Preliminary Exercise Evaluation

Prelim Task Evaluation

1) Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?
I worked with Daniel Gittings, Jeremy Kumarathasan, and Aidan Szczurek. Daniel, Aidan and I acted in the scene so Jeremy took more responsibility in terms of direction and camera work, but we all had an input in production, filming and direction at times where we were not acting. We organised meetings at lunchtimes to confirm ideas and develop them too. The group also compensated well to ensure an equal input; I was unavailable to attend one of our meetings so I volunteered to write up the completed shot list, which Aidan drew a storyboard for. I paired up with Aidan to edit the shots together, separately to Jeremy and Daniel who did the same thing but in their own interpretation for change in terms of the order/length/number of shots we planned.

2) How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account? 



My Group's Storyboard

 To plan our sequence we first sat together as a group and brainstormed ideas verbally and noted them down on paper until we came to a conclusion. After we agreed on ideas I typed up a list of shots, and after creating the storyboard our ideas were clear and ready to film. The last stage was simply to highlight the shot list according to set-up/shooting location in order to efficiently carry out the shooting and schedule when we would do each shot. We took into account continuity theories and rules such as the '180 degree rule' to piece together a series of shots that made sense, as well as creating a strong sense of genre.

3) What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it? 

We used the school's digital cameras (Canon DV30) and a tripod to shoot this task, filming in different locations in a variety of techniques and angles. We shot the majority indoors where the light could easily be controlled, but we did not require this anyway; the natural outdoor light was sufficient. We used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit our sequence on computers designed specifically for editing. We cut the clapperboard intros off of the starts of shots, and pieced them together in the order/pace we believed fit our perception of the idea best. 

 

4) What factors did you take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

Daniel and Jeremy editing 'The G' in their own way

When planning and shooting we had to take into account the amount of time we would take, the lighting of location and availability as well as anticipate fire-drill alarms, bells for lessons ending and traffic of other students in the school moving around. Also considered were continuity theories/rules, the way the audience would interpret what they would see (we may know what the scene is about as producers/directors but it has to make sense to others). As we went through the editing process we made sure these theories came into practice successfully, in order for our sequence to make clear sense and flow. Also, we took into account pace and shot length, as well as whether we

actually needed all the shots we planned and filmed. 

5) How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?



Aidan and I editing our sequence together



I believe we had some success with this task; we finished shooting on time even with the delays and inconveniences occurring. Our planning went well as we didn't discuss/argue ideas for too long, and confirmed a decision without much fuss or difficulty, although in hindsight, with more planning time we could have accomplished more together in order to be more prepared. By this I mean that the individual responsibility allocation at times led to confusion when we brought our work to the table, for example my clear visualization of the shot list I wrote was not instantly fully comprehensible to my peers. My group worked well as a team despite the occasional disagreement, although on set some of these lasted too long - and as the source of many of the ideas I felt unable to voice my concerns with arguments, in fear of further disrupting our productivity. I don't believed we 'messed around' which is definitely a positive for a group of 4 boys, but the way we dealt with uncertainties was not always the most effective. I felt we did each individually contribute to ideas and responsibility at every point in the process, however. Aidan and I worked together effectively as a team on editing, my only real criticism would be the relatively long time in took in comparison to the others, largely due to perfectionism and lengthier discussion on how we would do certain things. To repeat myself, more succint and efficient planning would be needed to decrease this time.

6) What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?
I believe this task has been enlightened us of the time things take to shoot and how to behave on set. The task expresses the utmost importance of concise planning and organisation in any filming work, and although I have fortunately had some experience of this before, no harm is done in reminding us of the basic principles. It is essential to try to see your work in the eyes of someone who does not yet know the idea you are working towards, in order for them to be able to see your exact intentions extremely clearly to avoid confusion. An obvious point to also include would be the refreshment of editing ability. This preliminary prepares us for coursework effectively. 

Here is our finished, edited continuity sequence, entitled 'The G':

Dexter Re-Edit Evaluation

Dexter Re-Edit Evaluation

1) The conventions of title sequences that were most important in this task were: 

• Credits - e.g. crews, production, cast
• Font - synergy, genre
• Movement/appearance of text - creates mood
  

2) We planned to edit our title sequence using credits fitting to the 

Art of the Title Sound Analysis

Sound Analysis in 

Art of the Title Opening Sequence:

Kung Fu Panda

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/kung-fu-panda/

Here I analyse the sound used in the opening sequence of Kung Fu Panda. This covers everything we as the audience can hear, including diegetic (audible to the characters in the film) or non diegetic (not audible to the characters), music, and dialogue. 

• Diegetic, foley recorded sound (created in post production)

Analysis of Continuity in a Film Sequence

Analysis of Continuity in a Film Sequence

 

The scene I have chosen to analyse in terms of continuity is the face off between Master and Apprentice in Star Wars, Episode III. This sequence is full of intense action and good use of continuity techniques that let it flow excellently with no interruption.

• Lots of fast cutting (typical of action films) is featured, giving a very fast pace and rhythm to the scene. All shot changes are cuts, so no dissolves/fades etc to slow the action

• A full range of shot distances is used. This includes:
  - Closeups to show emotion and objects/images of importance, e.g. the hands at        1:46 unable to overpower the other
  - Wide shots showing both whole characters at a distance in full view, and also to show what is going on in the background e.g. at 3:47 where the buildings are collapsing into the lava
  - These are often cut between mid shots from the waist up of lightsaber action that feature throughout

• Match-on-action shots are commonly used here as the subjects move between different areas and the camera changes angle and distance; the action continues to happen as we see it from other perspectives

• Camera tracking is often used, such as at 0:26 the subjects are followed across the room they are in

• Arcs circulate the subjects like in 2:36, where an overhead arc shoots the two balancing on a thin beam

• Shot-reverse-shot is used to film both character's perspectives simultaneously, for example the OTS's at 2:45, putting the audience right in the action

• The 30 and 180 degree rules are applied here: - distance and angle constantly change drastically; not only to intensify the action but to avoid any 'jump' shots
  - Wide shots from all angles give us full view of the setting surrounding the characters, so 180 degree cuts are not confusing

• Shot order routinely edits distances together, taking the audience across the physical space of the scene, for example at 4:00 we are taken from extreme wides to LS, to MS, then to MCU

• 'Non-linear editing' has been used in this film, so that the shot order can be edited and re-edited to the film makers liking as long as they make chronological sense

Continuation Sequence Analyis

Continuation Sequence Analyis

Our first shooting task was to film a short sequence focusing on continuity involving some kind of 'accident'. The narrative of our scene was a person running away from another and 'accidentally' running into a wall and falling over.  

What worked?:

• Our match-on-action shot from running into a room to the person in the room still running worked quite well in terms of continuity
• We used a decent range of shot types and distances with camera movement, displaying a little creativity and some understanding of perspective (instead of simply having a static camera)
• The first shot, a CU on the feet of the chaser and victim takes us straight into the action
• Little is revealed of the chasing character, creating a sense of enigma, using some things we've learnt. She is seen only in the first and last shot, in which largely only her black boots are seen

Criticisms? What would we add/do differently?:

• The slow motion shot looked out of place and didn't make much sense. It went from chaotic to not moving and the framing went up from the feet in the first shot then back down to the character's feet and up in the next shot
• The set was confusing and made the 3rd and 4th shots of the sequence not make sense. It would have needed a wider 3rd shot to show the symmetry of the locker room, because when the camera breaks the 180 degree rule to shoot the character hitting the floor it looks like his falling direction has drastically changed and he is falling into the wall that he was falling away from in the previous shot
• Some of our framing could do with improvement; the subjects in the first shot should start with more distance from the camera, and the final shot of the boots and body should be framed tighter and centraliset the subjects more

Roland Barthes' 5 Codes

Roland Barthes' 5 Codes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd68fZq_af4


This is the opening sequence of a brilliant film about slum life in Rio de Janeiro from the late 60s to early 80s - City of God. Here I analyse the scene and pick out Barthes' codes.


Enigma Code

• Who is sharpening the knife for and for what?

• What is the significance of the chicken?

• Why are these people chasing the chicken?

• What is the boy discussing that he is trying to get a photograph of?

• Who are these people and why are they carrying guns?

Action Code

• Chicken watching another be prepared to eat, scary and builds tension and suspense

• Escape of animal

• Chase scene, we don't know if it will escape to freedom or not

• Lots of running and shouting; action is taking place

• Police v armed thugs standoff

• Boy talking about Lil Ze finding him, then slow-motion as he arrives at the scene

Semiotic Code

• City represents danger

• "It's been that way ever since I was a kid" *cut to flashback* - we will see different events across different time periods, filling the plot like puzzle pieces throughout the film

• 'Lil Ze' shouting commands at companions as well as the public, pushing people in his way - he is a dominant, controlling, violent character

• Boy talking about working for the paper, an honest profession. He doesn't want to get involved with 'the hood'; he is 'one of the good guys', not a criminal 

• Lil Ze's bad teeth; not much money or access to dental care, health care etc

• Police aiming at criminals; outnumbered, yet there IS still some resistance against crime 

Cultural Code

• Bustling, multicultural city, favela area; setting is Latin America

• The characters are speaking in a different language - somewhere far from where we are and very different

• Typically South American/Latino music, diegetic and in public; audience can piece together setting

• Guns displayed; violence/illegalities are likely to surround the lives of this rabble

• Grafiti, public swearing; the audience instantly know that this is not the friendliest of places 

Symbolic Code

• The chicken and it's journey could represent the how small and in vulnerable one is in this society, that in the City of God you are always running, always under attack
• The first thing we see is knives; this likely symbolises danger and violence