Filming: Boxing Finale, 24th February 2022

Hey, future me, if you're ever feeling down or for some reason you feel another pain,

Just read this one. Thus far it's the best filming session you've had. Which isn't much of a criteria since you've only ever done projects like this for school due to lack of a DSLR but, this one's going in the books.

It's also written way longer because it's a very fond memory and I want to be able to relive it in detail if, or rather when, I look back at it in the future.

So if that preview didn't make sense, the filming session of today actually went wonderfully, which is surprising because of the basketball session, and also extremely relieving.

My Media Teacher had known about my plans a week in advance and he wanted me to do better this time. First off, guiding with the school's available DSLR's. It was a Nikon D5500 with a Kit Lens that had adjustable focal lengths. It filmed good, for the most part. There's 3 DSLR's at the school but the third one doesn't work, the other working one is I think a Nikon D5300, which is pretty close in spec, and it had the exact same lens.

There were 4 lenses total. The two kit ones, a really large bulky one that I think had some problem with its focal length, and the fourth one was a 50mm one. My teacher was against me using this lens specifically because it didn't have 'VR' written on it, indicating Vibration Reduction, a feature which was present on the Kit Lenses. But being the stubborn person I am, I still wanted to try it. He told me it would be best used with a Gimbal or with a Tripod.

Attaching that lens and using it, felt mind blowing. The image and video quality it gave, actually felt cinematic, this is the kind of quality you actually want from a DSLR.

Sir had also advised against using the D5500 as this specific camera's LV (Live View) button was a bit damaged and wasn't guaranteed to work. I found that pulling on the lever multiple times over caused it to function, it wasn't much of a hassle.

Also while fiddling around I noticed something called Region, and within it, options for PAL and NTSC. I was familiar with the terms because of my work in a custom game mod for a video game, and I knew these settings associated with framerate. It was very surprising to me that this would also be a setting within DSLR's. Upon changing it I didn't notice a difference, but going back to the Video and Framerate settings, I noticed something glorious.

720p60. The one setting I complained to my sir that the school cameras didn't have, as they filmed in 24, 25, or 50. Finally I had the setting I wanted, as my video was going to be in 720p24, and with 60, I could slow things down by 2.5 times.

This was also probably an option in the D5300 as well, but the reason I stuck with the D5500, despite the broken LV button, was that unlike the D5300, it could film in the Flat color profile, and give more control for color grading.

My Teacher was concerned that I was taking too many risks by using this camera. Handheld motion would look extremely shaky, and the LV button might stop working entirely.

I told him I was confident in my decision to use it, but just in case, I'll keep the Kit Lens nearby for any handheld shots I may want to do.

He also provided his Mobile Gimbal again, just in case I needed it. Lights from the lab were also available to borrow but I wanted to use my own, they were outdoor LED Lamps.

I had confirmed yesterday with my actors and they again told me everything was fine and they'll make it. So everything seemed good to go.

The day of filming arrives, which is today. In the morning I pack the lights, alongside two queen sized white bedsheets, a foldable mattress, and my tripod/monopod combo stand. I packed a mattress because there would be a shot of Jawad getting knocked to the floor, then getting up and knocking his opponent, Sadiq, to the floor. A fall, rise, fight situation. I was unsure of the exact motion they would be performing, there wasn't really any reference I knew of where a boxer was directly pushed to the ground. In any case, they would still be falling to the ground, and I wanted to make sure they have something soft to land on.

I get stopped at the gate by the security guard because I'm carrying a giant bag and a mattress, so I had to call my Media Teacher to confirm that I had to do things today.

The entire day I'm just dragging all of this equipment with me class to class because there wasn't really any place I could keep it, at least until the Media class itself happened, at which point I just kept it in the lab and waited until 2pm. I made sure everything was charged, contacted my actors, got the Sports Teachers to turn the lights off in the gym hall, and we were ready.

Well, almost. First the equipment needed to be ready to use. My teacher was there to make sure I was fully ready and also there to give any last minute advices that might be of use to me. Which actually did, come in very handy.

It turns out that the two LED outdoor lights I had, upon turning them both on, the flickering effect you see on camera with fluorescent lights showed up on the DSLR, which was extremely strange because it's LED lights. And my Sir was unable to account for it in the Shutter speed. We turned one off to see if the effect disappeared, and luckily it did. To confirm, turned the other one back on, the effect came back. So I now only had one light to use for filming.

But I stuck with it. I kept experimenting with different angles and where I would want it, and eventually figured out a place to put it, and powered it. Took a few sample vids and shots of my friends shadow boxing, and practicing, and then we were ready.

The last thing my Teacher told me was about ISO. He told me that this setting basically adjusts light sensitivity, and that it HAS to be set to manual control, and that I have to adjust it myself, so I can make sure there's no noise in the footage. That was extremely helpful, because had he not given me that advice, my footage would've been extremely noisy due to the lack of light in some places and too much light in others. Especially when the camera was looking directly at the light itself.

Here's how the filming went: I told them to do boxing like they were actually in a ring, and do that for a while. Eventually when I collect enough footage, I'll get them to do specific motions of falling and rising, and we'll also put the mattress down so it doesn't hurt. They do the boxing, leave the camera angles to me.

Oh hey there's me up there.

I didn't realize I had gotten this fat....I really need to get back to the gym.

I experimented a LOT here with camera angles and motions. We didn't have to worry about any major time restrictions. They both wanted me to stop them every 10 seconds otherwise they would tire themselves out. But the shots I got, I was so incredibly happy with. They were a bit shaky but that's ok, in this situation it actually kind of works too, and it wasn't too bad, as I was using a monopod. It doesn't really have any stabilizer functionality but just putting the DSLR on it and using it to film did have some degree of stabilization as it wasn't as easy to shake the heavier weight.

Eventually I said it was time to film the falling and rising. I was about to put the mattress down but both of them said they didn't need it. They assured me they would both be able to take the hit. I asked if they were sure about it, they gave me their word. So, no mattress. Just a sheet on the floor is what they would be falling on.

We did it multiple times both so I could get more angles and so we could do the motion better, and every time I got a shot or motion I was happy with I let them knew, so we could move on to the next bit. And eventually we were done, and it felt so bizarre. "Wait, what? We're done? I expected that to go way worse. That was actually a lot of fun to do!". Though it was still exhausting. It felt kind of like lying down to rest after a workout. Relaxing, and satisfying, but you're still tired.

I put the school equipment back except the SD Card, packed the other things that were my own, Jawad went home, Sadiq called an Uber, and I sat at school for 15 more minutes until my driver could arrive with my mother. After packing everything I sat at one of the benches. There was no one around. No chirping of birds or crowds talking or cars beeping, I just sat on a bench outside and experienced, for the first time since 2020, peace. My mind completely clear. I didn't think about what I just filmed, about my exams, about anything. Just.....silence. And it was wonderful.

Though it didn't last long. It was broken by my mother calling me saying she's waiting outside. So while on the way out I noticed some kind of event happening, called BMI DC. I think it's a debating competition. I was hungry so I bought a burger but forgot to take change, so I overpaid it by 2.5 times. And it wasn't even that good.

But I just wanted to go home, my tiredness was showing itself now. I slept for 2 hours. Then transferred the files from the card to my machine, and now, it was showtime.