AS Media Coursework

Preliminary Task

Jack Goward

Match on Action• Match on action technique can preserve temporal continuity where there is a uniform,

unrepeated physical motion or change within a passage. A match on action is when some action occurring before the temporally questionable cut is picked up where the cut left it by the shot immediately following. For example, a shot of someone tossing a ball can be edited to show two different views, while maintaining temporal continuity by being sure that the second shot shows the arm of the subject in the same stage of its motion as it was left when cutting from the first shot.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuity_editing

• The link below is for a video that demonstrates the match on action technique.• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laUPi7MPOSQ

• To demonstrate a match on action sequence within the preliminary task we will use an object and take two different shots where the position of the object and person will still be the same.

180° Degree Rule• The 180 degree rule is a crucial element in filming a scene. It can be most visible in a shot

reverse shot or anything like a two shot. The 180 degree rule works around an imaginary line that cuts through the middle of a scene. Something like a conversation will be filmed with a shot reverse shot and every part of the conversation will be filmed from one side of the line. Changing sides can sometimes disorientate the viewer as well as change their perspective of the what's happening in the scene.

• In our preliminary task we will incorporate the 180 degree rule by filming a conversation via a shot reverse shot. The diagram to the below is a good example of how the 180 degree rule works.

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.

• Shot reverse shot is a feature of the “classical” Hollywood continuity editing. • http://www.slideshare.net/leviwigglesworth/shot-reverse-shot-and-match-on-action-media

• This video clip demonstrates the shot/reverse shot in a virtual prospect. This shows the basic technique that is implemented to carry out the shot/reverse shot.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cXqlg85-VY

• This next video clip is a demonstration of shot/reverse shot in film. The shot/reverse shot is usually used during a conversation between two characters. This is shown here:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLkUHZ1qips&feature=related

Production Diary• Day 1 - 25/01/2011 - Planning

• The first day of beginning the production of our preliminary task was used more as a planning session. We discussed the following:

• Location – where we were going to carry out the filming.• Cast – who would be acting in our short film.• Mise en Scene – what props we were going to need to fulfill our initial ideas.• Script – the dialogue that the actors were going to exchange.• Camera shots – what different shots we were going to use besides the ones that are

required for the task.

• As well as the above we produced a story board so when it came to actually shooting our film we new where to get our hands on the props we needed and what shot to perform when and how this would link to the next shot.

• I think that having this additional day to refine our planning helped dramatically because we could now simply follow a step by step plan and get the filming done quickly and efficiently.

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Production Diary• Day 1 - 25/01/2011 - Planning• These images show the location that we intended to film at, there is a brief description of the shot types we intended to implement in each location.

Long Shot

Match on Action

Aerial shot, Two-shot, shot-reverse shot and the 180 Degree rule were all to be shot here.

Two-shot and Pan

Production Diary• Day 2 – 27/01/2011 - Filming

• This was allocated as our day for filming. After having the day’s planning we were more than ready to begin shooting our film. The location we had chosen to carry out our filming was a stairwell within the college. We chose this location because we felt we could achieve a number of different camera shots that would make our short film unique.

• Because we had the advantage of height (filming in a stairwell) we were able to include an aerial shot of one of our actors walking up the stairs. This was a nice addition to our list of camera shots.

• We carried out the three required filming techniques which were the shot-reverse shot sequence, the match on action sequence and the 180 degree rule.

• The filming took us just over an hour. This was because we took the time to plan our short film shot by shot so when we came to actually shooting, we had an organized plan that we were able to follow step by step.

• As well as this we had all of our props sorted prior to filming so we could just place them where we needed them and get on with the filming. Other shots that we included in our preliminary task were; close-ups, mid-shots, long shots, two shots and over the shoulder shots.

Production Diary• Day 3 – 01/02/2011 – Editing

• This was our final day working on the Preliminary task. To edit our filming we had to first, upload the video files off of the camera. To do this we inserted the data transfer cable into the camera and then into the USB port on one of the computers. After we had uploaded our clips we went through them and decided which ones we didn’t need (failed attempts at shots) and deleted them from our New Project on iMovie.

• We then began editing. the following list is of the steps we took to completing our editing:• Rendering each individual clip cutting out any unwanted footage• Editing the shot-reverse shot sequence (this was the task that took the longest because we filmed each

actor in conversation twice and then merged it in to make the shot-reverse shot)• After we had successfully edited all of our clips we then merged them all together. During this we edited

our match on action sequence to make sure we had a perfect match between the two shots we used to perform it.

• The last thing we did was edit in the title sequences and credits.

• We did go back and consider adding some non-diagetic but we decided against this because of copyright issues and we couldn’t find a sound track that fitted our film.

Preliminary Task Final Production and Evaluation

• Below is the link to our finished preliminary task

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny3E_F_eAB0

• Evaluation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf9A84Z5LFY

AS Media Main Task• To begin the main task we had a lesson that was allocated to watching the opening title

sequences of lots of different films. This was carried out so that we could pick up some ideas for our own title sequence.

• Out of the ones we watched, I took inspiration from Halloween and Casino Royale. • - I liked the first person perspective in the opening title sequence of Halloween and how there is

so much tension built up in such a short space of time and then it is left on a cliffhanger before the film starts so it engages the audiences attention and make the viewers want to watch on and complete the film.

• -Casino Royale, like all 007 films, had a fantastic opening sequence. The thing that caught my eye about this one was the way that the opening sequence was filmed in black and white

Production Diary• Day 1 – 17/02/2011 – Planning and Storyboarding

• To begin with we put all of our ideas down onto paper and then produced a storyboard of events to make filming easier when we got around to it. We also decided on the genre that our introduction/title sequence would evolve around. HORROR.

• As well as storyboard we decided on the actors, props and location.

• We decided to have 4 actors.• We decided to film in Grendon Underwood because it met all of our requirements.• We didn’t have many props but the main one was a car which we included in one of our main

scenes.

• As well as the above we decided on what types of titles we wanted to include and how they would refer to and match our chosen genre.

Storyboard

Production Diary• Day 2 – 25/02/2011 – Filming

• This was the day which we allocated to complete our filming. In order to complete our filming I had to drive to Grendon Underwood as it was our chosen location to shoot. We had arranged for our cast to meet at a friends house in Grendon and we went from there.

• The first thing we did was walk to the park to film our first shot, the establishing shot. We had two people sat on the swings and we used a panning technique to establish the location and show some of the surroundings.

• The next shot was from an over the shoulder perspective. This featured a sound track to set the tone for the rest of the clip.

• The shot that followed this was a two-shot panning all the way from right to left. Starting with the two characters walking across a yard and finishing with one of them entering a vehicle at the end of the shot.

Production Diary• Day 2 – 25/02/2011 – Filming – Continued

• Then came another over the shoulder shot featuring the stalker watching the car drive away.

• The next series of shots featured close-ups and cross cutting as it was a phone call conversation.

• The next sequence of shots were close-ups on the stalker walking and then the victim walking.

• The two main final shots were a point-of view which faded to white to give the perception that the victim had been attacked and then a close-up of the stalker crossing out her name.

Final Production and Evaluation• Below is a link to our final piece:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im6irj9AL5A

• Evaluation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js5IqtHf9Go

Analysis ofAudiencefeedbackHere is a copy of the questionnairethat we created in order to receivesome feedback from the audience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dng3s60atE

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

• There are lots of different shots that are used in horror films that we have integrated into are title sequence. Shots such as

• Point of view• Long shot• Close-ups• All of these shots are regularly used in horror films such as Halloween.

• The point of view (POV) shots occur mostly in the chase scenes, the long shots feature different focal lengths where the villain is in the background of the shot and out of focus. For the close-up we focused on the legs in a chase seen where the pace gradually picks up to running building the tension.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• There isn’t a particular social group that can be focused on in our title sequence however, there are a few hints into a couple of different social groups.

• The first is stereotypical teenagers, i.e hanging around or “chilling” out in the park.

• The second main group is families. This is due to the fact that the only dialogue featured in our title sequence is between a brother and a sister.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

• Our production wouldn’t be feasible as a blockbuster therefore any large media institutions are out of the question.

• Our production would be distributed by a smaller, British media institution such as Warp Films. This is due to how our production is very British in the sense that it is an all British cast and features locations in the English countryside.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

• Our genre is horror so there are a few different possibilities as far as audiences are concerned.

• The first is teenagers. This is because teenagers tend to watch horror more that any other age group. Adding to this, because our cast are all teenagers the audience will be able to relate to it which strengthens the link to the audience.

How did you attract/address the audience?

• There were several ways in which we attracted the audience. These are as follow:

• Suspense• Tension• Ambient and non-diagetic sound• Cliff Hanger – we used a cliffhanger at the end of our title sequence in order

to keep the audience engaged and make them want to continue watching.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

• Camera:• As I was the designated camera operator, I had to learn how to use the camera

and all of its functions in order to make filming easier. Having had an interest in photography, getting used to operating the camera didn’t take long and I was able to use my own tripod for the filming.

• The main things that I had to learn as far as the camera was concerned are;• Learning to operate (turn on & off), zooming in and out, playing back footage on

the actual camera to check whether what had just been filmed was good enough and changing the batteries.

• iMovie• I wasn’t in charge of editing but was still involved with the process of discussing

the right options to take when editing our work.