Unit G321 Preliminary task write up My preliminary task required me and my group to produce a short piece of film which contained a continuity of action. In the film, a character had to open a door, walk across a room and exchange two sentences of conversation which become dramatic. Planning For the film we had to carefully plan a number of things. These included: storyline, camera angles, subject of conversation, costumes, performance, location, lighting and props. When planning the storyline, me, Chloe and Charley talked through a number of ideas thinking about how easily we could produce it and if it fit the task. First, we decided that a library would be a good setting to choose as it is a casual setting but also because people see it as quite a calm and quiet place so wouldn’t expect there to be drama in it. We decided this would be a good idea as it meant the audience would be surprised. We then built up our ideas around the library setting until we were all happy with the storyline. Once we had finished planning the storyline, we made storyboards so that we could refer back to them at any point and also to help us break down the different parts we would have to film. Next, we chose the camera angles that we thought would be effective. To show where we chose, I marked a small dot in coloured pen on my storyboard of where we thought the camera should roughly be. This was a good way of being able to stick to the time we had because we pictured roughly what we wanted it to look like. To ensure we would not break the 180 degree rule we rehearsed several times to give us an idea of how the scene would appear. This was useful as we were able to watch the clips back and decide if they were effective or if we should alter anything before we did it for the actual cut. As we were asked to show the characters in a natural setting we decided not to focus on the clothing and keep it to what they would normally be wearing. This helped give the impression to the viewers that it was a normal day. We also decided to keep things such as the lighting, performance and location as natural as we could in order to help it fit the targeted genre. Due to filming during school hours, we found we had to shoot over a few days. This meant it was important to show continuity with the costumes ensuring features like this were not obvious to the viewer as it would attract attention away from what was happening. I believe we successfully managed to do this however, we did find it difficult keeping the lighting the
same as on one of the days we filmed, it was very bright and sunny and on another day it was very dark, wet and raining. When creating a film it is very important that a variety of different shot types are used. This is because it helps the audience to stay engaged and not get bored as there is different ways of looking at things. The shot types are also very important to consider as they can have significant meaning on what is happening. For example, a close-up is usually used to show the significance of things and takes us to the mind of the character. This shot is a very intimate shot and can help perceive a character as good or bad as the viewers begin to feel very comfortable or very uncomfortable about the closeness. The 180 degree rule is a basic device in film making that shows the relationship between two characters' positions. The rule states that two characters must have the same left/right relationship to each other in order for the continuity of the sequence to be correct. We particularly focussed on this during filming to ensure we didn’t confuse the audience. We did find that to start with there were a couple of shots that we had to redo as we found we broke the rule however, we successfully managed to follow the rule throughout. For example:
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We also carefully considered the positioning whilst filming these scenes. We highlighted that Chloe was shorter than Charley so Chloe stood closest to the camera. This is so that they could both clearly be seen as if Charley was closest she may cover Chloe. Camera angles/shots In our task we tried to use a variety of different shots throughout. We did this to keep the audience interested but also because different shots can give out hidden meanings/feelings throughout the film. We managed to use high angles, low angles, close ups, over the shoulder shots, pan shots, tilt shots, long shots and an over-the-shoulder shot.
Our first shot is quite a simple shot of Charley walking through the school gates. We used this to make it clear to the audience that it was set in a school and to build up a bit of a storyline. This is an establishing shot. This is very similar to the Casino Royale opening where we see a low angle shot of the car pulling up. We see it go from being out of shot, to going in from the left of the screen and stopping in the middle. This is used to also help set the scene and build up tension and suspicion from the viewer of who could be in the car. Casio Royale’s opening shot.
Another example of a shot we used is a panning shot, used to show Charley walking into the library. We used this to slightly build a sense of mystery as the audience may not know where Charley is going. This shot was also used as it clearly shows the location of where the main dramatic moment is set. This helps the character to be able to relate to it more as if they were in the room themselves as they know the setting. In a thriller, a panning shot would typically be used to make out a character is being followed or watched. It also could establish a scene so the audience can see the full view.
To show Charley going up the stairs, a low angle shot was used. This shows how she could potentially be quite an intimidating character. This could make the audience feel uneasy about the character. Similarly in Casino Royale, a low angle shot is used to show the man going up in the elevator. This would have been used to help build up
the mysery and tension of finding out exactly who this man is and where he is going.
One of the weakest shots we attempted was the shot-reverse-shot. Although we managed to achieve this when exchanging conversation, the transition was not as smooth as it could have been and only a small amount of conversation was passed which makes it hard to distinguish the use of it. This is an area that we will practice before going on to carry out our thriller opening task. Editing Once we had shot all of the clips we needed, we needed to put it all together and edit it; we did this by using the programme Adobe Premiere Pro. We decided on the order of the clips and cropped any that needed to be cropped. Once we had a distinctive narrative we were able to start adding extra features such as effects and music. We decided to change the colour of the establishing shots to add a cold tone and sense of mystery. This also helped with the lighting as when we were filming the lighting changed a lot so this was useful as it made it all look similar. We also used video effects such as fade. This was used to show a smooth transition between two clips and helped the film to flow easily. Music was also used to help build tension but also to keep the viewers interested whilst they watched. We picked quite upbeat, fast paced music to build tension. We also kept the background noise on every clip as this helps make it realistic to those watching (as you cannot remove background noise day-today). Chloe and I edited this film together and Charley did her own version of editing. As neither me nor Chloe had used this editing programme before neither of us knew how to use it. This meant that everything we used in our film we had to teach ourselves to do or find out how to do it. I think we did a good job of editing, especially as it was our first time using Premier Pro. Overall I think we did well and produced a good film at the end of it. We only had a couple of minor problems such as breaking the 180 degree rule and the lighting however we successfully overcame both of these. I believe that Charley, Chloe and myself worked together very well as a group. We always made sure that we were all happy with every decision made and also each
contributed to the group in as many ways as we could e.g. we all worked on the storyboard, we all acted and we all filmed. I think we all learnt a lot from this preliminary task and have all picked up new skills that will be vital when filming the opening to a thriller.