There are many technical aspects that I wish to implement in order to get professional looking footage. I’d like to go through the ones I wish to focus on in this project.

Shutter Speed

For a majority of the film, I intend to abide by the 180 degree rule, this will allow my footage to have motion blur that is comparable with how we see with the human eye. There will be points where I intend to change it up, for example; when I shoot my dream sequences, I will use a slow/low shutter speed, as this will increase the motion blur and create that dream like film look we are all so used to seeing. The same goes for when I want the audience to feel uncomfortable, when Mark goes through a panic attack or is feeling suicidal, I will use a fast/high shutter speed, this gives an unnatural feel to the footage, motion blur has been reduced, symbolising that the tension in the scene has risen.

I wanted to have this effect straight out of the camera, for not only will I get the see what the finished product looks like, but I feel as if the emphasis on special effects in todays climate is damaging to the classical ideals of filmmaking I fell in love with. “We’ll fix it in post” is a phrase I often hear, the filming is rushed to force out an unfinished product and the art form is shifting into a sphere I don’t wish to associate with. Impressive as computer generated imagery has become, I don’t believe anything will beat the feeling of holding the camera in your hand, traditional hand crafted sets and that classic look and feel. I feel as if the pinnacle of cinema has been and gone, when people talk of the best film ever made, its normally Citizen Kane (1941), The Shawshank Redemption (1994) or The Godfather (1972), films from the last 10-20 years don’t usually get mentioned in the same breath.

Aperture

Now, deciding on which F-stop to use will depend on what I wish the audience to focus on. For certain scenes, I will want shallow depth of field, this allows me to guide the audiences gaze as the story unfolds. I may want to shift focus from one object to another, I already have a scene in mind where I can implement this technique. In other scenes, I may want to use a larger depth of field, by doing so, be able to add depth to my shot. This better simulates reality and can allow more freedom within a scene, by layering the foreground, middle ground and background with characters and props, allows the movement of characters to draw the audiences attention. In each of these situations, it is important that I make the decision that best fits the story, not simply choose a shot that looks nice, but has no reason for being.

Lens

I have decided to shoot the entire film in 50mm, this is the field of view that most closely resembles the human eye, this will give the film realism. I will achieve this by filming on my 25mm Olympus F1.8 lens, mounted on my Panasonic GH5. The GH5 has a micro four thirds lens, which makes the 25mm lens focal length equivalent to 50mm on a full frame sensor (35mm). This lens also gives me a shallow depth of field and lets in more light, which is definitely needed, given that the GH5 has poor low light capabilities.