New Scans Example

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Soundcloud and my Sound Recordings

I have found Soundcloud such a useful tool during my project that i wanted to also put some of the sounds i have recorded during this project up for other people to use as i have used other people’s recordings. I have done this with a Creative Commons license which lets people use the sounds freely. I believe this is a great way to share extra content, its open and you enter into an agreement that you simply credit where the sound came from.

https://soundcloud.com/seancarroll89-1     My soundcloud profile

 

 

Short Film Research

For some of my Short Film research i am finding a lot of content from this lovely little website http://www.shortoftheweek.com

It posts a nice amount of short films which are good to skim over when you have a few spare moments.

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Here is my Favourite Short from this week.
It’s beautifully filmed and the relationship between the Father and Son character i think is great. There is a degree of tension building up as you progress through the film and the relationships seem to become more and more breakable and less stable.

 

My Dad as an ‘Informed Subject’

When thinking about the Photographs i have already gathered and the ones i will make in the future with this project, I have seen that my Dad is an Informed subject. I first noticed this by his dress and the way he has chosen to represent himself. In the first set of photographs i have taken in our trip to betws-y-coed, he is wearing smart clothing and it suggest that he knows he is going to be Photographed. This has given me  a positive opinion of the effect the undertaking of this project is having on him. This is saying to me that he is Happy to be making Images that he wants to Collaborate with me as the Photographer to give a positive representation of himself. This means that the statement and practice we have outlined and communicated on as my Dad as Author and me as Producer is providing him with a great sense of control and is working positively in regards to producing work that is in no way exploiting him as the subject but also working in producing good work that we can be happy with.

My Dad thinking about the Photograph as a Memory

I have been in conversation with my Dad a lot during the course of the collaboration on this project. He was recently talking to me about his ideas on the actual Photographs becoming the Memory rather than the actual experience.
This made me think i should introduce him to a few chapters i have read in the past and have sent him over some Copies of Susan Sontag ‘On Photography’ and also The Winter Garden Picture Chapter in Roland Barthes ‘Camera Lucida’.
It’s really exciting to see my dad starting to think about Photography more in depth, he is becoming more informed as a subject and his ideas are really helping to develop the project. He is wanting and suggesting to tackle ideas which interests him which is a great development on him as the Author, and me as the Producer. I am not exploiting him like it could have been said i have in the past with my previous work. He is becoming more active as a participant which is helping this project make a positive progression and create a positive portrait of him as subject.

Making the Journey

IMAG0549 IMAG0550 IMG_20130411_134743 IMG_20130411_135338 IMG_20130427_131918 IMG_20130427_135043I have just got back from making the Journey with my Dad and it was avery intense 48 hours of shooting. I was having to make Images, record Video and make sound recordings. It made me realise how much you do need an assistant on projects like this as it was a lot to take on as an individual working on their own. Luckily my Dad pitched in when he could and took an active roll in supporting the image and film making process.
tThe Images above are a selection of a few which document the journey, they are jsut some snapshots i took on my Phone. I also tried to document my progress using my Instagram.
This can be found here
http://www.instagram.com/seannncarroll

here are some examples

Screen Shot 2013-05-21 at 14.29.07 Screen Shot 2013-05-21 at 14.29.21 Screen Shot 2013-05-21 at 14.29.34 Screen Shot 2013-05-21 at 14.29.44 Screen Shot 2013-05-21 at 14.30.01It has taken me a little bit of time to reflect on this journey and it was very much a project which had to be undertaken with spontaneity and actioned on instinct. I had a limited amount of time and couldnt spend too much time pondering and instead i had to shoot first and think more later. This did however not work out sometimes as i did have to return to locations on occasion to re shoot certain shots better or return to get footage i missed out on. Luckily the spontaneity though will come across and become a good thing and aspect to the feel of the project. Instead of maybe feeling like i was trying to hard to make images or to get to a certain level which may have been detrimental to the image making process but also the final piece.

 

 

Developing on The Phobus ethic, Idea and onto the Future

I have taken a few days to think about the Phobus and how i can take this experience and use it in the production of my final major project.
The project with my Dad is going to be taking place mostly in the same car as the majority of the Phobus is filmed so i have great practice now with recording and gathering footage in this vehicle and how to get the best results.

The Phobus has also provided me with great practice in editing and getting to know the Final Cut pro software which is what i’ll be using to produce and edit together the footage for my final major project’s video.

I have also come to gain a bit of knowledge of how to export and publish videos online without losing too much quality. The sites like Youtube and Vimeo do take HD videos but you have to export them in a specific way to keep file size down but without losing the quality that you have in the video. There are also other Compressing tools and application like ‘Compresser’ on Apple Mac which can be used to achieve this. I have found though that the best way to do this and easiest is to do it using the editing software.

The potential of The Phobus to become a literal vessel for transporting work is also playing on my mind. The phobus could also open up to becoming a travelling exhibition bringing Stories to the community but also potentially Oli and myself using our skills to help other people tell their Stories. The Final major project could be the start of this as a basis for the development of it. There is also a potential to run workshops out of the car, you could ask the public to book a workshop where you could teach ways in telling stories with Photographs, something which could provide a great community service to young people or maybe even an older generation who want to learn how to make the most out of their Digital Cameras.
Just an Idea

Feature Films and thinking about Sound

I have been watching some of my favorite films in an attempt to gain some inspiration for the making of my Short Film. I think if i can watch then critically i may be able to get some ideas of how to attempt transitions or attempt to communicate the story. The main thing i’m also looking for is the use of sound. Sound Recording i have found is so important. The audio is what is going to be the main communicator. I want to see how in depth i should go in creating a soundscape of environments and i believe the best way to do this is go right to the feature films who are experts at foley sound and also field recording to give that texture to an environment.

O brother where art thou?

I really enjoy this film and i am a Coen Brothers Fan. So i have re-watched it to see how it is put together and espeically being critical on the sound. I found that this is very Soundtrack driven, Music is a massive theme throughout the Movie so the Soundtrack is Excellently selected and reflects not only the period of the Story but the feeling of Journey and Adventure, Strife, Torment and Lust.
Also the sound effects and the Foley Sound to create soundscapes are perfectly constructed.
I think i am going to start to source music and maybe even produce some myself. I will start searching CC licensed music on Soundcloud. Unfortunatly until i have my footage i wont really know until what music will suit.

Peter And Ben – Short

Here is a Short Film i watched recently which had quite an effect on me
I found this film to be a really great story, i really enjoyed the content and i believe that this is what made it so good. The camera work and transitions were also good but i believe they are not what makes this film. It's simply a good story and great subject. 

This has given me a nice bit of inspiration for the making of my film. I want to focus on the story but make sure i dont take away from the aesthetic of it also. I think a good balance of the two will be a winning formula.  This films structure is just about right too, the introduction and beginning nicely introduces the viewer by the interesting humorous Point of View shot which is then revealed that its the point of view of Ben the Sheep.

I like the relationship between the two characters in the film, it is shown on the film as a companionship and with the choice of dialogue this is re-enforced. Then we also see the difference and clash between these two characters friendship with Ben stealing from the house. This is the first realisation made to us as the viewer that even though we have been led to see the Human Qualities in Ben we must be realistic and forget that he is a Sheep and an Animal.

We get led to believe that Ben is reliant on Peter all through the film until the end when we find out that Peter is also very reliable on Ben and really misses him when he goes.
I like the way the main string of narrative with Peter is that we connect to him the most obviously because he is human and that it is the Animal that is flawed because he lives off instinct. It is only at the end when we find out that Peter is equally as flawed as the sheep and that it might not be a flaw at all but a genuine tale of friendship.

 

Delayed Journey

We have had to delay our journey by a week because of illness.

My dad has recently come down with the flu which has therefore made him too unwell to travel. This has been a reminder that as much as my Dad is well he does get effected by colds and illnesses a little bit differently. This has given me time to once again reflect on the morality of the project, my Dad’s disabilities and given me a moment to realise that there is still this issue in the story and it needs to be referenced.