Shot sequencing is an essential part of storytelling. In the piece above, Paul Connolly did a great job at utilizing it’s power to help tell his story. We had a chance to talk to Paul about the experience.
Kessler University (KU): Tell me a little about both you and your team.
Paul Connolly (PC): My name is Paul Connolly. Like Kevin McHugh (the artist featured in ‘just add water’), I am from Co. Fermanagh in Ireland. I was camera person and editor on ‘just add water’ and was ably assisted by Sean Connolly. Sean has a small production company whose background is in filming Weddings.
KU: Would love to know a little more about the film.
PC: ‘just add water’ is a four minute short, which seeks to capture the water murals of talented local artist – Kevin McHugh. Like anything that proclaims to ‘just add water’, this understates the work and skill required to get to the position of ‘just adding water’. The piece tries to reflect the process from initial idea to finished picture.
KU: How did you come up with the concept?
In terms of the water mural concept – this originated with Kevin, so I asked him….
Kevin McHugh: I am an Irish artist based in County Fermanagh, surely the wettest county in Ireland. You can’t walk around all that water every day without thinking, “I wonder how I can use that?” Well, arts co-ordinator, Donna Bannon and myself decided what to do with it – use it as a paintbrush!
Armed with a powerhose and the previously mentioned H2o, I set about creating art on old, dirty, plastered walls, using the hose to strip away the layers of ground-in dirt to reveal the beauty and the wonder beneath. The idea of taking something away to make a picture rather than adding it on is very exciting to me. It forces me to look at things from another angle. I like to think the wall already holds the image and it’s my responsibility to unlock it. What appeals to me also is the thought of people walking through the countryside and coming across these murals without any idea of who created them or indeed, when.
I spent a lot of time working on the theme of crows for this series of barn murals. I did this because they are a passion of mine, some of the most intelligent and majestic of birds and fit in very well with my love for all that is dark. Thankfully they lent themselves to this medium extremely well, allowing me to use broad “brushstrokes” and give me a real sense of freedom while doing it. I am very happy with the results and am at the moment, planning my next series.
I also paint acrylics on canvas. I am currently working on a series of portraits of my musical heroes because, growing up a loner geek who didn’t easily mix with others, I can say without any doubt, I learnt more from them than any real person in my life. This is my tribute.
I suppose my biggest inspiration for all my art is the need to leave something behind, something to say I was here. I hope each piece I do is a memory for someone, a string around their finger so that every time they look at it, they’ll remember me.
KU: How did you decide on the approach to take for the film?
PC: Initially the plan was to capture just the actual drawings in a timelapse kind of fashion. However, during our research and watching Kevin at work - I realised that the actual painting of the mural was the ‘tip of the iceberg’. There was a lot happening below the surface that people would not see if we followed the initial approach. So, we decided to capture the process that Kevin undertakes and reflect this in the finished article to the best of our ability.
KU: The artist is extremely talented both on paper and canvas. Would love to know a little more about his work!
PC: You can reach out to Kevin here:
http://www.facebook.com/kevinmchughart?fref=ts
http://www.kevinmchughart.deviantart.com/
KU: The shot sequencing was brilliant. How did you decide to approach this?
PC: In terms of the shot sequencing – firstly I was fortunate enough to see your tutorial on planning and researching before we started the project and used a lot of the information presented in it, to help us prepare.
I knew that Kevin’s completed murals were something very different. Whilst they are created by just adding water – this belies the complexity and planning that goes into each mural. The old, dirty wall is the finished picture and you are basically washing parts away to reveal what is there – painting in reverse!
I spent some time with Kevin and tried to understand his processes. From the initial pencil sketches, to working out shadings and lines, to capturing the moment when he decides to ‘hit the trail’ to find some old out buildings and eventually ‘pulls’ the water trigger.
With the way Kevin works, alongside the prevalence of water – it all pointed to having a sequence of shots that was as varied as possible, constantly moving and changing. In effect looking at the same shot from many different angles.
Whilst we had scouted locations and planned our shoot, we also allowed ourselves to be spontaneous. We tried to operate on as few a takes as possible, remain unobtrusive and let things run naturally. In terms of camera’s all was filmed on a T2i and a Sony EX1R! I attended a Philip Bloom class last year in Galway and learned that the best camera is the one you have with you!
This theme carried through to post-production. Editing was done in premiere pro CS5.5. I went through all the clips that I thought were useable. The first draft was just over 20 minutes. The final export was just under 4 minutes. Each shot was judged on the premise – does it add to the story and does it maintain the pace and flow of the piece? If the answer was no, then it was not included – no matter how nice it looked.
KU: We noticed that you used Kessler products on the film. How did you use the gear to help tell your story?
PC: Yes – I used the Philip Bloom Pocket Dolly and to be honest it really made the difference. From the practical side – size, build quality and portability we would not have been able to shoot the way we did without it. I carried it around for the 2 days across remote terrain – often setting up and shooting in less than a minute.
Kevin mentioned that at times he forgot we were there – which was great for us to hear. We got into positions that would not have been possible with other options.
The pocket dolly really added to the overall feel of the piece – constant movement and sense of energy.
KU: What can we expect next from you and your team?
PC: There is a third generation ‘wood turner’ who lives near us. He makes some amazing pieces from ‘Fermanagh Bog oak’ reclaimed from old Irish bogs. We are going to do our best to try and capture his story and the techniques he uses to produce his works of art.
We are also very much looking forward to seeing what Kevin’s next project is also…
If you would like to see more from Paul, make sure to check out his vimeo account.