Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in progression from it to the full product?
Our preliminary task was to create a short piece of footage that focused on continuity. In this footage, a character must open a door, walk across the room, sit down opposite another character, and exchange a few lines.
When planning, we initially spent a lot of time trying to achieve difficult/impossible things, like jumping down from an open tile in the ceiling. This time, I took into account what was achievable and what was not, although our lighting was very ambitious.
During filming, we learnt about the 180 degree rule:
You cannot pass the line of action, as then everything is on the opposite side, which disorientates the audience. We used this in our preliminary task and our film opening:
In each different position, the camera changes points on the 180 degree line of action, and does not swap over and face the opposite directions or angles.
We also learnt how to effectively film and edit match-on-action. I learnt that you had to film from each different position the whole course of action, so that when you come to editing them together, you have a range of choices on where to cut the frame, to enable the action to look as natural as possible:
Q7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in progression from it to the full product?
Our Preliminary task:
The Briefs
The preliminary brief was to create a:
Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180° rule.
Our Opening sequence brief was to create:
The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes. All videos and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.
The different briefs we were given meant our approach to the opening sequence was a lot different. The detail of the opening sequence in comparison to the preliminary task, meant we had to pre-plan the opening sequence creating shoot boards, shot list, lighting, location and camera framing.
Overall Production
Doing the preliminary activity put us in the right direction of what to plan.
There are certain aspects of the production of our preliminary task that suggest a lack of planning and consideration, such as :
-The sound of the flute in the background
-Reflection of camera in mirror.
The way in which we progressed these aspects is by our sense of organisation.
For our opening sequence, we planned carefully what would occur in each shot by creating shoot boards and shortlists.
After our test shoots, we would plan in very fine detail what we needed to change and how we would go about it, in order for our shoots to run as smoothly as possible and all our time to be managed productively.
This included:
-Lighting changes
-Script changes
-Shot changes
Looking at our shoot board you can see the alterations we made after the test shoot, under the original plan for each shot.
This eradicated any ‘mistakes’ happening again, and allowed each test shoot to develop in a way that only involved getting better. It made no room for background noise or camera’s in shot, because when it did happen in one shoot we made sure it didn't happen in the others.
The planning we had to go into to do the opening sequence was due to the nature of the opening sequence. The preliminary task was more about experimenting with technique rather than style as a whole. This led our opening sequence to be a lot more atmospheric, style not even being something we considered for the preliminary task.
Creating atmosphere
When comparing both videos, another thing that differentiates them from one another is the style.
Our Preliminary task focuses on continuity, and after exploring and learning about continuity such as match on action shots and master shots that it contains, it provided us with the foundation of how to create a continuous video. This then enabled us to focus more on the style of presentation.
Our main edit has a ambiance which we have created through:
The mood lighting
Iconography; red items such as the nail varnish and lipstick.
Colouring, which we created through grading our shots, focusing mainly on contrast and colours such as red.
Actions of getting ready, slow motion of application of lipstick, blusher, the zip of her dress.
Slow pace, enhanced by the soundtrack
Mystery within the dialogue, a sense of double meaning it what she says within the final shot." Oh it will be" What exactly does she mean? Why is this finishing line emphasised in such a manner? The audience will find out these answers when they watch the rest of the film.
Using Technology
After comparing both the preliminary task and our main edit of Vengeance, it is clear that the main thing that stands out is the difference in quality of filming.
In our preliminary task the camera begins very shaky, and continues to be shaky throughout certain shots.
However although it may not seem as evident, this was also a problem in our film opening. You can see the progress of certain shots from our test shoot to our main edit, as we experimented with different ways of making the movement shots more smooth by making them less shaky.
Our final edit compared to our preliminary task, test shoot and second shoot, displays our progression with the use of the camera, and therefore the presentation of our shots.
Incorporating theories-180 and 30° rule.
The preliminary task’s main focus
was on presenting a piece that displayed continuity.
Therefore it gave us a chance to explore the following:
-180 and 30 degree rule.
-Shot reverse shot
-Match on action
This meant we then had the knowledge to incorporate these rules and techniques into our opening sequence.
What we learnt from the preliminary:
Match on Action
Continuity
180 and 30 degree rule
Incorporating it into our Opening sequence:
Match on Action:
Continuity:
180 and 30 degree rule:
If I could do this project again I would:
Have made sure to know how to use the lights properly, prior to doing our test shoot, so we could have focused on other parts of the opening sequence like movement camera shots instead of trying to work out the lighting
This would have allowed more time overall for us to shoot, meaning more time to perfect the shots instead of just trying to get them all done.
The project as a whole taught me about the foundation of putting a film/ opening sequence together and all the aspects necessary to consider. Not only did I learn the theoretical rules, but the practicality of putting all planning into practice made me more aware of all the things that need to be considered .
Q6; What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
When producing our opening sequence we were provided with our own kit. Within the kit we had various technologies some we had used before, such as the camera and its tripod, whereas some we had not such as lighting.
When it came to the health and safety on the set, most of what we learnt involved the lighting:
The lights became hot very quickly, which meant when handling them between shots we had to wear the gloves provided.
We had to be careful with the wires from the lights, making sure not to trip up over them
We had to make sure when placing the lights they were steady, making sure to put them on a steady surface, and positioning them so they were steady.
Camera
The camera we used was a Canon HV 30 which was a lightweight, portable camera. We used a shotgun microphone to capture our footage and audio. Within the construction of our opening sequence, we learnt about how to use this technology to produce a video in an organised fashion By:
Using the clapperboard
Using the headphones, and the sound detector on the camera to detect any unwanted background noise before filming.
Camera Movement
Our main development within our opening sequence when it came to the camera, was the use of camera movement. Our sequence contained various shots which involved camera movement, at such a height and angle that a tripod could not be used. This meant we had to develop a way of filming movement shots to the potential quality as if they were involving a tripod. This led us to learn and a develop a method in doing so. As you can see from the comparison of our test shoot and main edit, us learning from the way in which the camera's movement worked and the outcome in this which we see within the test shoot led us to develop a much smoother way of created the movement we wanted.
Test Shoot:
Main Edit:
Although our camera movement improved greatly I still feel we could have done it better. In order to create the shot even better knowing what we know now I would have dedicated more time to movement shots, experimenting with an even wider range of different ways. This would enable shots like the following to be a lot better, which i feel would improve the quality of the opening sequence as a whole:
The movement for this shot is very unsteady, jolting on numerous occasions.
Editing:
The program we used was Adobe Premiere Pro and there were numerous techniques which we learnt from using it.
Grading:
Using Adobe Premiere Pro taught us how to use:
Brightness and Contrast
In order to emphasise the stylistic approach to our opening sequence we used contrast to bring definition to imagery.
Three way colour corrector After we had used brightness and contrast we used three way colour corrector to even out the defined shots we had created. We focused on the warmth in our sequence, in which we used three way colour corrector to draw out the red, oranges and yellows stirring away from blues and greens.
After three way colour corrector:
Before three way colour corrector:
Creating titles:
We edited our titles using LiveType and Premiere Pro for the VENGEANCE title
Our final title 'Vengeance', gave us a real opportunity to experiment, and learn about how to use this program. We experimented with using a gradient effect, the title going from a darker red at the bottom to a lighter red at the top.
Transitions:
Due to the style we chose for our titles to appear, we used transitions so the cut from our shot to our separate title shot wasn't as abrupt. We used fade to dissolve, placing it before entering a title, and after our title had finished going into the next shot.
Which came to the outcome of:
Sound:
When comparing our test shoot and main edit there is a really difference in how we used our soundtrack. In our test shoot, our music started loud, then we edited the sound to gradually become quieter and louder in between dialogue, so we could hear what the characters were saying properly. However we realised this was slightly disorientating, becoming a rollercoaster of sound.
In our main edit we had our sound at a lower volume overall gradually decreasing our soundtrack throughout building up to the speech, only increasing it when the final title appeared at the end. This was a more subtle approach. Video of you showing editing of sound with talking We changed the sound from majorly decreasing
Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our film
Our film is called Vengeance, and is a thriller revenge drama influenced by such series as Revenge and films such as Kill Bill and Haywire.
It involves our female protagonist Rose going out on a quest to find her missing sister who has been kidnapped and sent to a brothel. She manipulates people around her in order to find her sister, including her 'boyfriend' who she uses, as he has vital information about where her sister is.
Genre
Our gripping storyline reaches out to fans of the thriller, and drama genres. We used and developed iconography andsymbolism, narrative and themes and character to present our media product in such a fashion that it would appeal to our target audience.
Character:
Female Character
We decided to have our main character as a strong female protagonist.
How it defies stereotypical conventions of female Characters in action/ thriller/ drama genres.
Stereotypes of females we see in action/ thriller/ drama films are typical 'damsel in distress' characters. This represents them as weak characters, who must rely on others.
Our character however strives and thwarts the male characters in the film, dominating and empowering over the males in the film such as her boyfriend who we represent as 'vulnerable' to emphasise this.
Events and Themes
The content of our film represents the thriller/ drama genre. Our explicit material suggests the film is far from a comedy or Rom-com, but contains fear, action and suspense expected from thriller/drama genres.
Our films contains controversy topics such as:
Human Trafficking and Kidnapping- Rose's sister is kidnapped and sent to a brothel, in which Rose goes out to find her. This explores the nature of kidnapping and human trafficking in the world of today.
Running themes of:
Deception- Rose must play a character throughout the film in order to get her way and find out where her sister is. This involves constant lies, as she pretends to be someone she's not in order to cover up the truth of what she is really searching for.
Iconography
Typical iconography in our chosen genre involves:
Confined spaces:
We created our opening sequence in one room.
Shadows
Little lighting/ single streetlamp or light switch We represented this through our use of mood lighting, allowing us to control the intensity of our lighting.
Explicit images of violence, weapons, blood
You can see in the following clip our representation of some of the typical iconography of the genre, such as shadows, blood and our mood lighting :
Our Main Structure:
From the outset of creating our film, we established that the storyline meant that our film wouldn't follow generic narrative construction. This is due to the fact our film begins with a disruption, contradicting film theories such as Todorov's:
Todorov's Theory:
Our films narrative structure
We decided to begin with a disruption as it hooks the audience from the beginning, and introduces our thriller themes and genre from the disequilibrium outset.
Our decision of our dis-conventional narrative structure was influenced by revenge, kill bill, Haywire and the Hangover:
Narrative techniques used:
Enigma Codes:
We decided to leave
the last line of the sequence with no obvious definition, to leave room
for the audience to question what it meant. This was to represent the kind of
film we were creating, and give the audience an insight to the genre.
Presenting this sense of mystery, represented the themes our film would involve
such as suspense and unknowing.
'Oh it will be'
Form
An opening sequence involves an insight to what the following film is about, probing into inevitable events through things we see occurring and symbolism.
I feel like our opening does do the job that an opening sequence is supposed to, by the way in which we establish genre, introduce the characters and introduce themes of the film.
However our opening sequence does not give too much of a sense of the storyline to come, only suggesting that Rose is getting ready to meet the male we are introduced to (the boyfriends) dad.
We purposely focused on a specific event occurring within the film and created a stylistic approach to this instead of giving too much a way about the film as a whole because of the genre we were trying to represent. We wanted to create mystery in order to attract the audience to find out more.
However we did use symbolism of Rose getting ready to represent different aspects of the film:
Whole concept of getting ready:
Putting on all the make-up,the perfume and dress was all meant to represent as a whole, her 'covering up' what she really is/ who she really is. This represents the act/ person she puts on in order to find her sister.
Staring at the picture:
We see Rose look at a picture of her and her sister, introducing her sister as a character within the film. We used this shot to represent Rose's longing for her sister, she is looking at this picture because she misses her, reminding herself of the times they have spent together.
When we see her put this picture away into the drawer which she slams tightly shut, it symbolises the way in which she has to keep the truth of her sister hidden, to keep from her 'boyfriend' why she is really getting close to him.
The Mirror shot:
The two contrasting facial expressions we see of Rose are meant to represent her deceptive role, and her true feelings, compared to the feelings/ character she puts on:
The happy, smiley facial expression we see in the mirror is what she puts onto her boyfriend.
The solitude facial expression we see up close represents how she is really feeling.
Finishing Line:
This suggests the relationship between Rose and the boyfriend's father. Although the audience do not know this yet, Rose must later on seduce the boyfriend's father in order to find out more about her sister. The nature of the last line, and the way in which she says it behind the boyfriend's back, probes into Rose's devious nature involving the boyfriend's father.
We were influenced by the style and framing of this shot by similar shots from Vampire Diaries:
Style
Our opening sequence has a mysterious and seductive atmosphere, style and feeling. We represented this using, titles, soundtrack, pace and rhythm, colours and dialogue.
Titles
We began our title research by exploring different fonts, to try and obtain the atmosphere. We decided that our the colour of our main title 'vengeance' should be red, as this is a running theme throughout our film such as:
We decided that red was a good colour to represent our film because of the intensity that red represents. This intensity emphasises the heat and strength of our the gritty themes, storyline and female protagonist. It also enhances the seductive nature to the opening sequence.
We decided to focus on a thin font style in order to represent the eerie/ mysterious style to our opening sequence and film.
Leading us onto our Main title:
Style of our Titles:
The style in which our titles appeared was very important to maintain the atmosphere and mood we were creating. We decided to have the rest of our titles in white, contrasting and emphasising the final 'Vengeance' title that appeared in red.
We decided to fade to black in-between each of our shots in our opening title sequence in which our titles would appear. This was influenced by the following title sequence:
Our Title:
Although the Kill Bill Title doesn't fade to black, the integration and incorporation of a separate title was the main influence it provided us with.
Kill Bill Title:
We felt this was appropriate as it gave our sequence a sense of pace, slowing down our sequence and emphasising our atmosphere.
The pace of our sequence we created from the use of our titles also allowed a better timing in consideration to the music
Music:
We chose this music as it created a mysterious ambiance to our sequence, accentuating all the movements and actions that we see in our opening sequence.
Shooting techniques:
We also used framing to heighten our atmosphere. We focused on close up shots in order to emphasise the intensity of our sequence as a whole as well as the objects we were focusing on.
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