Photo Connotation Exercise

Danger.

Type: Automatic.

This photograph has been taken to represent danger. I chose this as the scaffolding behind the fence is dangerous as someone would get injured, fall or hurt themselves on it. The fence is in focus to show a barrier between us and the danger (scaffolding) behind it.

Desire. 

Type: Manual.

This photo represents desire. I used penguin chocolate bars because most people love chocolate. I like how the bench/foreground was in focus in this picture whilst the background is out of focus.

Fear.

Type: Manual.

To represent fear in this image we had a girl standing in the right of the shot in front of a black window. In the reflection a dark figure can be seen. This is to represent the unknown fear or follower behind her. We made sure that the camera wasn't in the shot but the subjects were.

 

 Greed.

  Type: Manual.

This photo of greed is a vending machine. We chose this as it is full of food and to eat or have a lot of food is considered greedy. I like how the lighting is very natural and almost seems vintage.

Loneliness.

Type: Manual.

I chose a shoe that was broken and tatty to be lonely/lost. I feel like this fits well as the shoe is alone and without its pair. It also stands out well against the grass.

Love.

Type: Automatic.

I chose two people holding hands with interlocking fingers as the subject for this picture. I like this because the hands are in focus and the background is not. I also like how you cant tell the gender of the people holding hands.

Poverty.

Type: Manual. 

I like this picture of a girl sitting alone staring at some money because it shows us that she is poor. I like how she has two shadows thanks to the lighting. This makes her seem like shes not whole.

 Purity.

Type: Automatic.

I chose a girl in a white dress because white represents purity. However it would be a better photo without the flash causing a reflection on the plastic in front of the picture of the girl.

Strength.

Type: Automatic.

I chose to take pictures of a guy working out in the gym with some boxing to represent strength. This is because he has to be strong willed and determined to do this.

Wealth.

Type: Automatic.

Trophies are expensive and show the wealth a person has in that aspect however it also shows the wealth in talent they have.

Weakness.

  Type: Automatic.

Rophies are expensive and show the wealth a person has in that aspect hoever it also shows the wealth in talent they have.

Induction Task - A Change of Hands.

We used natural light /the light that was already there for all of the video as it was better than the artificial lighting we made. In the scene where Abbie was taken we used natural light from a high up diagonal window so that the shot was dark but because the light was high up it meant there wouldn’t be a shadow from the camera and the light wouldn’t have a particular pattern in the scene. This sets a dark, creepy atmosphere showing that what is happening in the scene is bad. We did try and have some artificial light on Abbie during this scene however, this didn’t work well as it looked out of place and too artificial. Therefore we decided to stick with natural light.

In the hall we kept with the lights that were on the ceiling. They worked well as Adam’s face was lit up around his head showing more of a good guy look for him. However by chance the gun he holds is in the darker half of the screen which I like because guns are bad and it’s in the dark half of the video.

Throughout the video the lighting stayed mostly the same and to improve we could have added a few different lighting techniques. However, I did like the lighting we had because it set the scenes well. Darker in the gang and fight scene and light and cheery when Abbie gets returned to Nathan.

The last scene which was shot in the day outside used natural sunlight. However this is okay as it was shot all on one go therefore the shadow positions didn’t change.
The first shot is an establishing shot of the hallway to set the scene. We used the focus on the camera as we filmed to slowly focus on the door. To improve this so that the focusing is less jittery we could add the focusing effect in later.

Then we did another establishing shot with a camera pan across the dark room to the gang. This shows space and a creepy entrance for the characters.

We followed this with a close up of Abbie in the corner to show the audience of her situation. Then an extreme close up of her hands to show that they were tied.
We then used a close up again in the hallway of Adam walking stealthily down the hallway outside of where Abbie is being held. This is very short and quickly cuts to an extreme close up of him revealing his gun.

To follow we had a point of view shot. We had the camera held by hand so that it would be jittery like the character walking. I like this shot because eyou can see the gun in it too.

Eyeline match shot is after. It is Adam's view through the door. I dont like this shot as there is no door window frame and it looks weird to me as it seems like we are going inside the room and back out again. If I refelimed this, the frame would be in the video so that it was more obviouly an eyeline match.

The fight scene was filmed with two cameras. We made sure to use the 180 degree rule so that no camera could be seen. I like these shots as it switches from over Adam's shoulder to the gang members shoulder. If we did this again I would make sure that the cameras were closer to 180 degrees so that they were almost opposite but not quite so that you couldn't seem them.

We had several fades and dessolve transitions in the video. We used them wisely to make sure they were the right transition for the moment. For example we had a fade trasition between the establishing shots because they aren't linked to plot and to make a clear difference. We also used a fade between when Abbie gets freed and to Nathan waiting for her return. This shows the passing of time like the next dissolve after.

From this work I have learnt to experiment with the lighting and scene before making a final decision so that I get the right shot. I've learnt to make sure that the sequeces flow correctly, for instance whilst editing I almost had Adam jump backwards across the screen between shots, however we editied it once we noticed. I also leaned how to use software I hadn't used before instead of stickinng with software I was used to. I enjoyed editing the footage and watching it back.