Evaluation of Preliminary Task
We did a simple story
board and drew a map of places around the school to decide where to shoot in
which part of the school. We changed many ideas as filming went on and changed
our minds about which shot was best in which situation. I suggested we should
do the video on the topic of bullying, knowing I should be the bully because I
am quite tall with a large build. I knew there would be many shots to show the
bullying taking place, and that there would be a good conversation at the end. We
decided the conversation was going to be my colleague confronting me in a
classroom. At first, it was going to be the victim of the bullying walking in
on me and a friend talking, and making my friend leave, but we decided this did
not suit the video, and just had me in the room. I made the mistake of changing
my jacket the second day of filming, so we had to re-shoot the first shots on
the same day to make it look professional and as though all the events happened
in the same day. We did not mess up any shot reverse shot scenes. However, we
did re-take many shots due to disagreement.
The 180 degree rule
is very important. Not for the producers, but for the audience. This is because
they will get confused if the camera changes the sides of the characters. The
180 degree rule basically means that if two people are having a conversation,
the camera must stay on a certain side of the two people, or the audience gets
confused. This rule was only important at the end of the task, when I, the
bully, was having a conversation with the victim. We did not break this rule.
The shots we used and the effects of this shot, in chronological order of the film.
Panning shot - We used this shot as the first shot to show the surroundings and to show the victim of the bullying (Jamie) walking into the school. It showed the motion of the shot.
Low angle shot - We used this to demonstrate the victims power early in the film because we could use shots after the bullying took place to show his change in mood.
Long shot - We used this to show Jamie walking into the building. The audience has no idea what is in the building so this adds suspense.
Close up - This was on Jamie's hand as he opened the door to the building to give the audience a sense of danger.
Tracking shot - We used this to show Jamie's movements clearly. The audience still does not know where he is going and gives the indication anything could happen.
Tilt shot - This was used to give the indication that not everything is straight and may be abnormal to a usual day for Jamie.
Over-the-shoulder shot - This was used to show Jamie's perspective and because you could see there was a corner he had to walk round, it gave the indication of suspense as anything could be round the corner, or anything could come out of it, which is exactly what my character did. After my character shoulder barges Jamie's character, the shot turns into a mid shot as the camera stops moving with Jamie, even though he carries on walking.
Birds eye view shot - This was used to show his surroundings, but not all of them as the audience could not see where he was walking to create suspense.
Long shot - Used to show Jamie's body language and to show he is alone, anything could happen.
Over-the-shoulder shot - This is to show my characters dominance as I walk up to the Jamie's character who is alone and not expecting me.
Long shot - The camera goes back to the same position as the previous long shot, but the camera switches as I push Jamie's character into the wall. This shot indicates a change of atmosphere.
Worm's eye view - The victims shoe is in this shot to show he cannot move, maybe from shock, or helplessness. It shows my characters dominance as I leave the scene.
Close-up - This is to show Jamie's emotions before confronting my character.
Mid shot - To clearly show Jamie's actions as he opens the door to the room I am sitting in.
Panning shot - Follows Jamie's actions as he walks into the room.
Low-angle shot - Used to show Jamie's character sit down to confront me and to show his dominance and how he feels about the situation.
many shots within the conversation. Close up, md-shot, over-the-shoulder shot. All not breaking the 180 degree rule. - This was used to show body and facial expressions throughout the conversation. We used the 180 degree rule to not confuse the audience.
Panning mid-shot - We used this to show the distance between each character and to show their body expressions.
Panning long shot - This was to show Jamie's actions as he gets up and walks to where the next shot is.
Low-angle shot - Shows Jamie's new found confidence and dominance as he is leaving after confronting my character.
Close up - This is used to show Jamie's emotions as he says the punch line. He is angry but confidant. Shown through volume of his voice.
Mid-shot, long shot - Used to show Jamie leaving. He walks away from the camera suggesting the film is over.
I am now much more confident with editing. I have done editing before, but not on software as good as what the school has. I developed the skill of slowing down the images and changing the light of the shot. Putting the shots together and editing parts of shots out was easy, and very similar to other software's. There is much I still have to learn as Oli did a lot of the editing, whilst me and Jamie assisted. I lack confidence in adding correct effect when scenes change. There are many more things this software has to offer, and I am excited to find out what they are and can do to improve film.