As DOP I found watching the ‘coming up’ dramas an extremely interesting, insightful and useful exercise. I like being able to see how dramas are progressing visually with the new directors. Watching these dramas also enables me to fit my style within the correct margins for this brief.
Rough Skin
Director - Cathy Brady | DOP - Tim Palmer
“After nine months in prison, Kelly struggles to adjust to life outside. Back in the family home with her mother Linda, Kelly is determined to start anew. But the foundations of their relationship are shaken to the core when her mother uncovers her closely guarded secret.”
- Cinema scope - I am a big fan of the look created by the cinema scope, I have used it in my last piece and will be advising the Directors to use it for our 5-minute dramas
- A lot of movement in the shots - could be a hand held rig? I want to use a rig for parts of the dramas we are doing, I think it makes the piece look more cinematic, but subtly.
- Nice use of scenic establishing shots
- De-saturated colour - I really like the look created by a slightly desaturated colour grade, it seems to be very popular at the moment, whether in TV, Film, Videos on Vimeo etc. I think this could work well for the dramas.
- Shallow depth of field - this again I think is a good technique to making a video look more cinematic, shallow depth of field like in this piece can be achieved using a Canon 5D mkII (I am pretty sure I will use one of these!)
- There are a lot of close ups of faces in this piece.
Home
Director - Baff Akoto | DOP - Tim Palmer
“Homeless couple Tommy and Mary search for the enigmatic Howie, a friend from the streets who has seemingly disappeared. As they dig deeper on their quest, new, unsettling truths emerge.”
- Cinema scope
- Quite a lot of hand held shots - I think this is a good device to help draw the audience in to the story.
- Shallow depth of field
- De-saturated colour grade - matching the gritty subject matter.
- Nice use of lighting, especially at night and in the garage.
- Excellent camera movement - the camera moves with the character almost so subtly that it is unnoticeable. I hope to achieve a similar level of camera operation.
- Powerful face shots of the characters.
Micah
Director - John Maidens | DOP - David Marsh
“Martha is retiring to Nigeria and must entrust her beloved home to one of her sons. Golden boy Micah is enraged when his errant brother Malachi returns laying his claim on the house.”
- Cinema scope
- Shallow depth of field
- Really camera movement, pans tracks etc
- Similar music the whole way through
- Ends on an extreme close up of Micah’s eyes - very powerful
Food
Director - Jonathan Van Tulleken | DOP - Tim Palmer
“In the near future, a catastrophic food crisis has led to the collapse of British society and the rise of extremism. An official from the ailing government goes on an odyssey to find the leader of the dominant far-right party, intent on ending the madness and inhumanity.”
- Cinema scope
- Effective use of subtitles
- Very shallow depth of field
- Lots of extreme close ups - these work really well when showing actions of the characters in an interesting way, eg. opening the peaches, removing the fish guts.
- De-saturated colour grade
- Really good use of lighting in low light conditions.
- Quite a lot of movement - hand held, tracks etc
Magic
Director - John Williams | DOP - Felix Wiedemann
“The local branch of magic enthusiasts suspect that their chairwoman Felicity has some involvement in the death of their favourite magician. So when she suggests a dramatic and spectacular finale for the society, the members resolve to stop Felicity at any cost.”
- No cinema scope
- Bright colours that pop, could work well for replacement?
- Nice use of zooms, track forwards and pans
- Lots of face shots
- Animation used for the re-enactment
Geronimo
Director - Nele Hecht | DOP - David Marsh
“When Jim’s illicit dealings threaten the family haulage business, son Barry has the chance to help his father. But will he sacrifice his own beliefs to save business and their relationship?”
- Cinema Scope
- Slightly desaturated colour grade - makes the piece look grimy and gritty to fit theme
- Shallow depth of field
- A lot of steady hand held shots adding nice cinematic movement
Hooked
Director - Henry Darke | DOP - David Marsh
“Prepared to go to any lengths to halt the ravages of age, Maggie seeks help from her daughter Yolanda. This unlikely olive branch gives Yolanda the opportunity to confront her mother and resolve her own obsessive behaviour.”
- Cinema scope
- Slight de-saturation to the colours but with an orange tint in places (inside the flat)
- Camera moves with the character
- Most shots have at least slight movement - handheld
- Nice composition throughout - using thirds and centring where appropriate
- Really effective use of mirror shots
Looking at all of these films side by side I can see a new style of TV emerging. It is clear that more than ever new Directors are striving to get a ‘cinematic’ look to their work, through the use of cinema scope, colour grading, shallow depth of field and using lots of movement in the shots. I can safely say I am a big fan of both David Marsh and Tim Palmers cinematography styles and I think I will be using some of their techniques in the future.
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