Visual Narrative | My Site 1

Week 1 - Portraits, equipment & lighting

Cinematography has always been my one of my favourite elements in filmmaking, the versatility in creating large scale images and extreme colour palettes helps enhance the narrative that allows the audience to focus on the details that camera shot has to offer. To be able to access the photography studio and numerous equipment will broaden my understanding and evolve my love for the camerawork, which will assist me greatly in eventually creating a story-driven visual effect.

Full portfolio website on Campus Press

Hong Kong - Day & Night

I'm often moved and in awe by the sense of scale, using a smart phone like the iPhone 13 Pro Max might not give you a definitive image quality but I loved using the wide lense/zoom out feature, which provides a more natural vignette style and displaying the image as a spectacle.

Key inspiration for this module's work moving forward

Roger A. Deakins

2-time Oscar winner and English cinematographer, long time collaborator with director Denis Villeneuve, which is my favourite pairing of any filmmakers in the industry.

Often quiet images that presents itself as grand but also elegant, dark and suspenseful.

Sicario

Blade Runner 2049

Prisoners

Introduction to the equipment

We were all given different roles to operate around the camera, whether it's controlling the light, testing and adjusting the flash intensity or taking the actual portraits, checking the colours and focus depth were crucial to matching the model's aesthetic, just like how different styles of shots accompanied by a set tone of colours sets the mood for what kind of story is being told.

Week 2 - Introduction to Photography Part 1

As we familiarise ourselves with the basic understanding of photography, we acknowledge the 3 key factors to capturing different types of images, which forms the 'Exposure Triangle':

*CAPTURED ON PANASONIC LUMIX S1R

Low shutter, Low ISO - 5 to 10 secs

High ISO, Low Aperture - Close-ups

This is one of my favourites as it resembles multiple shots from the film Prisoners, a simple close up combined with the blurred nature thats slightly positioned to the side focuses on the uneven, monotone and cracked textures bares so much detail in the theme of brutality.

Week 3 - Introduction to Photography Part 2

After familirising with the settings within the camera, we now move on to the angles and depth shots using our lenses. This includes a range from extreme wide shot to extreme close-up.

Week 5 - Visual Storytelling

My top 3 favourite cinematographers

These masterful cinematographers has inspired my love for capturing the very essence of each frame, in which very much enhances the viewing experience with their vision spread across the entire shot.

Their techniques and philosophy in approaching top quality visual storytelling has enabled me to comfortably decide the purpose of any image I capture and my preferences in certain settings, which will aid me greatly in completing my first assignment.