Pre-Production: Finding Serenity (Research)

Finding Serenity is a previous Third Year project. I was interested in looking into this as I wanted to analyse the work (especially a documentary) of previous years to see what I was up against. And after watching this, I knew I had my work cut out.
Something that I really enjoyed about this documentary was the cinematic aesthetic. As director of photography, I was amazed by how carefully planned and well composed each shot was. That along with the editing, I was able to almost feel and be taken away into the mind of a bi-polar sufferer, just as the filmmakers intended.

"A visual journey following the stories of people suffering with bipolar disorder, exploring their feelings, emotions and search for serenity. The film seeks to take the audience into the mind of the sufferer, to experience the volatile ride of mood swings, depression and mania. With a range of visual techniques and disembodied voices, Finding Serenity hopes to create a new style of documentary film making."- Finding Serenity Vimeo Synopsis. 





Something I learned from looking at Laurens blog was where she got her inspiration from which was mainly from Vimeo where there is more creativity and experimental work from upcoming filmmakers. This is something I have also been doing in oder to get the look I want for our documentary.
Lauren told me she "used a long lens (Canon EF 70-200mm F/2.8 L IS II USM Lens) and the Sigma Art 35mm which is super sharp, and I like the look of the 35mm." Whilst I may not copy the equipment used here as times change and cameras keep on getting better, it was a useful insight and has inspired me to not just stick with the Panasonic cameras where the its restrictive with shots due do not having a change lens. I know I want to shoot in 60FPS for the more cinematic quality, and would also like to use the 35mm. This will enable macro shots. This is a functionality on the Panasonic cameras, but not something that would be as effective as what interchangeable lenses are. 


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