Tranquility: Production Journal
My film, Tranquility, was originally just going to be scenes of country life that would highlight the difference between where I was born and where I live now. In class I was told it would be better to film scenes in the city, to show a comparison between the city and the country and make it more evident that the country is quieter than Washington. I followed this advice, and I believe it looked better because of it. I did not want to give it a soundtrack, because part of the country is the solitude.
I planned to go to my horse farm to film, Jacobsburg State Park and the Indian Tower in my hometown. In Washington I planned to go to Metro Center, Ward Circle and at the Steps of the Lincoln Memorial. For home I was going to drive everywhere, and here I was going to walk and take the Metro. I chose these locations because the ones at my home are very quintessential examples of tranquility, and the ones in the city are very populated, and perfect examples of city hustle and bustle.
Logistically I ran into a lot of snags. When I went up to my farm I talked to our manager and she said that the fields were swamped, so I was not allowed out there. This made it nearly impossible to get multiple camera angles for my shots of the horses. Also, I couldn’t get too close to the horses, because my safety would be put at risk if the horses charged. I wanted some extreme close-ups, but the risk of getting hurt, combined with the inability to move in the field, stopped me from being able to get close enough to the horses to get the shot I wanted. When I was shooting at the park my camera died, but that was more my fault for not checking my battery. The Indian Tower shoot went essentially as I planned, however the crosswind made me have to throw out a whole set of shots, due to the loud vibration it caused. Shooting at home only really had the one major issue, however shooting in DC was much more difficult.
My schedule for December was extremely busy, and I could not get out into the city easily to film. I had two papers and two presentations, as well as a movie for another class, which I had to work on all month. I finished up everything at the beginning of the week of the 4th. Because of my class schedule I planned on going out Wednesday to film, however it rained and the likelihood of finding crowds on a day like that would have been very difficult. My solution for this problem was to quickly get a Creative Commons video to supplement what I might not be able to get. I then went out Christmas shopping Saturday, and I took my camera along to get some footage at Metro Center, and Pentagon City. Because the city was relatively empty due to the cold, I could not get crazy amounts of traffic, but the noise I got worked. My best volume was at Pentagon City, I went to the top floor and the volume was deafening, making the shots very good. A security guard told me I was not allowed to film anymore so I had to cut my shots short.
Editing was not too much of an issue. I did not have all the shots I wanted, mostly because of the conflicts I had with scheduling here in Washington. However, I worked with what I had to make my film as well as I could. The Creative Commons video needed to be used, and sadly the quality of it was not as well as I wanted it to be. If I did not use the bus video there would be some gaps in the movie that my other shots couldn’t fill. If I didn’t use those shots I would’ve been working with a significantly less compelling video. I added the last sequence with all the shots slowly getting faster because I thought it would be very fitting to have it sort of cause all the noises to get jumbled up and have all these images flash by, a symbol of sorts of the overloading nature of living in a city. This sequence was not an original part of my plan, but I felt like it was a creative solution to the stagnant nature that some of my shots carried. I ended the sequence with the extreme quiet and emptiness of a shot from the Indian Tower, to contrast the busyness of the city with the lack of business that country life can have.
I learned from doing this project that planning means have more than just an A and a B plan, have a C, D, and E plan to make sure that you will be able to get shots that you need, even if they aren’t what you originally desired. My biggest disappointment was that I didn’t schedule properly, and as a result ended up with a subpar sequence of buses driving around the city instead of the many different shots I planned on taking. I feel like I creatively solved the problems that were created by this though, by finding a video on Creative Commons that could fill the void that the lack of film created. I think that adding that final sequence made my film much better as well, it stopped it from being stagnant and made it suddenly a rush of movement and noise. All in all, I feel like I did as well as I could with the situation provided. My film may not have been exactly what I wanted, but it is something that I am proud to have made, because I had to think on my feet and solve issues that arose.
The editing of this was great. Just as I was getting a little bored with the tranquility, you had the amazing quick cuts to the city and ended dramatically on the tranquil. That was very well done. The only shot that was not as good as the rest was the first of the bus. It was must less quality for some reason. The sounds were definitely enough to portray the mood of the film and no music was needed. The running water and horses were both great sounds. You definitely contrasted them well.
I thought this mood piece was extremely effective. The stress caused by the scenes that depict the rush of the city, make the scenes of the countryside seem even more tranquil and peaceful. I loved that you decided to keep the natural sound in the video, it was extremely effective and I think it helped portray the mood better than any sort of music could have. The transition between shots was also very smooth. THe only suggestion I have is to remain on the first scene of the stream even longer; it is an extremely peaceful shot. Really good job!
Overall, I loved your concept of comparing a busy city life to calm farm life through film. The composition of your shots are very nice, especially the one of the mall. My favorite part of the film is toward the end when you did an awesome editing job with quick cuts and trims. One shot I was confused about though was the one of your hometown; I at first thought that it was from a city. Perhaps if you had more shots and images then your film might have been stronger. Overall I enjoyed watching and it’s clear you spent time on it. Good job!
I love how you chose to show the contrast between city life and rural life. I loved how at the end you did the quick shots of city life which made me feel anxious, and then cut to a serene view of rural farm land. I think it did a really good job capturing the essence of your mood piece in that moment. Overall, I think you did a good job, even with the problems you said you encountered while trying to film.
It was a great idea to compare urban bustle with rural calm. The shots of DC, especially the calamity of the shopping mall, were excellent in portraying the fast-paced chaos of a city. Your choice of the stream and grazing horses were excellent for showing the tranquility of a rural setting. While most mood films require music in the background, I think it was a great choice to only have the real noise in the video so that the audience can really hear the buses, horns, and shouting of a city compared to the flowing water and birds in the country. My only problem was with that one shot when you zoomed out of the stream. It was really shaky and you stopped half way then continued. Great ending with the calm shot of the farm compared to flashing shots of DC.
This film is great. I love your contrast between the sounds of city life and the tranquility of your backyard. Your shots worked very well together, and I especially liked how you sped up the footage from DC at the end of the film and then switched to the calm tranquility of Pennsylvania. You really made a statement simply through film technique. Great work!
This mood video really demonstrates the parallels of city life and the countryside. I like how you start out with the bad and almost promote your horse farm as the good when you dissolve from the bus to the river. The sounds of the farm are almost like a white noise soundtrack which captured the tranquil feel. I also like how at the end you quickly switched from different loud environments to create the bad taste of city life and how you showed an alternate option. The only concern I have is the second take on the rushing water; it seems just as loud as the city streets, and the ending if you could have captured more b-roll sound from other loud places, that would have been nice. Nevertheless, this was an awesome video and makes me depressed to go back home to Dallas for Christmas haha.
The mood was well demonstrated throughout. I would’ve enjoyed some more loud scenes of the city, as the cut to the river it is louder than previous scenes. The editing was really well done at the end, the multiple flashing city scenes and cut to the open field was easily the best and most creative part. Overall, this was really well done and expressed its mood!