Evaluation

To begin the product, we had to do some research what Generic Convention' meant. Generic Convention is basically things that turn up in a genre, once we did this we then watched a short film called 'This gun is for hire' this film was filmed in 1947. This film was a old black and white film that was getting us introduced to 'Film Noir'. Straight after we watch the film we had to get into pairs and we got given some cards that we had to solve which one went below each subtitle, the choices were either under genetic conventions of film Noir, and the other not genetic convention of film Noir, we got given 21 cards, here is a picture of where me and Taylor placed the cards -

Afterwards, we got given an image by Mark and we had to answer some questions.

The questions we had to answer were basically asking us about where the picture was being taken and what elements were being used during this image.




Once we answered the questions we had to do some research on 'Film Noir' and had to find some images that represented what we understood about 'Film Noir' we had to explain when we thought the photographs were taken and why we thought this.
Here are two of the images that I found when I was researching -



Once we did this, we had to do some more research! we had to research 5 Film Noir posters or DVD covers and give a little description about each poster, this helped us a lot with understanding what had to be on a poster and DVD cover when we were making our own.
Here is one of the Posters I found.



Once we did all the research about different things, we finally had to take a think and try and find some 'Film Noir' Images that we wanted to take forward and try and recreate ourselves, we then also had to explain why we had chosen to use the images that we did.


Here are 2 images I wanted to try and recreate -

During each lesson, at the start we always had to do a memory check, these always included things that we learnt in the previous lesson, this helped all of us remember things.

During the memory checks, there were loads of questions and we had to give the best answer, once we had all finished we then had to share our answers with the class to make sure everybody understood what we have been learning. This helps a lot when somebody is away one week as it helps them keep up with the work.

The week after, we finally got allow out to take some test shots for our DVD cover or poster, we had loads of ideas but the ones that I wanted to try and recreate were too hard as we couldn't get the props therefore we changed our mind and I used Leah as my model and took some different shots, once we took all of our shots as we had to take 10 images of the same shot, we had to make some contact sheets for our images, here are my contact sheets -

 Once we uploaded the contact sheets, we then had to find 4 images that we really liked to take forward to edit, these are the four images I chose -

I have chosen these four images as I feel like they were my strongest images out of them all, I really liked how they were taken and the position that they are all taken in. 

The props used in these were Leah's dress as it was really vintage - she was a really good model for these images as her make up made her look really vintage as well.

After we did this, we then had to put together our DVD cover and Poster using these photographs that we had taken 

Here is the DVD cover and Poster that I made using Photoshop using these images -

The lightening used for 'Film Noir' were mainly, Key lighting, Back lighting and also Fill lighting.

My test shots really helped me with my final shots as I looked and edited quite a few of them and then there was loads of images to look at to see which ones stood out and which ones were the strongest of all my images, I felt like I could really tell which ones were the best out of all the images that I had taken. When editing my images, I made them black and white to start with and then I used 'levels and curves' to change the highlights and shadows via Photoshop.

If I was to do this assignment again then I would may be come more prepared and bring some more props therefore this would of made the images look more like the ones I was trying to recreate, I would also look around and try and find some more good backgrounds that were more darker and more like 'Film Noir'.

I really like my poster and DVD cover as it's all what I have done, all the images are my own and I created it from scratch.

UAL task

Today in lesson we had to do a task with our filming groups, we had to take an 'product shot image' on a white sheet which is the one with the pocket watch. Then we had to take an image portrait and also landscape of the front of 'The Adams Building' at the front of it and then we had to crop the image and make it black and white to finish the task off. Me, Leah and Abbi took these images together and published them via blogger.

Memory check - Week 7

Q1. Detail at least four areas of knowledge a freelance photographer must possess.

(for example. Ability to use a computer and edit photographs)

1. Reliable Transport - able to plan ahead for times and routes etc.

2. Able to edit photographs using different software. For example - Photoshop and also back in the day, using a dark room to edit the images when filming. 

3. How to use the equipment correctly

4. The ability to manage money and overall cost of a photo shoot

Q2. What attributes would you say a freelance photographer should possess?

(for example – dependability. The role requires being reliable, responsible, dependable and fulfilling obligations)

1. Dependable

2. Honest

3.Truth worthy

4. Reliable 

Memory check week 6

1) Look at the following four photographs and describe the rules of composition they adhere to and explain the message.

The first image is of three women holding an flag, this image is a rule of thirds and the shot is a mid-shot.

The second image is of the London bridge at night with the Olympics rings, I think this is again the rule of thirds and also a use of a slow shutter speed, it's a shallow dept of filled and it is semantically.

The third image is of a sand castle at the beach, with a flag in it. the sand castle is in focus and the back ground is really blurred out, this image has a shallow depth of fill, and is again rule of thirds.

The final image, is a black and white image of a family that are sitting around a table eating their lunch, this image looks really old. It has loads of texture so high ISO has been used in this image.

The meaning on all of these images is 'British', all of these images link together and have the same meaning.

2) Put the below apertures in order, starting with the one that will produce the shallowest depth of field. a) F16 b) F1.8 c)F8 d)F4

Answer - b)F1.8 d) F4 c)F8 a)F16

3) If the shutter speed is 1/60th of a second and the ISO is doubled from 100 to 200 what will the shutter speed be increased to?

a) 1/500th b) 1/240th c) 1/120th d) 1/100th

Answer - C 1/120th.

4) You are taking a landscape shot. What aperture value would you use to gain the maximum depth of field?

a) F5.6 b) F2.8 c) F16 d) F22 e) F8

Answer - D) F22

Test shots and Contact sheets

Today in lesson, we got to take photos! Me, Leah, Taylor, Abbi and Yasmin went to the spinal staircase to get some shots for our film noir dvd or game case, once we went there we then went to the toilet to get some reflection shots and then went and used the TV studio to get some shadow images! Once we did this, we then uploaded them onto the computer and made a contact sheet of all the images we had taken today.
Here are the contact sheets -

For this contact sheet, I feel that some of them are a bit blur but if we increased the ISO and the shutter speed, this would of made the photographs less blur.

For this contact sheet, I feel like they were really good shots because they aren't as blue as the other images and they remind me a lot of film noir.

Theses images were really hard to take as we had to use the 'TV studio' and they were hard to get he images without the shadow.

Once we did this, I picked 4 images that I really liked and decided to edit them a little bit to make them look more like the theme of film noir, I made the photographs black and white and used levels and curves to change the contrast.

Here are my edited photographs. -

I like this image as it is a really dark room with a morbid feeling which is what some of the posters of Film Noir look like.

I really like this image as it makes the poster look like a never ending story, because my poster was called 'the unknown' this looks like it blends in well.

I like this, the girl is upset, and looking down in her bathroom, I seen an image like this on a poster of Film Noir this is where I got this idea from.

Finally I like this image as this is like loads of the ones I have seen, the boy thinks he is the boss but the girl is finally giving him what he has been giving her and is ready to shoot her.

Memory check

1.What does the acronym DSLR stand for? Describe the difference between a bridge

camera  (like the ones we use in our lesson) and a DSLR

Digital Single Lens Reflex

2. Name four genres of photography where a zoom lens is used.

Portrait, Wild life photography, Action shots, Landscape

3. The key light is the name given to the main source of light we are using during a photo shoot. Name four sources of light you could use to produce this light on future assignments.

1. Red head
2. Natural lighting
3. Studio lights
4. Lamp

4. What does the term ‘considered’ mean when referred to your final shots?

Where you consider how you would take a photo, e.g. background, angles etc..

Photography Propsal

For my first idea, I decided that I was going to try and recreate the image below, I picked this image because I like the lighting and also I feel like it will be a very easy image to recreate. I feel if I take this image to recreate, it would get quite a good grade as the image is very well presented. I think this image would be easier to retake in college because we have the correct lighting equipment to make this as realistic as possible, I also have people that can help me by being my models. You aren't allowed weapons in college and as you can see on the image the person behind the camera is holding a gun, I could get a prop, a fake gun which will be allowed and will still look identical as the image is all black so you won't be able to see the detail as much. I will be using a low ISO of 100, so I could get good quality and loads of detail.

The second picture I would like to try and recreate is this - 

I feel like this would also be a good one to try and retake as it's quite an easy shot to take, although the outfit may be hard to try and match and also the hair, this image will be able to be taken at college but also could be taken at home which gives me more time to take this shot. I like this image as the lighting is really well presented for this image I will also be using a low ISO of 100 to keep the detail and make it as realistic as possible. No props is needed for this image which makes it easier as the background is just black so it's just focusing on the person laying down which which be quite simple to do.

The third image I want to try and recreate is an image of a beautiful girl wearing really vintage clothing -

This image is just a basic portrait of a women wearing dark make up and vintage clothing. This image will also be really easy to recreate but the lighting in this image may be harder to get the same as it's sort of shadowed out/blurred. This would be a good one to take at home as the background looks more at home, the make up would also be easier at home so then nobody will have to walk around college with loads of dark make up on. I like this image and will again use ISO 100 to keep the detail. The props I will need is just a veil for the hair, everything else looks natural.

The final image that I want to try and recreate is this - 

I do like this image but the only thing that is wrong is the blinds will be hard to recreate as I don't have blinds this way, I have them the other way. Again because of the gun I will have to get a prop of a fake gun as we aren't allowed weapons in college, I also don't own a gun. I like the lighting on this and the shadows! This image will be good to take at home because this image is taken in a house. The props I will need is a gun, and also the hat on the man. The coat is quite old fashioned too so this may need to be brought.