Insta-what?

In this week's tutorial, our assignment was to go out and take photos using an iPhone or iPod Touch and then upload them using an App called Instagram. Each photo had to contain a specific item from the list, and had to demonstrate a method of framing. For our basic story idea, we decided to go with a melancholy, though semi-comedic look at the life of a super-stressed uni student. Julian Lamprecht was our actor. This is what my group came up with:

This one was for the list item "people" and is shot as an extreme close up (ECU). This framing method captures the emotion or sadness or defeat, which is what we were going for. It's very intimate and personal.

The subject of this photo was the mobile phone. It's a close up (CU) because we wanted the phone to be the main focus, but still include a clear view of Julian's face. It's a little bit too centred though. Given another chance, I would probably frame it so that he's a little more to the left in the shot.

One of our items was a computer. We did this one as a big close up (BCU) so that we're looking at the screen from behind Julian's head. It turned out a bit darker than we would've liked, but the placement of the elements, I think, looks good.

It's hard to tell in this photo, but the item is actually headphones (they're wrapped around his neck in a mock hanging). Personally, I think we were a bit off with the framing on this one. He should've been a little more to the left again. I would say it's borderline CU or medium close up (MCU).

Coffee cups. I actually really like this photo. I like the plethora of cups already in the bin... it gives us an almost humorous impression of how much coffee students drink, even though the tone of the photo is darker and more serious. Again, I'd say either a CU or MCU.

For this photo, the subject was the door. It's a mid shot (MS) showing how trapped Julian feels in his university life. I like the way we framed this one because it shows both him through the door and the video surveillance sign.

This one's a medium long shot (MLS) showing a bin. The framing of this one could've been better balanced (again, with the subjects slightly shifted to the left), but I think the angle is good.

Sadly, the only animals we could find were insects, and the iPhone didn't seem to want to focus on them, so we had to make due with what we could find. It's another MS, and the blue and white thing is supposed to represent a bird. I'm not quite happy with the angle on this one, to be honest. I wish we (with the camera) would've taken a step or two to the left before taking it. I feel like it's too straight-on.

The subject was textbooks, and, being in a library chalk-full of books, we went a little crazy with it. I like this one though. It's as if the books are out to get him. We did it as a long shot (LS) to capture Julian's body language and also have a clear view of, not only the attacking books, but the vast shelves of books overwhelming him as well.

Our final photo was actually supposed to be of a skateboard, but we couldn't find anyone who had one since it was so rainy. We had to opt for bikes instead. I love this picture. The angle is great. The framing is great. Love it. It's a very long shot (VLS), also known as a wide shot (WS). It shows Julian from a distance, setting the tone for his feelings of isolation and sadness. You can also see what a depressing rainy day it is too because of how open the frame is.

That was in class. After class, our "how to" group got together to hash out what ideas we'd come up with and what we want to set as our topic for our video. We managed to get our idea picked and our goals for next week set within about 10 or 15 minutes. So far, we're all working really well together and are collaborating on ideas in a really constructive way.