PRELIMINARY EXERCISE

Table Top Sequence –

Production Practice: Montage/Table Top Sequence

Find Table Top Sequence Above

“A WHOLE WORLD IN A TABLE TOP”

Brief : To create a tittle sequence using on a table top and props with small part of live action at the end of it, using a given soundtrack.

Session 1:At the beginning of the session we looked researched To Kill A Mockingbird and The President. We analysed  their montage sequences and art of the titles.

In our group of three (Preesha, Jess & Charlotte) we were given a specific set of props with a background to choose from. Firstly we arranged the props along a simple black background. We looked through another box of props to add in anything else, e.g. a brief case, passport (fake), writing and extra cash/money. We also fake blood to Jess’ hands to create a more realistic feeling of crime and murder (end of the of the montage).

Once we arranged the props in the place we wanted. We then did a practice shoot, where Charlotte started to move the iPad/camera along the props/set we helped with camera placement. Once we knew where the camera was going, we started to film and Charlotte pressed record (with a steady hand gliding across the set). Towards the end of the sequence Jess placed the (blood) money on the side and the (blood) screw driver the woman’s face and Charlotte zoomed in on the face.

 

In the editing process we also recorded the sound in another classroom and added the piano music to the montage. We faced some challenges with this due to other background noise when recording. However, we managed to record the music and add it to our montage sequence. We thought that the dark, piano music would fit in with the mise-en-scene. We then started to edited the the montage and move some of the clips to the right place. When filming we decided to cross cut clips – the first section and the second section, we edited this part into iMovie and put everything together.

CONTINUITY EXERCISE

Wednesday 16^th September

Our task for this lesson was to make a short clip in order to put it into practise.In our group of five, we firstly brained stormed ideas on what storyline we wanted for our continuity exercise. We decided that the main plot was going to be based on “Who wants to be a millionaire?” On the final questions with Tom as the host and Charlotte acting as the guest on the show. Preesha was the director. 

Some of the problems/challenges we faced whilst on set, were that the green screen was not wide enough to fit the frame (e.g. the over the shoulder shots). To solve the problem we had our actors swap seats and when editing we would reverse the shot, so we would not break the 180 degree rule and this gave the audience the illusion that they had never moved. 

We also had to deal with the background noise on set of the other groups interfering whilst we were filming.

 

Wednesday 16^th September

On the set

Brief account of learning the use of camera and tripods, what filming terminology to use on the set and good practice in editing.

This account is about what equipment we share shown when we were shown how to use the Canon cameras and Manfrotto tripods

 

Cameras and Tripods:

In my group we passes the camera around and individually practised how to candle the camera, insert the batter and memory card. When passing the camera around my group we proceeded to say ‘yours; and ‘mine’; to avoid the risk of dropping the equipment. We learned how to set up a tripod and to 'bubble' it using the spirit level to help make the camera balanced and in focus. We explored the camera such as how to focus.  The exposure on the camera is adjusted by moving the dial up and down.

 

White balance is the process of removing unrealistic colour cast, so that objects which appear white in person and rendered white in the photo. Proper camera white balance has to take into account the “colour temperature of the light” of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth and coolness of the existing white light. I learnt that by selecting the ‘WB” on the camera, it will then come up with little images representing different colour tones that are used in different lights which will give a more realistic effect.

 

We also learned about the 180 degree rule. This rule is a cinematography guideline that states that two characters in a scene should maintain the same left/right relationship (within the shot) to one another. When the camera passes over the invisible axis connecting the two subjects, this is called crossing the line and the shot becomes what is called a reverse angle.

 

On the set in my group we learnt the professional terminology used in the film industry on set. The director shout to the set “Standby” before filming to ensure everyone is ready and when they are they will reply “Standing by.”

 

When the director shouts “rolling,” everyone must be “quiet on set,”  then he/she will shout “action” where the actors will start the scene. After the shooting the scene, the director has said the last “cut,” he/she will say “strike the kit” which is the films crew’s cue t pack away, put the potteries on charge and ensure that footage is uploaded correctly.

 

Good practice in editing. We use Final Cut Pro and iMovie on the iMacs in the media studio. When we upload our footage, we create a folder to keep the specific shots. These folders are called bins and the unedited footage from cameras are called rushes.

 PRELIMINARY EXERCISE

See collage of the variety of shots I took below, using a Nikon Camera.

In our pre-a level sessions we started with preliminary exercises at home. This was the start of  me learning basic camera angles and experimenting with the camera with one main object/subject in the frame. I started with with still images and moved onto moving images. We learnt this technique in  our online class by media theorist Daniel Chandler, and looking at his theory in The Grammar of TV and Film.