Throughout the year I have improved a variety of different skills. Often through lectures I have learnt the basics of how to do things and then gone off and worked on how to do them myself.
At the start of the year I had basic knowledge of what a camera was and how to use it properly. After considering the functions of a camera such as aperture and shutter speed etc. I am now able to use these functions to create footage that is creative and exciting. With my knowledge of Shutter speed I am now able to create light painting which with an intervalometer I can make creative time lapses.
Learning about different types of camera equipment other than tripods has allowed me to improve on the abilities of adding movement to my work with things like a gimbal and a shoulder mount, I now understand how to work them and what to use them for. And when would be a suitable time to use them.
At the start of the year I was falling into the habit of centring my subject in shot. After learning about the rules of composition I have been able to break the habit and think about what I want to get out of the shot I am producing. I spend more time thinking about the shot before just pressing record. After having the knowledge to compose good shots, I also sometimes try to go against the rules of composition to produce shots that have asthetic effect. This has given me the confidence to try out different types of shots and experiment whether or not they will work. In addition I try the same shot from different angles to give myself choice whereas before I was limiting myself to what I could use by not taking enough shots.
In terms of lighting I have learnt how to light sets for factual filming and also how to use equipment such as the gobo for fiction. I know about the three point lighting system which has helped on projects such as the Whitby project. And I now know the importance of light when it comes to the quality of your footage, especially with slow motion filming as you need a lot of light in the correct places to make sure that the footage is well exposed as well as reducing the amount of grain.
Through doing projects throughout the year, and experimenting with equipment I feel like I have improved and learnt new skills with cameras, grip equipment and lighting. A lot of it was trial and error but from this I have built my way up to what I think is a satisfactory level, I feel I can produce well lit, well exposed and well composed footage.
-Joshua Poole- 