Practice Skills

Colour grading and DaVinci Resolve

For my documentary I would like to add a unique look, while also keeping it to a professional grade, therefore I have researched and trained deeper into a method of editing technique called Colour Grading, in which would I will use DaVinci Resolve.

Colour Grading is a digital manipulation process of the scenes where I would correct the exposure and contrast, the colour correction to the original video rather then the cameras processed colour, then I would like to take it further and add some artificial colour and look, although it will strongly look surreal - the skin tone and primary hues would be kept so that for example: the colour would be red but just a khaki tint.

DaVinci Resolve is a editing software which is industry graded, the speciality of this software is the tools that help you to professionals manipulate colour with accurate histograms.

https://www.filmsupply.com/articles/cinematic-color-grading/ - Colour Grading guidance and types of looks 

From this article, I have discovered different types of colour looks and how to make them to give my short film some character. One look I want to strongly go for it is the Monochromatic - Dominant colour, as for my personal preference, also with the upcoming movies and technologies younger generation from 30 year old under look for surreal looking graphics. 

Before Colour Grading

After Colour Grading 

In this before and after example we can see that the footage with out colour grading is well colour calibrated, however there are two things which really makes it no appealing. Number one is that all the colours are individual and all over the place which I find very aesthetically non-pleasing therefore with the monochromatic colour grading I place a colour pallet of green on all the objects in the shot which creates a link between them therefore making more harmonious.

Also, without a colour grading I feel like the visual are quite boring and generic which clashes with my intent of creating identity for my documentary, therefore the use of colour grading creates uses green colour, which is my favourite colour, to create a personal identity with my project, also this colour grading gives my visuals a green fade which is intended as it is a characteristic of colour film photography which is symbol of any type of photography.

Experimentation - 16/04/2024

My first experimentation on this project I can label as a introduction and revision of my videography skills such as editing but also pre-production procedures such as call sheets and story boards.

First part of my experimentation was planning out the logistics of the shoot day and what material must be gathered at the location. 

First step was to plan to film everything needed for the "Routine chapter" in one day. The plan of gathering this footage was prioritised due to involving recording in a very challenging environment, which is uncontrollable, and traveling big distances to finish the material needed for this shoot-day.

Going through "Routine Chapter" shoot-day was very rough, the transportation between location A to location B was 30-40 minutes tube ride on the jubilee line, which really impacted the production flow. As an example is that we stayed more at location due to multiple takes then when we headed towards location B our tube was delayed and overpacked compared to our expectation, therefore the encountering of this problem has created a atmosphere which put both me and my camera assistant uncomfortable and a has polluted the intended shot idea, therefore this condition has demotivated my camera assistant from being as productive and cooping to the ideas planned, therefore breaking the production flow and the outcome of the material.

With that experience in mind, I have carried out a other shoot-day where the plan was slightly changed to max out the production flow and ease the difficulty to boost the crew's motivation, this was done by keeping the original Location A and bring location B much closer so that travelling is minimised. The changes done to the shoot-day plan has shown successful results as the motivation was maintained and production flow was smooth. which has even game us more time to be creative with our shots which really help out the visual side. 

However with a great result according to the location change, the material gathered has come out with acceptable quality and just a bit of flexibility in Adobe Premier, although the quality of the material is satisfactory, I will ambition myself and gained the confidence to upgrade the visuals by using higher level equipment.

Fujifilm x-s10 is a mirrorless camera, with 26 MP, with a capability of recording in 4K at 60fps, which I have quit enough experience to gain confidence to use it for the shoot day. All though the powerful 4K at 60fps is a powerful feature, I wont exactly go for it but for the F-Log format which is a very flat image and colour format which gives me a lot of flexibility in-post which open my door to practise the skill of Colour Grading.

Photography 

I have been a strong fanatic about photography for about two years ago, as soon as I got to Stanmore Collage, where I have took advantage using the equipment given, to put my creative vision at work. The inspiration of my creative journey was once when I started to observe the massive flow of social media professional street photographers showcasing their work, which really had a place in my heart due to its beautiful look but in a simple common environment like the city.

With more and more street photos popping up on recommended, the more I got intrigued and started to look more into exhibitions and influential photographers like Robert Frank. Although this was a splendid art, I was demotivated into starting my journey because I felt overwhelmed about the process of street photography.

Rough cut - SWOT analysis

Strength

• Ambitious editing 
• great use of angles
• solid flow
• suitable music choice
• clear narrative 
• engaging elements 

Weakness

• slightly lacking in attention attraction 
• small amount of jumpy transition
• edit the ending to make it smoother and remove the awkward part 

Opportunities

• keep the audience retained
• add credits

Threat

• difficult to understand due to accent
• some people with shorter attention spams find it difficult to maintain connection