G321: Preliminary Task

This is one of the preliminary tasks we looked at. I think this one is very good because it looks like they had a lot of footage to work from resulting in a nice and smooth result. I think it is very beneficial having extra footage as you do not have to worry about it being  hard to put a film together and re-filming parts you didn't film as well as you had hoped.

G321- Preliminary Task

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCiCWU6fd7w

This is one of the preliminary tasks we looked at. I think this one is very good because it looks like they had a lot of footage to work from resulting in a nice and smooth result. I think it is very beneficial having extra footage as you do not have to worry about it being  hard to put a film together and re-filming parts you didn't film as well as you had hoped.

G321 blog

http://media.ksgs.cumbria.sch.uk/blog/wiilliamwilson-as1

I like this blog because this student explains everything very effectively in full detail without having to write a lot. Furthermore, he also uses a lot of slideshares and a range of pictures to get his point across. This blog is very bright and easy to read and does not look dull.

G321 blog

http://media.ksgs.cumbria.sch.uk/blog/eviethornborrow-as/


I found this blog very helpful because they explained everything in detail but they also used a lot of videos and slideshares to put their point across and make it easier to understand what ideas and thoughts they were trying to share. Furthermore, the fact that it isn't just a lot of text helps this as it isn't dull to look at and does not make you feel like it will be hard to read and understand everything. 

Diary Post 2: 24th of September

• Today was the second lesson we were able to spend on our preliminary tasks. In this lesson we uploaded all of the footage each pupil in our group took so we could combine it in order to get the best possible outcome. We were able to work on the Macs so we could use iMovie to edit the footage we had.

• Furthermore, in this  lesson we were able to find out where we went well and where we could have done something better, this helped us for when we do out two minute opening scene, as we believe this can help us improve our techniques. In this lesson we were able to improve our knowledge and learn basic iMovie techniques such as entering titles at the beginning of a video or film and or adding music into the piece. 

• Through todays lesson we learnt that in order to have a smoother better flowing movie we need to have more footage to work with as some of the footage we had was not at the standard we needed it to be, resulting in our task not being as smooth as we hoped it would be.

• Furthermore, through this lesson we were able to see how important it was to have a lot more footage than you think you will need so you can have a better outcome but also the steadiness of the camera so it doesn't distort the audiences view/vision and clear loud dialogue from the people we use in our short films/tasks. 

• Similarly, another important thing we learnt in this lesson is consistency throughout the whole of the filming. For example Seth was wearing his lanyard in the majority of the task but then took it off somewhere between the filming of him opening the doors and having a conversation with Anna so we could use the 180 degree rule in practice. This was very important because it didn't look right as in one part he was wearing it and then for the continuity of it he was not.

Diary Post 1: 22nd of September

In this lesson we had an opportunity to film out preliminary tasks. At the beginning of the lesson we learnt the definitions of match on action, 180 degree rule and shot/reverse shot which are techniques that we have to use in our tasks.

We were able to use the cameras to work in groups so we could build up our experiences with the filming. We worked in groups of 3-4. 

Firstly we each filmed Seth walking down the corridor, we then filmed him opening and closing the door so we could use this as a shot for a match on action scene. We furthermore filmed Anna and Seth having a conversation by putting in practice the 180 degree rule and shot/reverse shot. We are planning on using all the footage we all got an choosing the best parts to edit them later on. 

OCR Weebly link

http://ocrmediastudies.weebly.com/

This is the link to the OCR exam board blog inspired webpage which was created as a source of information and help for not only teachers but students as well. This is very helpful as through their posts we are able to see previous G321 blog examples and find out which were their stronger points and which weaker so we can also learn from them. 

21 Jump Street: two minute opening analysis

•  I chose this film purely because I thought although it appears to be a blunt film from the first two opening minutes it furthermore, shows us from the last 30-40 seconds of the opening scene that it will be a very interesting, adventurous and funny film that a variety of people from the audience can identify with and or empathise with both main characters.

•  In first twelve seconds we are shown that MGM and Original Film and Columbia Pictures were a part of the production teams as shown with the logos. 

• Music which introduces the film suggests that it's going to be a very upbeat film however, as we are introduced to one of the main characters who seems very geeky the music stops immediately suggesting that this character throughout may be isolated and possibly made fun for who he is.

• However, we see the other main character Jenko who is played by Channing Tatum make fun of Schmidt the character played by Jonah Hill for his attempt to ask his crush/neighbor to prom. This makes the audience feel sorry for him. We can immediately see a huge contrast between the two characters as one is more towards the geeky side and the other one is more a stereotypically sporty popular guy. 

• When we see both characters sitting outside the front entrance of the school both looking upset it makes the audience suspicious of what is going to happen next as the trailers promise us something amazing. On the other hand, it makes the audience feel happier as they may feel that Jenko got what he deserved for making fun of Schmidt.

• Furthermore, we can already tell that Jenko is going to be a big influence in Schmidts life as he already tries to show off by kicking the trash can which Jenko kicked first. This tell us that Schmidt will most likely try and prove himself in the future, suggesting that he is better than what the bullies portray him to be.

• I really like how, throughout the two minute opening there is a colour scheme. I feel that this would be effective if used in ours, in 21 Jump Street the theme colours are red, blue and white. For ours, it might be effective if we used the colours white and red as they could connote instead of action (in 21 Jump Street), they could suggest blood loss and innocence for the white (similarly to 21 Jump Street as people were effected by what happened as they were around wrong people). 

Match on Action example

As explained in my previous blog post Match on Action is purely when the film editor cuts from shot to shot to make the scene flow more naturally. I found this video on YouTube and it helped me understand the rules behind this techniques as there are annotations presented in great detail. 

In this video, it appears as if both the camera angles/shots ( mainly the point of view shots but also the transitions from this to normal scenes) were done or shot in one take when in reality each snippet of the scene could have been done hours or even days apart. If this does happen, the set crew need to thoroughly go through everything including, hair, makeup, costume, set and props (even if in the background such as a magnet or fruit bowl placed in a certain place) are exactly the same as before otherwise the footage will not appear continuous and will not have a natural/ effective flow to it. 

Match on Action

Match on action:

• Editing technique for continuity editing, in which one shot is cut to another one showing the action from the first shot.
• creates a sense of continuity action carrying through, this draws the viewers attention away from the slight cutting. This is called a visual bridge.
• It portrays continuous sense of the same action rather than matching two seperate things.

180 degree rule:

 
• this is when the camera stays in the region of 180 degrees, it does not pass the 180 degree line as this may confuse the audience.
• this mainly happens when there are two characters are sitting opposite each other having a conversation.

Shot/reverse shot: 

• This is a continuity editing technique used in conversations or simply characters looking at each other. 
• A shot that shows what a character is looking at. E.g. Either a point of view or over the shoulder shot which then follows by a reverse angle shot of the character looking at it or the other character looking back at them. 
• This often ties in with the 180 degree angle rule to keep the continuity by not distorting the audiences sense of location of the characters in the shots.

When we come to shoot our real film, we need to make sure that we follow the 180 degree rule and match on action for certain scenes, e.g. if we have a scene of someone running, we need to make sure it appears that although we filmed different shots it appears fluid and that the character is running on the same side. Or even for scenes say if a character is running continuously but jumps over something that these actions appear fluid to the audience and not make the footage appear distorted.

Film ideas

• I created this Prezi Presentation as a form of brainstorming to get my ideas down and see which would be more successful if I were to carry them out in the task designated to us which was to create a two minute opening scene of a film. Through this brainstorm/presentation I have decided that although this is not my favourite genre and not my first choice to watch but also through my personal interest for the film industry.  I would like to create a Thriller/ Crime Drama such as Taken and/or The Imitation Game (having seen the trailer) as I like how both films have elements of intensity in them and are able to allow the audience to creatively think of things in a different way. 

• In addition to this, I really like how they are able to keep the audience interested throughout and more importantly keep them on the edge of their seats. In this brainstorm I also included things such as where I could film, who I could included as actors and noted down things which were important when mapping out ideas to later on expand on. These key points included music, props, characters and storyline. 

Slide share

I created this slide share presentation to see if there was a specific link between the sort of TV programmes and films I watch. I've realised that I like mainly comedies and action TV series and films (can be action-comedies or thriller-action films). I think that this has been very helpful when trying to figure out what genre I would like my two minute opening to belong to and to then plan ahead of what the storyline will be like. I think I would like to create a film similar to Bad Boys or 21 Jump Street as they have hints of intensity  but also humour in the films. 

Opening two minutes of Breaking Bad(epi. 1, s. 1)

• The shots that are shown of a specific place in the Unites States in the desert make it seem like it's going to be a very dull series, especially with the soundtrack they have as we can hear things that remind us of an abandoned place (birds, wind and the echo of these sounds). 
• But the sudden change in music makes the audience regain interest in the series, due to the fact that the music becomes more upbeat suggesting that something more exciting is going to happen. However, from  upbeat it changes to music which makes us feel like something bad is going to happen. Then the music changes again to upbeat. 
• The shot of the vehicle swirling trying not to crash and the sound of glass at the back of the vehicle breaking leave us totally confused as to what is going to happen especially because we can see a character who we are not yet introduced to looking scared and anxious as if he is driving in that way because he is afraid for his own safety.
• The sound of the sirens in the background that slowly start getting louder leave us wandering what the character is involved in. 
• Gradually the music also builds up and sirens get louder. Music builds up, the main character makes a video which is for his family and as he is talking the sirens get even louder, we see that the law enforcement vehicles are approaching him. When he finally says goodbye the vehicles drive right past him, leaving himself and us wandering where they are going. 

Sleepy Hollow: two minute opening analysis

• Logo of the presenters Mandalay, Scott Rudin, American Zoetrop production
• Tim Burton film 
• The close up of what seemed like blood drops but was actually wax melting from a candle sets the mood as it foreshadows that there may be possible deaths or blood shed later on in a different seen.
• Shows the last written testament and then shows us an older hand holding what looked like a younger hand which connotes that something important  or horrible perhaps is going to happen or that there is even a plan for something.
• By using pathetic fallacy ( thunder sounds) and appropriate music it sets the mood. 
• The use of the music was also very affective as they send us one way (scaring us, being unable to know what is going to happen next) but then another when it turns out being something that isn't scary. (when the music was building up but then died away as the horses galloped) 
• The music was building up making us feel afraid of what was going to happen but then the music slowly died away which left anxious wanting to know what is going to happen next. 
• The fact that they showed us the death of the man driving the horse and carriage from the point of view of the old man was very affected as it was as if we were a part of it and we had to wait to see what happened when the old man saw what happened.