Research

Considering I have previously looked at this film to head me int he right direction, its only natural that i use it again to better my understanding of the task ahead, also my film we have unanimously decided its going to be in black and white will also give me more of a feel to what my film may look like. The non-diagetic sound, much like The shinning, also already sets the scene of a horror movie, its not subtle nor does it use juxtaposition, which i may consider in my own piece. The use of shadows creates a spooky feeling and un eases the audience because shadows naturally scare us as humans because you can't fully see the figure and reminds us of child hood fears. We also might want to use bad weather, to create  pathetic fallacy so the audience also knows the tone of the film. Unlike The Shinning in the first minute we already know by the shots that someone has died, and we are starting to piece together what may happen in the film, its been set up completely different, which is helpful to me because now i can decide which i think is better. The baby crying is also a good touch, because the audience knows somethings wrong because the baby is un-easy, and sometimes we belive babys to have other senses.

Research

Looking at classic successful horror films will give me a better understanding of what I have to do my self. This is the first two minutes of The Shining by Stanley Kubrick. The camera movements are slow and the non-diagetic sound already creates a huge sense of suspense and tension, already we know somethings going to happen and that this is a horror film. I is in the middle of no where in a huge spooky looking house, not much has been given away yet, which I need to bare in mind when shooting my piece. The beginning credits appear trough the scenes, which is done well although we don't have the equipment to do such shots, its useful to have this clip because it is a perfect example, and is along the lines of what i have to do.

The crew

Editor: pieces together the film bit by bit Cinematographer: controls the lighting and the camera movement
Gaffer: head of electrician
Camera operator: in charge of the movement of the camera
Focus puller: works along side the camera operator, in charge of focus
Grip: tracks, to put the dolly on + camera
Camera assistant/ clapper loader: the person who loads film and helps camera man in any way
Producer: budgeting and deadlines
Director: directing actors, every job
Screen writer: writs the script, usually alongside producer and director (hated by the film industry because nobody can start working until the screen writer has finished their job)
Assistant director: in charge of time
2nd: in charge of 'talent'
3rd:any other job going
Runner: anything anyone needs (best place to start to work your way to the the top)
Sound recordists: person who records sound
Boom operator: records sound (fluffy things)
Dubbing editor: sync audio to picture
Dubbing mixer: sound mixing, loud low dialogue and music

Reserch for continuity piece

Using a typical over the shoulder shot, which can be found in films and most commonly in products such as soaps or series, using a popular teen drama to do our research and apply it to our own piece, this is a clip from skins:
[insert clip here]
From observing the editing in this over the shoulder reverse shot, we had a visual indication on what we had to do, which was a huge help, when it came to editing the conversation between each character. The reason for this was because it was a similar set up, one character coming into the room sitting down opposite a character already present, and then engaging in intimate conversation.

Continuity 1 - Bunking

Evaluation:

* holding a shot steady, where appropriate;
-Each shot is held steady, no shaky shots.(not much more to say)

*framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate;
-The stair shots each include the stairs and the body of the character no un-necessary items or factors,  for the set up of the scene that was about to happen, which was set by the teacher.
-The conversation with the over the shoulder shots, they are framed well capturing the emotions of the characters, and including the shoulder of the other character to add to the conversation.

*using a variety of shot distances as appropriate
-good use of mid shots, to establish a conversation, and close up to their faces for emotions and reactions to the dialogue and the situation. Low and high angle shots to see the character running down each stair case.

*shooting material appropriate to the task set;
-the piece was about bunking, which is set a school, and they included a character coming into a room, siting down with another character who was already present in the room engaging in a conversation using various shots, which we executed well I think.

*selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting;
-the lighting behind the boys head, tells the audience that he is the innocent participant in the actual bunking and there is no light shining behind my head which indicates that the girl is influencing him  to bunk. objects such as the tables and desks in the class room are completely appropriate because they hiding in a class room in a school from teachers, it sets up the scene of an average secondary/ sixth form school. and perfect for the project set.
each scene is light daytime, which is relevant because school is during the day making the scene believable.

*editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer;
- the editing of the stair scene is short, not to long so the viewer is still interested by the time she reaches the class room, but you can still see her running through the window which is a nice little touch because it moves smoothly into the next scene, always keeping the audience interested in whats happening, the quick cuts portray a scene of urgency which works along side the acting and head movements of the character.
-the over the shoulder reverse shots are edited in this way to introduce the male character with a close up and show the importance of the contrasting facial expressions of each character, then the mid shot at the end leaves the audience wanting more on what happens next, also revealing the body language and slight change in proximity between the characters, when she moves away from him realising that he id not fully "down" with what they are doing.

*using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set;
-the task set required no special effects or transitions, because the piece is on continuity therefore the absence is completely appropriate.

*using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
-The editing was mostly spot on, it flowed and well and each sound in the piece is appropriate. The use of dialogue following a small simple script.

*using titles appropriately.
-this was done well, the titles tell the audience what the piece is about, the story line, that continuity was the aim, also who was involved in the project.

Continuity piece- The story board, Camera plan and script

We were given a stimuli, for our first simple continuity piece, which was the concept of a somebody walking into a room, and in this room somebody was already presant sitting down, and then to include a conversation between the two charaters. Separetly we all made out individual story board and brought them together once finished to share and discuss ideas with the group. After discussing each subject we decided to go with Nicholas's idea of a student entering a room int he school, and having a conversation with his/her peer. This idea was the most simple and the easiest to apply to a peice of drama, considering we already have a school and class rooms at our disposal, so the piece would be simply realistic.
[insert story board]

Using our resraech into The Line of action we drew out a camera plan, which includes a birds eye view of the set, and diagrams of where the cameras will be placed in order to create the desired shots.
[insert camera plan]

Lastly we put together a simple script, of a boy and a girl bunking and when they meet eacother they engage in conversation:
Femi: Oh my god i though you were a teacher.
Nina: (Out of breath) I almost got caught by Mr.Wilson.
Femi: We should have just stayed in class.
Nina: No this is jokes, lessons are boring.

Even though this script was simple, and not exactly amazing, it was effective because it got the job done alowing us to film all the footage we needed, on our next piece will will focus in on these factors, however it was not an issue becuase our piece included everthing needed.

Continuity piece, The line of action

In order to create a successful continuity piece, we had to under go a number of step to learn how to walk before we can run! Firstly, the research into setting up a simple scene. Our teacher had taught us about the line of action, which is a strategy used by filmmakers which is the most basic rule of camera placement. The purpose of the line of action preserves constant screen direction and space, it gives the film crew a clear plan of where to place the cameras and which shoots to take.

A line is established ^, as seen int his diagram. You are left with a space of 180 degree in which you place your camreas, once the line and the 180 degree working space is clear this is where you place your cameras, and cameras are never placed outside this zone.
Using these rules we were able to shoot a converstaion, incudeing over the shoulder reverse shots, and a mid shot and edited it together to create a perfect conversation, which we were pretty proud of, it felt good once the plan on paper had come together visually.