Camera Exersize

How to set up a camera

The dolly	3 legged camera stand with wheels at the end of each leg so that the camera can be moved easily to film in different areas. On each leg is a release button, which you press to open it out fully.
How to set up The Tripod	3 legs that insert into the dolly at each point. When extending one of the tripod legs you need to un-tighten the screw and then make sure it is secure. In order to secure the tripod takes the latch from the dolly and put it over the clip of the tripod. Make sure the breaks are on to stop the tripod moving out of place.
Techniques of the tripod	It has a tilt and pan feature which helps when filming a panning shot and a high or low angle shot.
Taking apart the camera	Pull the red leaver to take off the camera. Put the camera in the box. Then to take the rest down put the breaks on and do the reverse of how to set it up.

Story Board of 2 minute sequence

The reason I am using a storyboard is to show what will happen in each scene in pictures as it is easier for filming. The storyboard shows the outline of my movie, it shows how 3 girls will order pizza at a sleepover without realising they're ordering from a dodgy man who ends up poisoning the pizza and killing the girls.

Thriller Conventions

Reflection

News article that influenced my idea for making a film

Thriller Movie Interviews

From this interview I learnt that people of different ages have really different opinions on thrillers. Older people look at them more in depth whereas younger people just find them entertaining or funny which is not the main idea of them this shows that younger people will just watch anything where as someone who is older looks more into depth and tends to watch a thriller because they like to feel scared, they also have stronger opinions on watching a thriller based on the actor being female or male where as someone younger isn't really sure on that. 

PRELIM

Evaluation of Prelim Shoot

My prelim was filmed in in the school theater. The script was between 2 characters and each scene was filmed using different camera techniques. For our mise-en-scene we used low lighting, the lighting used was bright which shows that it wasn't a directed horror scene or something mysterious as brighter lighting shows happiness. The people in the prelim were wearing there school clothes. We set up the scene by getting 2 people to stand opposite each other and act out a scene that was set out for them.

We set the tripod up by setting up the 3 legs that insert into the dolly at each point. We then extended the tripod legs by un-tightening them and then screwing them to make sure it was secure. To secure the tripod we had to take the latch from the dolly and put it over the clip of the tripod. We then made sure the breaks were on to stop the tripod moving out of place.

Each shot we filmed was filmed at a different 180 degree angle. The first shot we filmed was a tracking shot we used this technique first because it follows in the character which immediately introduces to the audience who the film is focusing on and it will create more suspense as it hides the actors from behind. The second shot we used was a wide shot this shows both of the characters from a distance, we then used a medium close up to highlight the actors emotion, followed b a shoulder shot this was used because it indicates the position of a person so this shows there authority over the other actor. The last shot we used was a close up to signify the facial expression.

In my opinion I think the filming was successful because there wasn’t any problems within my group. All the shots were filmed accurately the first time. However the only problems that occurred were the actors dialogue because we only saw the script for the first time at the same time as filming which meant that it was easy for the actors to forget the dialogue but after a few read throughs of it, the actors picked up quickly what to say without having to look at the script.

I personally think I did well in the process by helping with the filming from different angles. The only shot I found challenging was the tracking shot as it was hard to make sure the camera wasn’t shaking when walking with it. However next time to improve I would like to make sure that when holding the camera there is less shaking, because it would look a lot more professional.

As a group I think we all worked really well as 2 of us were acting whilst the other 2 people were taking turns with the filming so it was fair and equal. Therefore I think we all reached our potentials to make this a good prelim. Considering the fact this was also our first time using the cameras I found it very successful. My role in the group was the filming, although I found it challenging and very pressurising I think I did a good job, especially for my first time ever filming.

Although our  group was successful I would of changed that we could of switched the actors to make it fair that everyone had a turn of filming. Whilst filming I wanted to learn different ways I could hold the camera so that it wasn’t shaking because I think that is the main fault for our prelim not being as good as it could be.  

Editing my prelim task

From editing my prelim I learnt how to merge clips together so that they didn’t overlap or look fake. To work out the shots on the timeline I dragged them onto the timeline and played them through and paused each clip when it needed to be cut in order to merge the clips together.

When editing I enjoyed fixing each shot together so that it looked like it was all filmed at once not separately. From editing I enjoyed playing with different animations and effects  to make my prelim look even better.

However considering it was my first time editing I found it challenging learning how to move my clips around and crop them to get rid of any mistakes or background noises. I found it very simple having to match the shots during editing to fit the storyboard we were given because it was in order.

By adding in an extra shot, the tracking shot I found it easier to make sense of the clip to the script because it came in as an introduction for the other shots.

Overall as a team I think we worked really well to edit the prelim, this was because we all helped out in the editing process, if one of us wasn’t sure on something we all helped them, during the editing I process I learnt new skills which has made me feel more advanced within editing and more confident for next time I will need to edit something we film in the future.

How the technical codes create meaning in opening sequence

How is gender represented in the opening sequence of Skyfall through the use of camera, sound, editing and mise-en-scene?

Gender is represented both positively and negatively in the opening sequence of Skyfall. This is shown through the use of sound, camera, editing and mise-en-scene.

Firstly positivity is shown with James Bond when we hear a non-diegetic sound in the background to re-enforce Bond as a hero and that he is determined. We also hear a diegetic sound when M is speaking to Bond instructing him on what to do, this diegetic sound creates a more diverse atmosphere as the woman is controlling the man. The music also symbolises where Bond is, when he gets into the car there is change in the music from when he is chasing the man he is trying to shoot from a softer tone to a more intense tone. Another positive way Bond acts is when he is shown to be more powerful as he controls Money Penny but in a positive way by directing her and telling her to keep down from being shot. But negativity is shown in sound when Bond is being patronising to Money Penny when she is telling him to do something he doesn’t agree with.

Secondly the camera is following Bond from behind which is positive as it shows his attributes as being important and as if he is being protective. On the other hand we see a wide shot of M which shows a deep focus of the room to show that M is extremely important which is why a medium shot is taken of M when she starts to control Bond.

Thirdly there are many editing techniques used, we see at the start a positivity of James Bond when there is a shot reverse shot of Bond caring for the man who has just been shot even though M is telling him to leave it as they don’t have time. A key technique used is cross cutting this happens between 2 scenes that are happening at the same time which reveals gender stereotypes of a woman in a clean office and a man out in the field with the woman being M and the man being Bond. There is a close up of Bond when he is out the car firing bullets, there is also an eye line match shown here to show his power and initiative. There are also quick cuts in the scene to emphasise on the violence.

Lastly the clothing is shown to be negative and positive. M is dressed more masculine, she is wearing a suit and the office she works in is quite masculine of grey and blue colours, which are also cold colours. Bond is dressed very smart in a suit, which shows his hierarchy level.  Furthermore at the start there is dark lighting which creates a more mysterious atmosphere. There are props used such as guns and phones. As part of mise-en-scene the actors show stereotypes as the woman driving closes the wing mirrors highlights how woman are bad drivers which is a negative of gender for woman. It also shows another negative when Money Penny is waiting on James Bond, she is represented as James Bonds assistant.

Overall there is more positivity shown than negatively, however in Skyfall men are represented of a hierarchy level than woman.

How the bride is represented through the 2 sequences of Kill Bill through the use of sound and mise-en-scene

In the first sequence of Kill Bill we are presented with a character called ‘The Bride’ who is portrayed as a woman that has done wrong, which is shown through her being trapped in a small coffin that looks claustrophobic signifying her impending death. The lighting is dark, which ignites fear, and the colour of inside the coffin is black and white, which further ignites darkness. The male character is showing synchronous sound when he is hammering the nails in the coffin causing The Bride to become panicked, which is shown through her screaming. There is a close up to show that she  is tied with ropes which represent how tight her body must feel which makes the atmosphere more dramatic and en-forces on the effect of claustrophobia as she cant move, she is trapped.

Furthermore different sounds are portrayed throughout to create tension and provoke the pain of The Bride. We hear The Bride breathing heavily through diegetic sounds, which implies how scared she is feeling. The music starts to build up faster as the coffin begins to close through non-diegetic sound, which represents her anxiety. Not only this but the sound of the nails being nailed into the coffin is diegetic sound which doubles the anxiety of The Bride because she begins to feel more enclosed.

In contrast to this in the second sequence when we see her escape there is brighter lighting, which is signifying hope. We see a high angle shot looking down on her, which connotes how she has more space therefore becoming free and shows the idea of hope again. Whilst she is trying to escape we see a panning shot, which shows her determination.  To emphasise on her having determination we see a close up of her face and she then says ‘here I come’ which highlights her motivation to escape.

Moreover the sound in the second sequence changes as she is trying to escape there is non-diegetic sound, which is showing curiosity, there is also non-diegetic sound when she is about to escape but this music starts to stop as soon as her head pops up from under the ground. To conclude at the end of the sequence once she is free the non-diegetic sound of the music becomes more Western which shows she is getting free for a fight.

How to make a Sweded film

How to make a sweded film

Film different short clips from different angels using a phone camera or a normal camera. The sweded film I made was Titanic. 

ANALYSIS OF SWEDED FILM

My sweded film was based on titanic. Titanic was a movie made in 1911 that focuses on British passengers on a ship that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning of 1912.

The 2 main characters are played by Leonardo Dicaprio who plays Jack and Kate Winslet who plays Rose.

For my sweded film we shot the 4 main parts of titanic to highlight the outline of the movie by showing the most memorable and famous scenes from titanic and put them together to make a short movie to give the audience an understanding of what Titanic is about.

We further added non-diegetic music to emphasise on the tragedy of titanic to highlight how emotional the crash was. However a negative factor of my sweded film was that because it was filmed on a phone the quality wasn’t very good and we didn’t use many different camera techniques this being that it was on a phone and also because this was our first proper film we had made so we weren’t sure how to film this includes how to set up our film or even at what angles to hold the camera. We also didn’t know how to edit our film, we used iMovie to edit our 4 clips together which was successful but to make it more professional in the future we would use a more professional editing website for example virtual dub.