Wednesday 29 September 2010

Representation of the drama genre for 'The Accident'

The genre that I had selected was drama and the shot was a low angle long shot of a white young female and an asian young male looking upset or almost shocked about something. The clothes that both characters are wearing suggest a very formal environment, as if they were in a work place of some sort. The image suggests a very open environment as the shot is taken in a public stairway suggesting that the lives of bith characters were very public. The picture is very light however a very faint shadow is created on the characters faces suggesting that they were hiding something.

There is a significant amount of light source in this image. The female character is stood right next to the light to suggest a sense of innocence as well as guilt for something that she had done. The body language of the characters compliments the theme as there are several moods conveyed in the shot such as fright, shock, passion and contempt. The male character was positioned deliberately on the top of the stairs to create a hidden identity there was mystery behind the male.

This shot is successful as it captures the genre quite evidently. The body language is the main subject which helps us to identify the genre. The positioning of each character compliments the genre very well.

If I were to re-shoot this I would make sure that the male was a step down so the expression on his face was evident. I would make the female express more on her face to show her feelings. I might even cut the male out of the shoot and just shoot the expressions of the female as her emotion is conveyed clearly in this shot.

'The Accident' Evaluation

The Accident was quiet a realistic story, as it shows the everyday life of any adolescent and it relates to many teenagers. The Accident consists of a variety of shots. The editing of the shots was done to a good standard, however it could have been improved by taking shots that compliment each other, for example going from an eye-level midshot to a close-up. This would be beneficial as in this movie the shots contrast each other as we go from an eye-level midshot suddenly into an over the shoulder shot, this seems like a big jump and does not link in to one another.

The editing should be fluent and the different shots should compliment each other, this movie clip does flow reasonably well, unfortunately it has a few problems as some areas change the shot before the previous character has stopped talking.

The shoot was reasonably efficient as we did majority of our shots in the time we were given, though we had to work fifteen minutes overtime as we had two more shots to take. This fifteen minutes was very unefficient as our shoot was disturbed by peers and background noise. We had to retake one shot over eleven times which was not very resourceful. However overall, the shots lived up to our expectations.

If I had a chance to re-shoot and re-create this short movie, I would use shots which compliment one another and keep the clips flowing. During the editing process I would make sure that there is at least an extra second of each clip before linking them to each other so that it does not seem as if the characters were in a rush while shooting. In the future I would make sure the story was cut shorter and less shots are used, as the quality is more of a priority then quantity.



Wednesday 22 September 2010

Camera Work Techniques, Composition tips

CRANE DOWN, LOOK UP
Crane down, look up is a technique that starts out with an eye level camera angle towards the subject onscreen. The camera then is put in a low angle position and is tilted up towards the subject. The images transforms from a normal angle to a drastic angles from below.

I think this shot was quite difficult to capture as you need a high hill or cliff for this shot to be successful. However I think t was a good first attempt and I will try to re-inact the shot better in my further work.

REFLECTION


The reflection Technique is a very interesting technique. Instead of seeing the noraml omage we actually see a reflected image. This makes us view a distortion of real life for a short period of time. Mirrors are the main way that you can see reflection.

I think this shot was particularly challenging to attempt as it was all to do with the correct positioning of the subject as well as the positionb of the camera.

NOSE ROOM

Nose room is the space in front of the subject. There is space in the direction of which the subject or character is facing, otherwise the subject looks as if the nose was getting cut off.

Film Poster Annotations

Film Poster

Overall I think our film poster was quite effective the only thing that I would change if I had to do this task again would have been the font of the tag title as it does not go with the overall poster. It seems to be out of place.

In lesson we learnt how to use Photoshop in different ways. One of the main things we had laernt was adding and experimenting with different layers, this helps you break things down and work on one specific section at a time and then you can fuse them together to create the overall picture.

We also learnt how to brighten a picture as well as defining it. I am pleased with the way that the poster was feathered in, however I would like to learn how to blend the background and foreground together in a more subtle way so it does not look as if it was tapestry. I am happy the way that the feathering darkened the face and made it fit in with the genre. I would like to learn how to play around with the focus of the image as well as professionally manipulating the image in the future.

Sunday 12 September 2010

ENEMY OF THE STATE HOME LEARNING set 06/09/10 due 13/09/10

1. Tension is created through editing by the variety of different camera shots and camera angles used in this section (i.e extreme close-ups, close-ups, mid shots, long shots). For example, the overhead shot creates tension as it draws the audience due to the fact it is dark, the shot is taken from a high angle which makes one think if someone is watching them go in to the building aswell and it makes the audience think about where these two men are going.

2. Close-ups & Medium Close-ups
The use of close-ups are primarily used in this scene as this scene is mainly verbal between two specific people. To build up tension the producer uses close-ups to see and understand the verbal situation of a plan being conjoured up.


Close-up
Screen Shot of a Close Up

Above is a screen shot of an eye level, close-up. The use of layers (the gate) builds up the atmosphere in the room to show that action is about to take place.

Medium Close-Up
Medium Close Up

Above is an eye level, medium close-up. This type of shot shows the characters face very clearly and shows the audience that the actor is about to speak.

These two type of shots are important in this scene as it helps us understand what is about to take place in the future scenes, due to the clear explanations of te actors aswell as the actions of which each actor performs.

3.    1.03 to 1.17
-The first camera shot is an extreme close-up and is an high angle shot. The shot shows the audience what the actor is doing and the object the actor is talking about. It shows him taking out the drive. The way the editor has included a small section of the actors clothing suggests him doing the action.
-The next shot is an eye-level, mid shot of the actor inserting the drive into the computer. This helps the audience understand what the actor intended to do with the drive. The editing almoest flows straight from the previous shot to this one using a quick glimpse of shadow.
-The next shot is an extreme close-up actually showing the actor pushing the drive into the computer.
-This shot is a mid shot of both actors. This shows an overall view of the set and what both actors are doing so that the audience can picture what is happening as a whole instead of in short close-ups. The editor suddenly changes the mood by transitioning from an extreme close-up to an overall mid shot this is quite effctive as you can see everything that is going on throughout.
-The shot is then transitioned from a mid shot to a medium close-up of the white male actor as he is continueing to speak and is saying something fairly important. The editor creates a zooming effect.
-The medium close-up is then used continuosly when each actor speaks. This is done so that the audience only focuses on what that specific character is saying.

4. The editing of this sequence fits in with the genre of a thriller by the way that the camera shots continuously are changing even if the actor is still talking. The different angles show us that the actors might be being followed, this builds up tension as well as suspense. The use of layering in the shot below suggests that this specific character is being watched.

Screen Shot of a Close Up

The editing almost tells the audience that this sequence is leading to the action that is about to take place.

MIS-EN-SCENE CHOICES HOME LEARNING set 09/09/10 due 13/9/10

This is an eye-level, midshot of a five year old asian male. He is sitting near a window which casts a form of light across his face, signifying a sense of inncocence. His facial expression suggests a hint of cluelessness and curiosity, as if he was unaware of his surroundings.

In the background you can see two adult males sitting on very modern furniture, suggesting that the setting is more of a classy, adult-friendly environment. This makes the child look like an outcast and causes a confused reaction on his face as if everything was new to him. The clothes the actor is wearing also implies that he is an outsider, as he is wearing a vibrant colour, yet the background is very subtle.

The shadow on his face implies that he was almost being kept in the dark about this particular setting. The actor gives a direct adress to the camera, his eyes tell the audience a story suggesting he was almost afraid of something.

I had to make sure the actor was not sitting directly into the light as this would change the entire atmosphere of the photo.

I positioned his hands to show a sense of purity as they are small and they are exploring the atmosphere around them.

This shot was acheived using a young child sitting indirectly towards natural light in a surrounding unfamiliar to him. The facial expession on the actors face came almost naturally to him as soon as he walked into the location.

Friday 10 September 2010

EVALUATION HOME LEARNING set 09/09/10 due 13/09/10

Evaluation Task

Camera work
This task involved re-presenting a short clip from the film, "The good, the bad, and the ugly" using our photography skills. The purpose of this task was to observe, grasp and acheive a wide variety of camera shots and angles. The exercise helped my peers and I to practice taking different types of shots(close-up etc.).

After participating in this exercise, I have learnt that there is a wide range of camers shots and angles in the world of media. I have grasped the idea of the ordinary close-ups and long shots.

If I had to re-present this product, I would definately consider using challenging types of shots and more of a variety, as only simple shots such as close-ups, extreme close-ups, long-shots and extreme long-shots were used. I would also add transitional effects to the slides as well as background music that is appropriate to the theme of the film as this will create more of a dramatic effect to the photos. In the future, I will consider taking more time when it comes to planning as this will speed up the efficiency of the task.

Cropping Exercise
This task involved cropping a photo to make a story for a bold article headline. The purpose of this task was to master the art of cropping. I began by looking at the picture overall as I had to identify two most interesting stories in the photo before I could crop it. I then had to think of a suitable headline and ask myself if that particular picture would make it onto a newspaper or magazine.

I have leant to consider the background aswell as foreground when cropping as the background supports the foreground in terms of telling a story. I have also learnt that you have to consider whether each section is good enough to create a headline for. The target audiences are the are the white people as well as the diverse.

If I had to re-do this task I would most likely leave a larger amount of background behind each photo so that the photo looks reliable and does not look as if it has been manipulated. In the future, I would exaggerate the photo so that it looks bolder and I would make the headlines more drastic to attract the target audience.

CAMERA WORK