Back to The Basics

I decided to read about some of the basic composition rules that I think are extremely important to create an appealing shot; specifically I read about the rule of thirds.

The reason why this rule is so important is because it provides guides that you can use to create reference points when composing a shot. Those reference points allow our brains to focus more upon an image that is balanced appropriately.

Additionally, having a balanced image gives you eyes more roam which in return creates a more interesting and appealing look to your shot. If you do some research you will find that many objects in a shot, other than the main subject, can be found directly under the intersection points or "power points" of the intersection.

A shot that is composed using the four points where the intersections come together creates some of the most compelling shots. This is a simple way to instantly create shots that appeal more to the eye rather than simply centering your subject.

Equipment for Travel Videos

If you haven't read my "Travel Vlog" blog then go read that now before this one!

I was curious as to what kind of equipment travel vloggers use, because I can totally see myself creating a travel related video one day! I found a video where the Vaga brothers talk about the equipment they travel with in order to produce high quality and interesting videos while on the road.

Apparently there are backpacks that are designed specifically for those who are traveling videographers--how cool is that?? The Vaga brothers use an F stop backpack and after looking that brand up I found that those backpacks cost around $280 dollars.

As for DSLR's they use the Canon Rebel T3i which are not too advanced and cost around $500 dollars which is pretty good for a DSLR. Additionally you can upgrade your camera by purchasing different lenses. The Vaga brothers use the Canon EF-S 18-200mm lens which makes a huge difference in your shots.

When it comes to action shots the guys said in the video that they use a Go Pro Hero 3+, although I have a feeling that they may have upgraded since then, because this video about their gear was made in 2014. With Go Pro comes all the extra bits and bobs to mount the camera to different things such as surfboards.

For more quick shots the Canon Powershot s120 is what they started out using, but I believe I heard in an other video that they use some sort of Sony camera. Either way there's so many options for point-and-shoot cameras that I don't think it'd be too hard to find one for traveling.

Travel Vlogs

Recently I've been spending a lot of time watching travel blogs on youtube. Pretty much all I ever think about is how I want to see the world and experience different cultures. I tend to live vicariously through people who spend their lives traveling and documenting their experiences, and in order to do that I spend un an uncanny amount of time on youtube. Now there's a lot of mediocre travel vlogs out there, but there are also plenty of high quality and creative ones.

I would say my top favorite accounts to watch right now are the Vaga brothers and Brooke Saward. I would say that the Vaga brothers have a bit more creative content in their videos compared to Brooke Saward's videos, but I haven't seen all of their videos so I can't say that their aren't more creative videos to be discovered on either channel.

I think that you get a much better feel for things by watching someone's journey through video rather than just by pictures. If anyone is like me and wants to see the world, but is stuck sitting in class typing or doing useless math problems then I would definitely recommend that they check out the Vaga brothers and Brooke Saward in order to try and fulfill some of their longing to see the world until they can finally pack their bags and hit the road.

Since travel is something I'm quite obsessed with I think it'd be really cool to be able to create a video similar to the Vaga brothers and Brooke Saward. That being said I'm going to research what kind of equipment is used for their videos and do a blog on the equipment that they think is great for creating scenic videos.

Director Ryan Coogler Follow Up

   Follow Up

   A few weeks ago I wrote a blog talking about the movies Fruitvale Station and Creed, both directed by Ryan Cooler. I mentioned how I didn't ever look up who directed movies that I enjoy and how I wanted to start doing so. If you read my last blog you would know that I wanted to see the movie Creed in order to compare it to Ryan Coogler's work with Fruitvale Station. Good news- I saw Creed!

   I loved the movie! I loved the way there were little similarities with Creed and Rocky incorporated into the film. Aside from Ryan Cooler, I love Michael B. Jordan as an actor and I think he was perfect for his role in Creed. I can tell how great of an actor he is after seeing the differences between him in Fruitvale Station and Creed.

   Overall I think I may be a little bias towards judging Creed because I already love Michael B. Jordan and action/inspirational movies, but I would definitely recommend someone to see it. I look forward to see what other movies Ryan Coogler will direct.

Professional Project Review

Director: Ryan Coogler 

    My knowledge of different directors of big time movies is rather slim (more like nonexistent if I'm being honest), so I decided that I should start to look up who directs certain movies that I have seen and loved or seen trailers for and in return wanted to see the movie. Recently I saw the trailer for the movie Creed. What first caught my eye about this movie was I recognized the main actor, Michael B. Jordan, from a TV show that I loved. Creed seems to be an action packed, empowering, and motivating film and more often than not I find movies like that to be extremely intriguing. Creed hits theaters in a few days so I decided to check out who the director is since I've been feeling like I need to gain more knowledge of those who play such a big part in constructing a movie.

    After checking IMDb I found out that the director of Creed is Ryan Coogler, and since Creed has yet to hit theatres I looked at what other movies Coogler has directed to see if I had happened to have watched any of them. I had not seen or heard of any of his movies, because there was only a few short films and one fairly new movie titled Fruitvale Station that he had directed. I decided to watch Fruitvale Station and to my surprise Michael  B. Jordan is the main actor in that movie as well as Creed. Fruitvale Station is inspired by a crime that occurred on New Years several years ago involving a 22 year-old black man,  his friends, family, and ultimately his enemies. The film is right up my alley, because there is action that leaves you feeling empowered and motivated to take a stand and to overcome what ever it is that you are battling. 

    I have a feeling Ryan Coogler is going to be a director whose films I thoroughly enjoy. Rotten Tomatoes rated Creed very well and I have read a lot of comments from critics comparing it to Rocky. I look forward to seeing how this movie compares to Coogler's work with Fruitvale Station, especially since Michael B. Jordan is the main actor in both of his recent works.

Professional Article Review

The article Understanding Focal Length can be found here if you are wanting to learn what focal length is or just have a better understanding of it like I did. The article also discusses a bit about prime and zoom lenses.

What I learned: I learned that the focal length tells us the angle view or how much of the scene will be captured. The article has multiple examples of pictures using different focal lengths to show you how drastically different a shot can look based upon the focal length of a camera. Focal length is usually shown in millimeters (mm) and is actually not the measurement of the actual lens, but is a calculation of the distance from where light rays form a sharp image of an object. If you have a longer focal length you will have a more narrow angle of view. If your focal length is shorter your angle of view will be shorter and the magnification will be lower.

Here you can see an example of what different focal lengths might look like using the same subject. 

Student Tutorial: Telephoto Lens

• What is a telephoto lens?

-A telephoto lens is a lens with a longer focal length than standard, giving a narrow field of view and a magnified image. A narrow angle of field will create an image that makes near and far objects seem to be the same size. 

• Why are they useful?

-These lenses are good for giving a flattering perspective, isolating the subject from the background, and bringing distant objects closer.  If you are trying to create a shot that emphasizes the number of people or objects in the shot then a telephoto lens would be the one to use, because it will make the distance between objects seem compressed enhancing the appearance of congestion. 

-The most common use for a telephoto lens is to bring small and or distant objects closer allowing you to see more detail.