Shutter Speeds vs. Frame Rates

The way frame rate and shutter speed can be adjusted can greatly affect an audience's emotion toward a certain scene.

On No Film School's article, frame rate is defined as the number of frames captured per second, and shutter speed is duration of time each frame is exposed to light. They say the basic rule is: the standard setting for your shutter speed is double your frame rate. 

The author does a great job at showing examples of how higher frame rates can benefit slow motion shots and also how fast shutter speeds result in clear images. The article provides two videos to show these examples. However, the author could do better by explaining more variations of how shutter speed and frame rate affect other types of desired shots to create different effects. In general the author briefly informs about how adjusting these two settings can help create a better desired effect.

The author did support his main argument, but the article was short and only showed two specific examples. The evidence provided by the videos were convincing and very informative. In the future, I plan to use what I've learned from this article to make shots in my videos better and find ways to help tell the story. 

• Website Title: No Film School
• Article Title: How Shutter Speeds & Frame Rates Can Be Used to Change t[…]
• Date Accessed: September 23, 2015

Parallax - Short Film Review

Parallax, filmed by Sawyer Hartman was a beautiful film, filled with stunning shots, admirable characters, and contains (spoiler) a really sad ending. This is one of his first popular short-films that I loved watching. So now I guess I'm reviewing it.

Summary
Jonathan, a father/astronomer predicts a meteor shower, which he believes will cause all life to end on the surface of earth. Although no one believes his prediction, he prepares for this day by building a shelter that will house him, his sister, and his wife, as well as food and supplies for only three people. Suddenly, his wife tells him she is expecting a baby, which he hasn't prepared enough supplies or food for in his shelter. On the day of the meteor shower, all three of them enter the shelter, waiting for the end to come.
Suddenly, Jonathan "forgets something important" and leaves the shelter to grab it. His sister and wife realizes he had sacrificed himself in order for them to survive along with the baby, and ends with a beautiful wide shot of the desert sky.

Application & Review

A couple things I admire that Hartman did to make this film was his use in location and producing dramatic cinematic shots. The color scheme of the video overall fit the mood, as well as the music he's chosen, especially at the end. I plan to apply these same elements in my future work.





Hartman did an outstanding job capturing my attention with his colorful & artistic shots and using minimal but significant dialogue to explain the story. I thought the main actor, Jonathan's character did a great job, however I personally did not like the rest of the actors' acting. Also, the lighting in a few shots were a bit too dark for the context of the scene. 

In general, I thought it was a great video and Hartman had shot in a beautiful dessert location. The film could've had more convincing actors but overall I enjoyed the story and the main character.