots between the helicopter crashing to POV and  reaction shots of the Swat officers. There is a quick cut to a medium reaction shot of Harvey Dent and then a cut to a wide of the helicopter as it tumbles down the road. The sequence ends with a closeup on Joker for his reaction of maniacal laughing.  

The next sequence also consists of a lot of shot reverse shots starting with a wide profile of the Bat Pod  and then a wide from behind as it comes to a door and shoots it. Next there is a cut to side of the Bat Pod as it drives up to another door, there is a cut a wide shot from the other side of the door as it shatters and Batman drives through. Cut to a closeup on the back of the Bat Pod and then a wide to the front of it as it is driven through a crowded shopping area. There is a POV of Batman as civilians jump out of the way to the final shot of the sequence, a wide as the Bat Pod leaves the area. 

This sequence starts off with a shot from the side of Joker's Truck and then cut to a medium of Joker and one of his goons. There is a wide of the Swat truck with Joker's truck visible in the back. It then cuts to Batman once again dodging traffic, he turns into an alley where it cuts to a wide of a dumpster he blows up to get out his way. There is a cut back to the road before the Bat Pod comes out of the alleyway and stops, there is a cut to the a closer shot and then a cut to a closeup of Joker as he and Batman begin their faceoff.