Preliminary Task prep

The Preliminary task requires us to film a short video, that shows a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down on a chair. When the character sits down they will exchange a few lines of dialog with the character already sat down in the room. The task requires us to use continuity methods we will apply this by using editing.

For this task I am working with Niamh Barrett and Courtney Lynch. My role in this task is to be the character already sat in the room and to be assistant editor. Courtney is going to be the main character in the short film, the camera will mainly be focused on her. Whereas Niamh will be the main editor of the film.

This is our team, from left to right: Niamh, Courtney and Me. The one jumping in the background is Rae, she isn't apart of our group but photo bombed the only decent picture we got:). 

During this task we will be demonstrating match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. All these techniques will contribute towards the continuity of the short film, without continuity the short film would not make sense, and it wouldn't be believable for the audience.

Match on action refers to an editing technique where the editor cuts from one shot to another view, that matches the first shot action. This type of editing is key, as it gives of the impression of contunity, although these scenes may have been filmed days apart.

The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline for film makers. It states that two characters in the same scene should have the same left/right relationship to eachover. However if the cramera passes over the axis, this is called crossing the line, sometimes this happens to create a certain effect, but it is best to stick to the rule.

Camera Practise Shots

We have used these different shots, to try and get across the narrative of it being a students first day at school. To take this shot we used the panorama function on my iPhone. To set the scene we decided to open the narrative with an establishing shot. As you can see the opening shot gives you a 'general view', which is of Tupton hall school.

To follow the narrative we used a close up to fit the whole sign in, so the viewer focuses on the direction board. We used this to show how the student may feel lost as it is their first day, therefore doesn't know where everything is, so needs to be pointed in the right direction

The shot/reverse shot shows the audience a conversation between Niamh and Laura and how the react to eachover. The audience can infer that the conversation between them is quite pleasant as Laura is smiling at Niamh. This follows the narrative, as it shows how the student begins to make a friends on their first day.

We used a long shot to show how the student is dominated by their surroundings. This shot follows the narrative, as the audience can see how small the student is compared to the school. As the student is new they may feel like nothing compared to how big the school actually is, they may feel like they don't really matter to the school.

For this shot we used an extreme close up of the students eye, to show tiredness. The shot zooms into the eye  to show it in detail, the viewer can see it is blood shot. This shot follows the narrative as the first day of school can often be tiring and stressful, therefore the viewer can infer that, the students first day is coming to an end. 

To finish with we used a low shot, to make the viewer feel like they're looking through the eyes of someone else. This fits into the narrative, because it is a ride sign, the viewer can infer that the student is on the way home from school in a car. We used this shot because the student may feel over whelmed by the day, therefore they feel small in comparison to everything else. The student may also feel relived that their first day is over, confidence may grow as the year progresses.

Welcome to my blogsite

I have never studied media before, I chose media as one of my AS levels because it's something different. I am a keen watcher of films, as I regularly go to the cinema. I am intrigued to find out how the films are made, in the process of this course.

One particular area I am not so keen on is using this blog. I have never used a blog before, therefore i don't really know how to use one properly (at the minute). Hopefully throughout the corse I will develop my blogging skills.

The '2 and a half minute film opening' task interests me, i like the idea of this being an independent task. I have already began to think of some of my own ideas which will hopefully be presented in this short clip.