Preliminary filming task overview.

After a week of filming and editing we finally finished our preliminary filming task, here is an overview of the process...

We started off by creating a storyboard, storyboards help create your video as it acts like a guideline so you can map out all of your camera angles and movement on paper to refer back to when filming. Straight after my group were off out to shoot some footage for our video, my group included Toby, Shannon and Abbie.Mise en scene is vital in filming as it includes many different aspects when filming. We wanted to include a variety of different camera angles however the main angle we were focusing on was the 180 degree angle. This angle is usually used when two participants are having a conversation. We used many camera angles in the preliminary, for example close ups, low angle, medium shot and over the shoulder. We also included some camera movement such as tracking shot and pan shot.

Our sound was recorded separately with a zoom voice recorder, we had to edit the sound in separately. We recorded things such as my footsteps, the door sound and of course our voices.

Our costumes were very simple, just casual clothes as it was only the preliminary and we mainly wanted to focus on making a good film including the angles and mise en scene.
The Lighting included in the film was a variation between outside natural lighting and indoor brought lighting. There were no dark scenes mainly light because of our location.

Speaking of location our film was located at a school, I walked into the school in the establishing shot and then rushed through the school grounds and into the room to collect my gold. most of the filming was indoors apart from the first shot which was outdoors to establish were I was going to go.

The props used were very limited due to the time scale we had and the simplicity of the film, the props were a £2 and a film case. the film case was used to store the gold (£2 coin)


Facial expressions were used during the shots to show emotion, for example I has a very serious expression because of the setting and mood of the film, Abbie also had very serious expressions because it was a serious event.

Our storyline for the video was fairly basic. A student (Me) is meeting an associate of his (Abbie)  to do some dodgy business. As the man on a mission storms into the school grounds the client is waiting with the package, I walk into the room mysteriously and sit down. The client then give's me what I came for...the gold.


The story is meant to be serious business, however with an element of comedy added to it, for example the gold is realistically a £2 coin.


After shooting the footage along with the sound we then went back to the classroom to edit the footage together and make it a masterpiece...

Although the video was okay at the end, we did have some complications, for example we did some of the filming without our final prop, this was an issue as we had to refilm. Also some of the vital footage didn't film due to unknown reasons, this meant I had to refilm with a different shirt on. this made the film look a bit weird as I had two different shirts on during the film, however this was a learning experience and we now have learnt from our mistakes.

Here is a link to our Preliminary check it out!- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDqX1gtZwGg

Resaerching film openings

         I have been researching film openings to get some ideas on what genre my final video will be.

Here I have an example of a playlist of films I discovered on youtube:
These films  are created by AS Media students like me, they give an exmaple of the type of genres my group could do for exmaple horror, comedy, rom-com, thriller and action.

These are only amateur videos to get an idea of what type of genre I want to do, I might also use some techniques from some real movie openings, for example:


This is an example from the film Inception which is to a very high standard.

By doing some reaserch I have found a lot of ideas to add to my film opening, for example the type of sound tracks, camera angles and movement also what a film opening contains.
Editing and Camera action.

 The first scene is a pan shot of the sea (0.18-0.24) this is to establish were the character is as he appears in the next shot with a close up of his face (028-032) The folowing scene intorduces another character, a security guard with a weapon (056-1.01) He is filmed at a low angle to show his dominance aver the character on the floor. Next there is another esablishing shot to show that the chacters will be in the building next (1.03-1.07) The next scene is a long shot shwoing a grand room and table (1.08-1.18). The overthe shoulder shot is shown next to show the gun being placed on the table and to intoduce the new character, the overthe shoulder shot is used in this scene to show the importance of the character (1.19-1.22) followed by this is a close up of the pistol and strange object carried by the person captured.(1.24-1.26) . Medium shots are then used during the conversation to get a feel for the character's and show the cotume and facial expressions. A 180 degree angle is then used is the conversation.

Lighting.

Lighting at the beach scene is a transition between light and dark, the dark lighting is used to show horrible times and the light is to represent good times (his flashback) this occurs between 034-054. The lighting is the establishing shot is fairly dark becuase it is representing a mysterious builiding. Inside of the building is also dark to show the tension between the characters. Dark lighting is a trend in the opening to represent maybe the bad times to come in the film also terror is the bombing shot (4.02-4.03)

Costume.
Costumes change throughout the opening scene to represent different occasion for example in the first scene the man is wearing scruffy clothing becuase he was been washed up and in the next scene inside the building he is waering a suit to represent wealth and importance. costumes are a key part in a film as they represent your staus and your character.

Props.

Props are used to set the scene and make it look realistiic and authentic. for example the props used in the opening of this film is a gun, plates, kinfe and fork, wine glass, candles and many more. props are used for effect on the viewer without props the film looks unfinished and un-realistic.

Overall mise en scene has been used effectively in this opening. the film is professional and looks great I have gained some extra knowledge from analysing this film opening.

Preliminary filming task.

Hi guys, after my first few lessons in AS Media I was set a task to create a short video using some camera angles we learnt the lesson before, some of the angles included were:
Close up, Long shot, Low angle, Eye level, Medium shot, Tracking shot and 180 degree angle. These shots had to be included into our preliminary. Most of the footage was shot with the cannon we also used a sony video recorer and ofcouse the tripod.

As you can see below this lesson I got to play about with the editing software, here below is some evidence of me understanding countinuity editing. You have to make sure your film looks the part therfore you need to edit after filming. Match on Action has to be executed and countinuity editing helps your film look professional.

Extreme close up of my eyes.

Playing about with the editing software, such as adding sound ect.








We were also told to include some camera movement, for example:

We used one of these cameras to shoot the footage.

Hand-held shot, Tracking shot and a Pan shot.

An example of some camera movement.

 



Our main objective was to film a short introduction to a movie including the main camera angles and some movement. Then to edit the film and create a flowing video using Adobe premier pro CS6 (the editing software).

The task itself was fairly straight forward as I picked up the editing software fairly quickly. I also enjoyed being the 'star' of the film as I was one of the two characters featured in the film. The clip had no real story line it was just a starter task to get us used to using the camera's and the editing software. We also went outside and recorded some sound to make the video more realistic and to add more tension to the film, we ventured outside the class room to record some sounds with a microphone such as footsteps and door's opening. These sounds were to edit in after to make the video more effective.

Overall I enjoyed making the film and I have learnt plenty of new skills to take forward with me in getting the best possible grade in AS and to use in my final video.

My blog

Hello everybody, my name is Jacob Flowers.

I am currently studying AS Media, I've chosen to study Media because I find the subject interesting and wanted to increase my knowledge on the subject. Currently I am studying three other subjects at AS, History, English Language and Business.

Other than studying at college I like sport. I currently play Ice Hockey outside of school and go to the gym. I also like to listen to music, at the moment I would say my favourite band is the Killers as I went to see them live at Nottingham arena. Here are some pictures of the sport I play and my favourite band:

 I mainly watch sports on TV as I'm not a big fan of TV programmes, the channels I watch are sky sports channels, I mainly watch sky sports news to check up on main sports news and I also watch football and boxing as I also used to do amateur boxing.

I haven't really got a favourite film as there is so many to choose from! However I do like to watch Miracle which is a hockey film and I would recommend it if you are a hockey fan-  I also like to visit the nhl website to keep track on scores and watch highlights from games I will leave a link for you to take a look.




http://www.nhl.com/ice/preview.htm?id=2012030416