AS Media Preliminary Task Evaluation - Joshua Kamara

AS Media Prelim Evaluation

• Creating a one-and-a-half-minute short continuity piece.

• Including a varying amount of camera shots such as; Extreme close up, close up, over the shoulder etc.

• Including the 180⁰ rule (which applies to conversational pieces of film) and a shot to reverse shot.

180-degree rule 

The 180-degree rule is essential in keeping the viewer focused and avoiding confusion. Once a scene has been established, the camera must stay on one side of the action. 

If two people are facing each other, a line must be drawn. This line usually runs straight down the middle between the two people, like so:

•       Use of Match on Action going through a door.

Our Timeline: 

The Task:

Our preliminary task involved:

Once this line is in place, the camera can move anywhere providing it stays on the same side of the line once filming has begun. If the camera is switching between two faces during a conversation for example and then suddenly cuts to the other side of the line, then it will appear that both people are facing the same direction instead of looking at each other.

Planning:

The planning phase of or AS Media Preliminary Task was not completed in as much detail as we now feel it should have been. We collaboratively decided on the concept in a group discussion around our table, this is where we could have possibly gone wrong with the entirety of our film and the clarity of our narrative, as we decided on the only idea that was pitched, this didn’t allow for much thinking on the legitimacy of our plot and we just went on an impulsive decision, this may have hindered our final product as it wasn’t as detailed and clear as it could have been.

After this we created a story board to map out all of the different key shot types that we needed to use and any that we wanted to include based off of preference and practicality for each scene. (as seen below)

In our first part of our storyboard we decided to have an establishing shot of the stage, this was to indicate the setting in which the short film takes place and also hints at the genre of the film. Overall we decided that this would be a key signifier in our piece that gave a pre-set image of what the film entails.

Secondly we decided to incorporate a Point of View (POV) shot of the model waving at the cleaner in the scene, this was to make sure that we were firstly, changing camera angle and secondly being more creative with our camera work as we wanted our piece no to be stationary all the time as the camera follows the adventure/story of the two models involved in the film.

Also we included the idea of an Extreme close up (ECU) as we would lead this shot into a piece of Match on Action of the models hand pushing the door open, later on after a Panning shot (Pan) of the model walking down a few stairs. This was to make sure that we had completed the essentials required from us and later on turned into a particular prominent piece to the film. Also noted is a tilt and tracking shot which were also to be included in the piece of Match on Action that is in this small sequence of scenes.

Next we determined that we needed to still be constantly switching our shots so that the film wasn’t stationary and boring the whole way through, hence we drew the conclusion that we wanted to include a medium shot into a trolley shot to show the models getting ready in a picture frame for their catwalk moment. We used this as another way to keep the audience following the lives of these two models and kept the camera moving so there was no repetitive nature to the piece. This was used as a transition sequence into the initial conversation with the two models.

After this we needed to include a small exchange of dialogue between two characters, this made us think of multiple different camera angles that we could use for this piece, as we also were required to use a shot, reverse shot we agreed that we would have five separate shots as we would have a 2 shot to establish the fact a conversation was upcoming, then whilst staying within the regulations of the 180⁰ rule we would then switch to a close up shot of a model who asks “what are you wearing tonight” which would then cut to an over the shoulder of the response (shot, reverse shot) to which we would then cut to an extreme close up of the emotional reaction of the model who doesn’t get to wear the blazer, this would finally cut to a medium close up for the verbal reaction of the model. This would ensure that we were still staying in the 180⁰ rule and still changing shot types constantly overall adding to the continuity of the piece.

After this we decided to add a shot in which we show the conversation broken down and the jealousy of the model who doesn’t get to wear the blazer. We had the idea of a medium shot of the girl with the blazer on with the jealous girl in the background, in this we would have the camera focused on the girl in the foreground preparing herself then focussing on the expressions of the girl in the background showing the animosity that the girl in the background has for the other girl in the foreground. This also adds to the continuity of the piece as the camera is still following the lives and ideas of the two models.

We then planned to have a long shot of the first girl walking on to the stage to show the progression of the narrative and to change the setting so it wasn’t entirely based around one place, also this added continuity to the camera shot types as we felt it was only correct if we continued this.    

    After this we would have the director of the fashion show exchange a few compliments to the model present at this time. This would just fill the audio silence that we thought we would have as there is was much diegetic sound included in our plan.

The penultimate idea that we had was of the jealous model walking in and “raining on the parade” of the other model (hence the title of our piece) this is the climax of our film also so we had the idea of incorporating quick camera shots in various types because it allows the pace of the film to increase and for it to heighten in tension and emotion, we chose to use an extreme close up, a medium shot and a point of view shot. This splits the sequence into a slight montage of clips that unfolds the main climax in the narrative and helps to portray and convey the right amount of information needed for the main story line to be understood.

Finally, for the final clip of our film we made the piece into a circular narrative by returning to the first location as it is an extreme longshot of the stage with the curtains closing, this added to the continuity of the entire piece as we see the journey of these two characters through the continuity of the camera shot types and locations this made the narrative easier to follow and made the intended idea to be conveyed clearly and simply. This would also add some form of comedic effect at the end in pure Schadenfreude fashion as the audience can leave laughing at the misfortune of the two models. Also the curtains closing opened up the idea of any post production additions of text or transitions to have a smoother ending to the piece instead of the standard cut to black at the end.

 Filming:

Shots We Used:

-Establishing shot (ES)

-Long Shot (LS)

-Two Shot (2S)

-Extreme Close Up

-Close Up (CU)

-Point of View (POV)

-Medium Shot (MS)

-Tracking Shot (TS)

-Pan

-Tilt

Throughout the majority of filming we face many problems in regards to the camera as our first camera didn’t work properly therefore our time schedule was distorted and ate up a lot of our filming time. This became even more problematic as we had a limited window of opportunity to film in the space we scoped out, this was because we chose to film in a very high demanding room that was constantly being used, this also made everything very brushed and we were panicked and in a rush all of the time to get the shots done and this hindered our judgement on the quality of our work this is shown through the panning shots that we included as they were very jolty and not entirely smooth, we settled for a somewhat shaky shot that satisfied our desperation at that time, however now that we look back at it, it could have been re-shot better if we allocated our time and space better. Initially this set back was not of too much of an issue as we managed to get the few shots that we had revolving around the stage and they did not take long as we made the shots longer than they usually would so that post production would be easier for us to become more accurate with cuts between shot so that the editing was tighter and smoother.

Due to the loss of time that we experienced with the camera issues this left us about half an hour left of filming for the stage shots which we pride ourselves in being so efficient with in completing. When we filmed our shots seemed a bit wonky and off balance so we combated this by pressing down on the levelling part of the tripod which may have caused our shots to appear shaky and uneven.

Lighting:

When deciding our lighting we tended not to take into account weather we needed high key or low key lighting, this is partially due to the rushed nature that we tackled this task in also this could be down to poor planning on our part as we chose the hall as one of our settings, which is mainly lit naturally. This became problematic because our shots that we took at some angles were extremely dark and the actors in those seen aren’t visible enough for any sort of engagement or clarity on an emotional level as you couldn’t see any facial expressions it was more like a silhouette that you could see with some dialogue.

This was also prominent behind the stage as one of the match on action shots coming through the door has poor lighting which then switches to good lighting making the shots look out of place and not aesthetically pleasing.

Although some of our shots were quite the opposite of this as whilst still in the hall some of our shots were perfect for us in regards to lighting.

Setting:

The setting we chose was the school stage and drama studio as we thought this would be a strong conformity to the genre of our film and it seemed the best plausible spot to film in as it resembled the idea of a show with the inclusion of the curtains being drawn on the stage and the small staircase that it has to the side that we utilised in creating a Point of View shot of a model walking on to a stage. However, we came to find that this specific location was very densely populated. When we were filming this turned into a large scale problem as we were in a rush to film what we could in the limited time we had to film in, this lead to slightly uneven shots and poor panning that we had to include in the film.

Post Production:

 

In the editing phase we used the Blade function in final cut, (Cmd + B) to thin down the clips that we had into smoother sequences and also we cut out the irrelevant parts of each individual clip that we recorded, for example the section of match on action we cut each piece of footage so that it was tight and continuous so that the flow of the sequence was seamless and conformed to the idea of continuity.

As seen here our clips for the Match on Action are very small in comparison to the others;

Next we decided to detach some of the audio to allow for an overlaying non-diegetic audio track, also there was background noise in the opening few scenes so we came to the conclusion of adding in an audio track over some clips.

We did this by selecting the clip we wanted the audio to be detached from then selecting clip and detach audio after which the audio was separated from the clip leaving us the ability to delete it and add another audio clip over the top of the audio less clip (as seen below).

After we had detached all of the audio that we did not require or we felt we didn’t need. After this we added a new layer of audio, the Disclosure song ‘Latch’

Then we decided to fade the music into the next scene as you can see below with the dip in audio levels. We thought this would add to the creativity and continuity as the audio wouldn’t then be choppy and just suddenly stop making the audio sound much smoother and more pleasant to view.

Finally, we decided to include a few transitions in our piece so that the narrative and any disparity within the story line would have neem cleared up, the disparity would have been caused by the problems that we faced with filming the conversation part of the filming stage, this made it a lot shorter than we would have had it however by adding in a title transition it made it easier and more concise to convey the information needed.

Peer Feedback:

After we had completed our piece watched each other’s pieces to give constructive criticism for each other, either appraisal or improvements

Things We Did Well	Things to Improve On
-Match on action twice	-SHAKY CAMERA ON SOME SHOTS
-SHot of feet coming through door was crative	-PANNING NEEDS TO BE SMOOTHER
-essentials were completed	-TILTS NEED TO BE LESS JOLTY
-chANGE IN SHOT TYPES WAS GOOD	-LIGHTING NEEDS TO BE BETTER
-cONTINUITY WAS GOOD	- CONVERSATION NEEDS TO BE SLIGHTLY LONGER
-variety in camera angles	-ADDITION OF NON DIEGETIC SOUND TO THE END TITLE TO MAKE IT A CIRCULAR NARRATIVE

Personal Comments:

-        Taking into account the feedback of others I can agree with the idea that our camera work is in need of some improvements however I feel this will become better over time as it is the first time for many of us using a camera and tripod.

-        The lighting in our film was at times very poor so with this in mind and given the opportunity to re-do this preliminary task we would have re-positioned the camera so that the lighting was suitable and better for viewing after post production.

-        If we were to regain the time that we lost I feel that the quality of our camera shots would have improved just because we were in a rush half of the time to complete the task.

-        I would have added additional music at the end and make it fade in and out of the final scene to make there be no awkward silence.

-        I would have also included the use of props as we were very limited on what we used as we only had two props (broom and picture frames), the additional props would have included more conventional items that you may find in the genre we decided on.

-        Also I would have planned in more detail and made more rational decisions in regards to location, taking into account the availability and lighting of the area that we chose.

-        I feel that for our first piece of complete film immersion in doing all of the three stages we have completed the task to a satisfactory standard, obviously we are going to have minor details that weren’t completely perfect however, we did make an effort for the film to be the best it could be with the resources and time that we had and I feel that whilst our end product was not near perfect it was a good attempt for our first try

Summary:

Overall I am pleased with the way that our film came out as it superseded the requirements set for us, although we did have a few faults to our piece it turned out to be enjoyable for our audience to watch and even more enjoyable to create. This has been a major learning curve for me as I know understand how much detail is required to make an excellent piece of film as we lacked in that which didn’t help as we had no real structural basis to use for the plot of our film. All of the mishaps and problems that we faced through the process aside I feel that we were very efficient with our time as we still managed to make our piece have some strong conformities to the Teen genre of films. I would definitely change some of the approaches we took whilst creating this piece including more in depth planning, more precise filming and finally more focused post production.

Link to Prelim Task:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DImu1BCYkFY

or