Sam webb

Sam Webb

The Preliminary Exercise

The Preliminary Exercise In this task we were in groups of no more than three people.

We were told to design a short clip of a character opening a door, walking across the room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character. One another will then exchange a few words. Also we have to show that we understand the 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot and match on match actions and include these in our short clip.

180 degree rule

Shot

reverse shot

Match on match action

Person walks through the door, walks across the room and sits down. The camera stays on this person throughout these actions

Images from www.googleimages.com

Basic Information Mat, Alex and I began to plan out the scene for our preliminary task. This included picking the

cast, the location of the filming, creating dialogue and listing possible editing and camera techniques.

Location: Media Classroom Cast: Alex Girling and Mat Allison Filming: Sam Webb Editing: Alex Girling Mise en Scene: Mat Allison Sound: Gun shots (at the end) Props and costume: We are using a gun, sunglasses and tape as props . And for costume Mat

is going to wear everyday clothes while Alex is going to wear mainly black clothes as it is related to his character.

Dialogue: Mat : (muffles) Alex: (takes the bag of Mat’s head and puts his gun on the table and (Mat sits on the other chair

opposite Alex) “Where’s the money?”Mat: “Wh, wha, what money?”Alex: “Don’t play games with me” (Alex reaches for the gun)Mat: “I don’t know what your on about”Alex: “Your time is up” (camera moves down Mat’s body to his feet, gun is fired and, then a close

up on mat’s feet as he walks out of the room )

17th January 2011Storyboard

24th January 2011Day 1 Of Filming In this first day of filming

myself, Mat and Alex got the camera and worked out how the settings and zoom are used. We eventually got used to the camera and how it worked. We then used the rest of our time for a rehearsal.

We went over the different shots and the dialogue we would be using for our preliminary exercise. For instance we practised Alex walking across the room a lot using different shot types to see which one was the best to use.

26th January 2011Day 2 Of Filming Mat, Alex and I finished all of our filming. We used various shot types

for example long shot and over the shoulder shot. We had roughly an hour to get all the shots done because another group were using the same room as us at the same time. We managed to get all the shots done with time to spare, we didn’t rush work we took our time so everything could be perfect.

Mat provided the props we would be using which involved a toy gun, sunglasses and tape. We then uploaded our work on to the computer ready to start the editing.

31st January 2011Editing

Today myself and our group edited our filming. Alex was in charge of the editing with a little input from myself and Mat. We didn't find it to hard it was pretty simple to do once you’ve got used to it. We were mainly looking to insert good continuity. The first bit of editing we did was arranging the clip into order of the way we wanted and then cut the bits we didn’t want out of it.

We then added a title page and a little bit of credits at the end of the clip. We also considered adding sound effects and other non-diegetic sounds. We added in the last bit of our editing which was a sound, we added a gun shot into are work which fit in well and didn’t sound out of place.

Overall Conclusion Of The Preliminary Task

Overall I think we all worked we as a team, I personally enjoyed the filming side of it. And I'm sure Mat and Alex enjoyed the acting. Alex was in charge of editing but we all helped out and gave our advice on what we believe looked the best. The end product was good as we included various shot types, improved the clip with some good editing and every happened how we expected it to. I'm looking forward to doing the main task.

The link to our preliminary task: http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=TnA6mRdb-jI

Main Task

Risk Assessment Before filming we had to make sure the area we were

filming in was safe. We checked for loose wires and cables we could trip over in any of the rooms we did filming in and for the main task. Where we filmed in town we were careful to not fall off the bridge or onto the train tracks by staying away from any ledges. We were also careful not to film the general public.

Main Task In our main task we have to

create the titles and opening of a new fiction film that lasts a maximum of two minutes. We do this in the groups we were in when creating the preliminary task, so im with Alex and Mat. Are clip is going to be a horror. About a man that had be kidnapped for experimental use. We will be using a vary of shot types, cuts and editing with this clip.

We decided that we were going to film every Monday in our lesson time and edit on the Wednesday as the rooms we wanted to use were are available at these time and our tutors were happy with this

Day What We Are Doing

Mondays Filming

Wednesdays Editing

Key Terms Shot reverse shot – One

character is shown looking at another character (often on screen), and then other character is shown looking back at the first character.

Cut – An abrupt film transition from on sequence to another.

Continuity Editing – The purpose of this system is to establish a logical coherence between shots.

Fade in/ Fade outs - The process of causing a picture to gradually darken and disappear or vice-versa.

Superimposition – The placement of an image or text on top of the footage .

Long Shot - Shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings.

Mid-shot - a shot of the person from the knees up or the waist up

Close up - tightly frames a person or an object.

Action – The editor cuts from one shot to another view that matches the first sots action, giving the impression of continuous time.

Cutaway – The interruption of continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else.

Slow Motion – An effect in film making , where by time appears slowed down.

Editing - involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture

Handheld footage – A process in which footage is recorded in someone's hand instead of a tripod.

Non-diegetic sound: It is sound which is represented as coming from a source outside the story space, ie. its source is neither visible on the screen, nor has been implied to be present in the action

Diegetic sound: It is sound that the characters can hear as well as the audience, and usually implies a reaction from the character.

Sound Effects - a sound recorded and presented to make a specific storytelling or creative point, without the use of dialogue or music.

Non-diegetic sound: It is sound which is represented as coming from a source outside the story space, ie. its source is neither visible on the screen, nor has been implied to be present in the action

Diegetic sound: It is sound that the characters can hear as well as the audience, and usually implies a reaction from the character.

Sound Effects - a sound recorded and presented to make a specific storytelling or creative point, without the use of dialogue or music.

7th February 2011Research We as a class looked at different film openings from various genres

and assessed how they produced there’s multi million pound films. We watched the starts of Casino Royale, Pulp Fiction, Don’t Look Now, Halloween, Inside Im Dancing, Last King Of Scotland and Kill Bill Vol 1. We looked at how they story was set up ,how the audiences curiosity were provoked, how the characters are introduced and the way in which the genre is illustrated. This helped us a lot on the decision making of creating our opening, they also helped with what sort of aspects of filming and producing we should use.

ResearchKey Points Within Our Main Task

In our main task we want to use handheld footage we got this idea from the film ‘Halloween’. We think this would give great effect in the point of view of the character and hopefully give tension to the opening sequence of the clip. Here is the opening scene from ‘Halloween’ :-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxRGw0l-b18

We would like to use the same idea from James Bond ‘Casino Royale’ when it comes to our credits we want to use he idea of the names of the actors appearing in the corners of the screen for about two seconds. Here is the opening scene of ‘Casino Royale’:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v_W6Bjx_Vo

We would like to use the same technique as ‘Memento’ as we like the way in which they use it to enhance there scene, we believe as a group that this technique will help with our clip ‘Memento’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0L-Ssm4MxY

9th February 2011Basic Information

Location: Room 3/09 (in college) and surrounding area’s which are The Bourg Walk, Friars Square bridge and Aylesbury train station

Cast: Alex Girling , Sam Webb and Mat Allison Filming: Sam Webb Editing: Alex Girling Mise en Scene: Mat Allison Sound: Heavy breathing (which will be done by Alex as he is filming) Heartbeat,

Ambience, Heartbeat, Cave and Wind were used with the flashbacks. Costume and Props: For clothing Alex will wear a white vest and jeans. Mat will wear a

clinical coat with a mask. Props we will use medical equipment such as scissors etc.

Dialogue: There is not going to be the use of any dialogue in our clip view of the patient looking

round the room at the beginning

Mat, Alex and I started to create a plot for our main task, deciding the idea of an evil surgeon kidnapping someone and cutting them open could be filmed quite effectively. From this we started thinking about the sort of shots that could be used, for example, a point of view shot from the view of the patient looking round the room at the beginning.

Character Profile Captive (played by Alex): Unemployed, no contact

with family, has very little friends, lives in a small flat in a rough part of town (i.e.. A nobody)

. Surgeon 2 (played by Sam): Part time medical student, good friends with the other surgeon, has no common sense, will follow orders from the other surgeon no matter what they are.

Surgeon (played by Mat): Currently a medical student, disturbed, mentally ill.

14th February 2011Storyboard

14th February 2011Further Developments After creating a story board whiched

helped us with the understanding of what we were going to do. After deciding on the order of the scenes we began to discuss mise en scene. We thought about where would be a suitable place to film, how the set would look, any sounds used etc. We decided that we should use the sound of heavy breathing when in the point of view of the patient and that the location should look like a hospital room, white and clinical and eary.

Mat and I will wear a clinical doctors jacket to help set the scene while Alex we will wear everyday clothes as he has been kidnapped.

Filming Schedule 2nd March 2011 (1st Day Of Filming): This was done in the college grounds

next to our media classroom as the other room we started our filming in was not free again.

9th March 2011 (2nd Day Of Filming): This was done outside of college. The Bourg Walk, Aylesbury Train Station and Friars Square Bridge were all used in this filming

14th March 2011 (3rd Day Of Filming): This was in the first room we used which was in the college grounds.

2nd March 2011 1st Day Of FilmingThe first day of the filing of our

main task. We set up the room so it looked something like a clinical/ hospital sort of room. For instance we put white sheets over tables (which we used as a bed) this helped give the impression the it was a hospital environment. We started the filming where we used a few point of view shots and a couple of long shots.

7th March 2011 1st Day Of Editing

We didn’t have the room we used in our first day of filming as it was in used so we thought we would make use of the footage we already had. We edited some of the clips we had and added a title sequence. We are going to use flashbacks in our short clip so we then discussed them and the shots we would be using.

We decided to name our film ‘Krankheit’ this means illness in German. We named it this as it relevant to the content of the film as it is a hospital location.

9th March 20112nd Day Of FilmingAs the room was not free again, we thought we would do

the flashbacks for our clip. This involved going out of the college grounds and use the facilities in the Aylesbury town centre. This went well we got all the filming we needed. We filmed at Aylesbury train station, The Iron Bridge connecting town with Southcourt and the Friars Square Bridge.

14th March 20113rd Day Of Filming The room we were filming in was

again not free to use. So we thought we would try and find another room to do it so we could finish our filming of. We did find a room eventually. This meant we had to re-start or filming but this didn’t affect use that much. We got all the filming done within in the lesson. All parts of the scene filmed from various different shot types including handheld footage, close ups and mid-shots.

21st March 20112nd Day Of Editing

By this time all the filming was complete and the editing was ready to go. We cut out all of the footage we did not want to use. And placed the footage we wanted to use into order where we then cut them down to the maximum of 2 minutes we were allowed to use.

We also had to take into account that the clip flowed and there was any dodgy cuts, which we managed to handle very well. We used some special features that the editing software provided for us. For example when we showed the flashbacks we slowed the footage down and added in a dream background to give the impression that it was a flashback. The first draft of our film was now complete and ready to show the class.

21st March 2011Creating the Questionnaire We needed to get feedback from are film so we created a questionnaire, showed

the clip to the class and asked them to fill the questionnaire out.

We asked these questions to the class:

What genre do you think this film is? Do you think the film makes sense? How do you rate the continuity within the film? (1 being poor, 5 being excellent) Do you think we have used a variety of shot types? What emotional response did you receive from this film? Add any improvements we could use to help enhance our film? Did you enjoy the film Please rate our film? (out of 5)

Feedback We Received From The Questionnaire’s

The responses we received from each question were very different to what we thought.

The first question we asked was ‘what genre do you think our film is?’. Roughly everyone gave the answer of a thriller which is correct. But a few people said sci-fi and horror which is guess the are clip could represent these genres.

Next, we asked ‘do you think the film makes sense?’. Half of the people said it was clear and easy to understand while others said that the transitions could be improved and the flashbacks need to be made more noticeable.

‘How did you rate the continuity within the film?’ Was the next question we asked . We got great feedback from this question almost everyone gave the answer of 4 out of 5 (which Is good) one person gave us a 3 but we still see this as a positive.

After that question we asked ‘do you think we have used a variety of shot types?’ The majority of people said yes we did and the use of a point of view shot was great.

We asked ‘what emotional response did you receive from this film?’ What happens next, excited, scared where all the responses we received which is excellent there the exact answers we were looking for.

Next we asked ‘add any improvements we could use to help enhance our film?’ The main response we got was on improving are flashbacks within the film which we are prepared to improve on to make the film better.

The penultimate question was ‘did you enjoy the film and everyone said yes which is great feedback for use.

The last question was ‘ please rate out film out of 5’ everyone gave us a five which is wonderful but we as a group would like to improve it to a 5 out of 5 rating.

21st March 20113rd Day Of Editing After receiving feedback from a showing of our clip. We decided that we would make a few changes to it this was optional. We included a Production Label Logo at the beginning of the clip. We also edited are flashbacks as this was the main point that are audience discovered needed work on as they were as not clear as we thought they were.

We added sound effects into each one they were Ambience, Heartbeat, Cave and Wind. We also changed the way the flashbacks looked by adding a white dreaming effect to the background and also slowed them down a little bit more than they were.

Overall Conclusion Of The Main Task

Our main task: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyzBidARaEU

I enjoyed creating the main task I thought it was great fun as I have never done anything like this before. I thought as a group we worked well there were a few hiccups but we overcame this to finish the project I would be more than happy to do a project with my group again as I it was great fun.

My Role I had one main role in our main task this was the

filming aspect of the work. I came familiar with the camera very quickly as it was a fairly new camera it was very easy to use. I filmed various different shot such as long shot, extreme close, over the shoulder shots and many more.

My work didn’t end there as I also helped out with the editing of the clip even know Alex was in charge he wanted mine and Mat’s input to come up with a mutual decision to make the clip look as perfect as possible. I also had a tiny role in the film as a character only for a few seconds but I was involved. Overall I enjoyed my role I this project and would love to do it again.

Evaluation Are Evaluation:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-h6XpnvwiY

Here is a written evaluation just in case you didn’t understand the points made in the video: Our main task stays to the conventions of a thriller/horror film. Conventions common within

this genre that featured in our task were point of view shots (used in films such as Halloween), no dialogue for tension and the use of flashbacks. The location also followed the conventions of thriller/horror, the use of lighting, costume and the environment (a stark white clinical room) helped to identify the genre. While we didn’t necessarily portray a particular social class we did portray psychopaths and killers in a way that we have seen in various other films such as “Psycho”. Hammer Horror would be an institution that may distribute our film because it is a similar genre to that of other films they have distributed. The audience would be people aged 16-25, most likely males as well due to the genre convention of violence. The audience in our main task is similar to that of Halloween, and so we appealed to our audience in the same way. This was through the tension created by certain camera shots such as point of view shots. Through creating the main task we became more skilled in using technology to create films. For example, we became familiar with features on iMovies such as creating title sequences and different transitions. We also developed camera skills. From the preliminary task we learnt and developed on our continuity, as there was a couple of errors in the preliminary. We also felt we our cuts were far better in our main task.

Technology Sony Camcorder We used this camera to film are preliminary task and main task. We moved the footage to the Apple Mac computer by USB cable.

Apple Mac ComputerWe used this bit of technology to edit are tasks with the software provided.

Apple Iphone 3GS The pictures that you see in this blog were taken by this technology and then put onto the PowerPoint document via USB cable.

We used YouTube and placed our Main Task, Preliminary Task, and Evaluation and copied the Links to my Blogs so it’s the clips can be viewed via my blogs.