Ian Mueller Cinematography Reel - ID# 44

Waubonsie Valley

Division: A

Cinematography

Entry Description

Collective reel of cinematic footage from student Ian Mueller

Recent Teacher Comments

• 4/25 7:50 am - Pros - Great use of natural light throughout. Framing and composition of human subjects is strong, which creates a clear communication of emotion between filmmaker and and viewer, particularly in the shots with the swimmer and hockey players. Use of depth of field is effective in shots at 1:42 & 1:53. Cons - Shot composition of land and cityscapes struggles for a clear focus and/or movement at times (this is eased by your strong editing skills and smooth transitions between shots, but this piece is strictly being evaulated for its cinematographical merits). The color correction, overall is strong, but the tonality of the shots at All Seasons (0:18) and the kid in the White Sox hat downtown (0:48) are off, making reality appear unnatural to the point where it is distracting to the viewer. Your best color correction comes at 0:09, 1:01, and 1:11 because the warmth of the image does not encrouch on skintone.
• 3/12 10:56 am - Many of your downtown shots with the rapper are too similar; doesn't show me anything different in terms of angles or mood. Nice transitions. Some of the shots need to be steady or use a tripod. The mirror shot was very nice and I like the angle of the shots of the building.
• 2/28 5:56 pm - I think you show a lot of promise as a cinematographer and you included shots where you actually had to light the subject, which is awesome. Your composition is great as well, but the music video really needed a different lens - it looks as if you included footage from an earlier project and I wish you did not. It makes your reel uneven: some shots are really great: the swimmer for example. But the the city shots or bland. Your camera movements, the pan over from the singer to the Chicago sign on the street (or the Illinois flag for that matter) need to be deliberate: the pan ends on the flag or the sign and stays on it. Keep filming!

Judge 1

Positives: The editing on this video was great. Great use and not overuse of effects. Camera work was good.

Improvements: I didn't like the two stories being told. Pick one and go with it.

Judge 2

Positives: -Cool transition with the guy against the sunset. His framing was interesting as well. -Some nice lighting techniques throughout. The guy rapping against the pink drop looked pretty professional and shows a well executed lighting setup.

Improvements: -Some of the camera movement lacked focus. Some of the shots of the buildings felt like they could have been more specific. The framings sort of felt like they didn't know what they were about. Whether it's a building, a person, or a ferris wheel - give your frame a subject. -The shot of the guy dancing in the frame isn't on par with your other shots. It feels like you found it, rather than you made it. You want your shots to feel intentional. That's the difference between a cinematographer and a person with a camera. It was a good idea to use the space in that way, but I would've spent a little more time considering the composition.

Judge 3

Positives: A lot of great shots and the editing with the music was very good.

Improvements: I wouldn't have used the guy rapping in the beginning and his dance sequence just before that. He was at a total different pace then the video and music. All of the other shots of him worked well just not the first two.

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements: