Reflection

I'm really happy I took this class. Before I didn't really know much about lighting so that was really killer to learn about. I want to be a cinematographer when I graduate  so learning about the lighting in know is going to help me so much in the future. Through this class I found my one true love, Zeiss lenses. I realized I like them more than I like most people and hopefully one of these days I'll be able to afford some but I may have to sell a kidney first. One of my favorite parts of this class was the days that felt like a day on set. Being on set is my happy place, and I think you can learn so much about how this industry works from spending just one day on a set. Not going to lie one of the hardest parts of this class was learning all of the camera specs. I'm still not 100% set with all of them yet so I know I need to go back and work with that some more. I also really liked the assignments we got in this class. I had the best time working on the scene assignments directing and DPing. Other then shooting the scene assignments, the rest of the project felt really real too because of the pre pro meeting and all the planning that went into it. Another part of the class I was really excited to get hands on time with was all of the movement shots. I had never worked with that big of a spider dolly before and definitely had never worked with a fig rig, slider, or glide track before. It was really cool getting to see the set up for all of those and see how they worked and what shots they worked best with. Over all I'm really happy I got to take this class because it really helped me to solidify and figure out what path I wanted to take in this industry. This class motivated me even more than I already was before. 

Cinematographer's Reel

Brooke's Cinematographer Reel from UA, Telecommunication and Film on Vimeo.

Artist Statement

The production industry has been part of my life from day one, my parents having met on the set of a job they were both working. Ever since day one there has never been a doubt in my mind that this field was the one for me. My first love now and forever will always be cameras. Whether it is a video camera, digital still, or film still camera I can't get enough of them. Cameras are extensions of ourselves and they allow us to view the world in a way we wouldn't be able to on our own. Being a cinematographer holds so much weight and power in the sense that one singular artist has the ability to show the world how they view it and feel it should be viewed. As an artist what excites me most and catches my eye is the unseen beauty all around us. I love finding angles that are hidden and rarely seen. Extreme close up, detail shots have always drawn my attention. Whether it be the physical camera angle itself or the angle of a story, even simply the feeling behind it.  Another aspect I love to explore when shooting is the endless possibilities with light. I love everything from vibrant city lights at night, warm soft glowing lights, and harsh, low key lighting in black and white. As a cinematographer I feel it's very important to be able to work, and enjoy working, with any form of lighting that I may come across. There's beauty in all of it and it's my job to find it and show it to the world. My top priority is always giving 110% to all of my shots and projects. I want to show the world that women cinematographers are here to change the game and make a huge impact on an industry that has been predominantly male in the past. I am the first to admit that I am a stubborn person by nature and I would not have it any other way. This makes it impossible for me to walk away from any challenge that dares to come my way. No matter if it's an unexpected problem on set or a 35 hour work day, I take it in stride because in my eyes there's no options.

Lighting

1.Gone With the Wind

2. Citizen Kane

3. Breakfast At Tiffany's

4. The Adams Family

5. The Basketball Diaries

6. Home Alone

7. My Girl

8. Rocky Horror Picture Show

9. John Tucker Must Die

10. Some Like It Hot

Camera Movement

1. Zoom in with dissolves. This is used as a dramatic reveal (that Jack Nicholson has always been the care taker) by using two separate inward camera movements, the zoom in and dissolves to closer in images. 2. Pan. In this scene Ryan is talking about how Michael stares at him. Towards the end of this clip we see a quick pan for comedic effect from Ryan to Michael to reveal that Michael is in fact staring at him. 3. Tilt. This is a tilt reveal of the troll. This camera movement gives us not only gives us the reveal of the troll itself, but it also gives the audience a feel for the height difference between Hermione and the troll.

5 favorite film scenes

1. Butterfly Circus. This is a scene from my favorite short film. In this scene the protagonist, Will, who is a limbless man, discovers that he can in fact swim as well as do other thing he had not known before. This is the major turning point in the entire short, and this is the scene that begins the transformation process of Will. You can really start to see the story of the film run parallel with the metaphor in the title of the short, in the transformation a butterfly must undergo from caterpillar to butterfly.

2. Princess Bride. This scene is compelling in that it displays dramatic irony. Princess Buttercup is talking about the love of her life who was supposedly killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts, when in reality the man she loves, Wesley, has in fact become the Dread Pirate Roberts without her knowledge.

3. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. In this scene of the movie Ferris and Cameron are at a baseball game while skipping school. This entire movie is compelling because it let's the viewer's mind get carried away with the fun and childish possibilities about skipping school. Also in this scene the dean of students, Ed Roonie, is on a hunt to catch Ferris skipping and when Ferris catches a ball hit into the stands, he is put on tv. The tv channel Ferris is broadcast on is being played at the bar Roonie is looking around, and Roonie misses seeing Ferris and Cameron by no more than a second.

4. Remember the Titans. In this scene Julius goes to visit Gerry in the hospital once he was in a car wreck that left him paralyzed. At the beginning of the movie Julius and Gerry do not like each other one bit but as the movie continues their friendship grows into a very strong bond. In this scene in particular when Julius goes to enter the hospital room the nurse tells him that only family is allowed in the room, to which Gerry says to the nurse, "Are you blind? That's my brother." This brings together the entire movie into one short scene showing that hate can be over come by understanding.

5. Silence of the Lambs. I choose the scene where agent Starling visits Lecter in his cell. This is when she first meets Lecter. The relationship between Starling and Lecter has always been one of the most intriguing character relationships to me. This scene is so compelling because there is this brilliant man who is trying to cope with being locked up, mentally more than anything. Here comes this young, semi timid at first, woman who sparks his interest. He respects her and would never harm her, but at the same time the audience is left trying to figure out this dynamic relationship. It varies between a slightly romantic relationship, and one that has a bit of a father/daughter feel to it.

Pre Pro Book

Script:

Shot List:

Story Boards:

Shooting Script:

Floor Plan:

Visual References:

When Harry Met Sally

When Harry Met Sally vimeo from UA, Telecommunication and Film on Vimeo.

Film Photography- Doc Storytelling

Light Writing Vimeo from UA, Telecommunication and Film on Vimeo.

Shot by Shot Scene Analysis

A Clockwork Orange

"The Music Shop"

I choose to do the music store scene from A Clockwork Orange. This scene has alway stood out to me because of the way the future is interpreted between the decor, lighting, and even music. Even though this scene uses long continuous shots, the information that they include and tell about the movie makes more of an impact than is seen on the surface.

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Cinematographer: John Alcott

This is a setup shot for the scene. It’s a medium shot of a character that comes into play later in the scene. We establish that the characters are in a shinny and colorful interpretation of a futuristic music shop.   

 Protagonist enters centered in a wide shot with a fixed camera position. There is a bright light near Alex in the center of the frame that draws our eye to him. He is also wearing an outfit and walking in manner far more proper than anyone else in the scene.

Alex is now framed in a medium long shot as the camera tracks his walk around the store. We see the music store in the same time as Alex. We also see the continued use of the shinny, chrome atmosphere to give us a futuristic feel.

We see the introduction of more shoppers in the store showing the multiple vendors as well. This shows that the store Alex is in is a busy place, full of strangers.

Alex looks off camera at a vendor and slows down. The continuous track shot begins to move faster than Alex. On the opposite side of the vendor there are colorful blank wall panels, it doesn’t distract us with another busy vendor desk but it adds to the décor.

 Alex slows and the shot changes to a medium long shot. He keeps looking at the camera and keeps his strong walking pose while he reaches to steal a magazine from the vendor. This makes him come off as confident along with the slight halo effect created by the harsh lighting on the back wall.  

Alex casually flips through the magazine and keeps walking around the store. He keeps pace with the camera holding the medium long shot. 

Alex’s pace lags again when he sees someone has noticed he’s stolen something. His lag puts him in a long shot even though he doesn’t stop moving.

This is the last part of the scene where the shot of Alex is a long shot. This is also where the camera track comes to an end and pans with Alex as he walks to the counter. The continued use of lens flares gives the entire scene a slightly softer and cleaner feel.

Alex completes his full circle walk-around of the store, and comes to the counter where he encounters the girl from the opening shot and her friend.  Again the use of light to draw our attention to the main focus, the girl Alex is about to meet, is used. Bold patterns are also used in this way, such as the decoration on the ceiling. Alex also begins to move out of the center of the frame, which he has solely been in since the start of the scene.

Alex notices the two girls standing at the music counter for the first time. Alex and the girls are lined up based on the rule-of-thirds. The store clerk exits frame so our entire focus is on the other characters.

We do a 180 flip on the action, and now view the scene from behind the counter. Alex continues to look at the two girls very intently. We see the linking between the three characters in their clothing colors. Alex is wearing a purple and white coat, while one girl is wearing a completely purple dress and the other is wearing a completely white dress.

One of the two girls notices Alex looking at them. The Top Ten music sign frames one side of the shot, and the two lines on the store counter point to the two main areas of focus in this shot, Alex and the girls. We also see the continued use of bright lights and lens flares to create the feeling of a future society.

The camera moves closer in, giving a true medium shot. Alex stands behind the girls, still intently looking, as he is about to move in between them and to center frame as the main focus in this scene.

Alex steps in between the two girls to the dead center of the frame. The conversation in this scene is between Alex and the girl in purple so the bright light is placed between them.

Alex leans in closer to the girl in purple and gives the scene and conversation a more intimate feel. The girl in white doesn’t pay attention to the conversation yet which lets us know that there is still more to come in the conversation.     

The static shot holding on the conversation puts all of the focus on what is being said. Rightfully so because the language used in this movie is a strange variation of English. Alex leans in even closer to make a joke about the popsicle.

In this shot of the scene the girl in purple leans in towards Alex for the first time showing that she is warming up to his advances. All throughout this scene the three keep riffing through the music selection to keep them tied into the setting.

Alex leans in and licks one of the popsicles, which breaks a stranger barrier. This is a slightly sexual motion that foreshadows the next scene where Alex brings the two girls home.

The second girl finally looks up at Alex and takes interest in the conversation. When she looks up she leans in further drawing our attention to the physical closeness of the three characters in the shot.

This is the last shot in the scene. Alex pulls the girls in close to the center of the frame with him, leaving a good bit of space on the outside edges of the frame on the opposite sides of the girls.