My Story Part 1:

For my mini-film, I will film myself writing something, such as a story. This will be done on the computer via typing.  I want to go through the stages of writing by having shots of typing, a focused face, and ending with printing. I want this film to have a calming feeling as writing is something one does when relaxed. I want this film to show that writing can be comforting, that someone can derive joy from something originally associated with boring school work.

My Story Part 2:

Location: I will film my 5-shot-sequence at the MS/HS library because that is seen as a place of peace, and quiet.

  1. ECU of hands: I will film my hands typing on a computer’s keyboard.  The shot will be from the side of the keyboard and not from above. I will make sure my hands and keyboard are in focus while trying to keep the background out of focus. I will use an aperture of f/2.8 which will produce a shallow depth of field. This will keep the result in more background blur. I will use a focal lens of 42.5mm which is more zoomed in than normal eyesight. I will use a white balance of around 3200K because that is the colour temperature of our classrooms without sunlight. I may control it and change it a bit to get the best shot.
  2. CU of the face:  I’ll film my face with a focused expression. I’ll make sure my facial features are in focus. In the background, I want something that looks comfortable like one of those nice chairs in the library. It’ll be blurry because this is a close up, but the outline will be visible. I will still use an aperture of f/2.8 but I may have the camera just a bit farther away so that there is a larger depth of field for the close up.  I’ll use a focal lens of 42.5mm for this as well since this is what is recommended on DX for close up shots. My white balance will still be 3200K because I’ll be filming in the same room/area.
  3. Wide Shot: I’ll film myself sitting and looking at my laptop. The shot will show the background of the library more clearly and will have me from the waist up.  My expression will be neutral without showing joy or something else. I’ll use an aperture of f/8 since that is a medium aperture. I’ll use a focal lens of 24mm or 25mm because that is roughly what you see with your eyes, it is also what is recommended on DX for the wide shot. My white balance will still be the same at 3200K, this is because I am not changing my setting.
  4. POV: For this, I’ll film myself typing, this time, the screen will be visible. The screen will be in focus as it is what I am looking at. My head and shoulders will be in view but will be a bit blurry. My body, lower than the arms, will not be in view. I will use an aperture of f/8. The focal lens will be 24mm or 25mm because that is roughly what you see with your eyes and a POV is a perspective shot. I will use a white balance of 3200K because the shot will still be in the same location as the previous ones.

For my fifth shot, the interesting angle, I’m thinking about shooting a top-down shot. I think I’ll be printing out what a wrote and film the paper sliding out of the printer from above. I don’t want the camera to be too high up but still want to capture the rest of the actual printer. I’ll use an aperture of f/8 because this won’t be a close up so my field of depth shouldn’t be too shallow.  I will use a focal lens of 24mm or 25mm. For my white balance, I will find a printer that is strictly inside the school without any windows nearby. This is because my white balance will be around 3200K because it’s still inside the school and sunlight would mess that up.

 

Here is my storyboard: