That's a wrap!

Finally, the camera's of stopped rolling for principle photography on my short films. There are a few pickup shoots to follow, but the bulk of the two films have been recorded onto digital celluloid, better known as CF cards.

It's been a long haul, filled with interesting experiences both old and new, but the journey isn't finished - yet. Editing will continue till the films are ready to be released to the critical eyes of you, the public. The 'real' work of putting the film together will now occupy my time, as well as eeking out points of discussion for m exegesis which is still to be properly drafted (I feel so screwed now...).
I will be working my hardest to ensure my vision is as understandable as I hope it to be, and then it shall be released, at which point the film will no longer be in my hands but in the hands of people who will really make the meaning of the films known - the audience. I can only hope that I have the skills to be able to communicate it properly in my chosen medium, video/film, and that it is engaging enough for you, as the audience to actually pay any attention to them.

Anyway, below are stills from Going Home, which we wrapped on Saturday.

You may notice that the meal being eaten by the family in this film is the most Western of takes on Asian cuisine... and it's supposed to be Chinese New Year Dinner... poor planning and limited resources... but not to worry, it can be edited around.

On Tuesday, I shot the short Romantic Comedy 'Dumplings'. It was just the one night shoot, which we shot at the bookstore I work at - Academic and General bookstores. Just about a guy who wants to ask his co-worker out. Nothing terrible original, but it was fun to shoot. No stills from that, but it should be a quick edit.

Also, stay tuned for from test VFX footage for a possible WW1 trailer on ANZACS of Asian descent.

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DSLR Audio

Just doing some research on audio recording gear for DSLRs.

I am shooting most of my project on DSLR - my own Pentax k7 and Changas Nikon d3s. The audio on these camera are good, but sometimes, better audio via better microphones are needed, so I will be recording audio separately - back to the old school way of doing things. I was settled on doing the traditional clapperboard sync, but my supervisor, Paul Ritchard, mentioned a piece of software that can do automatic sync. I googled it, and have become quite impressed.

It is called Pluraleyes - it automatically syncs your DSLR footage to your separately recorded audio by matching the footage audio with the audio captured on the separate device.

A problem with this software though is that there is currently no compatibility with Adobe Premiere CS4, which is what I primarily use to cut my work. Only FCP and Sony Vegas are supported thus far. They say a CS4 version will come out soon, so fingers crossed.

After discovering this, I went on to look up audio recording gear, which I intend to get soon to support my other work. Currently using a Marantz Solid State recorder hired out from uni. It's good, but quite big since it is old school. Not huge, just.. not as small as some you can get now-a-days.

The site dslrfilm.com has an article listing their top audio recorders for DSLR video. The Zoom h4n seems to immensely popular, and I will be looking into where to get it here in Melbourne, and how much - so anyone with that information, please contact me!

Also, Phillip Bloom has a useful article on the subject of DSLR filming and audio recording. Check it out.

A microphone will be next to look for on the list too.... damn so much money to be spent. I am looking at purchasing a new sleeping bag as well as my current one, thought immensely warm, is much too bulky to be taken on treks. Kathmandu has a huge sale on at the moment, and I am eyeing the $200 one... as well as a sleeping mat. *sigh*

Anyway, just got back from a long road trip up to Stawell to help Changas on a photo-doco shoot on a rodeo that was up there yesterday on good Friday. He's gotten some amazing stuff, which should be up on his blog some time soon. I managed to get a few good snaps too, as well as some footage of some bull-riding etc. I think I will cut my footage into a mini doco on Changas and documentary photography. I had a nice chat with Changas on the ride there and back, which I recorded on the solid state recorder. Will go through footage and audio material tomorrow to see what I can knock up. It seems there is a connection as well to my honours project on Asian-Australian identity - we were the only two Asians up at the rodeo, and we stood out like sore thumbs. We didn't get into any major incidents, but the issue did crop up during some moments.

Anyway, really tired and need some shut eye. Photos and more info should be up here soon. Watch this space.

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Reference Photo

One of the shots in the Going Home short film I wish to have is quite nicely summed up by this photo I found on flickr.

I had this exact shot in mind for when the main character looks down from his office into the street, and sees a woman in a red cheongsam and red parasol, disappear round the corner. A really freaky but awesome find really.

Also, just cast the actor for the lead in the film. Met him on Tuesday, and am quite happy with him to take the lead role. Asked my dad to play the Grand-father figure, and will get some makeup on him, mainly grey(er) hair ;). Changas has a little cousin who can play the kid-version of the main character. Still need to cast a housewife. Can hopefully start shooting by next weekend!

Keep an eye out for stuff. =)

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Reflections prt2 + Asian-Australian Project

Part 2 of reminiscing.

In Malaysia, I stayed with my mum's family first. Whilst there, I shot a few videos of my Grandma preparing dinner. She was making Yeung Dao Fu, or.. the best way I can describe it is Stuffed To Fu.

Grandma in the kitchen.

I loved the natural light that the kitchen had, with the sun coming in through the back door. The wall int he above image is a little blown out, but I like that, especially in the videos.

This brings up something that I have noticed lately - I have noticed this general difference in preference of image quality between video and photography. When Changas was over, I showed him this awesome new plugin developed by the awesome guys at Video Copilot, called Optical Flares. This plugin allows you to add, yup you guessed it, Lens flares into your video footage so you can achive certain looks. The plugin is so comprehensive that it allows you to imitate flares from real lens irises, and even adding Chromatic Aberration, which Changas was quite surprised and impressed with. Changas is a photographer, and he says that most photographers go for the cleanest look they can, choosing lenses and photoshopping to remove any sort of Chromatic Aberration in their images, as well as removing grain. Whilst int he video world, you can find plenty of plugins that allow youto imitate certain film stock grain, and generally making the footage more dirty. I wonder where this difference of preference comes from?

Anyway going back on topic, I filmed my Grandma preparing dinner, and the footage I got was quite extensive and looked great. I am currently editing it into a short doco that I am making as part of my Honours project on finding Asian-Australian stories. I am intercutting the footage with footage of my mum cooking Chinese New Year dinner. The doco is currently titled 'Tastes of Home', and is just an exploration of my mum and her cooking. Themes I'm looking at exploring are generational influences, senses of home, how cooking is used by displaced peoples to recall home, whether it actually means that to the older generations of migrants, etc. I have the style already, just need to do a few more interviews, and I am considering introducing my sister into the story, so that I can explore the themes from 3 generations of Chinese-Malaysian women.


Changas was over to help me film some things on his newly aquired Nikon d3s. The above image was taken by him, me and my mum as subjects.
My k7 is currently non-funcitonal because I damaged my lens on the last day of the trip. It's in Japan now, getting fixed... I hope. But yes, Changas' d3s is a beautiful piece of equipment. Check his stuff out on his blog here: http://iamchangas.blogspot.com/
Thus I am stuck using uni gear, though the z1p is still a very ncie camera. But I'm waiting to test out the newly acquired z7p.

Back to Malaysia. Below are pics of the end results of my Grandma's cooking, and the relatives consuming the fruits of her labour. *note the box of roast duck was brought from take away :) *

Resting after the meal.

Getting all artsy... but i quite like the photo. I love the light.

Since my Grandma was already there, decided to do a kind of portait.
Shopped one in b&w for kicks.

Not sure if they're good though, seems way too dark in her face. What do you think?

Some more photos from my first stay in Malaysia.
This beautiful, succulent sambal sting-ray. My god I miss it...



Stay tuned for more next time

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