Spider diagrams- planning

This is a plan of the camera shot and angles that I will be using for the opening of my film, such a s close-ups and long shots. By using this way of brainstorming features with my classmates we were able to work together to think of a range of ideas that were related to the opening. From this we can develop these ideas into camera shots and what conventions to include in the scene. This is the begning of our planning and can now develop these ideas further.

A spider diagram showing a rough planning on the storyline for the film, information about the main characters that are in included in the film. These are ideas that me and my group brainstormed together to come up with a rough plan of the storyline for the film, deciding on the events and genre with vague ideas we can now use this plan to develop the ideas further,

Preliminary task

In class we created a short preliminary clip where we tested different camera shot/clips. This included change on action, shot reverse shot and not breaking the 180 degree rule. I found filming these clips very easy and the only difficult part was making sure the camera was still, apart from that it was fine. But editing the video together was slightly harder and we found that the clips didn't run as smoothly together as we thought and had to video more parts. We did this to fill the gaps so that each cut wasn't as noticeable and including more shots gives the viewer a better understanding of what is happening in the scene. Whilst filming we made sure that we followed the 180 degree rule, this was fairly easy as we just ensured that the filming was taken from one side at all times as if there was an invisible line. We also included match on action shots within our filming this was slightly tricky to include as we had to ensure that the character was moving from one cut to the next smoothly to make it appear more realistic and professional. Shot reverse shot was another technique we included, we did this by filming a short conversation between two characters then cutting from the opposite characters shoulder which gives the feel that you are in the conversation because of the camera angles.

If I was to do this task again we would have smoother editing by including more cuts within the scene making it clearer to the audience; especially at the ending so they are able to fully understand the scene. I would also improve the lighting throughout the scene particularly the part of one of the characters as it is too dark this can affect the audience's understanding of what is happening.

What I think went well for our preliminary clip was the match on action, as the movement of the character between the three different cuts was almost completely synchronised as she was running through the two doorways. Also when it comes to creating my final piece I know that I need to include more clips to make the scene flow better and I know how to use the editing software more due to the practice of editing when doing this task.

Institutions

An Institution covers a variety of things; a type of organisation, establishment, foundation or society that is devoted to the promotion of a particular cause or program. In Media an institution is a company that has a large range of connections in the different types of media that they own such as the internet, Films, Print(newspapers & magazines), Broadcast(tv & radio) or Music and be grouped together as one large institution.



The company Walt Disney is an Institution as it is a large business which has a broad variety of media that it owns but doesn't always represent. Such as all of the Walt Disney films including most merchandise related to the individual films. In broadcast they own disney channel, disney junior as well as including other television shows such as ESPN sports and abc which are still popular but with different audiences. Endless examples that are part of the Walt Disney institution that break the usual conventions.

 

Three types of shots

Shot reverse shot- This type of shot is used regularly during filming of a character such as during conversations between two characters; as one character speaks the camera would be on them and as the next character replies the camera angle will change and be on them. But the filming is smooth so that the cut isn't noticeable. This makes the scene more realistic as the audience views what is happening from different camera angles, getting a better understanding of what is happening. An example of shot reverse shot- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLkUHZ1qips

Match on action- This type of camera shot is used when filming a clip and cutting from one position to a slightly different angle but fluently so it is hardly noticeable at all. This is usually to film a character that is moving, for example as a character enters a room and then cutting to the character walking into the room but being precise so that you can't see them stopping and it appears they are continuously walking.

180 degree rule- This is the rule that when filming you can never take a shot over 180 degrees so for example all that should be in a shot is in front of the camera and slightly to the sides but not behind.

Camera shots

Using a variety of camera shots during a short or long film makes them more interesting and can also portray more detail to the audience that they might not otherwise realise. A large variety of camera shots can be used within a scene, and each scene can vary the amount of cuts it includes. For example a scene that includes a variety of camera angles, but seems to only include one cut is the beach scene from the film Atonement; this technique allows the audience to see the whole scene givinf them a better understanding of the situation. Compared with the ending scene which is a contrast as it includes many camera shots and lots of cuts this is to help the audience visualise the context better as it uses visual shots to explain.

This is an example of extreme close up shot as you can
see the  camera angle is very close. I will use this angle as
this shot is used to portray detail to the audience, this may not
just be a close up shot of somebodies to exagerate the emotions;
but it can also be of an inaminate object something that
has importance so this way it shows it to the viewer clearly
but subtly and would only be a section of a persons face such
as their eyes.

This is an example of a close up shot, as shown in the
image this is similar to an extreme close up shot, but
instead it isn't as close. I can use this type of angle within
my film as it is a way of showing important details
or characters expression, but instead it is more subtle
and is able to include more in the frame such as
a characters whole face instead of just their mouth.




This is an example of a over the shoulder shot this is
mainly used during two characters conversing, but not
always are they speaking it could just be capturing the
facial expressions. I will try to include this type of angled
shot so that the audience, are able to see clearly the
conversation between two character, and give them a better
understanding of what is happening within the scene. It will
also give the viewer the feel of that they are in the scene due
to the positioning of the camera over a characters shoulder.



This is an example of two shot, this is a shot that
includes two characters within a frame. I will use this
angle as the audience will be able to see the two
characters clearly and see the two converse, seeing
the reactions of both actors giving the audience a
better understanding of scene and the two
characters relationship.







This is an example of a mid shot, this camera shot
includes the characters upper body and face. I will use
this angle whilst filming as it allows the audience to
see clearly what the character is doing and give them
a better understanding of what is happening within
the scene as well as the shot including the background,
so they can see the character interact with the
surroundings.



This is an example of a long shot, I will definitely
include this type angle  as it shows to the audience the
scene which gives them a better understanding of the
settings in which is it set. Without this the audience may
not be able to understand what the setting is and may
not understand what happens within the story.

This is an example of a wide shot, this includes the whole of a chacter and the surroundings. This angle will also be included as it captures particularly if the character is moving within the scene as it allows the audiecne to see clearly the character interact with the surroundings.



Why I chose AS Media

Ever since I was younger I've always enjoyed all things artistic; when asked what my favourite subject was I would of always replied art, and not just the basic sketching in art but everything that could be included within it from abstract sculptures to historic patterns seen in victorian portraits. Even when watching television I enjoyed seeing what was normally annoying adverts just to see how some companies display their product or try and attract the viewers attention especially when the advert may be comical but completely irrelevant to the product it still catches their attention. I remember using an old Sony Erricson phone at the age of 10 not for calls or text but just mainly to video my friends and pausing the filming at certain points to make it seem like they had disappeared or whatever my imagination could think of. At GCSE I chose to take a double Art Btec which helped me a lot as it broadened my knowledge and allowed me to explore the many areas of arts. But one area that wasn't developed was looking at performing arts or film making or things found in that sort of industry; the closest I came to using a computer for art was researching artists or editing a photo on photoshop. So for one of my A levels I decided to choose Media, even though media is not all about art I still like to learn about the more technology side. So that is why I have taken AS Media.