AS Prelim

This is our continuity sequence 'Ex's' it is 30 seconds long, involving two school teachers discussing their new head of department. 

1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

In my group was Ella Budgett and Alex Nicolaides. We mainly worked together as a group to brainstorm ideas and plan out our shoot for our continuity sequence. All decisions we made involving planning and shooting we discussed together. However we each had individual roles when shooting as both myself and Ella were acting which left most of the directing and filming to Alex. It was still a group effort though and we made sure everything was well planned out so it was easy when it came to the shooting. We made two separate edits of our continuity sequence. Myself and Ella editing one and Alex editing the other. This allowed everyone to contribute to the editing process.

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

We planned our sequence by brainstorming as a group. Once we had come up with the main idea for the sequence we started story boarding and created a script. We then created a top down plan of the room and walked through the sequence. The most important element for us to take into account was that we had to achieve continuity, so we kept this central to all of our planning. We had to consider continuity theories such as match-on-action, the 180 degree rule, the 30 degree rule and we ensured that we had eye line matches.

We used several pieces of paperwork to plan our shots:

• A storyboard- this allowed us to decide on all the main elements of the shots and what sort of framing and camera movement we would use. Storyboards are a very clear and effective way of putting your ideas on paper.

• A shoot schedule- this helped us to plan out the order in which we would take the shots and fill in any further details that we had not covered in the storyboard.

• A script- to plan the dialogue.
  

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

During filming we used:

• A Canon HFG30 Camera- We used it on manual settings.
  
• a Shotgun microphone- To pick up the dialogue and diagetic sounds.
  

• A tripod- We kept the camera on the tripod at all times. This helped us to keep our shots steady and made it easy to move the camera to pan.
• A clapperboard- We used to organise our shots and how many takes we had done.

The technology was used to edit:

• a PC with dual monitors
• Adobe Premier pro- in which we used a variety of tools to edit our clips. One of the most useful tools was the razor tool which we used to cut up clips, this was especially helpful when doing shot/reverse/shots.

4. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

When planning, editing and shooting we had to keep the brief and the purpose of the sequence at the forefront of everything we did. One of the other factors we had to take into account were our time constraints, so how long we were allowed to shoot for and how long we had for each part of our set as we were sharing the foyer with another group. This meant that we had to coordinate our shoot schedule with theirs to ensure that we didn't have to use the set at the same time.

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

For our first attempt at a continuity sequence I felt that our sequence was relatively successful. We stuck to the brief and demonstrated all of the skills that the brief outlined. I feel that our shots flow well together and our variation of shot types and distances keep the sequence interesting for the audience. However there were a couple of breaks in continuity, as in the pan shot the folders on the table and the jumper in the background of the shot are in a different position to where they are in the master shot. If we were to do this again I would ensure that the set stayed the same throughout the shoot so as to not confuse the audience. Also i feel like we could of involved more interesting camera movement in our sequence to demonstrate different skills and to make the sequence more entertaining for the audience. 

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?

This task has really helped me get to grips with the main continuity concepts. This will be essential when filming my film opening for my main task. This task has also highlighted the importance of time management and shooting and planning with restricted time limits. Its also helped me develop my editing skills much further as i was not very confident with the editing software before this task, but now i feel confident with it i can take a larger role in editing than i have done previously.

Continuity Task 2 (BLK)

Throughout this clip continuity is created using various filming and editing techniques. There is a variety of shot distances and framing which gives the audience a good sense of the space the actors are in but also allows the audience to feel involved in the scene. There is also a master shot which makes it clear to the audience of the space between the two actors before the clip goes into shot/reverse/shot. Shot/ reverse/ shot means cutting back and forward between two people having a conversation, placing the audience in the action and creating continuity. When the clip cuts between the two actors faces their eye lines are matched which ensures that the audience is not confused about where the characters are in relation to each other.

Camera movement is used very effectively in this scene to follow the action. There is a lot of movement in this clip as the actors are rushing to and from the bedroom. Pans, whip pans and tilts are all used in this scene to both follow the action and also create the sense of urgency portrayed by the characters in this clip.

All of the transitions in this scene are cuts which help to emphasize the sense of urgency. All of the cuts are perfect matched cuts to create continuity. For example the women is buttoning up her shirt at the start of the clip, the shot then switches to the mans face and then back to the women, who by this time has done up another two buttons. This is a match on action because it is realistic that the women would of done up two buttons in that space of time. Throughout the clip there are many matches on action and this ensures that the audience is not confused about the space of time that the clip is shot in and is also very important for creating continuity.

Art of the Title activity Evaluation (DYM)

1.Our film idea is about a girl who gets trapped in a hole for her whole life and eventually manages to escape. However she is disturbed and demented and wants to get revenge on the people who trapped her down the hole. Our film opening is a montage of creepy shots with no chronological order but they give the audience the general feel of the film.
2. The film opening introduces the films main character and gives the audience an idea of the setting of the film. It also very clearly introduces the genre.
3. There's a general theme running through the opening titles of blood and darkness and the fact that the opening of the film doesn't reveal much leaves an element of mystery which links into the plot line of the film as there would be an element of uncertainty throughout the film.
4. Hopefully the opening title sequence will leave the audience scared but also intrigued into what will happen in this film. The opening is very ambiguous and really sets the scene for the rest of the film.
5. In our opening sequence we included a range of shot types, this is important in constructing and opening to a film as you want the opening title to be interesting and creative to excite the audience. We also included the film title, our film title could leave the audience confused and make them question how the title is linked into the rest of the film. We also included credits as it is a legal obligation to credit anyone who had input in the film.
6. I think our project is relatively effective as a film opening. It sets the scene well for the rest of the film and gives the audience a good idea of whats to come but as the same time is quite ambiguous. I also think the shots are quite interesting and creative which is very important for an opening title sequence. However if we did it again  i think we could of come up with a more interesting concept for the film as it is quite generic. I also think if we had more time we could have included more interesting titles as the font used is quite boring and looks unprofessional.

Film Opening Analysis and Comparison (DYM)

• This film is Girl with The Dragon Tattoo. The genre of this film is a crime, drama, mystery. 
• The opening title sequence of the play does not reveal much about what will be in the rest of the film as it is a montage of different, interesting, mysterious shots which intrigues the audience into what will come in the rest of the film.
• There is not a set event that happens in this opening of the film. However the overall theme of the title sequence is very dark and mysterious. There is a recurring theme throughout it of this black liquid running through all the shots. The black liquid seems to be enveloping and covering everything.
• The events in the opening title sequence seem to be distinct, unconnected events, however there is a general theme that runs throughout them of this dark, black, oily liquid.
• We are introduced to the main character of the film but in quite a subtle way. She is included in the montage except we don't see her properly as she is covered in this black liquid which she seems to be trying to escape from and it could represent the darkness in side of her. You can presume she is the main character in the film as she is the main person that features in the opening title sequence.
• Most of the information about the film is withheld from the audience in the opening title sequence. The audience is given very little information about the story line or the characters in the film. This could be to add the element of mystery into the story and to intrigue the audience.
• I think when we do our own film openings the audience should be introduced to the main character at the start of the film and to get a brief idea of the setting that the film will be set and to understand the genre that the film is. 

Comparison

I chose to compare Girl with The Dragon Tattoo with Juno. The opening title sequences of these films are extremely contrasting which accurately reflects the contrasting film genres. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has a very dark colour scheme, this is accompanied by loud, dramatic music. Whereas Juno has a very bright colour scheme with mostly pastel colours. Almost the whole opening title sequence is animated and feel good and is accompanied by feel good country music. The opening of The Girl with the Dragon tattoo unveils very little about the film whereas Juno very clearly introduces the audience to the main character and gives the audience a good idea of what the setting is and the general theme of the film.