Preliminary Task - Editing 1

Hello everyone!
I would really like to tell you how much I enjoyed editing our production! I was interested in editing so I took over and started putting the shots together. I realised a lot of things while editing. To make a good production you need to have good filming as well. For example, we had a long length shot and we didn't like it because it was kind of boring and it would have been nice to have a few short lenght shots to make it more interesting. Our point was to create tension but it didn't work, so we have to be careful when we choose our shots for the main production. Also, when putting the shots together you have to be careful so it is smooth and you have to cut them on the right place. For example, there was a shot where Veronika starts speaking, but first when I edited it i didn't cut it on the right place so it seemed awkward how Veronika is waiting for the camera person to tell her to start speaking and my partners noticed that and they told me to fix it.
Another thing I noticed when I was editing was that the Over the shoulder shots weren't very good, because we could just see people's heads but not their shoulders. This is something we need to consider when filming because it affects the continuity.

Preliminary Task - Filming 2

Today we went to do our second filming but we were really dissapointed! The weather was different than yesterday, it was raining! When we looked at our shots from yesterday's filming, they were bright and compared to today's weather, so the continuity would be bad. So, we had to re-film the whole thing.
I think it was for good, because we managed to do better shots and we were quicker as we already knew clearly what we are doing.
Something annoying happened as well, the memory was full so we had to delete files so we could finish our filming and this just put more pressure on us and it took more time.

Preliminary Task - Filming 1

Hi Everyone!

 

 

 

Today we did our first filming. Dawn was filming and Patrycja was helping her. We thought that filming is easy and it doesn't take long, but as soon as we did the first shot we realised that we shouldn't try and rush it because it really does take time. We also didn't have any experience with the tripod, it was hard to do the pan and the camera wasn't very steady.
We did it in our lesson and we just filmed half of it because we didnt have enough time. Tomorrow we will continue filming.

Script - Preliminary Task

Veronika turns around the corner
Close -up shot on her feet talking towards the door. Titles appear on this shot.
Mid-shot about to push the door
Close-up shot on her hand pushing the door
PAN on Veronika entering and walking by
Static Long shot of Veronika walking in towards the camera
Mid-shot behind Veronika turning the corner to meet Anna
Low Angle shot of Anna’s face expression
Mid-shot of Veronika:
Veronika: Hi Anna.
Over the shoulder shot from Veronika’s left shoulder sitting opposite Anna, showing Anna’s head and shoulders.
Anna: What do you want?
Over the shoulder shot from Anna’s right shoulder, showing Veronika’s head and shoulders.
Veronika: Oh come on Anna, don’t be mad at me. I never meant this to happen.
Over the shoulder shot from Veronika’s shoulder, showing Anna’s head and shoulders.
Anna: You never meant this to happen?! Why would you do that to me, I thought you are my best friend?
Over the shoulder shot from Anna’s shoulder, showing Veronika’s face zoomed in.
Veronika: I know I should’ve told you, I promise it will never happen again.
Two shot of the girls showing full length of their bodies.
Anna: It’s just better this way. Leave it.
Titles.

Preliminary Task Planning 2

Our group for the preliminary task is going to include 4 people: Anna, Patrycja, Dawn and myself.

We've shared our individual ideas and we decided to use a simple storyline of two girls having an argument and one of them is trying to make up.

We thought about the shots we could use. We are planning to use close up shots, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, high and how angle shot to identify which one of the girls has got authority.

Also, we have to use shot reverse shot when two people are talking to show their faces and it's about identification of who is talking.
Another thing we have to do is the 180 degree rule which basically means that the director films on one side and if there was a line he/she shouldn't cross it and film on the other side when two people are having a conversation because this would confuse the audience, but if there is a reason for doing this then it is acceptable.
And the last thing is match on action, which is done when editing. The editor needs to make sure that the shots are continuous and everything is smooth and if there is a cut between two shots, the second one should start just where the first one has finished.

Next step of our planning will be creating a script and a storyboard.

Preliminary Task Planing 1

Hi Everyone! This is my first idea about our preliminary task.

I want to do something simple for the preliminary task and save all my ideas for the main production. We've been told to use the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot reverse shot.
This will be included in our filming. Also, the storyline needs to include a person walking through a door, sitting down and a dialogue.
So, my first idea was to have a girl, who is new to the school meeting a guy. Simple storyline. I'm planning to use close up shots, low and high angle shots, pan, point of view shot and over the shoulder shot.
I've done a detailed list of all the shots I want to use so it will be easier when filming.
Long shot of the girl walking down the corridor in the school.
Mid-shot behind her as she turns around the corner. We see a door towards the canteen.
Cut to a close up shot of the hand of the girl opening the door.
Track following her walking into the canteen.
POV shot of the girl looking into the sixth form area – sees a boy sitting on his own.
Long shot of the girl sitting down on a table not far from the boy.
POV shot of the girl looking into her back and taking out a sandwich.
Mid shot the boy asking the girl if she is new.
Mid shot of the girl saying yes.
over the shoulder shot of the guy asking her to sit on his table if she wants.
Over the shoulder shot of the girl saying ‘uhmm okay I don’t mind’
Long shot and a pan showing the girl going to the boy’s table.
Over the shoulder  shot of the boy saying: so when did u come to the school?
Over the shoulder shot of the girl answering: 2 weeks ago.
OVS of the boy: Do you like it?
OVS of the girl: Its better than my old school (Laughing)
long shot of both of them laughing.
Close up the boy’s face: Do u want to come and watch our drama performance after school?
close up the girl’s face: smiling, yeah sure.
Long shot of them: boy saying: alright I will see you later then, leaving
girl: see you later

I'm looking forward to my partner's ideas and how we can combine them together and make a good piece of work :)

Opening Sequence 3

Thirteen
Addiction Drama

The movie starts with a close up shot of a girl looking at the camera which gives the impression that she’s recording herself. There is a rock sound on the background which catches audience’s attention and engages them with the movie.
As she starts speaking, the volume of the sound goes down and we see a hand from behind the camera hitting the girl so we realise that this is a point of view shot, but because there isn’t a shot reverse shot (we didn’t see the girl’s face first and then what she is looking at we didn’t know that it’s a point of view shot and this is made to create enigma, mystery, to make the audience wonder who’s hitting the girl.
Straight after that there is a two shot of the girls sitting on their bed and this shot suggest that they’re experiencing the same thing.
There’s a series of close up shots after that to reveal emotions of the girl’s faces as they’re taking some sort of drugs. There’s a few quick over the shoulder shots as they’re talking to each other and it shows the 180 degree rule.

Comments: Again, a lot of close up shots used which definitely means that I will use them in my own production. I like the idea of the POV shot in the beginning without showing the person’s face first but I don’t really support the idea of the rock sound. I mean I like it in this particular film opening, it goes well with the scene but I wouldn’t use it in my own production. I’d rather use something much more dramatic and sad.

Opening Sequence 2

Listen to Your Heart Romantic Drama

         This movie starts with a narrator’s voice while showing the credits. The guy is talking about music and that shows that he might be into music, suggest to the audience that he might be a musician or a singer, anything related to music.  
Straight after that we see a long establishing shot of a big city, an ocean and the title of the movie. As this shot is shown, we hear a nice happy piano sound which just makes the audience feel good and interested in the scene.
Cuts to a traversing shot of a street to set the location moving down to middle shot of a few people walking, but one of them comes forward to the camera and that suggest that he is the main character and the audience should focus on him.
After that we see the guy talking another person on the street shown through a mid-shot of both of them. Even though the guy from the first shot is dressed in a black coat and shirt which could mean that he’s got higher status than the guy on the street who isn’t shaved and he is wearing a bit baggie and old looking coat, the shot is equal and the two men take the same amount of space on the screen which suggest that the guy in the coat doesn’t think of himself as something more than other people.
A close up shot of a girl playing a violin is shown. The girl smiles at the guy who is shown in a mid-shot smiling back and leaving some money to the girl. These shots bring a positive atmosphere in the scene as we see the people smile and also the shot of the guy leaving money to the musician supports the idea that he might a musician himself and a person who appreciates music.
We see a long shot of the Statue of Liberty which again sets the location and suggest where the next actions will happen.

Comments: Even though in my research I found out a lot about the conventions of a Drama film, after watching a few film openings I realised that in the beginning of a movie you shouldn't give out too much of the storyline. I like the idea of having a sound in the beginning to set the atmosphere and the mood. It really has a big effect on the audience and I know that because every time I watch a movie, either a sad, scary or happy song it has the biggest effect on me. If there was a sad scene in the movie it wouldn’t make me cry if there wasn’t a sad sound or a song to go with it. If the sound is well chosen it would definitely make me cry. And this is one of the things we want - a response from the audience.

Opening Sequence 1

Girl Interrupted
Psychological Drama

         The opening sequence of this movie starts with an establishing traversing shot moving down which makes the audience follow and engaged. Down to a close up shot of a girl’s face, continuing down to another girl’s face. Combined with the slow song on the background, it indicates that the movie is going to be about something emotional and probably sad.
After that we see a close up shot of the first girl but there is a narrator’s voice on the background. This could mean that the voice is her thoughts and it gives out a bit of information about the girl.
The girl’s face is shown again through a close up shot but this time to identify that the next point of view shot is hers. There is a long shot of a corridor showing a door and a few men trying to come in. This makes the audience question themselves ‘Who are they’ and this is what every 2 minutes of the beginning of a movie need because it keeps the audience interested in it and makes them want to find out what will happen next.
Back to the girl’s face in a close up shot, we still hear her voice on the background and there is a very slow pan around her. This shows that she is the main character and the producer wants the audience to focus only on her face, to show her emotions.

Comments: This movie supports my research, from the beginning we see a lot close up shots used to reveal emotions.I really liked the idea of having her voice on the background. I think it is really effective and I might use something similar in my own production.

Research

I’ve been doing some research on different genres and after our first meeting as a group we decided to do a Drama film. There are some sub genres of Drama:

• Crime Drama
• Historical Drama
• Comedy Drama
• Romantic Drama
• Childhood Drama
• Addiction Drama
• Docudrama
• General Drama
• Musical Drama
• Political Drama
• Medical Drama
• Musical Drama
• Psychological Drama

Conventions

It exhibits real life situations with realistic characters and stories. Portrays journeys of character development and intense social interaction. Purpose of a dramatic storyline is to move the audience emotionally.
Heart of drama is the conflict. Conflicts include inner/outer realistic struggles depicting hardships, difficulty and pain. Audience can relate to the characters.

Camera shots, angles and movements used in Drama films:

1. Long shot - This category includes the full shot showing the entire human body, with the head near the top of the frame and the feet near the bottom. But in many production it is used to set the scene and indicate the location in which the next actions will happen.

2. Medium Shot - Contains a figure from the knees/waist up and is normally used for dialogue scenes, or to show some detail of action. Normally, in any films there are people having a dialogue so it is used in drama film as well.

3. Close-up shot - It shows very little background and concentrates on either a face or a specific detail of mise-en-scene. The close-up shot takes us into the mind of a character. It is used to reveal deeper emotions or show more detail. This is quite a specific shot which is used in drama film because it helps the dramatic storyline, it affects the audience much more.

4. High angle - The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview. High angles make the object seem smaller and less significant. If a character is shown it makes them look powerless and miserable. This is a shot quite often used in drama films because we often see people struggling or having problems in drama movies so they are more likely to be shown through a high angle.

5. Zoom in - Powerful thing. When done properly it can tell a story in itself. The zoom in can effectively portray a strong emotion, it will serve as strong support to your story. Slowly zooming in to a close up can make the emotion larger than life. 

Introduction

Hello! My name is Veronika and this is my AS Media blog. It will include all my work on the 2 minute opening sequence of a film which we have to create. My partner will be Anna Sabina Moldovan. You can comment on anything you find interesting or not so good, give feedback and advice. Thank you

The brief for this is as follows:

Preliminary exercise:

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, 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 and the 180-degree rule.

Main task:

the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes'.

'All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source'
'Both preliminary and main tasks may be done individually or as a group. Maximum four members to a group.'

Marking of work:
'The centre will be expected to allocate marks according to four levels for each of three categories: 

• 'Research and Planning
• Construction
• Evaluation In arriving at a level for each category, teachers are advised to look for evidence of ‘best fit’. It is possible both for a candidate to be placed in different levels for each of the three categories and to receive quite different marks from other members of the same group responsible for producing an artefact, accoring to his/her contribution. Teachers are asked to support marks with written comments uneder the three categories on the assessment sheet.

In centres where there is more than one teacher involved in the marking, there MUST be evidence that internal standardisation has taken place to ensure a consistent rank order.'