Preliminary Task - Miss Georgiou

Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task that the group had to complete of a character walking in a room and having a brief conversation with another character using various camera angles and editing techniques. Group Members: Harry Hyett, Luke Durrance, Hannah Mahoney and Joshua Lester. 

Purpose?

The purpose of the preliminary task was to get to know the cameras that we will be using in our thriller opening but also using various camera angles and editing techniques and basics of the editing software will be also be using as well. This will play a massive role in the future when we come to actually create our own thriller opening sequence, this is as we will then have some training in the use of the cameras and how to achieve certain camera angles, with the use of a steady shot which can be achieved with the use of the tripod. After this we will then be able to get the understanding of how we can transport all of the footage that we have taken on the camera and transfer it onto the Mac for editing and finalization of the footage for exporting onto YouTube. By learning this process I will be able to achieve the whole of the process in the future,  in a quick and clear way which I will then be able to easily complete late on when we come to make our own thriller opening scenes.

Objective?

Our task was to film and edit a scene where a character opens a door, crossing the room and sitting down opposite another character and then they exchange a few lines of dialogue. The task should have demonstrated match on action, shot reverse shot and the 180-degree rule and had to me a maximum of one minute in length.

When filming we managed to complete the shot reverse shot which can be seen in the video as we shot from various angles when we was filing the conversation between both of the characters.

We also completed the task of not breaking the line of the 180-degree rule as can be seen when I am walking in through the corridor into the classroom as we do not film in the opposite direction therefore breaking the 180-degree rule. However we had to break the rule when filming the shot reverse shot as it meant filing in both directions of the setting when filming.

In addition we also did not get near maximum the length of the scene, so when we go to film our opening scene from this I can take from this task I need to film more footage than I need to get near to the length of 2:00 minutes when I create my opening scene.   

What did I learn?

During this task I learnt how to work the camera that we will be using and also how to set-up the tripod and use it to do various shots such as panning etc. I also learn that we need to consider the types of camera angles we are going to use before we start to film and also what position the camera should be in when taking shots of film. And finally I learnt the basics of the editing software that we will be using to create our film on by combining all of the sequences of film we took and combining and cropping certain sections of the film to create the final product. 

What did I struggle with?

We struggled to fulfill the objective of the 180 degree rule as we had a very small space to work in. So we broke the rule when doing the shot reverse shot technique as it went from behind one character and then behind another. Also our camera angle on the shot reverse shot was not close enough to the characters face so we saw as the audience a large amount of the background that was not needed during the scene as we had already established that the setting was in a school classroom. Finally most of our shots were at a high angle for no apparent reason we should have considered using the tripod at different levels of height instead of mostly one to give the audience a wide range of angles in the scene.   

How will the preliminary task assist me with the planning and creating of my own thriller film?

The task that we completed will help me in the way that now I have a basic idea of how all the elements of creating my own thriller opening sequence work. I know how to use the camera/tripod also have an idea of how to create camera angles and know how the editing software works. I have the foundations to go and start filming my scene once my group have decided on a narrative that we all like and feel is specific to the genre.