Evaluating Camera Work

Our objective in the making of our music video, was to represent the aggressive untertones of the song with the theme of paranoia. We desided to set our video in a remote forest so we would not have any disturbances whilst filming from other areas, as we wanted the character within the video to appear lost and thus, helpless and vulnerable. We desided to encouperate a dual aspect to our filming with use of an 'alter ego' represented by the use of colour, the character in white and the alterior persona in black and with a mask. Throughout the video it appears that the individual is trying to escape from this hidden creature, which is evidently everywhere he turns, however ironically, he cannot as he can not break free from himself. The first segment of the video from 00.00 seconds to 00.00.13 seconds was where we set the scene, we chose to use a more ambient approach, using a high aperture to allow the exposure to be lighter;

We also altered the white balence as we knew we would be consistently filming outdoors , we wanted to have a consistency of colour and tone throughout our vidieo shoot.We altered the shutter speed to create a darker effect we also used  long shutter speeds to intentionally blur a moving subject to create our desired effect. To enable the best possible conditions for light exposure we filmed early morning in some flooded swamp land, we captured the images that contained areas of light and water, to enhance the mystic atmosphere to the area. With use of reflective natural lighting we were able to use establishing shots to create our desired ambiance. Our intention was to adapt this subdued effect in to a more sinister and frightning portrayal in which we could progress to create the feeling of paranoia. Between 00.00.13 seconds and 00.00.40 seconds we used footage that was taken from walking around the woodland for about 30 minuites, we also at this stage, lowered the aperture to make the whole video darker from this point onward. We then increased the speed of each clip up by about 300 times it's own speed, this created a fast paced continuous point of view shot as if the individuals own mind was capturing the surroundings at this speed in fear of what was around. We started this speeded up process at the same time as the bass and drums in the song came in to create a combination of both sound and visual collision, this made the video appear to be suffering a moment of chaos, a moment we wanted the character also to appear to be having. The combination and timing of the two emphasised the destruction of the song but also presented the music and the video in sync. Between 00.00.40 and 00.00.43 we used a technique to present movement without moving the camera. We did this to keep the motion in sync with the music, as the lyrics, "War, War, War, War" are shouted, the character rotates once alongside each shout;

we did this by taking one shot at one angle and then pausing the film, as we did so we held the camera in exactly the same position as previously held, whilst the actor altered his own position we then filmed from each perspective and adjusted the speed to suit the timing of the music. Between 00.00.43 seconds and 00.00.49 seconds we edited in another point of view shot, as if the character was looking around curiously, with a sence he is being followed in the 00.00.48 second the 'alter ego' figure we wanted to use is presented we used a low angle shot and zoomed in on the character to show how he was unreachable and how he was

ooking down on the man below. Throughout the shot the 'follower' is wearing a mask, looking emotionless and still, unfased by the fact he has been seen, the camera was then zoomed out, as if the gaze of the character is being withdrawn and an image is created where he appears to be hovering in the air as the camera comes further and further away. Then in 00.00.53 to 00.00.55 we recreated the motionless proggression with the 'alter ego' transferring him from one position to another by using still shots of him gradually moving closer.We then reinacted the rotation clip between 00.00.55 and 00.00.58 but with the 'alter ego' in exchange showing how they are actually the same being. The next camera angle we used was a spead up by 150 times point of view shot (00.00.58 to 00.01.03) of the individual hesitating about which way to turn in the forest, this is then followed at 00.01.03 by a perspective glance at what appears to be a face, after the charcter takes a second look he realises it is the mask of the 'alter ego' hidden amoungst the trees when we took this shot we used a fast pased pan shot, we did this as the character himself is intensly looking side to side, so the camera replicates his actions. At 00.01.04 we zoomed in on the mast and instantly at 00.01.05 withdrew our zoom, as if the character was frightend and begging to run away. At 00.01.06 another spead up point of view shot is used portraying his anxiety and at 00.01.07 a lowerd mid angle shot is used to show the charcter running. The shot was taken from just below the characters chin, as to show all the fear the man is portraying in his eyes.

 We managed to speed up the actors facial expressions and head movements, making him seem extreamly apprehensive and restablishing his paranoia, this shot ends at 00.01.09.  From this untill 00.01.21 we used another spead up point of view shot, we tried repeating this angle as many times as possible to show the characters desperation to escape thus creating a prolonged sence of abnormality and escapism. At 00.01.22, we presented the 'alter ego' figure once again in the rotation sequence we performed previously and then at 00.01.24 we took a low angle shot of him in another area to show the way he has been moving over the forest, reiterating the 'no escape' feel about the video. At 00.01.28 we zoomed back in on the mask, hanging from a tree followed by a series of other shots of the 'alter ego' showing he is 'everywhere'. At 00.01.28.05 we used a long low angle shot to show him walking calmly, without reaction to his surroundings, along an embankment on high ground, we also tried to use the manual focus to gain a narrow depth of feild in this particular shot, to show the consistent focus on the character.Between 00.01.35 and 00.01.36 we used a mid shot of him hiding amoungst the trees. From this point untill 00.01.47 we used a long shot to show the man being 'chased' running down the slope, we edited this in in slow motion to create the effect of what he is thinking, his despiration to escape. Although subtle we used a slight tilting shot to follow the character downward, from the top of the hill to the bottom. From 00.01.49 to 00.01.50 we used a mid shot to show the 'alter ego' we then zoomed out into a short long shot, where we retracted back to a fast paced point of view shot, this lasts untill 00.02.03 with two intersecting spead up zooms onto the masked figure. At 00.02.03 we filmed another extreame close up shot of the charcters face from a low angle to emphasise his expression at this time, this is kept in time, with his head movements beggining and ending along to the rhythem of the music, this sequence ends at 00.02.15, where the man runs and falls, starting at a mid shot and resulting in a long shot image of him in the near distance. Following this is a long shot of the masked figure, 00.02.19 , between this time and 00.02.26 the camera is still mounted on a tripod for the first time in the entire video, we used another intersecting cross cut of the image getting closer without moving to speed the process up and to also restablish our running theme of entrapment. Between the times of 00.02.27 and 00.02.35 we used a mid shot as the figure became closer, from 00.02.36 an extreame close up was used although not focusing on any particular object. The sence however, is that the masked man, is above the character and at 00.02.37 the camera is tilted from a low angle to face the masked man himself, this shot is also a point of view shot. From this moment untill 00.02.39 the camera follows the masked man upward to a still close up untill 00.02.45. We then repeated the point of view image in an extream spead up motion, this then ends at 00.03.26 with a mid shot of the masked man followed by a complete black out resolving that the man has been taken over by his 'alter ego.'