Fiction Adaptation: DSLR Camera Workshop

Yesterday, we had a camera workshop with Mike Rymer who has had a lot of experience in the industry with cameras including DSLRs. He has also worked at the Epsom campus, teaching on a similar course. He gave us lots of information about the cameras themselves, and what they are best used for. For example, the DSLRs have better field of vision than the Sony cameras which means that the image is much closer to what we see with our eyes. From my experience, I would say that I have enjoyed using the Canons much more, in particular for the picturesque effect you can achieve with them. He then showed us some examples of camera movements including track, tilt, jib, pan, dutch angle. We have been taught these in previous workshops but it was interesting to learn about them in a bit more depth so we know when they are most appropriate to use and what effects they can give.

Contra-Zoom
Mike introduced us to the technique called a contra-zoom. He showed us some examples from films including a scene in jaws where a character is experiencing shock as children are being attacked by a shark on the beach. It is a technique which involves tracking and zooming in or out simultaneously. This puts emphasis on that person to show what they are feeling. It can also be used to emphasise an object, making it appear bigger than it is. We were then split into groups to experiment with some of the techniques he told us about. We experimented with the contra-zoom, which was relatively successful after a few attempts. It was quite challenging to get the timing right as you cannot zoom faster than the speed of the track otherwise the effect will not work. We also tried to do a 'Michael Bay' inspired shot. He is well known for using a shot which establishes a new location or 'big moment' by using the camera handheld and rotating it around a person for dramatic effect. Mike Rymer described this as a technique often used to tell the audience that something exciting is about to happen. Saskia and I experimented with this shot and found it quite tricky to pull off but we were able to get a general idea of it. I feel a little more confident about using these techniques and camera movements in upcoming projects, if the scene requires it.