Photographing My Final Sequence- Reshooting of the Given Image Take 2

During the photographing of my final "conversation of letters" sequence I took into account my feedback. I chose to add an additional shot to each letter put under the door. After a shot of a hand putting the letter under the door I will have a shot of the letter now under the door, shown from the inside of the flat, as if the flat owner has realized a letter is now there.
I will now show you photographs taken during the shoot and discuss why I have photographed the particular shots the way I have.

From the final feedback session I have realized I need to re shoot the given image once more. I need to add more width to the photograph of the two doors, this will imitate the given photo better. I also need to try to close the open door a little more to again imitate the given image, this should also make it clear to the audience the light on the closed door is from an open one opposite. Below are my new attempts.

 The photograph you see are the results from my shoot before any editing processes. I will need to crop and make the images black and white before I contemplate using them for my final sequence. I used a standard lens and tripod for the shoot. The tripod will help the consistency in my eventual sequence. The problem I found during the shoot was the position I would take the photograph of two doors from. The hall where the doors are located are rather narrow so I was unable to fit the whole of the door in my composition. Therefore I figured the only option was to photograph inside the open door. I would then need to crop out any elements like the light switch in the flat I was shooting in.

During the first few shots I wanted to see if the light from the open flat was light enough for the shadow of the door to be on the closed door. From the position I was taking the shots you could see my shadow on the closed door similar to the shadow in the above shot, I therefore decided to put the camera on timer to avoid unwanted shadows.

I closed the open door as much as I could before it disrupted the view of the closed door. I was very happy with the photographs I started to produce. The light was working well from a nearby window and when I eventually crop the images they will imitate the given photo well.

What made the photographs more interesting was the natural light that was coming from under the closed door, it will link to the light shots I take of the inside view of the doors with letter on the floor. During my narrative sequence I will be using a photograph of the closed door and open door over an over again to show the flat owners are coming out and putting a letter under the door, whilst photographing the door I have tried to add some shadows to suggest that a person is coming out. If I was to use an re shot version of the given image but with a shadow in, it would not be used as Shot 1 or the end image because there is no shadow in the given image, but the shadows could work well in the middle of the narrative.

As you can see in this image the door was closed just enough not to obstruct the closed door. The difficulties I found with my hallway and flats during the shoot were dealt with.

The flat door itself has no visible number on it, it has been scratched off. I will need a number on the door for my photograph to be similar to the given image so have decided to add a number onto the door using Photoshop. During the editing process I will also have to make amendments to contrast and brightness to emphasize the natural light coming from the open door and the hallway being dark.

During my narrative sequence I will need two versions of the photograph with a closed door with light from an open door on. The conversation will be switching throughout the narrative so I will need another image which will see the closed door seen in the photographs above open with the open door above now closed. Both scenarios will be in the same composition as the given photo. I could either take more images on the opposite side or could simply horizontally flip the edited version being used as shot 1 on Photoshop and edit on a different flat number plate. I have decided to flip the re shot version of the image first to see if it works otherwise a will photograph another set of images switching the flat  I photograph from.

Final Edited Version- Shot 1

I achieved this final edited version by doing the following...

•  Cropped the photograph so that just the closed door is seen, I have made sure that there is more width in the image than my previous re shoot of the given image. 
• I have flipped the shot photograph so the opening of the door for shot 1 is on the left like the given photo is.
• I have turned up the contrast so the hallway is darker against the light coming from the open door opposite. 
• Manipulated the flat number E5E onto the door, so that the two flats can be distinguished throughout the narrative. 

Overall I am pleased with my final retake of the given photo because I have taken all the elements from the given photo and adapted them for my location and problems found when photographing.

Final Feedback Before Hand In

A few days ago I received feedback on my first full sequence which documented a conversion between two flats using letters. Here was what was advised…

• Another shot needs to be added between each letter given, this could be a shot of the other side of the doors seen, to show the receiving of the letter, this will make it clear a letter has been delivered. This will mean 3 shots per letter. 
• Use shot 3, second shot of the two doors as shot 1, so that same opening way as given image. 
• Use two people as the hands in the posting of letters so audience can distinguish two different people are posting letters. Use either man’s hand or have bracelets on one. 
• Shot from inside that will be added will be noticeable lighter to contrast with dark hallway. 
• Reshoot the closed door with light from open door because open door needs to be closed more, less light on door, this will imitate the given photograph. 
• Straighter angles when photographing doors- more like given photo again. 
• More width to the photographs. 
• More contrast and brightness to photographs.

I will consider this feedback and re shoot accordingly.

Conversation of Letters First Photographic Attempt

From feedback I gained on previous storyboards/ ideas I wanted to now photograph a sequence with simplicity. In the sequence you are about to see I have documented a series of letters being posted between two flats opposite each other. I don’t want to show the written details on the letters as I want there to be an aspect of mystery. The audience will be able to read their own message from the sequence.

The sequence involves a repetition of some shots for example images of the closed door with the light from a open door onto it to show the repetition of letters being transferred from one door to the other.

 

 START

1. My version of the given photo. This first shot shows there is a door open opposite the closed door seen. Closed door= I will name this flat A, Open door= Flat B 
2. The owner to Flat B is putting a letter under Flat A’s door. 
3. It is now switched so the open door is Flat A and the closed door is flat B. This shows that the person living at Flat A is about to reply to letter delivered in shot 2. 
4. The owner to Flat A is putting a letter under Flat B’s door. 
5. Back at the same image used in Shot 1. Showing the conversation is continuing. 
6. The owner to Flat B is putting a second letter under Flat A’s door. 
7. Same image as shot 3. A is about to reply. 
8. The owner to Flat A is putting a second letter under Flat B’s door. 
9. Back at image same as shot 1 and 5. 
10. The owner to flat B puts third and final letter under Flat A’s door with a photo enclosed. 
11. Back at image same as shot 3 and 7. 
12. The owner to flat A puts third and final letter under Flat B’s door with a photo enclosed.

END

During photographing this sequence I found it hard to photograph the posting of the letters. I was playing around with angles and finally settled on the ones seen in the sequence. The elements of each letter cannot be seen but the hand of the person can. I didn’t want the actual writing of the letter to be read able yet the audience cannot see that a photo has been posted as well as a letter in shot 12 and 10, this is a flaw I will try to address in the next week before hand in, the coming feedback session may also help with this.

In the shots of the letters being posted light can be seen under each door. This works well as it reinforces the hallway is dark and inside each flat is quite light hence when a door is open, light is shown on the closed door opposite.

Levi Strauss

Levi Strauss studied myths and tribal cultures. He examined how stories unconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of culture. They are usually expressed as binary opposites. 

Examples -

Good and Bad

Normal and Strange

Past and Present

Todorovs Narrative Theory

Todorov was born in 1939 and lives in France. He has wrote many books on literary theory, thought theory and culture theory. 

Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages:

1. a state of equilibrium at the outset;
2. a disruption of the equilibrium by some action;
3. a recognition that there has been a disruption;
4. an attempt to repair the disruption;
5. a reinstatement of the equilibrium
 

This type of narrative structure is very familiar to us and can be applied to many
‘mainstream’ film narratives.

Narrative Codes

Roland Barthes describes five codes when discussing narrative. 

Hermeneutic Code

An element of an narrative which is delivered as a mystery or isn't fully explained. This keeps the audience guessing.

Proairectic Code

Builds tension. Referring to action or event which suggests something else is to happen. Audience ask what is to happen next.

The Hermeneutic and Proairectic code work together to build tension. Barthe has described them... "...dependent on ... two sequential codes: the revelation of truth and the coordination of the actions represented: there is the same constraint in the gradual order of melody and in the equally gradual order of the narrative sequence."

Semantic Code

Connotations within the story which add additional meaning to the basic meaning meant.

Symbolic Code

Similar to semantic code at wider level. Organizing semantic meanings into broader sets of meaning. New meanings arise. Symbolizes abstract concepts.

Cultural Code

Read with understanding due to cultural awareness. 

500 Days of Summer

 Today I watched 500 Days of Summer, a film talked about in the initial briefing a few weeks ago. It is an example of a Non- Linear narrative. A Non- Linear Narrative jumps, going back, forward and being paused, controlling what the audience is watching. In this film the story is being taken back and forward from days/ stages in a "relationship". This controls the order in which the audience sees what is happening in the relationship, shaping how they read the narrative.