Dan Caulfield

Ramblings of filmmaker, Dan Caulfield.

[dancaul]

BEAUTIFUL BUSAN

Sarah and I recently had the privilege to visit Busan, South Korea!

We stayed with a couple of friends Eun-mi & Danny (who now actually works for Tiny Ark) and we had an incredible time. We had a lot of laughs, ate some amazing food (oh my word, the food!), and saw some beautiful sights. And whilst we were there, we shot a quick little WAHP vid.

wearehairypeople.co.uk

I actually filmed quite a lot whilst we were there... taking my DSLR and 3 lenses everywhere we went, and including my GoPro and iPhone (Vine-ing left right and centre), some might say I filmed a little too much!

Which brings me to the classic conundrum of the filmmaker; memories before moments? -

I've often pondered how filming effects the present moments that we find ourselves in, and I've wrestled with the question "should I experience this with/without the lens?" It's something that I've struggled with in the past... but this trip was different.

Europe, America & Australia all have a familiarity to me, but Asia was like nothing I'd ever seen! Even with all the Jackie Chan films I've grown up on (which often feature large Asian landscapes), seeing it for real and for the first time changed something. And that was exactly it; seeing something for the first time makes you look at it differently - You can't file it away with your other memories because it needs a completely new category, you can't dismiss it as mundane because it has the potential to be spectacular, and you can't just glance at it because it sparks your curiosity.

So whilst holding a camera changes your experiences, it also causes you to catch that 'first time' look again. It invites you to look at things in a different way, a more detailed way. So when you see something and you literally think "what would this look like from a different angle?" it can bring a child-like wonder to the surface.

It's an attitude of adventure, curiosity and wonder that stays with you even once you've put the camera down. So I've got Beautiful Busan to thank for helping me see things for the first time... again.

[dancaul]

STAY ANOTHER DAY

I love making videos for my wife's company, We Are Hairy People. We make a simple, fun video for nearly every new collection they release, and every now and again we make a stand alone video.

This video stands alone.

We were feeling Christmassy, we got a snow machine, we played East 17's 'Stay Another Day' really loud at double speed, the models played in the "snow" and lip synced along... and hey presto (a phrase I don't say enough) - a bloody brilliant video was born.

I love how this video looks, the backlighting (and lens flares that accompany), the beautiful slo-motion movement of the snow, and the real atmosphere of fun that comes when you forgo trying to looks all modelly and Blue Steel, and make a prat of yourself trying to lip sync to chimpmunk Christmas music... I love it!

Happy Christmas all.

wearehairypeople.co.uk

[dancaul]

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Bristol based design company Fiasco Design are heading up a creative collaboration conference in the fair city of Brizzo. That's 3 Cs so you know its good!

It's called THREAD, and the first gathering happened in a little pub on the 28th Nov 2013, & I was asked to come along to film & edit a short promotional video to summarise the night and advertise the next one.

It was a fairly simple shoot and edit, but it wasn't without it's challenges; light and space. The lighting was low and space was scarce, which limits your creative choices. But hopefully understanding your limitations, enables you to work around them. DSLRs are not great in low lighting, so it was prime lenses all the way, & without much space it all had to be handheld.

But with all that, I'm really happy with the video. It feels close and personal, if a little bit rough around the edges. The camera gets closer and closer to people through the course of the film, hopefully communicating the concept of connection. The music is upbeat and the pacing keeps it all moving along. & the colour grading is quite extreme towards the blues and oranges, another way to make the low light image noise look a little bit more intentional, but actually looks quite stylish.

All in all, not too shabby I reckon. I even managed to sneak in my ole favourite screen wipe!

The guys at Fiasco were also happy with video and were a real pleasure to work with.

Looking forward to the next one.

[dancaul]

WEDDING PLEASE

I've filmed and edited my fair share of wedding videos, but it's always that much more a pleasure and privilege, when the 2 getting married happen to your friends. & it's also nice when they only want a short, trailer-esq video!

Chris originally asked me to help him make a video message to Antonia in Feb 2013, the video was of Chris speaking to camera on his couch at home, and with a change of thought, he has a made race to get to the church (where the video was being played). Chris then burst in the back of the church, got down on 1 knee, and asked Antonia to marry him. She said yes, and we put the whole thing on YouTube. It was really fun to be part of the process from so early on... and it was also the first wedding video where I got to include a little flashback scene. Great fun!

So here's Chris & Antonia, and their wedding video.

[dancaul]

AUTUMN WAHP

Autumn sees another We Are Hairy People collection go on sale, and of course, a new video with it. This was 1 of Sarah's most challenging photoshoots to arrange; out of 10 models & photographers, about 15 dropped out from the project (for various reasons) within a week of the shoot. And yes, you keen mathematic whizz kids, 15 is more than 10, that includes those who stepped in to cover! But after an intense week of phoning, texting, emailing, & sending carrier pigeons around, and with the kindness of many friends helping out at the last minute, Sarah got the shoot going.

As for the photoshoot itself, the sun was shining, it all went smoothly and was a lot of fun. Hopefully that comes across in the video as well. Our intention is to never take ourselves too seriously, and have fun both at the shoot and through the edit. So we've got some classic 90s dance music and some slo-motion skipping, and some warp stabilisation that came out quite nicely (if I do say so myself).

So head on over to wearehairypeople.co.uk to check out the BOLD collection. Cheers.

[dancaul]

GRAPHICS IN MOTION

The more I've looked for editing jobs, the more I see that employers really want to know that you can handle yourself with motion graphics... this showreel is a quick and easy way to prove that I can.

Cheers.

[dancaul]

HAIRY PEOPLE

The latest instalment of a We Are Hairy People video. And true to form, its got some 90s dance music and some skipping around... as well as a chance get a bit creative with the camera & edit and to play around with some free Magic Bullet colour grading.

The new collection has gone on the new-ish website wearehairypeople.co.uk ...which is actually 10% cheaper than anywhere else on the interweb (just saying).

Thanks!

[dancaul]

KICKSTART THIS!

I recently made a video for an independent designer/inventor, Adrian, who was looking to kickstart his idea; the Pick Tack.

The video above is the song/jingle section of the video, and I really love how it came out. Simple, clean and fun.

So for any musicians out there (especially guitarists), check out the Kickstarter page and share the love. Thanks!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adrianhayward/pick-tack-the-magic-plectrum-holder

[dancaul]

SLIT SCAN

Late last year, I thought to myself "I know, I'll do a quick little editing technique... and have a play around with this freaky looking slit scan". My wife and I got dressed up, I grabbed my camera, and we filmed it in about 10 minutes. I edited the footage in about an hour or 2... and that was 6 months ago.

Forgive me for getting a little technical; so apparently in order to make this as smooth as I could, I ended up with a composition size of 10,240 by 5,760! 3 times bigger than 4K footage! Combine that with 60fps, essentially doubling the time you see it in the finish product (frame blending also smoothing the edges out)... this was a massive undertaking for ole AfterEffects.

Needless to say, the render on this bad boy has taken absolutely ages. Finding a day, when the laptop wasn't needed, I'd set it on its side, hit the render button (for a second or two chunk), and let the fan go to town on this little laptop. Bit by bit, putting the puzzle pieces together.

Despite all that, it's finished! And I like it!

If anyone knows an easier way to do slit scan (time displacement), then let me know? I don't think my laptop will make it through another one.

[dancaul]

THE PROCESS OF PAINTING

I am so blessed to have such an amazingly wonderful and talented wife, and have had the privilege of making videos for her business, We Are Hairy People.

This is the latest, a "behind the scenes" of how she does what she does.

Feel free to check it out at wearehairypeople.co.uk

[dancaul]

TIME FOR AN UPDATE

About 2 and a bit years ago, this bear became a representative of my voyage into filmmaking.

Thinking back, I'm not sure why I needed a logo; I'm not a company, or a collective. I'm just 1 chap. Perhaps it was aspirational, or perhaps it was something to put on business cards... never-the-less, this furry friend has always made me happy, and reminded me to never take myself too seriously.

Here's to you bear.

dancaulfield.co.uk

[dancaul]

GO PRO 

WAHP's latest mini photoshoot gave me an opportunity to take my new GoPro for a spin...

Verdict - I loved it!

It's a completely different way to film; having a tiny little camera, protected from the elements (wind, rain and dog slobber), having the capability to film at 120fps at 720p (aka, great quality slow-motion) whilst not being able to see or review what you're filming... is incredibly liberating.

The GoPro lends itself to being more loose and free, feeling more inline with Lomography philosophies of point-and-shoot. And with the wide angle lens, you invariably capture everything you need to. 

Having said that, I also quickly learnt that the GoPro has a large focus on the set-up of the shot; planning, mounting, remotely viewing (through the iPhone... very novel, very cool), readjusting, then remotely filming and letting the action unfold whilst this Camera-Wizardy weaves its magic. 

The only drawback that wagged its tail was keenly highlighted by Diesel the dog...  I attempted to mount the camera to Diesel's collar and get a DogCam going, and as I had barely got started with the set-up, Diesel had run off and started munching on the GoPro... with the amount of time needed to mount (I'm sure I'll speed up once I've learnt it a bit better), you need to be able to control your subject and take the time to make sure you've got what you want. So making quick set-ups with unpredictable subjects or conditions is not for the faint of heart.

But even that slight drawback adds to the spirit of adventure of the GoPro... freedom, creativity and exploration are encouraged by this camera. So I expect that there will be a lot more experiments coming from me in the near future.

And you never know, maybe a DogCam shot one day. 

Adventure is out there!

[dancaul]

Music that inspires me... but in different ways. (I couldn't think of a better title).

Have you ever listened to an album and instantly feel like it's a soundtrack to a film? 'An Awesome Wave' by Alt J (left) is one of those albums. So don't be surprised if some of these tracks end up on my work!

'Live at the Banks House' by Will Reagan & United Pursuit (right) inspires me because of the people behind it. Its an album made by a community who believe in boundless creativity and breathtaking beauty flowing from all that they do... I'm up some of that.

[dancaul]

This is a promotional video for the launch of the Autumn/Winter range of hand-painted apparel by We Are Hairy People.

Check out wearehairypeople.co.uk

Music - "Scatman" by Scatman John

[dancaul]

NEW SHOWREEL

A new showreel with a tweak to every page on the website - www.dancaulfield.co.uk

Thanks for your support!

[dancaul]

Out with the old, in with the new... well its about 4 months old now, but its taken me this long to come to terms with it.

This is way more satisfying than it should be! #CoolPersonAlert

Plenty more website updates to come. & if you're not already, have a follow @dancaul_film.

[dancaul]

This is one of the videos I've made for 3VTV's mini-series on sport.

To check out some more - (I've done episode 6 to 10 )

http://3vtv.co.uk/videos.php?filter=miniseries&series=aroundtheclubs