Let’s get this blog started with a little introduction. I’m Alfie Whitby and I’ve been working independently in the arts for over 20 years, most notably as a professional musician, illustrator and journalist. I’m embarking on a new journey into filmmaking and I thought it might be interesting to document this process for Read The Room. I’ll be using this blog to not only document the technical side of my filmmaking discoveries but to also share the personal aspects that impact, influence and inspire my creative life.
Navigating the creative industries as a freelance artist while being neurodivergent and having persistent wobbly mental health has proved to be quite the challenge. Some of these challenges have given me truly incredible career moments but often at the cost of my health or with very little consistent financial reward. Still, creating art - however that manifests - is where I find my true joy.
Film: where passions collide.
I’ve always found media like film and television particularly inspiring and fascinating. It’s like all of my favourite artistic passions have joined together to create the ultimate sensory experience. Don’t forget the storytelling aspect too! There’s just so much going on. Love it!
I’m at a point in my life - freshly 40 and with an artistic itch that must be scratched - where I need to take that next step, pull together the skills, both on the creative and technical front, that I’ve gained from the art/music worlds and dive into filmmaking. It’s a logical step in my progression as an artist. Working on the periphery of the film and TV industries will no longer suffice. I need to make some films, damn it! I didn’t get a degree in film studies for nothing!
First steps: ideas, I have a few. More than a few. I have a lot.
Last year I started actually writing down my film ideas rather than blinking and instantly forgetting them. This is an ADHD thing and not because the ideas were terrible… I think. On the screenwriting front I have a number of scripts and ideas on the go, mostly for short films because, more than anything, I bloody love short films and find the format fits my artistic vision at the moment. One of the films currently in the works is a collaboration with a young Scottish actor, Althea Amber Smith, who has Crohn’s disease. The intimate film will explore her struggles with the disease and the impact it’s had on her life at such a young age. The working title is ‘Suspended In Amber’ and I can’t wait to see this film come to life.
One of the issues I have is that I want to work on all my projects at the same time and have the potential to not complete anything. In fact, one of my ideas is to create a series of shorts in which I present some of my half finished ideas but as polished works. It has the potential to be a beautifully surreal series of films. That really excites me. Who said art is dead? My sense of humour always finds a way into my work and I just embrace it now.
As you can see, I am a person with many ideas and, usually, very minimal budget. I take great pleasure in thinking outside the box and getting the best out of limited resources although I can only imagine what I’d be able to come up with if I had more financial input. Which brings me on to…
Into the wilds: filming and field recording in Nutclough woods.
My wife kindly gifted me some audio tech for my birthday at the end of last year which took the form of a Zoom H1N handy recorder. It’s a multidirectional portable sound recorder - it has two small condenser microphones facing in opposing directions in order to capture sound in stereo. It’s at the lower end of the range in terms of quality but, for the price, works really well.
I also finally upgraded my iPhone 7 to the newer iPhone 13. Not the latest model or the pro version but a significant jump in film quality and capabilities. A perfect starting point to experiment with filming techniques before investing in the expensive stuff.
Fortunately, I live in a really gorgeous part of West Yorkshire and I’m spoiled for choice filming location-wise. So, one slightly damp afternoon in January, I headed down the road and followed a muddy public footpath into Nutclough Woods with my phone, audio recorder and a bendy grip tripod I’d seen someone use on YouTube.
Getting my muff wet: it’s a furry windscreen, ok?
The footpath meanders up a hill through a wooded valley, a small but energetic stream flows through the middle and comes to rest, briefly, in a pond - a former old mill dam which used to supply water to a sawmill lower in the valley - before continuing on its journey. Aside from the occasional dog walker, it’s a beautiful secluded and peaceful location with only the sound of running water and birdsong accompanying most of the gentle climb.
I discovered quite quickly that the H1N is very sensitive and holding it with my hand results in the device picking up the slightest finger twitch. Attaching it to the tripod solved some of the problem but, without a shockmount, I still had to be very careful about causing vibrations. As I progressed up the valley, I held the tripod in various positions as I experimented with sound capture. I decided to not concern myself too much with the visual films syncing up with the sound as it required a bit more planning and, even though I was in the wilderness, I felt like a bit of a tit waving the fluffy windscreen (or muff as it’s delightfully called) covered recorder around as I searched for interesting noises and I didn’t want to add to the awkwardness by setting up shots with multiple pieces of equipment. Nobody cares, Alfie, it’s ok. Apparently, I get very excited when I’m field recording and omit little happy squeaks at regular intervals. I also breathe really loudly.
In an unexpected turn of events, a passing dog walker stopped to talk to me and asked if I was field recording. I had not envisaged bumping into a fellow sound designer that afternoon. He informed me of a brilliant hollow tree trunk further up the path which makes an amazing sound if you give it a good whack. I sadly did not find the tree trunk, nor did I think to ask him his name.
Camera limitations are already apparent - cinematic mode is fun.
I approached the filming aspect quite loosely. This was just a bit of exploration and play to test out functions and settings. I wanted to see what the iPhone’s cinematic mode could achieve. In hindsight, probably researching it a bit beforehand would’ve been beneficial. The limitations of leaving cinematic mode in its default setting only became apparent to me after I’d transferred the films to my computer and could no longer edit the digital depth of field.
Below is the result of my walk in the woods. I’m not completely happy with the colour grading I’ve given it and my improvised minimalist synth soundtrack is just alright. I left the H1N recordings pretty much untouched other than editing the volume. Obviously, I’d like to work on the sound in more depth for future projects so I can perfect the levels and audio placing. To experience the stereo field recording results, I do suggest watching the video with headphones on.
As you can see, the digital depth of field struggles with some of the close-up shots. It’s particularly noticeable around the edge of leaves where there’s a definite blurring as it tries to determine what needs to be in focus. I’m still impressed with the mode and amazed at what can be achieved with just a mobile. Let me know what you think!
Words: Alfie Whitby (they/them)
If you enjoyed this blog, why not read Helena's article A PA in the Life: Understanding the World of Film/TV Production.
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