Preliminary Task Evaluation

The Meeting

Evaluation

This is my groups preliminary task, representing our filming skills, involving continuity editing, such as match-on-action also applying the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. In my previous post I presented our planning that we did in order to ensure we had a solid story line, also to make sure we were able to include continuity editing. We thought match on action was a great editing technique that was easy to involve in our story as the actress Beth had 2-3 doors to open so we could see the speed at which she was travelling due to the match on action creating a fast flow which added to the build up of suspense. Although I think we could have chosen our actors more accordingly due to the time of filming as it was difficult to get hold of both actors when we had to film as their lessons clashed, which prolonged the filming process. This also affected one of the shots of Beth going down the stairs as we were unable to get hold of her as she was in lessons, so we decided to embed the 'shaky camera' technique that one member of our group did as we believed it worked well as it gave the audience a better understanding of her rushing as we were able to hear her breathing heavily and see how fast she was running as we were the spectator. There were a also a few other problems we were faced with such as the music, at the beginning we though it would be a nice introduction although we had difficulties fading it out when it was necessary when dialogue was involved. We overcame this problem by watching youtube tutorials on how to fade music in/out on iMovie as it was a new programme to all of us. When Beth gets into the room we see the back of her and she bends over slightly, followed into the next shot where the camera is now in front of her we had to put in a transition as we didn't get the shot of her getting up from that position which made it look jagged, as it was very noticeable so we thought the transition allowed both shots to merge better together. Also, through the conversation between both Beth and Kennedy we focussed so much on ensuring we follow the 180 degree rule we forgot to involve shot reverse shot. In order to show we understood this technique we made a clip of us demonstrating it:

Our original genre of our preliminary film was horror misleaded into a funny ending, similar to scary movie, as you can see thats one of the films that influenced our initial idea, but unfortunitly we had issues with lighting as we had to do all our filming in the school so getting the lighting very dark was difficult as we were in school during daylight, so to develop other elements of horror we added camera techniques such as shaky camera, putting the spectator in the actors position.

Age - Teenagers

My first youtube video

I created a youtube channel so I can put all of my media clips on it, making them easy to find; also to show my progression in editing and using different resources to create clips. I created this clip using iMovie, I have never used this software before so I found it interesting as I was able to gain a better understanding of how this program works, which is good practice as I will be using this program a lot in future media tasks.

My media teacher wanted us to show a representation of age, I chose to focus on teens as I'm very familiar with there characteristics, as I'm one of them.

I chose an up-beat instrumental to reflect teenagers, although I was confused on how to fade audio tracks in and out, so that is one thing I would like to learn.

To view my video, click HERE, or click on the title.

Preliminary Task

Genre – Horror

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchange a couple of lines of dialogue. This task demonstrates match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Roles within the group:

Director – Mica

Camera girl – Reanne

Lighting & Preperation of Props – Nga

Sound/editing – Jodie

Story line:

A student falls asleep in class and wakes up to a dark empty school, he/she panics and then run out of the classroom down a long corridor (dark and spooky) opening doors on their way but all doors are closed with empty classrooms. He/she finally gets to the end of the corridor to an empty room where there is a person in a seat in the room with one spotlight on the person seated. The person is turnt away so we are unaware of his identity, the person then turns around which twists the story from a horror to a comedy as the theme of christmas is introduced although the beginning of the story generated a horific atmosphere.

Script

Character 1 (Pants whilst pausing): Sorry I’m late

Character2: I’ve been waiting ages for you (DEEP AND CYNICAL VOICE)

Character 1: I came as quick as I could, I didn’t realise the time

(Character 1 looks at clock to show eye-line match)

Character 2: Oh well it doesn’t matter now, take a seat

Character 1: Ok (nervously and takes a seat)

(Character 2 slowly reaches for a briefcase & opens it)

(Spins chair around)

Character 2:  So which one should we give mum for Christmas (JOLLY TONE)

(Lays out a pack of cards in front of character 1)

Props/Objects needed:

·                     Briefcase	·                     Desk	·                     Computer Chair
·                     Christmas Cards	·                     Onesie	·                     Clock

Story Board: 

We developed a story board to focus on how we are going to present our story and focus what shots we were going to use to present this, and how we were going to involve our camera techniques within the story.

ADD JPEG IMAGE

STORYBOARD SHEET 1:

 

Floor Plan:

Schedule:

Influences on our Preliminary Task:

Our group decided to set our preliminary task in school as it is considered a safe and caring place, enhancing the theme of horror as there is a sense of fright and suspence when character 1 wakes up. Nga was also able to handle the lighting better in such an enclosed space, considering our theme was horror so we was able to adjust lighting efficiently generating a dark and gloomy setting. It also helps to connect with the audience as it allows them to sympathise with the actress, being in such a gloomy and dark enviroment watching her panic.

Scary Movie 1

The scary movie films influenced the twist behind our preliminary task as it allowed us to use specific shots to generate a specific horror and reverse it. It also tested our editing abilities as in this clip the suspence comes partly from the music being played. This clip begins with a clear genre of horror, then has a comedy turn around, this is what theme my group has chosen to follow for our preliminary task.

Film Reveiw

This weekend I watched a selection of movies as you do on a Sunday and focused on the way the camera is used to create specific effects which contribute to our hegemonic reading due to the mediation used.

I watched the final Twilight and was absolutely amazed by the way the camera is used to show specific aspects of situation to contribute to my opinion of the storyline. As it was a cinema trip I was sadly unable to watch it more than 10 times as I would have loved to, so instead I decided on focussing on other movies I enjoy:

Avengers

Although I'm not a big fan of action movies I really enjoyed this film and thought the camera shots were used to help build up tention and make the fighting scenes alot more dramatic.

I focussed on certain scenes in the film that I thought were particularly important:

This clip starts with the camera on eyelevel with the character in the shot, the camera slowly closes in on her building up the tention for the upcoming fighting event. As soon as the action begings with her fighting it switches to jump cuts to emphasise the speed she is fightinng at. Jump cuts are crucial in a action movie as it helps generate the fast movement and also help show how much is going on at one time.

This clip is full of action yet still sticks to the 180 degree rule regrdless of its dramatic events, the takes are fairly long keeping the focus on the two characters in the shot although the use of speed ramping is present to emphasise the power and stength involved. Also there are various wide shots which shows there surroundings showing us the damage they are creating whilst fighting which also emphasises the stregth and power between them both.

This clip has a twist to it as the camera influences our predicted outcome to be totally different to the actual thing. The hulk appears to be extremely aggressive although the shot then transforms to slow mo calming things down then suddently camera then switches to the other character by looking up at him almost representing his power in the situation, he is then  taken out of the shot by the hulk pulling him to then beat him.

Shot Reverse Shot

Shot reverse shot is a technique used in movies, it is a  shot that views the action from the opposite side of the previous shot, as during a conversation between two actors, giving the effect of looking from one actor to the other.

This is me and my friend Reanne demonstrating shot reverse shot applying the 180 degree rule- The camera shot being taken on the oposite shoulder.

Match On Action

The Break up (2006)

Match on action occurs when an action that begins in one shot is continued or completed in the next, which is shown very well in this clip.

This clip consists of a couple arguing, whilst doing this they walk in and out of rooms, so they are positioned in different settings but continuing the same scene. The camera from one shot to another, with the previous shot matching the first one.

Understanding Mis-en-scene

Self made scene - Horror theme

I have used a programme called Alice (3D imaging software) to create a graveyard setting by enclosing the characters within spooky rusty gates, I have then positioned a grave stone in the centre, making it fairly obvious that it is set in a graveyard. I have then positioned a young girl infront of the gravestone, dressed in pink to represent her innocence and make her stand out as a key character. I have then placed a tree in the corner to create shadows and darkess and make the atmosphere a tad more scary. I have then created three adult men who are dressed in long black cloak like outfits looking very similar, they are clearly the bad guys due to the dark colours they are wearing and how they are covered up suggesting they are hiding something, presumably weapons. The young girls is unaware of the presence of the three mysterious men standing behind her which is very spooky as they are creeping up on her.

Timeline - New Moon

I have chosen the film Twilight to represent a timeline of equilibrium as its a favourite film of mine and contains alot of key moments in the movie.

Introduction

Hi, My names Jodie; Welcome to my Blog.

I have chosen to study Media Studies as one of my A levels because it links very well to my future ambitions and generally intrests me.

I am also studying English Literature and Business Studies, which link to Media...

I would like to write about current fashion trends, media, celebrities, or even follow the PR career.

 

My Favourite cartoon HAS to be

FAMILY GUY.

I found this clip extremely funny, because it's something i'd do to my mum. Ha! Ha!

Now for my favourite film....

NEW MOON.

I think i may possibly be obsessed to be perfectly honest, I love all of the Twilight films but this one of them all is my absolute fav.

The romance is a tad tacky but overal the storyline involves such conflict and drastic decisions for Belle (main character) it really does win me over.

Enough about me.

I hope you like my blog and future posts.

ROMCOM Analysis

ROMCOM - Shallow Hal (2001)

A romcom is a hybrid genre in which a romance story generly commence and is presented in a comedic way. I have chosen to analyse the film 'Shallow Hal' as its a personal favorite and endures the rom-com genre very well.

I think it is a romcom as its main characters are a man and a women building a relationship throughout the film although there are a selection of funny moments in the film to make the film alot more enjoyable.

Camera Shot Types

Medium Close Up

This is a medium close up as you can see the upper side of their body, but we are able to see their face very well. Half way between a medium shot and a close up shot.

Close Up

This is a close up as the camera has zoomed in so we can see her face close up allowing us to see her expression entirely, taking up the majority of the frame.

Wide Shot

This is a wide shot as thesubject takes up the full frame, allowing us to see the whole body of the character and their surroundings.

Over The Shoulder Shot

This is an over the shoulder shot as it allows us to see what the character can see, as it is at eye level with the character and we are positioned at the side of the shot. (Over the shoulder)

Analysis Of Genre

The Orphan (2009)

This is the trailer for the film 'The Orphan', a horror movie that fits the horror genre conventions very well;

Jaume Collet-Serra (The director of 'The Orphan')  uses diverse horror film conventions by including the following;

Good verses evil is present in this film; while Kate and John's daughter Max (Aryana Engineer), who is deaf and communicates with sign language, embraces Esther almost immediately, their son Daniel (Jimmy Bennett) is somewhat less welcoming creating conflict. Esther is portayed as the evil girl where as the rest of the family are introduced as the good people, this unravelles as the film progresses.

Revenge plays a huge role in this horror, this is the main convention that becomes clear in the trailer as we see Esther's evil side, her harming her adopted family, clearly seeking revenge.

Childhood issues is a main convention in 'The orphan', Melissa Fay Greene of The Daily Beast commented:

""The movie Orphan comes directly from this unexamined place in popular culture. Esther’s shadowy past includes Eastern Europe; she appears normal and sweet, but quickly turns violent and cruel, especially toward her mother. These are clichés. This is the baggage with which we saddle abandoned, orphaned, or disabled children given a fresh start at family life."^[5]"

Insanity is a convention that is also breifly shown in this trailer as it shows Esthers adopted family/carers worried about how she is acting as she is portaying elements of insanity.