Preliminary Task - Miss Miller

Preliminary Task

Introduction

My media group involves Claire Golighty, Jake Butler and myself. This preliminary task was to get used to using the media equipment, we will be using this equipment for filming our opening sequence so it is necessary that we are understand how to set up everything and see what works well. We need to practise on creating certain shots that achieve what type of atmosphere we are creating in our own thriller opening for this we need to experiment with different angles and shots. We had to go off within our group and film one conversation that involved a various amount of shots, as long as it was a short conversation and didn't go on for too long then that was fine. When we edited the sequence, we watched it back and talked about improvements that would've been made for our future thriller.

At the start of the short clip we have a low angle of Molly walking down the stairs, the camera then pans over to invite both of the characters into the shot. We struggled with making the panning smooth as even though we used a tripod we struggled with moving it to the side evenly causing it to look jagged as we quickly had to turn it to the left. We used the low angle shot to create the feeling that the character was rushing down into a dilemma when she eventually reaches the floor it levels out so we can see the characters are at an equal status. regarding this scene although we thought the low angle and panning is done well within the scene it isn't as smooth as it should be when using a tripod. We had to be wary of the space that we had as well, the tripod and cameraman was very tightly impacted in the corner of the corridor. 

We then have examples of shot-reverse-shot to show the two characters talking to each other. We struggled with placing the tripod directly in eye level with the characters. also because of the space restriction the tripod and camera space was very constricted often resulting in us having to change the shot slightly. This is show when the camera and tripod is placed behind Jake, as I appear lower down and we didn't intent to create a high angle. We wanted it level. This has prepared us for our own thriller opening as we plan to use this type of shot at some point meaning now we know its important to keep the camera and tripod at a certain height behind the shoulder when using shot reverse shot.

 As Jake finds the phone we see a close up of his reaction to finding his phone. This shot was rather successful at revealing Jake's emotion but failed to keep his whole head in the shot. This is what we struggled with. As we couldn't guide Jake into the right position for the tripod and camera to catch his whole face in the shot. This results in Jake being cut out which is not what we wanted to create. This was because we found it an issue with using the tripod at such a low angle. Due to Jake's characters crouching down we needed to copy his actions which resulted in confusion between the actor and camera man. This has taught us to try and work as more of a team and communicate better so the actors know exactly what the directors and cameraman wants.

The final shot consists of Jake exiting the scene this is done the same way Molly enters. but in reverse and at a median shot. It transforms into a median shot as the tripod continues to pan as we see Jake exit the scene. Again our main struggle achieving this scene was the fact that the panning wasn't as smooth and steady as it would be in a professional film. We wanted the panning shot to be able to see Jake leave Molly and exit the building. We did use the tiny space we had well but overall the consequence of this causes the scene to look very rushed and tight. We know now that in the future if we decided to use panning shots that they should be done at a slower more steady rate using the tripod correctly.

My group did a very good job of continuing to use different shots and angles. By using a number of shots the clip seems move intriguing and interesting to watch as the audience is able to see the location and characters in different ways. We did struggle with using the little space we had. When filming if you want dark alley ways or corners you have to try to adapt to the space you have. We also need to make sure we follow the 180 degree rule properly and only film from that particular space. In our opening sequence we will continue to try and adapt to the space we have and try not to break the 180 rule. We will imagine a line to try and keep within that space, unless used on purpose for effect.

While watching a footage back we saw how there were numerous accounts of shaky camera movements while ending the footage. This is something that was recognised and edited out and helped us understand the importance of editing to making it smoother and sharper. As well as trying to create an overall smooth shot.

Conclusion

We learnt how to produce and edit a short clip, this helped us by teaching us how to use the equipment properly and how to continue to use a range of shots and editing techniques. We had to think about the space we had and how to use it in the best way we would've. Which helped us to think about what type of angles we could use in our opening sequence. We learnt how to use the camera and tripod and what was needed to create a successful piece of film.

We need to ensure we use a range of techniques in the film, including camera shots and editing techniques. If we was redo the preliminary task we would try to keep the camera steady and provide a more believable sequence when moving our characters, making sure they don't jump from one place to another.