Preliminary Assessment - Tina Bozorgi

1. Use of the Camera

- Our finished work shows that throughout the majority of our horror film we can hold a shot steady although there are a few occasions when the filming was slightly unsteady. We solved this problem by editing particular scenes where we cut out parts that did not look professional as much as we could.

- When looking at our horror clip  you can see that we have framed our shots appropriately. We did this by selecting a grid to be put on our camera screen. This helped us organize where the characters can be positioned so there is reasonable amount of head/lead room. 

- We used many different shot types such as long shots, point of view shots, canted angles, close up shots etc. Long shots deliver general information, point of view shots were used to place the audience in the position of the main character, canted angles suggest something is wrong and close up shots are used to show detail and if it is of a character it could be to emphasize there emotional state.  

- Our finished work shows that we used composition techniques well as we used the grid on the camera. This is done so there is enough head/lead room and also so the character is in the gold eye view. By using the 180 degree rule this helped not to change the viewers perspective in such as way that it causes confusion.   

2. Use of Editing 

- I believe that our finished work does show that we apply the rules of continuity editing as the sequence of shots were arranged appropriately which suggests to the viewer they are seeing continuous action. We did this buy making sure the characters appearance, the set of location and the lighting remained consistent from shot to shot. Although a mistake has been made at one point during our clip when the character was walking back to lean against the wall from the lake. This is because the shot that was supposed to be between that particular jump cut did not get filmed.

3. Selection of Content

- The clip we filmed did not necessarily need a specific costume as the actor was just an every day normal boy  therefore casual clothes would have been suitable. The bracelet was the only prop in our clip however it had a very important purpose. 

- I feel that we used an appropriate location as it is the same location used in the horror film done by previous students that was have re-shot. Also the location we chose was reasonably quiet therefore it created quite a airy atmosphere. 

- Originally we had planned to have a different actor however it did not go according to plan and in the end Lewis offered to act therefore this left it being very last minute however it worked out well.

4. Self-assessment

- I took part in a bit of everything to help complete the film. I did the majority of the planning however the others took part in some as well. I also helped with the filming equally as much as the others and also helped when it came to editing by helping with making decisions and selecting background music. 

- If improvements could be made to the finished film I would say we would have had to include a larger variety of shots as this would have also solved the problem of the jump cut. Also to do more of the same shot, this would be useful if one shot did not turn out how we wanted it to we could use the others.

-  I am considering on changing the genre of my film when it comes to my final coursework film, this is because it will give me an opportunity to experience different techniques on how to make the film look like a horror for example the use of make-up and costumes. 

tins, boos boos xx

Perliminary Assessment - Laura Allitt's Blog

I feel that the perliminary assessment showed that we can hold a steady shot as we made good use of the tripod. I also feel that we framed our shots properly as we made good use of the grid mode on the camera and by applying the rule of thirds to each shot. We used a variety of shots in our video including canted angles to show that there is something wrong, point of view shots to show what the actor is seeing and long shots to set the scene of the video. The use of compostion techniques throughout the video were used effectivly as we left plenty of head room so the shot doesn't feel compressed and left some lead room so that there was space for the actor to move into in the frame.

I feel that we applyed the rules of continuity editing as we made sure that we stuck to the 180 degree rule so that the audience wouldn't be confused as they watch the video. However there was one problem whilst editing as there was a jump cut between the shots where Lewis was walking back from throwing the bracket and when he is leaning aganist the wall. This was because whilst out shooting, we didn't shoot the particular shot that would have been between that jump cut. Other than that particular jump cut, I feel that the shots flowed together really well.

In relation to props, we didn't really sit down as a group to discuss props but we all had a rough idea of how the final video should look. Of course the most significent prop is the braclet which is the particular object that is really bad for the actor. I feel that the location ( The Arb) was appropriate for a few reasons. For one thing, it was the same location that was used by the previous group so we though that it would be easier to re-enacted, which it was. Also, there wasn't that many people there which added to the airy atmosphere which was already there. In terms of actors, the original actor that was chosen let us down at the last minute so Lewis had to take his place on the day of shooting.

My contribution to the film I feel was adiquate as I helped out a bit of editing and planning but I feel that the majority of my work was the actual filming of the project. I feel that the only improvements that could be made to the final video is to have filmed more shots which would have also solved the problem of the jump cut. Also, we could have used more make-up to make the actor look more of the part. In terms of what I will do differently when it comes to the final coursework is that I would like to contribute to the planning more and possibly do more editing, but also I would possibly change the genre of horror that we would be working on as this would give more opportunity to use more props and make-up and also possibly give me the oppourtunity to use some more advanced features on the camera as I feel that this is my strongest assest.

Laza ^_^

Preliminary assessment - Lewis Jefferson's blog

Our finished work showed that we should successful use and hold a steady shot and we have proven this a few times in our movie clip. I believe all our shots have been framed properly because in every shot we gave enough head room and also enough Lead room as the shot didn't looked poor and also we could she where the actor was going without needing to pan or tilt. We used a variety of camera shots though out our clip, for example we used; a point of view, long shot, close up, tacking, over he shoulder shot etc. We used the Grid on the camera to help us with composition techniques so we could put the actor in the gold eye view. We also made sure we followed the 180 degree so that the audience wasn't confused with the location and actors position.

I believe that the during editing we did the best we could to make sure that the continuity was good and all the shots flowed together, this was successful... however, at one point there was a slight error, this was when I was walking back to the wall and then on the next shot I had my head in my hands and we never saw how the actor got there. Other than that the rest of the movie clip flowed extremely well together.

When doing the film we didn't really sit down and decide on props, clothes etc but we had a rough idea, such as the actor had to wear smart cloths to show that he has a good job and is rich, but the main prop was the bracelet, this had to be shiny and clean to show that it has an important purpose even though in this case its a bad one. We chose the Arb as our location for two reasons; we thought it would be a good place to shoot because it had everything we needed to film and also it was where the group filmed the original movie so we thought it would make it easier, which it did. When we came to choosing actors we were slightly let down because the actor we was going to use let us down on two occasions so when it came down to the last day and he didn't turn up I had to take the role. This meant I didn't get much time behind the camera but I made up for that by editing the finally clip.

My contribution to the film I believe was a big contribution because I did a lot of the planning and even though I didn't do the camera work I made up for that fact by doing the majority of the editing. I took pictures of the mock shots for the planning and also I looked for good locations to film. If we was going to do this movie again we would make a few changes, for starters we will and try get a reliable actor so he/she could of been in the film so i could of got a chance of doing work behind the camera, and also we would consider costumes and make up to make it seem like the actor fits the part better. One improvement could be to film more shots for each section so we pick out of a selection which one is the best one.  When it comes down to our finally coursework film I am considering changing genre's from Physiological to a different genre, this is because I would like to experience more than one type of film so I could get the chance to do other things.   

Jeffoooo :)

Preliminary Horror Exercise Storyboards And Shot List

This is the shot list that we used to shot our scenes.

Storyboard of shots 1-6

 

Storyboard of shots 7-12

Storyboard of shots 13-18

Storyboard of shots 19-21

Preliminary Horror Exercise

Here is the final video =P

AS example Movie

This is the example movie we will be re-shooting 40 seconds of for our media exercise.

Composition Exercise

We did this exercise in order to practice our use of composition. A change we would make for next time is to remember to focus the camera even after zooming in as the result of not doing this softens the shot. Also when doing the over the shoulder shots we could have used the grid more efficiently. As you can see in the first over the shoulder shot we have a large empty space which draws the audiences attention to the dead space which is not necessary. Also in the second over the shoulder shot Hollie needed to be 

in the shot more as you could only see a little bit of her hair. We followed the 180 degree rule and also put the grid on the camera which helped us follow the rule of thirds and also made sure we added lead and head room. 

boos boos xx

Continuity Editing

Throughout the majority of our short clip we did achieve continuity editing however there were parts that included slight jumps.  For example when Lewis lifts his watch up there's a small glitch where the clips overlap due to not very good camera shots. We have used our skills from the previous week such as the 180 degree rule and we also used a master shot. We followed the lego sheet throughout filming our clip for example we used over the shoulder shots and extreme close ups to show detail and what the character was doing. We didn't really plan the amount of shots we wanted to use however, we did follow the sheet we was given and we're happy with the amount of shots. The clip does have pace as the shots change repeatedly although the clip doesn't really contain any atmosphere as it doesn't really tell a story it was just an exercise to practice using different camera angles and rules. It could be improved by adding more shots so we had a choice on which is best to use and also longer shots so when it came to editing it would be easier to cut etc. We could also build up more of an atmosphere for a clip, this could be done by using background sounds.

boos boos xx