1. Use of the camera
Does your finished work show that you can:
-Hold a shot steady?
Each shot in the video we created shows that we used the tripod effectively and made sure that the camera was steady, and not shaky. This made our video look more professional. Even when we were moving the camera for a panning shot (0:26-0:30) I made sure the camera was still steady.
-Frame a shot appropriately
We planned the framing of each of our shots on the story boards by drawing a grid and trying to stick the the golden means. However, we had a different location to the film we were copying so we couldn't entirely stick to their frames so we changed them to fit our location. However, we still stuck to the golden means to make the shots more interesting to the eye.
-Use a variety of shot types
We stuck completely to our shot list and our shot list shows we had a variety of different shots. This is also shown in our video, this makes the shots look more interesting and creates tension.
-Use of composition techniques
We couldn't stick to the story board entirely as we had to change location at the last minute. However, we did our best to stick to the frames as best as we could with the location we had. Next time it would be best to make sure we have a certain location and stick to this location to make it easier to frame the shots whilst filming.
2. Use of editing.
Does your finished work show that you can:
-Apply the rules of continuity editing?
I think our shots flow together very well. This is because we left approximately 3 seconds on either side of the shot to enable all the action to be in the shot when cutting and editing the clip. I think we could have added transitions to make our clip look more professional instead of a standard cut every time.
-Choose appropriate editing transitions to put your shots together?
The video in which we were copying from didn't have any transitions between each shot, therefore we didn't add any. In future I am going to look into transitions to make my work like more interesting and professional.
In the shots with the dead bodies at 0:51 we added a bright white shot for half a second in between the two shots of the dead person. This was to make it look like it was images in the main characters mind and not just two random images shown on screen.
3. Selection of Content
Does your finished work show that you can:
-Choose appropriate costume, makeup and props for your film genre?
Our film clip was very simplistic when it comes to costume and props. The costume was a basic white t-shirt which is simple but effective. This way it takes the focus from the costume and puts the focus on the characters face and body actions, creating tension throughout the audience. There were no props used in our clip as the theme throughout was emptiness, hence why the character is in an empty white room. So adding props would take away the empty feel to the clip.
We used darker clothing for the dead body at 0:51 to tie in with the overall dark scene. Its also a nice contrast between the highly exposed, bright light in the other scenes.
The makeup we used was basic black eyeliner round the eyes and a light concealer on the face and lips. This made the chracater look dead and almost supernatural looking. The symbols on the arm were also done with eyeliner and this gives the character a sense of mysteriousness as the audience don't know what and why the symbols are on her.
-Choose appropriate locations and settings for your film genre?
The original film clip was in a basic white room, so we used a white room in my work partners house. This created a sense of emptiness and worked very well. The white room enabled us to up the exposure and create a ghostly feeling to the shots, which added to the tension.
We couldn't find a location dark enough to film the dead body at 0:51 so we just filmed it outside and edited the lighting and the colour on the macs. However, I think this worked to our advantage because the resolution was a lot clearer as we filmed it in the day, compared to filming at night.
-Choose appropriate actors for your film?
The actor we used was a teenage girl, mainly because this type of character is known as being very vulnerable. This type of character is used in many films as the vulnerability makes the audience feel on edge.
4.Self assessment.
-What did you do to help complete the film?
I did the acting in the film, as I'm a drama student and I had a vision of what I wanted to see in our short clip and I thought the best way to get it done would be to do it myself. I also did the makeup and costumes myself aswell.
I am aware that whilst I'm acting I can't be doing the camera shots, therefore I initially studied the original film clip and wrote the shot list and drew the story board looking carefully at the rule of thirds to help my partner to frame the shot correctly whilst I'm acting. Also, in between each shot I helped my partner set up the camera in the right position for each shot and we discussed what we both wanted in each shot. I also set the white balance and exposure on the camera before shooting.
Because I couldn't film anything I made sure I was in charge of editing and edited what we had shot.
-Is there anything that you will do differently when it comes to your final coursework film?
I will make sure I am in a group of atleast 3 people, as working as a two means there is a lot of work for each person.
I also think its important to choose your location early on so you know for definite where your shooting and can plan your shots and your storyboards around this location.
Saturday 29 October 2011
Thursday 27 October 2011
Half-Term Homework Assignment Emmy Brown
1.Use of the Camera
Does your finished work show that you can:
-Hold a shot steady?
My finished work does show that I can hold a shot steady as throughout the camera is still due to the correct set up of the tripod, and during 0:34 to 0:42 there is a tilt which is smooth and does not shake.
-Frame a shot appropriately?
During the whole thing i ensured that the subject was to the right or left of the frame in order to create perspective and attract the viewer whilst getting the right amount of the character in the frame without too much space above their head.
-Use a variety of shot types?
There are all sorts of shot types in the clip, I tried to not only match the ones in the original clip we were copying but also add more to make it more exciting. I featured some of the simplest of shots such as: a mid shot, shown at 0:19, to the more advanced like a canted angle, visible at 0:54.
-Use composition techniques?
The main composition technique i used was the rule of thirds as i kept the grid on the camera screen throughout filming to try and get the subject where the lines crossover creating more tension than if the subject was simply placed in the centre. Although i do think more care should have been taken to use more composition techniques such as the golden mean as i think it is lacking in this area.
2.Use of Editing
Does your finished work show you can:
-Apply the rules of continuity editing?(Do the shots flow together?)
The shots flow together to some extent, for the majority the continuity is fine but i do understand that during parts, such as at 0:16, you see the corner of the room in which the subject was supposed to be sitting at and afterwards Is somehow back In the corner. I knew that this would be a slight problem but it was the only way I could film the shot without seeing furniture because I couldn't get the location I had hoped for. Despite this problem, I do think the shots flow together very well as there's no drastic change of scenery or props. The clip has been edited using IMovie very well, by cutting out the unusable parts or scenes which may hinder the flow and continuity of the clip.
-Choose appropriate editing transitions to put your shots together?
All of the editing transitions are cuts as I feel that if you add a fade into a horror film the tension will go whereas a cut builds the tension and allows the clip to be fast paced and energetic. A cut is an approprate choice of shot due to the footage being filmed and the genre of the clip.
3.Selection of Content
Does your finished work show that you can:
-Choose appropriate costume, make-up and props for your film genre?
My finished work does show this as the character is supposed to be possessed so by wearing the white dress as a costume it reflects a uniform in some kind of mental institution as they're often seen in white, which is often used in horror films. It also almost blends into the background adding to the ghostly and supernatural effect.The make-up is thick black eye-liner around the eyes and on the arms to give a ghostly look as if the character is in a state of death and possession, the symbols on the arms create a sense of mystery. The costume and make-up has been chosen to match those in the original clip as much as possible.
-Choose appropriate locations and settings for your film genre?
The original clip was set in a white room so I decided to film the clip in a white room I have in my house as it not only matches the original but is also really spooky and mysterious as nobody will know where the whereabouts of the character is. We had to alter the scene of the dead body at 0:51 because we didn't have anywhere dark enough to shoot so we decided to film outside and edit it later. It works really well though and still looks scary.
-Choose appropriate actors for your film?
A young teenage girl is used to act in the clip as this character stereotypically portrays vulnerability which is needed in a horror to show clearly who is the victim. As you wouldn't normally think anything bad would happen to this character it adds that shock factor to the film when she becomes possessed.
4.Self-assessment
-What did you do to help complete the film? (Be specific and discuss your contribution to the planning, filming and/or editing)
I helped plan the film by assessing the original version to see what would be needed in terms of make-up, props and setting to get it as acurate and similar as possible. I filmed all but one shot in the film as the group decided the strengths and weaknesses of each person and assigned them with a role, mine was directing, plus the other member of the group was acting in the film. I ensured a range of shot types were used and composition techniques were used effectively, really stressing that the subject remained on the right or the left of the shot.
During editing, I didn't do so much as this is my weakness but i did give a second opinion to the editor just to ensure that the film was visually pleasing and had little continuity errors. In addition, I did contribute by helping choose the background music, assessing which worked and built tension and which were slightly weaker at doing so.
-What improvements could be made to the finished film?
The main thing in which could be improved is the continuity error at 0:17 in which the character is shown out of the corner she was originally in, after this shot she is then shown back in the corner. This could be improved by filming that scene in the corner, it would have been easily done if there was not furniture in the way.
Is there anything that you will do differently when it comes to your final coursework film?
I will definitely push forward the need for atleast three people to work with me in a team as there were only two of us this time it did become quite difficult trying to do everything so our end clip probably could have been miles better with the use of a third person. I will also make sure that the production is slightly better planned as i do think we didn't put as much effort into it as we could have by choosing a location that was avaliable on filming day.
Does your finished work show that you can:
-Hold a shot steady?
My finished work does show that I can hold a shot steady as throughout the camera is still due to the correct set up of the tripod, and during 0:34 to 0:42 there is a tilt which is smooth and does not shake.
-Frame a shot appropriately?
During the whole thing i ensured that the subject was to the right or left of the frame in order to create perspective and attract the viewer whilst getting the right amount of the character in the frame without too much space above their head.
-Use a variety of shot types?
There are all sorts of shot types in the clip, I tried to not only match the ones in the original clip we were copying but also add more to make it more exciting. I featured some of the simplest of shots such as: a mid shot, shown at 0:19, to the more advanced like a canted angle, visible at 0:54.
-Use composition techniques?
The main composition technique i used was the rule of thirds as i kept the grid on the camera screen throughout filming to try and get the subject where the lines crossover creating more tension than if the subject was simply placed in the centre. Although i do think more care should have been taken to use more composition techniques such as the golden mean as i think it is lacking in this area.
2.Use of Editing
Does your finished work show you can:
-Apply the rules of continuity editing?(Do the shots flow together?)
The shots flow together to some extent, for the majority the continuity is fine but i do understand that during parts, such as at 0:16, you see the corner of the room in which the subject was supposed to be sitting at and afterwards Is somehow back In the corner. I knew that this would be a slight problem but it was the only way I could film the shot without seeing furniture because I couldn't get the location I had hoped for. Despite this problem, I do think the shots flow together very well as there's no drastic change of scenery or props. The clip has been edited using IMovie very well, by cutting out the unusable parts or scenes which may hinder the flow and continuity of the clip.
-Choose appropriate editing transitions to put your shots together?
All of the editing transitions are cuts as I feel that if you add a fade into a horror film the tension will go whereas a cut builds the tension and allows the clip to be fast paced and energetic. A cut is an approprate choice of shot due to the footage being filmed and the genre of the clip.
3.Selection of Content
Does your finished work show that you can:
-Choose appropriate costume, make-up and props for your film genre?
My finished work does show this as the character is supposed to be possessed so by wearing the white dress as a costume it reflects a uniform in some kind of mental institution as they're often seen in white, which is often used in horror films. It also almost blends into the background adding to the ghostly and supernatural effect.The make-up is thick black eye-liner around the eyes and on the arms to give a ghostly look as if the character is in a state of death and possession, the symbols on the arms create a sense of mystery. The costume and make-up has been chosen to match those in the original clip as much as possible.
-Choose appropriate locations and settings for your film genre?
The original clip was set in a white room so I decided to film the clip in a white room I have in my house as it not only matches the original but is also really spooky and mysterious as nobody will know where the whereabouts of the character is. We had to alter the scene of the dead body at 0:51 because we didn't have anywhere dark enough to shoot so we decided to film outside and edit it later. It works really well though and still looks scary.
-Choose appropriate actors for your film?
A young teenage girl is used to act in the clip as this character stereotypically portrays vulnerability which is needed in a horror to show clearly who is the victim. As you wouldn't normally think anything bad would happen to this character it adds that shock factor to the film when she becomes possessed.
4.Self-assessment
-What did you do to help complete the film? (Be specific and discuss your contribution to the planning, filming and/or editing)
I helped plan the film by assessing the original version to see what would be needed in terms of make-up, props and setting to get it as acurate and similar as possible. I filmed all but one shot in the film as the group decided the strengths and weaknesses of each person and assigned them with a role, mine was directing, plus the other member of the group was acting in the film. I ensured a range of shot types were used and composition techniques were used effectively, really stressing that the subject remained on the right or the left of the shot.
During editing, I didn't do so much as this is my weakness but i did give a second opinion to the editor just to ensure that the film was visually pleasing and had little continuity errors. In addition, I did contribute by helping choose the background music, assessing which worked and built tension and which were slightly weaker at doing so.
-What improvements could be made to the finished film?
The main thing in which could be improved is the continuity error at 0:17 in which the character is shown out of the corner she was originally in, after this shot she is then shown back in the corner. This could be improved by filming that scene in the corner, it would have been easily done if there was not furniture in the way.
Is there anything that you will do differently when it comes to your final coursework film?
I will definitely push forward the need for atleast three people to work with me in a team as there were only two of us this time it did become quite difficult trying to do everything so our end clip probably could have been miles better with the use of a third person. I will also make sure that the production is slightly better planned as i do think we didn't put as much effort into it as we could have by choosing a location that was avaliable on filming day.
Friday 21 October 2011
Assessment film
Pros:
- An important pro is how well the clip relates to the original horror clip as we tried extremely hard to make it look as similar as possible using imovie effects for a ghostly look.
- There is a large range of camera angles which are all used in clip we have copied
- The music adds lots of tension and shows our understanding of editing and adjusting the clip to make it that bit scarier
- It flows well with little continuity errors
- Tried to keep the subject within the golden mean and to one side of the shot as characters are usually either left or right
- It is the correct length of time and we have used this time well to show our filming, editing and understanding
- Slight continuity error in terms of positioning of the character
- It isn't the best location we could have chose but the one we wanted, which was also used in the original, was not avaliable. So you can see the occasional light switch.
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Foundation Portfolio: Visual Continuity Assessment Exercise
We worked really hard to stay on the 180 degree line
Test Shot/Character Design
To enable our actor to look scary we used the appropriate makeup to create this look. I applied a pale skin tone to the face to create a pale, zombie-like look of death and then used black, purple and grey eye shadow all around the eyes to produce spooky eyes -those that only the dead would have. Liquid cheek and lip tint was used around the eyes (it was eye friendly!) and on the side of the lip to insinuate that the character has killed or is possessed. The lips were covered in a very white concealer to add to the pale look.
Thursday 13 October 2011
Composition Excersize
Strengths of the clip:
There seems to be no continuity errors allowing the clip to flow from beginning to end. We have a range of camera shots from high angle long shot to long angle close up. This keeps the audience interested and the clip excited adding tension where needed.We added a sound effect at the end to create more tension and leave the audience feeling confused and scared towards the end of the clip.
Are your shots well framed? Identify specific shots:
Our shots are well framed and we thought about them carefully and how well they would work with the scene. We use a large variety of shots, from high angles to mid shots.
Does it jump?
We have not seen any notable jumps and we have edited the clip on imovie in order to eliminate all possible jumps.
Thursday 6 October 2011
Continuity exercise
How have you achieved continuity editing?
Using I Movie we have edited our footage to create a flowing clip. We split our whole clip up into sections of different shot types in order to pick the best ones. We then chose the best ones and tidied up the beginning and ends of each one using the crop tool. This enabled each shot to look as if they were flowing into one another, ensuring continuity.
Have you evidenced your skills from last week?
This week, in order to create our short clip more quickly we created a more effective way of shooting compared to last week. To do this we shot the same shot types all at one time to save traveling with the camera and to ensure that nobody moves, avoiding continuity errors.
Have you framed your shots properly?
The frames we did were shot properly however, we had to cut some of the shots out in order to make the piece smooth and avoid the film jumping.
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