Tuesday 26 April 2016
Having met up with Oli’s mother Karen, she provided me with loads of pictures of Oli when he was a child growing up, and also newspaper clippings of when he was an amateur boxer plus a professional boxer. She also gave me footage of Oli’s amateur bouts from when he was kickboxing and boxing, plus gave me the trophies / paques that he has acquired throughout his journey as a kick boxer and amateur boxer.
Because of all of this archive material that i had received from Oli’s mother, i decided to carry out some research to find creative ways of how i could include the pictures and trophies in the portrait documentary, to help carry the narrative and provide more of an insight into the life of Oli.
The most common technique that is used to show the audience pictures throughout a documentary is the Ken Burns effect, however, i feel that the effect is played out in documentaries and does not add that much emotional attachment to the images shown.
What is the Ken burns effect?
Ken Burns effect is a type of panning and zooming effect used in video production from still imagery.
Prevaile - Portrait of a professional runner
This example uses the ken burns effect on all of the pictures including within the portrait
Whilst researching, i came across a very useful website that answered the question that i was looking for
Spice up your stills with Photoscapes
Hooper, Riley. "Spice Up Your Stills With Photoscapes". Vimeo. N.p., 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
The key advice taken from this website besides the examples shown is:
Choose an appropriate background
Choose an appropriate speed and a direction
Use a zoom lens so you can easily switch between a wide, medium, and tight shot of each photo.
Make sure your Photoscape is well lit! use indirect light and diffusion to avoid glare on your photos and background.
Show context
The way you place your photos tell as much about the subject as the photos themselves.
Blend in
If photographs are an integral piece of your story, you may want to consider displaying them more candidly and organically.
Here are examples of portrait documentaries which include this Photoscape technique used within them:
American Value: Herb Dishman: China, TX from Nomadique on Vimeo.
The Thingmaker from Julien Lasseur on Vimeo.
