Sophie: Week 5

This week my role was cinematography and lighting. This week’s film was based around a chess game. When deciding on the lighting we tried it from many angles. All the game shots were lit from behind the head of the actor wearing purple, shining down onto the board leaving anything that wasn't placed on the table in shadow. This worked effectively as it kept the actors in the dark, forcing the focus to be on the game and the game tactics rather than the characters at this stage. For the close up shots I moved the lighting so that it shone onto their faces only. With the actor wearing the purple hoodie, I tried to light his face from a low angle creating a more powerful and strong image then the side lighting that I used to light the other actor, to create heavy shadows on his face and show that he is the weaker player.

For the cinematography I tried to use very simple but clear shots so that the focus is always on the game. I tried to take some close-up shots at vital points in the game to show the significance, such as when the black bishop takes the white castle. I also took close-ups of the players face and hands to show the difference in emotion. The purple hoodied player, the winner, shows a lot more patience and has a more tactical playing style as the player in the purple polo shirt, the looser, shows more anxiety and a more aggressive playing style, demonstrated at the end of the film by the board swipe.  

Overall, I am pleased with my contributions to this film. I am especially pleased with the effectiveness of the lighting as I believe it really made the film stand out. The cinematography went well and is in focus and correctly white balanced for the majority of the film.