evaluation of skill developed

From completing the preliminary task, i have learnt how to film a conversation using the 180 degree rule.It is important to use the 180 degree rule in a conversation as it allows the audience to feel as though they are part of the conversation and receiving the information themselves about what is being said by the characters.

i also learned how to film match on action and why it is necessary in a film. Match on action is the filming of a particular event to make the audience think that it has actually happened. For example in our preliminary task, we filmed the character actually putting his hand on the door handle and opening the door. this make the audience believe that he has actually opened the door, and it has just opened by itself.

I also learned how to film a shot reverse shot. This involves filming a conversation over the characters shoulders. this makes the audience feel more involved in the conversation, which is crucial to them being interested in what the characters have to say.

I also developed the creative side to filming the task. This is because we had to come up with a situation which the preliminary task could take place and we could for fill what we needed to include (match on action, shot reverse shot, and the 180 degree rule). In our preliminary task, we created the situation that one character needed to borrow the other characters phone.

I also learnt the technical aspect of filming the task with the camera and tri pod. This is because I had to move the tri pod every time a new character spoke, as we needed to keep in line with the shot reverse shot. Further more we needed to ensure that we filmed on one side of the line created by the 180 degree rule, to ensure that we did not break it. Furthermore, I also learnt how to position the camera when filming a pan shot. This was difficult at first as the camera would be moving horizontally, which may bring the character closer to the camera while it is still panning round.

I also learnt how much space to leave between the characters and the camera to film a medium shot, long shot and close up shot of the characters. This can be important in films as certain shot sizes can connote different things about a character.

I learnt how to personalize the task to my liking by suggesting ideas that improved the look of the task. For example I suggested how a character might sit in order to ensure that their head does not cover an unnecessary amount of the shot when filming the shot reverse shot part of the task.

My group also had to carry out pre production work before we filmed the task, like a storyboard, location, equipment and shot list. This gives us good practice of what to do when we film our final product which is an opening title sequence.

Storyboard

Log Lines

A log line is a sentence that always poses a question to the audience to make them feel intrigued and what to see the film.

1. 'Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.' - Juno

2.  'A young woman steals $40000 from her employers client, and subsequently encounters a young hotel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother.'

3. 'A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet riddled and without memory, then races to elude assassins and recover form amnesia'

A good website which uses log lines is IMDb - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088263/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Preliminary Task

In groups of no more then 4

Its 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 he or she exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task must demonstrate match on action, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule 

Timeline of credits in an opening title sequence

This is my credits timeline for the opening title sequence in Catch Me If You Can. The opening title sequence is 2:32 seconds long and consists of 26 overall credits, including director, producers, music and the lead starring actors and actresses.

Editing and Camera Techniques

Editing used in Thriller Opening Title Sequences

The first opening title sequence that I will analyse the editing on is, The Machinist. The sequence begins with a transition in the form of a dissolve. A dissolve is a type of editing used, to merge two clips together. In this particular transition, we see a combination of the tree from a graveyard in the previous scene, in the current scene of a car in a city. The tree then wipes across the screen to show a dissolve an image of a train.

We then see a wipe coming across the screen. This form of editing suggests a new start for characters involved in a particular scene or action. In this sequence, the is a image of a train that wipes across the screen, to reveal a series of houses that fades into a white background. There is then a set of double doors revealed when the picture fades back in from a white background. The double doors then wipe across the screen, and then fades into a black background. This suggests that entering through these doors, could potentially lead to death.Then the clip fades back into a image of a section of shops that have a lot of graffiti on them. The camera then zooms in on a black window, which fades into a black background,with the name of the movie appearing in white text.This could have been done to suggest that this section of shops leads to the ending of the film, but how?, is the question that is put in the audience, making them want to watch more of the film.