Evaluation of preliminary task
Question 1: For our film, we planned somewhat extensively. Firstly we had a general discussion of which type of features we would like in our film. We all agreed that we wanted a black and white filter applied to the sections leading up to the confrontation, and for the door slam to be the point at which it switches to colour.
Next, a story board was created, detailing what type of shots we were planning to use throughout. This was split between the three sequences (‘writing’, ‘walking’ and ‘confrontation’) and 2 shots were drawn for each.
Script writing and some early camera direction followed this.
After that; location scouting around the school, taking photos of any place that seemed adequate.
For the ‘writing’ sequence, we were looking for a dark room with single source lighting - creates a more stark contrast between shadows and highlights called chiaroscuro. Darkness mostly has negative connotations, and this particular lighting insinuated a harsh mood, reflecting the frustration of the writer.
We then needed to find the end point to the walking sequence, in which the confrontation would take place.
At this point we had in mind that we wanted to use a pod in the study hall, but it proved difficult to get a free one for a long enough time to record the whole scene, and eventually we ended up switching to one of the classrooms in the main building.
This ended up being somewhat useful, considering the negative associations one has with a classroom. Also, the glass of the pods made it seem too open, not reflecting the stressful content of the scene well enough.
The walking part happened between these locations, and not much - apart from certain shot types, such as worms eye view, scanning along leading lines and high angles - was planned.
Question 2: The 180 degree rule is a rule of shooting and editing in which the camera stays only on one side of the action. This keeps the characters grounded compositionally and allows the characters to still be looking at each other even when only one is in the frame.
Breaking this rule runs the risk of the characters positions seeming to have been swapped.
This is applied during dialogue between characters, with the shot reverse shot technique being used.
The camera always stays on the same side of the characters; may look over the left shoulder of one, the right shoulder of the other and only look at them from that side.
This rule is sometimes broken in film to create the idea of confusion - for example, in The Shining ‘bathroom scene’, Stanley Kubrick shoots wide shots from both directions and has a 180-degree flip, crossing the line.
In certain places we struggled with this rule as a concept because it can be difficult to visualise what is and isn’t breaking the rule. This was because the route which our character walked was very winding and had many corners to deal with.
Question 3: Throughout the film we used the following shots;
Close-up
This shot set the general feel of the piece; the blank document with the flashing cursor portraying a rather blank, dark mood.
The first shot of a scene is generally there to establish the setting, but the fact we didn’t do this with the stereotypical wide-angle shot made it feel slightly claustrophobic.
It is also used at 0:38, showing the door handle being pulled down. This marks the beginning of the confrontation sequence.
Over the shoulder
This was our main chiaroscuro shot, the contrast between the surrounding darkness and the bright laptop screen has connotations of depression or suspense, and the silence at this point also adds to the feeling of isolation.
Medium Shot
The first full shot of the main character is quite late into the sequence, creating an odd sense of distance, and possibly making the viewers dislike the lead.
Cut-in
This shot makes the walking sequence seem fast paced, as the camera pans quickly and it is a shot of only 2 seconds or less.
Eye Level
Another shot type which adds to the high tension feeling, by being somewhat jolty, mimicking the walking movement of the character.
Worms-eye view
Same image as with the cut-away.
It makes the viewer seems small in comparison and shows the protagonist as intimidating and angry.
This juxtaposes the birds-eye view shot previously in the sequence which makes him seem small and inferior.
This could represent the rising anger of the character.
Birds-eye view
Connotations between this and the worms-eye view shot explained above.
Long Shot
This shot establishes the setting of the final scene of the film.
The colour change occurred when the door to this scene slams at 0:40 seconds.
Question 4: To edit the film, I used iMovie.
I used this song because it accents the somewhat chaotic nature of the walking scene - reflecting the shaky camerawork at 0:34 seconds.
Also, at 0:43, the music compliments the slow motion perfectly - it fades at the perfect time before the argument occurs.
I have developed my skills in continuity editing - allowing for a smoother narrative between shots; this is evident at 0:10 seconds, when the main character rubs his eye and it continues to the next frame. This also draws attention away from the contrast in colour between the shots, with the over-the-shoulder shot being a little darker than the previous.
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