Preliminary Task


Brief:
We were informed to conduct a 1 minute film which included the following things:

• someone walking down a corridor
• entering a room
• crossing the room 
• engaging in a conversation

We were also told to include following camera rules:

• Shot Reverse Shot
• 180° Rule

Construction:
The making of our short film didn't have many problems to encounter apart from the busy warehouse environment sometimes causing filming disruptions. For example dogs started barking during one shoot and a worker started using heavy machinery during shoot which we edited out into our 'Preliminary Out-Takes' video. Apart from that, the filming ran smoothly as we took into account possible errors that may go wrong, eg. different timings of day causing inaccurate filming sequence. 


To start the film we edited in non-diegetic background music to cause suspense and tension as the character walked down the desolate alley way. When the character pulls out a metal tool and lifts it to hit the character, the screen suddenly turns black. Then a blurry image of Nick sprinting out of the warehouse suggested Adrian was drifting in to unconsciousness. 


The last scene shows Nick thinking he has got away until he realises there is a car behind him, we edited the car's moving speed to make the chase more dramatic.

Preliminary Task

When choosing a location for our preliminary task we wanted a mysterious, long alleyway with a warehouse situated towards the end. This alleyway we wanted to use was perfect and the warehouse fitted our specifications.
This was the view that we wanted the first scene to start with. It straight away gives a high angle shot of the surroundings and familiarises audience with appearance of the alleyway and warehouse . When the character is walking down the alleyway into the warehouse this shot also looks like he is being watched from above adding suspense.


The warehouse itself was very dark and eerie which fitted the story line of our preliminary film and the old bricks and scenery made it very mysterious. The warehouse hadn't been very well looked after and suited a drug deal atmosphere.

The doorway would have to be used for part of our film as the camera will show a character running from the doors out into the alleyway and the look from outside of the rust old warehouse matched the appearance of it inside. So the surroundings of the warehouse were suited to plot as well.


The shattered glass window on the side of the warehouse suggested that the alley way was dangerous and abandoned which fitted perfectly with the rest of the warehouse and the alleyway its self.

Premliminary Ideas Page

Before filming my premliminary i completed an 'Premlinary Ideas Page' in which covered the specifications for where the film was going to be set and the plot involved. On the sheet i covered: What i needed to include, Location specification and the plot and what was going to happen in the film,. By compleeting this take i gathered information on my Premliminary task and shaped the film so i could start working on it. It provided a base for the film to expand and start with. I could also predict any problems that could arise with the project; such as location purposes and take necessary action.

Sound

Sound is used in Media when creating effects and helping get the message across to the audience. Sound is very important in portraying images and add to the emotion in the scene. Eg. Fast paced background music during a thriller scene to increase tension felt by reader.

Diegetic:

Sound that other characters would be able to hear. A song on a radio, for instance, as a character drives down the highway, would be a diegetic sound.

Non-Diegtic:

Any voice, musical passage or sound effect that comes from outside the world of the movies; like background music, for instance. If the characters can't hear the sound, it's non-diegetic.

Ambient:

Sounds natural to any film scene's environment.

Synchronous:Audio matched to images. When the mouth moves, the words come out in sync.

Sound Effects:
Special effects using sound to suggest a story element such as background, time, place, character, etc. Also used to heighten and intensify action or evoke an emotional response.
Music:
An artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner.

Selective Sound:
The removal of some sounds and the retention of others to make significant sounds more recognizable, or for dramatic effect: to create atmosphere, meaning and emotional nuance.

Sound Bridges:
The use of sound to help transistions between the sequences pass more fluid.

Match On Action

Match On Action


Match on action is where a cut in film editing between two different objects, spaces or compostitions in which an object in the two shots link together and match so the film scene flows and doesnt look out of place. This helps to establish a strong continuity of action and linking the two shots metaphorically.






This video is an example of match on action and shows the women throwing the board game across the table. To begin with the camera shows the two girls sitting at the table but when the board is thrown across the table out of sight the camera suddenly switches angle so the camera is focusing on the girl who threw the board. This way you can see the girls angry expressions as soon as she's thrown the board, which makes the audience see how she is reacting.

Shot Reverse Shot

Shot reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.

The effect of using this technique in any film would be to establish the reactions of the people who were being filmed. By using this technique the film maker is ensuring that the audience sees the conversation in a particular way.

I filmed a short conversation involving two friends to put 'Shot Reverse Shot' into practise. The first shot shows an angle from which the conversation is being recorded to which it then switches around 180 degrees to other side. It then finishes with the original first angle filmed at. This makes the audience understand the reactions of the two characters and makes the conversation flow.