Preliminary Exercise

Brief:

In groups of no more than four, involving filming & editing a character, crossing a room & sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot & the 180 degree rule.

Continuity Definition: Continuity is a detailed script used in making a film in order to avoid discontinuities from shot to shot.


Reference:

wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Continuity productions techniques:

180 degree rule:
The 180° rule is a basic guideline in film making that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same shot should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle.

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/180_degree_rule

Shot Reverse Shot:

Shot reverse shot (or shot/countershot) is a film technique wherein one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking "back" at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.
Shot reverse shot is a feature of the "classical" Hollywood style of continuity editing, which deemphasizes transitions between shots such that the audience perceives one continuous action that develops linearly, chronologically, and logically. It is in fact an example of an eyeline match.

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_reverse_shot


Match on match:
match on action technique can preserve temporal continuity where there is a uniform, unrepeated physical motion or change within a passage. A match on action is when some action occurring before the temporally questionable cut is picked up where the cut left it by the shot immediately following. For example, a shot of someone tossing a ball can be edited to show two different views, while maintaining temporal continuity by being sure that the second shot shows the arm of the subject in the same stage of its motion as it was left when cutting from the first shot.



Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuity_editing


Shot Sizes:
The Rule Of 3rd's: The Rule of Thirds is a important thumb in photography. The rule states that the image can be divided into 9 parts by two equally spaced lines horizontally and vertical. The four points formed by the intersections of the lines can be used to align features in the frame.

Reference - http://rbsmedia.blogspot.com/2009/01/shot-types.html


Panning Shot:

Panning is the horizontal movement or rotation of a camera, or the scanning of a subject horizontally on video or a display device. Panning a camera is a motion similar to that of someone shaking their head

Reference - http://rbsmedia.blogspot.com/2009/01/shot-types.html


Camera Movement:

Camera movement is one of the most expressive tools available to a filmmaker. It alters the relationship between the subject and the camera frame, shaping the viewer's perspective of space and time and controlling the delivery of narrative information. As the camera frame orients the viewer within the mise-en-scene, movement of the frame provides the illusion of the viewer journeying through the world of the narrative. The camera height and angle, the distance to a subject, and the composition of a shot may change during camera movement.


Reference - http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Academy-Awards-Crime-Films/Camera-Movement.html




Framing:

Frame definition file is a file made up of statements recognized by the fmli command interpreter. Three types of frames can be defined in FMLI: menu frames, form frames, and text frames.FMLI recognizes the type of frame you are defining based on the contents of the frame definition file and certain file naming conventions. The following sections briefly describe these three types of frames. Detailed explanations of how to write frame definition files can be found in Frame definition files.




Plot of prelim script:

The plot of our prelim script is between is a short clip which is a job interview between the two characters(Sohail and Ryan).







Script:











Mise-en-scene:

MISE-ON-SCENE

COSTUME- in this scene, both characters will be dressed smart to compare with the plot. Sohail, the boss of the job agency wears a grey suit, black shirt and tie to refer to his title. Ryan also enters wearing a suit in order to help himself with securing the job he has come for. Sohail’s clothes represents his character in this scene as he sits by his desk awaiting his next customer professionally, however, Ryan’s clothes does not represent him fully as the audience finds out in the play when he loses his temper showing no profession.

HAIR AND MAKE UP- Ryan and Sohail will both have their hairs done smartly, possibly brushed to the side to portray the profession: Sohail being the boss; Ryan trying to secure his job. No make up will be applied to the characters as they are both boys.

LIGHTING- High key lighting will be used in this scene as it is neither horror nor happy, therefore natural light from the window and door located behind Sohail will also be used. There will be no special effect lights as there is no need to make it to dramatic.

PROPS- As this is a business scene, the basics will be needed such as: computer/laptop; documents/papers. Also files and cabinets will be needed to make it more office-type. There may be a picture on the wall however nothing to fancy in order to relate to the business mood.

CHARACTER MOVEMENT- In this scene, there is little movement. Ryan enters the building, loses his temper and then exits, showing that there is hardly any movement; however for a scene as short as this it could be classed as quite a lot of movement. Although there is mainly a lot of talking rather than movement, giving a clear image of what the scene is about.

REPRESENTING TIME PERIOD- Modern suits will be worn to represent the 21^st Century. Lighting will also be in colour and of suitable colours to show modern technology.

Shot List:

Storyboards:








Location Recce:









Risk Assesement:






Evaluation:

For our preliminary task we decided to create an office scene for our short video clip. The plot of our script was a short job interview between our two characters. After filming and watching it back through we came together and made a decision as a whole group that we was not happy with the filming. The reason for this is because we made many mistakes whilst filming first time round. Examples are laughing whilst acting, people in the background of shots and problems with the rules such as shot/reverse shot and match on action. We came to a decision as a group to film the whole thing again. After filming for the second time as a group we was much happier as a group and after editing the clip we was allot more pleased than the first time round.

Throughout the task we were always coming across new media terms and techniques. Examples of this is learning media terms such as shot reverse-shot, 180 degree rule, match on action, panning, tracking and shot sizes. During one of our lessons we researched each one of these media terms to get a full understanding of each one. We learnt new stuff on the computers such as logging our shots and using new software such as Abdoe premiere pro. We learnt how to put all our clips onto the software and edit all our clips and put it all together as one video clip.

During the task we also came across Blogger which is a blogging site so we can blog all out work so it is east to view. Blogger was very easy to set up posts, edit posts and published your posts. Blogger is also very easy way to get feedback and reviews on each task. Blogger was also very easy to navigate around and was very easy to use whilst working. Overall I found Blogger very easy and efficient to use.

Overall as a group we came across areas where we performed well and also where we performed not so well. We was in a group of three and every other group was in a group of four so we had a little extra work between us but I feel we coped very well as a group and all worked well together. As a group we planned out which task we would all be doing and got on with it. In some ways we also worked quite slowly as a group. Some of the factors were having to film twice slowed us down and we struggled to get tasks done quickly to update our bloggers. As a group we could have also improved in areas such as improving our storyboards. We also did not use our storyboards whilst we filmed. This made filming a little bit more difficult and if we were to do it again next time we would use our storyboards to help us.

I feel that doing this task has helped me gain media experience such as learning how to use the camera and the editing suite. Using the editing suite was very simple and easy and we got to use software such as Abdoe premiere pro. Also throughout the task I knew exactly what had to be done each time to get the full top marks. For example I knew that to get good marks we had to include shot-reverse shot whilst filming so that the scene would look good and effective.

If I was to do the task again i would make sure that I worked at a much quicker pace with my own work and also I would make sure that the whole of my group would also work quicker. Also I would pick up on mistakes that I have made and would make sure that I correct them and they don’t happen again. Overall I have enjoyed working on the preliminary task as it was quite enjoyable to work on also I fort it was good working together as a group so we could all make decisions on certain things that we needed inputs on.

Skills I want to develop:

During the task I developed new media terms and techniques but there was areas that I would like to develop more. For example I struggled to use the editing suite as I could not come to terms with the software Abdoe premiere pro. The ways in which I can develop my knowledge of the software is when we move onto our final task I can learn how to use the software and develop my skills on it.