Final Reflection

There are so many things I can explain about taking this class. First being that I am glad I did. My original plan was to take this course in a Fall or Spring term. I spent weeks talking to numerous TCF students and alums who had taken this course in a longer period of time. They told me that it was too intense to take in a month, I would miss learning certain information, and there wouldn't be enough time. I was terrified, what was I getting myself into?

Besides planning a short film in the summer in a college town with few actors around, TCF 201 was a breeze. This class on the other hand went from being pretty chill to crazy intense in a matter of weeks, but it was worth it. I love hands on production classes, the only way that you are able to learn, or get better is by receiving that learning interaction. I was able to learn my strengths, weaknesses, what I need to get better at, and what kind of visual style I have. 

I realized that directing is not a strong point of mine, but it is something that I would like to work on to perfect. I found myself planning out everything for my scene assignment, but still having a lot of trouble creating my visual style on screen and little mistakes I made with the framing of my shots. I also figured out that I am more interested in cinematography, and set production. I enjoyed the scene and portraits I DP'd, but it would have been cool to work with other visual styles also. 

This class also helped me with my decision for my camera investment. I have been planning for years to give in and finally make my firsts big camera purchase, but I was unsure of what I actually wanted. At the beginning I assumed that I needed to start first with a T2i or T3i, then work my way up to a more advance DSLR like the 5D Mark II/III or 7D, but now that is not the case. Being able to work with the both the 5D and 7D was very helpful, I caught myself knowing more about both of those cameras and being confused with the T2i. My plan is to now buy a camera as my new "school supply" so I can work on projects outside of class. 

Another thing I enjoyed was getting to know one another in the class. I had a class in the previous month with, Rey, Alec, Shane, Kamal, met Justin from working with one of the groups in our 201 class, and had met Stephanie the previous year but I felt that I got to know them better while also getting to know the rest of the class more. You learn everyone's styles, their specialties, and work ethic. I would have enjoyed working with other students in the group also to get a grasp of their visual styles and technical knowledge, learn more information from them about what I can work on to become better at film making, but I do know that there are still many in the class that I will make sure to keep in touch with. 

Overall I enjoyed this class, I am very glad that I decided to take the class in the summer instead of trying to take it in the Fall/Spring. The workload is so intense that there is no way that I could possibly pay attention to my other classes, because I know that I would give all my attention to this class. I have learned so much more about the technical work of the cameras, lighting, and what I can do to become better. I still believe that I was unable to produce my visual style on camera through my direction skills, but that helps me realize what I need to work on to become better. 

Reel

Reel from Ashley Wise on Vimeo.

This is my reel for Summer 2012. I cannot say that I am proud of it, but I'm still very new to the aspects of cinematography and film making. I'll get better with time, enjoy for now.

Artist Statement

To describe my work through words seems quite ridiculous to me. I have never been a fan explaining what I like to do and why I like to do it. Yes, if I wanted to I could give 500+ nouns, verbs, and adjectives about why I love doing what I do, but you could never get the full gist of it. I could write for hours and hours about what I've done, what my style is, and what I hope you grasp from it, but I don't want to do that.

Art isn't about what can be written or typed, it isn't about proving through repetitive and redundant sentences about what you can do. It is about your passion for what you do, how you feel when you create these images, whether it's what you can produce through the lens or what you can paint on the canvas. Art involves defining your techniques work, not explanations.

I hope that through my work I am able to move you. For you to realize "Hey! She's got something going for her with this." instead of searching for a summary of how I want you to feel. My imagery will be the books, they will express the visual stories of my creativity. So therefore this is my written message for you as I promise to move and inspire you by means of my imagery.

Scene Assignment

TCF 312 Scene Assignment - Wizard of Oz from Ashley Wise on Vimeo.

Didn't turn out how I hoped it would, but at least my set was neat.

Why DSLR?

From day one I knew that I was going to go with a DSLR for my scene assignment. Although I did not get the DSLR of my choice ( Canon 7D being the one I was most interested in) I believe that the Canon 5D will be just as great for my assignment, plus it gives me the opportunity to also work with this camera.

For months I have made numerous plans to finally give in make the big purchase and by my DSLR camera, but I knew that I did not only want to base my decision off of research but also off of getting to actually use the camera. About two weeks ago I checked out the Canon 7D to play around with and instantly fell in love. The next day while working on our group DSLR assignment, I got to test out the Zeiss lens and once again I FELL IN LOVE.  The way that the 7D captured rich color and detail with the Zeiss lens caught my interest immediately, but don't get me wrong the lens is not what made my decision for my love of the DSLR.

These camera's have their pros and their cons also. They ability to create shallow depth of field is something that I enjoy with this camera, I enjoy how this camera has the ability to create a shallow depth of field this is also a plus since photography is also an interest of mine. SIZE the size of the camera compared to other camera's in class is very important, it is very convenient and not as bulky as other cameras that I could have chosen like EX3, JVU HMU 100, SONY HD, etc. I find this to be a wonderful aspect of the camera, the lighter the equipment the easier to carry, move around on set, and makes the production workload easier. The way that the camera has the ability to capture light very well, not all locations (exterior) are able to do this perfectly, but I enjoy the very clear smooth and detailed imagery that camera produces.

At first I was a little upset that I did not get the 7D for my scene assignment, but after much thought I was actually glad that I am using the 5D instead. Although the 7D is much newer, the 5D actually happens to be the better camera (also the more expensive camera also CON). This also helps me get a feel for how I enjoy the 5D compared to the 7D. I can research and research and research on which camera I would rather make my big purchase on, but getting that extra hands on experience and usage of each camera will make the decision A LOT easier for me when I finally make this purchase.

Midterm Reflections-What I've Learned So Far

One of the biggest things that I've gained so far from this class is figuring out what I am more interested in career wise. From the beginning I knew that I wanted to major in something in the TCF Department, but I was never 100% what it was that I exactly wanted to do. 

Taking this classes has opened up my eyes a lot to many aspects of film making. All the little things like pre-production, production, and post-production. There are so many different details, from cameras, lighting, editing, and camera movements, that I have learned from this class. Honestly to be I believe that taking TCF 201 prepares you for this class, but it does not prepare you for all the time and dedication that you have to put into this class. I was worried about taking this class in the summer term, because I was unsure if I would miss something that I could possibly learn in the Fall since there would be more time, but I was wrong. I have learned so much more than I expected from this course and I have enjoyed it.

Going from only using the JVC HMU100 and basic lighting kit to Sony EX3, DSLRs, Kino Lighing and Arri lighting was a big plus for me. Unlike others I never enjoyed working with the JVC, even when I did my first assignments in 201 with the JVC I knew that I wanted to work with something better. Minus a couple of post production problems (which also help me realize that I need to take Intro to Post) I enjoyed doing my portrait assignment with the Sony HDV. I wanted to use something different, the workflow in post was not a big issue for me, and I love the way it captured the natural light compared to the JVC when we did our filter assignments. I also got out of this class that there is so much more to editing than I ever expected, taking the time to transcode video files correctly, to exporting differently.

Another thing is time. This class requires a lot of time and work (minus the recent personal events from these past two weeks that have made me fall behind) I realized that a lot of work and time has to be devoted this class. If you aren't willing to put in at least 95% percent of your time then it isn't the class for. We are expected to do so much and learn so much in a short amount of time that there is no way that anyone could be able to have a full time job, more classes than this, and second part time job.

I  know that there are still parts that I am struggle with especially directing. I am able to picture, create, and know what I want, but unable to communicate that into what I want on screen. I find myself asking for conformation that what I have looks okay or explain what it is that I exactly want. I know that directing will take me time, but I find myself having more interest in the DP side. Lighting scenes correctly and filming is them is what I enjoy the most. I am very confident in my scene lighting skills, I have taught myself what work and what doesn't.

So far I have enjoyed this class, I have learned so much and I feel comfortable with being able to use these skills and hopefully perfect them soon. This class has helped me prepared myself for shooting outside of school. I hope to start working on my own projects in the fall, getting to know other TCF students outside of our class, and having the opportunity to possibly work with them/feel comfotable working with them in the near future.

Lighting

To me natural light is the best light. Being a fan of black and white photography I decided to go with these to two black and white photos that captured nice lighting. I was drawn to the picture above because I like how the harsh light from the window shows little details, like the dust that is being blown from the girls hand. The photo below uses a softer light setting to capture a more meaningful photo. The way that the light forms a silhouette around the girl softly is very pretty.  

 The light in these two natural sunset photos also show a difference with the harsh and soft lighting. Personally I like the casting and harshness of the photo below, it feels more natural, caught in the moment instead of planned like the picture of above.  The sun is the best lighting resource in my opinion, sometimes it can ruin a perfect shot, but if the time is right you are able to capture very beautiful imagery.