I recently watched a clip by Geoff Boyle, talking about cinematography on Cooke Optics TV. I figured that it could be useful to share. 
This topic hit home for me because my upbringing was in art. Painting and drawing were my home for most of my life. 
Coming into cinematography I see the same thing.  You can forget the numbers at a point and just focus on painting the image. Make it look right. Forget the numbers and paint.  Does it look right? Are the colours right? Does it feel right? Can you understand what's happening in the context of the story? Are your eyes guided in the right place? Good. You're done. 

This is the exact method that I've used to study everything that I know for the past few years. 
The major issue with pursuit of anything is keeping the objective and efforts organized. 

I developed the idea of using a game format skill tree to chart this. 
When it hit me I was in college. I generally knew what I wanted to make but it had tons and tons of moving parts. 
Fortunately the solution was simple. I took each section in larger chunks. 

At that point it was Art , Film and Tech. 

I went to college for animation and was heavy into the art stage, but it also doubled as a little bit of a film education. 
Everything was done manually but we learned everything from pre-production to post. I knew that this would take years and years to complete but this was the method. 

THE 1ST WAVE IS FOUNDATION.

You'll need to understand what it means to do the thing. 
In art it's drafting, tone, rendering, colour, perspective ETC. Just the essentials to effectively make anything work visually. After that application of the first wave lead into specifics. Everything in the world. Organic and inorganic. Costume, clothing, was next. Last, Flair or design sense came in. After a base is established you can flip it any way you'd like. This process was then repeated for tech. I got to a certain point and understood enough to get what I needed in relation to the projected final result.  

Currently I'm on the film part of the chart. 
This is a deep avenue of study but it's getting there. 

BONUS: THE SKELETON PORTFOLIO

Along the way my ideas had been cooking and I started to make a skeleton portfolio. 

The idea of drafting the final before your skills are there to meet it is quite useful. This often includes, writing stories, premises, treatments, scripts etc. Also due to my prior experience in the art skill tree, I've been able to develop accurate concept art and storyboards for the ideas that I create. 

When you have a shell version say 5 key pieces, you have pencil sketch versions of them.
You can keep them on a closed page of your site or as a mock up somewhere. 
Over time you'll slot one of the roughs out with an updated version. 
You keep doing this until they're all done. 

After the tree is completed, you batch that tree under 1 "node" and you can either scale that idea up as an expert, 
or you can repeat the steps with other branches to develop a more complicated final skill. 

Think like an rpg, or Naruto lol. You can stack elements on top of each other to form new techniques. 


ACTIONS ! 

Go out now and make your own skill tree. 
Think of your final longer term goal. 
Break down the areas of study. 
Tackle them piece by piece starting with the raw foundation. 
Have fun! 

-MANIKK- 

Something about street photography always calls me back. 
The idea that fashion can be blended with architecture and a bit of spontaneity always carries with it a certain energy. 
For this shoot I spent some time with my friend and model Yusra Bijou. 
She styled her own look and I picked locations that would compliment it. 

The core of what I wanted to express was the air of a dancer. Although she's not one herself, the museum like elegance of the hard architectural lines matched with her pastel clothing and posture seemed fitting. 

Here are several select pieces from our outing. 

Recently I picked up a Steadicam Scout system. 
It's SDI so I've had to figure out another way to patch through an hdmi signal. 
Also this is a 2nd hand kit, and the internal sdi cable has to be replaced. 
I tested the blackmagic hdmi to sdi adapter which works well but lead me to finding out about the sled's inner workings weren't working lol. 

In the meantime I found a simple solution of running an hdmi cable around the sled itself into my atomos ninja v. 


Currently I'm running monitor power at the bottom of the stage from a v lock battery, and at the top using an anker pd26800 patched into the camera and the follow focus motor. I've added on a second smallrig clamp to slot in another anker battery just in case i'd like to power the other parts or swap quickly. 

As an additional little thing, I've mounted the wheel of my tilta nucleus n to the handle so that I can get something of a thumb wheel going. 

I've got quite a bit more to test but I'll see how it goes and post again here in the devlog. 

It's all about people. 
The people you travel with, and the ones you learn from. 
No matter what we do, it's all about people. 

Build your own. Your own reel, your own art. 
Too often people can get caught up in frameworks of dependency. 
Relying or wishing on others to complete the picture for them. 
In truth, this is not the most effective way. 
You must build momentum yourself. 
Build your own bridge forward as you walk. 

Personally, when I was learning how to be an artist, I just created. 
It was pencil and paper and simplicity and all of the time in the world stretched to fit my will. 
As I moved into film I found a bit of a divide. 
Due to much of this being a collaborative process, I started to slow down. 
I created but much more frequently in my books than on recorded film / digital media. 

From now, I’m setting out to change that. It may take a simple push. 
It may take the form of restructuring my projects. 
It may take me moving to the other side of the planet. 
Whichever way it will be done. 

In truth, this is why this space was created, Manikk Realm. 
It’s a home, a place for my mind and yours to meet and talk. 
Welcome. 


​

Brutal patience and sensitivity. In film we control the flow of time. You can pull at the strings of one's soul.

The more that I create, the more I come to understand this. It takes a specific type of bravery to guide the spectator and make them an active participant. Brutality in patience is knowing that you have the room to lock one’s gaze or free them. Cutting away isn’t always the best answer. Speeding things up isn’t always the best answer. In deciding how you’d like to feel while sitting in front of a sequence of events, you can better decide how to call your cuts and what shots to hold.

Sensitivity is necessary as it allows us to access varied levels of awareness. The audience, the participants in the project’s creation, and the cultural context that the media is enjoyed ( or hated ) in is only accessible once you attain a reasonable degree of sensitivity. At times you might not even understand why you feel something , but as long as you know that its there , you can put it to use as a compass in creation.

It’s a great gift, time. Being able to manipulate the perception of time is powerful, so feel free to take your active participants on an adventure. It may just change some lives, yours included. Also remember to play. Remind THEM to play.

-MANIKK-


“It was a musical thing, and you were supposed to sing or to dance while the music was being played. “- Alan Watts

​

A shot from a long gone era. On that day we found art. Or it found us. 

Behind the scenes of the last shoot I shared at Porsche, I decided to run a little test on my camera. 
This is a quick moment of my friend Rich. 
You can find his work here ( https://www.releasetheshutter.com )
___
​
My Current Favourite Camera : Fujifilm X-T3 -  https://amzn.to/2E9dxjD
Lens: Sigma Art 18-35 F1.8  https://amzn.to/2YtVhJC
Lens Adapters I use :(Fringer Ef - FX ) https://amzn.to/2EbofpR
(Nikon to FX ) https://amzn.to/2Yx34Gn
Microphone: https://amzn.to/2W3Hr2W
ND Filter: https://amzn.to/2E6OQEw

FOR MORE , GO TO: https://www.manikkrealm.com

FOLLOW ME:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manikkrealm/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/manikkrealm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattieau.st.cyr


​

 Today I went out with a friend and my brother to shoot at Porsche in Toronto. 

At times the subject matter feels like impressionistic art. Focusing on shapes and a vibe as opposed to
simply framing faces makes it much more of a therapeutic process. 
From there I started to get a sense of each car's personality.  

I took these with my Fujifilm X-T3, and the Sigma 18-35mm lens. 
Really enjoying this kit so far. 

​-MANIKK-


THE GEAR I USE: 
My Current Favourite Camera : Fujifilm X-T3 -  https://amzn.to/2E9dxjD
Lens: Sigma Art 18-35 F1.8  https://amzn.to/2YtVhJC
Lens Adapters I use :(Fringer Ef - FX ) https://amzn.to/2EbofpR
(Nikon to FX ) https://amzn.to/2Yx34Gn
Microphone: https://amzn.to/2W3Hr2W

FOLLOW ME:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manikkrealm/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/manikkrealm

A new friend named Ian.I met him near the Royal Ontario Museum, singing to raise some cash for school. He's an opera singer, days away from getting throat surgery. From today it should be about 8 days left. From then he won't be able to speak for a week or so.

In contrast to this, he's finding himself. Finding his voice. He's going through changes, but reaching clarity. 

https://www.iansabourin.com

__
The gear I used. 
My Current Favourite Camera : Fujifilm X-T3 -  https://amzn.to/2E9dxjD
Lens: Sigma Art 18-35 F1.8  https://amzn.to/2YtVhJC
Lens Adapters I use :(Fringer Ef - FX ) https://amzn.to/2EbofpR
(Nikon to FX ) https://amzn.to/2Yx34Gn
Microphone: https://amzn.to/2W3Hr2W
ND Filter: https://amzn.to/2E6OQEw

Boil it all down. 
When there's nothing to take away , you've reached perfection.

In pursuit of anything worth while, you'll face moments of hardship.That's normal.

Usually you'll go through several steps in reaching a resolution.

First you've got to accept absolute responsibility.
Everything that you have done up until this moment has gotten you exactly where you are. 
If you want a different life, then you have to become something different.

Next you've got to see that there's a lesson in everything. There's a way to turn most things into a win.
It's not easy, but you'll have to adopt the idea that everything works to your advantage. 

Finally, you've got to remember that there is nobody that needs to save you. 
You're your own hero. You were born with the ability to grow, and to learn everything that you need in order to get to the next stage. You can seek advice, but the power required to actually do the work ( the work of changing and developing yourself) is solely up to you.


-MANIKK- 

This has been a test in tracking a 3d object. 
I did a quick build based on an older mecha design and learned how to track it into real world 3d space. 

I'm finding it more important to show what's going on under the hood of this realm. 
As the ideas flow and things get built, it serves little purpose to operate in a vacuum.

This is scene 1 of 10 or so. 
Prototypes for stories that need to be told start like this. 
I first come up with a little sketch on paper or digitally, then I refine the idea a little further with a 3D block in. 
Due to my past work history I've built up a small library of assets that I can modify ,re simulate and populate my projects with. 

​


​ 

You can actively cultivate luck. 
Prepare and seize the opportunities within your reach.


As wild as it may seem, luck, good fortune, whatever you may call it is certainly an attainable and tune-able skill. Just as any physical activity is something that can be trained in , luck itself can be honed in upon over time and with deliberate practice. Although some may mention that their natural state is unlucky, one could argue the same for said physical tasks. As an infant , one is not born into this world being able to run the 100 meter in any capacity.

Actionable steps: 

1. Understand what it is that you wish to attain. 
2. Understand with your entire being that many things move and take place far outside of your radar. 
3. Understand that your awareness shapes your vision. If you are told to think of a Yellow car, day in and day out for a week, the odds of you catching onto them when out and about raises significantly. It's not that there were none of them around you before, it's that by being brought to the forefront of your awareness you are now able to seize the opportunity of seeing them. 
4. Try. You must try. Shoot your shot. If you never try, you'll never attain anything. You will miss very often but your hit rate will also go up. Most of the lucky breaks that I caught were due to simply trying more than most. Many of the things that you desire are one Ask away, one Reach beyond where you currently sit. 
Go out and act upon this world. 


-MANIKK-

All cycles must be completed. Energy flows and although matter is not destroyed , it remains in motion. We may very well chase eternity, though until now , the means by which we achieve it are unknown. Even still our pursuits are endless, and the attempt to become more than human remains a most human pursuit.
Cherish every second. We know this gift of life through contrast. 

Take hold of your present and in turn your future. The fire necessary to create and grasp our fate lies within us all. Ambition dampened is often due to a lack of raw belief. Understand that your destiny is woven by thoughts. Make it ritual to stoke the flames of your ambition. Daily, weekly , monthly and yearly, you must be relentless, for no other can craft your story.

​

A code spoken among a group is relative. Universal frames of morality are for the most part inconsistent across humanity. There are core values that do thread among the masses, though situations and context dictate how these lines are drawn and redrawn throughout time.

All serves self preservation.

​

In pursuit of furthering the collective knowledge base that is the internet, I'm going to share a little bit of what I've been learning recently. On the road to creating this realm, I've been studying a ton and working to lock down a lot of the major story aspects that have to be resolved. 

Manikk Realm is a portal to worlds. 
In each of these worlds there are locations and characters that must be fully realized. 
In order to get this done right, I've been digging into a few books. 
Some of which are about story and structure, 
some about characters and personality traits that we come across in the real world. 

Once these aspects are more heavily integrated, the worlds that are created will tie in better to the one that we currently share. 

I'll start simply with story structure. Got a little help from some talks by Will Smith on these. 

When writing stories, at a point the story itself gets out of the way. 

We know that all stories are about a protagonist, and they're faced with a few key questions,
more so , we as the audience are.   

We must ask: 

What do they want?
Why do they want it?
​What will happen if they don't get it? 
What are the obstacles stopping them from getting it? 

The most powerful moments in the story are when the external obstacles cause the most internal difficulty.

If these are solved and arranged well the story should hold ok. 

The next bit is the emotion.If we focus on the main human emotions : Hope,fear, love, hate, we can paint in broad strokes and then become more specific and more nuanced as we refine out works. 

The third piece of information that's useful when creating stories is to Make It Honest. 
In creating stories it's tempting for us to dream and venture off into all kinds of worlds, but in order to most effectively tell the stories in a believable way, we must speak from a point deep within ourselves. 

Speaking from your own experience even if transposed into a different context will work far better because you know how things actually work. Sharing bits of insider knowledge , and "speaking the language" of your viewer or reader, will do two things. It will let them know that you actually know what you're talking about, and it will create a more complete world without awkward information gaps. If you were to write a story about dancers but had never been a part of a dance community in any capacity, then it would become a more daunting task. It would do you better to involve yourself and to consult people who live that lifestyle to more accurately portray it. 

Doubling back to an earlier point ​

​When writing stories, at a point the story itself gets out of the way. 

The function of the research and key questions and the honesty, is that they form into a flow. This flow takes the reader from the beginning through to the end of the story in a clear way. They're driven forward, asked questions that they need to solve. They'll keep pushing through or be pushed from event to event in a way that just makes sense. 

One other very important thing that I've picked up in terms of story is to eliminate the " Why don't they just...?" questions. If you can ask yourself this question throughout the story and pull the chords that lead the protagonist down any of these routes, you'll save yourself from quite a few plot holes. Put simply, burn the boats behind your characters. The only way that they can go is forward. In story this can be done with figurative lateral steps, but as a whole, if they can't just stop, or not participate, the reader and the audience will mostly likely be more heavily invested in seeing this journey through. 

So, to recap. 

KEY QUESTIONS. 
KEY EMOTIONS.
MAKE IT HONEST.
​BURN THE BOATS. 

Keep these things in mind and your storytelling journey will be a little easier. 

BONUS: Actionable Steps - Go watch 3 of your favourite movies and make notes on where each of these tips comes into play. Ask the Key Questions, Figure out the important emotional pulls at play , Look into who wrote and directed the work. Find a behind the scenes reel if you can and see where their point of honesty came from, and finally note the key moments where they " burned the boats" . 

- MANIKK -