Preliminary Task- The Unknown Object

The clip above was my final cut of The Unknown Object. I carried out this task to once again give me more experience with camera and editing so that when I come onto my FInal Task I will have all the skills ai need to produce a good quality piece of work.

I also carried out this task to look into more about the 180 Degrees Rule. This rule is used in all films and medias productions as a way of making conversations on screen seem more real. The rule outlines that there is a imaginary line across the two characters, and the camera is not allowed to cross this line. Because of this rule it means that each character in the shot stays on the same side of the camera throughout the scene rather than switching sides. The diagram below explains this rule:

I also wanted my production to show a 'Match on Action Shot', this is where you get one shot of someone opening a door, and an immediate cut is then taken onto the other side of the door where they would walk through the door. The cut has to be immediate or it is simply not a 'Match on Action Shot'.

My production is all about a conversation between two characters, and one wants something off the other character. There is a clear Narrative Enigma, in that the audience do not know what this object is and just why it is so important.

I learnt a alot again from my production, as I was able to learn how to stick to the 180 degrese rule and how to edit properly and more effectively on imovie, as I can now add in much better sounds, and use video and audio effects to my advantage more.

However my first cut was not perfect and was missing out two of the main points from which I had explained above. I had not stuck to the 180 degrees rule and I had not created a 'Match on Action Shot'.

To enable this I now had to edit the production again, and do some major cutting so that I did not have to completly re-film my production.

I solved the 'Match on Action Shot' by making the cut more immediate by cutting little bits off each side of the door so that it looked to be more like an immediate cut.

I solved the 180 degrees rule by cutting out the parts of which I had gone over the 'Line' and was breaking the rule.

Below is how my production looked before I had made these changes:

Micro Drama

I carried out this micro drama to give myself some experience with working with a camera and just what I needed to do to get the shots that I wanted, and looking into which shots to use and where in the production.

The micro drama was the first task of the coursework, so as you can see I have come along way from making this drama to my final production, as my experiences and knowledge of media has improved vastly.

My micro drama was based on the works of Vladimir Propp, who studied into character types in media productions, he found that a film should always have these 7 different characters in them:

1. The Villain
2. The Donor
3. The Helper (Magical)
4. The Princess, and her Father
5. The Dispatcher
6. The Hero or Victim/ Seeker Hero
7. False Hero

In my micro-drama however because we only had a cast and crew of 4 people we could not incorporate all of these characters, and instead we only had A Hero, A Villain, The Helper and The Victim. Our film was all about a Villain stealing a phone off of a Victim who then cry's for the help of a Hero, who when trying to receive the phone needs the help of The Helper who comes in aid as The Hero is about to be attacked. Thus complying with the research taken by Vladimir Propp.

I learnt a lot in this production as it was the first time I had properly filmed and edited a production from start to finish. My first lesson I learnt was that of Vladimir Propp's theory of character, and how to incorporate them into my production. I then learnt how to use a camera properly, and how to create all the shots such as Long Shot and Close Up. I also learnt how to edit using iMovie and how to get the best out of my footage using sound and transitions.

Codes and Conventions of Film Openings

The first 2 minutes of a film are very crucial part of the film, and although an audiance may not realise, it is where they find out alot about the plot and the characters. If the first two mintues are not too good quality, and do not ever signify characteristivs of characters or give off narative enigmas then they have failed to do what they should be doing.

In the start of every film, be it before the action starts, after it starts or whilst it is strating, there is always the title sequence of the film. This will tell the audiance who produced the film, the director, and any star actors in the film. It may also tell them of any introducing actors (that they believe will soon be big stars) or any guest appearances.

If the film has a higher budget then they can affoard to have very technical and expensive title scenes that can be used to really show off the staring actors and guest appearances. Usually if this is the case then there will also be music playing in the background that will ever be very popular at the time, or made for the film by a well known singer. This means the film can also be sold through the music industry. For example James Bond's Casino Royale used a very expensive opening to a film that is still well known.

Some film openings if they do not have a massive amount of staring actors or guest appearances will use the start of their film to introduce a character in the film by givng clear signifyers as to what the character is like and what is likley to happen to him throughout the film. An example of this is Trick or Treat, they used the opening scenes by showing gothic products to signify the character was a goth, and also had a voive over of the character talking about his life.

If a film has a staring role then it is most likley this person will be a central protagonist. This means that throughout the whole movie, the camera will be focused mainly on him/her. If this is so then that actor will get introduced in the opening scene. For example iRobot's central prtagonist was Will Smith, and he was shown on the opening scene.

Coursework Task

Preliminary Exercise: 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. The task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Main Task: The title and opening of new fiction film, to last a maximum of to minutes.

All Video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate's, with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.