Preliminary Task Reflection

For my Preliminary Task I was instructed that it had to be a meeting between two people (minimum) and that the three techniques known as ‘match on action shot’, ‘180 degree rule’ and ‘shot revers shot’. I was asked to create this to test my understanding of the three techniques, see what my camera skills were like and what my editing skills were like.

The first thing that I created was the synopsis (shown below). This outlined what was going to happen and in some cases where certain techniques were going to be used. I added a lot more to this than what I need to in terms of shots used and I put in specific details so that it would match what ideas I had for the script such as a slamming door. I then created the script for my clip. I had two characters one who was very aggressive throughout the entire clips and another who was more pacifistic before razing their voice. I did take into account that I may have a two female or male roles or one of each and I incorporated this into the scripts creation. I tried to make some witty comments within the script so that there was a less serious side to the clip. I hid some alternative meanings into the script so that it was not obvious what was being said. I also tried to keep it clean by using foreign language for words that are not so suitable for younger ages. Finally I created a story board which represented what was going to happen with my story using images from the internet. I numbered them and wrote underneath each image what shot would be used.

The next step was shooting the scenes needed for my clip. I ask to of my pears Amy Braud and Mia Stoces-Brown to act for my preliminary task. We found a room which was not being used and filmed the all the necessary clips that were needed. I allowed them to read off the sheets to make it appear as if one of the characters were doing some school work. They were dressed in normal cloths to make it appear as if it was in an American school. Finally after shooting the clips I needed to edit them so that they made a small clip that flowed and so that I could cut some of the scenes short as I had captured unwanted sections such as laughter.

With the final clip I am happy with how the both Amy and Mia acted as they portrayed the exact emotions that I was trying to express and they followed every request to the letter. I also liked flow of the clip as this made the story understandable. I am also pleased with the quality in which it has turned out. It is not blurred or pixilated making it pleasant to the eye. Most of the procedure was easy to complete as I had already thought of the ideas and how they were going to be completed. The main problem was during the shoot. Although it was fun to do, some of the clips had to be reshot because of laughter or some aspects that I needed was not incorporated in the first shoot of the scene. The clip would be better if there was no clicking noise from the tripod, less wobbly camera movement, sections where I the viewer can see mistakes, unwanted facial expression like smiles or giggling, muddled up lines in dialog and a slight unwanted editing error where it does not run as smoothly as I would like. If I reshot the clip I would loosen the tripod to get rid of the clicking noise, change the way I shot some scenes, get rid of the mistakes in the shots, get rid of the unwanted facial expressions, and redo some editing. This would improve the flow, look and sound of the clip. Most of the equipment that I used I owned and so had used before however, the editing program I have not used much so I was discovering new things about it. This will allow me to do more advanced editing with my clips.  

Final Preliminary Video

This is the final outcome for my preliminary task. It does have a few imperfections such as unwanted noise from the tripod, wobbly camera movement, unwanted facial expression, muddled up lines and a slight unwanted editing error.

Preliminary Storyboard

Finally I created a storyboard that represented what the clip would consist of and the camera shots used.

Preliminary Script

After the synopsis I created a script for my movie.

Character 1: What the hell do you think your are up to you cow?

Character 2: What do you mean I am up to a lot of things all the time?

Character 1: Don’t get cocky with me you know dam well what I am talking about.

Character 2: If you tell me what you are referring to then I might be able to help you.

Character 1: You spreading roomers about the place that are not true about me the top guy/girl around and u trying to get with my boy/girl friend.

Character 2: Really well that doesn’t sound like me that sounds like you after all for years you have done that to me. Made my life miserable with rumours and tried to get with any guy/girl that I get together with.

Character 1: How dare you accuse me of such things? You know that everything I say is true and that any guy/girl you meet is well out of your league and that you will only get friends zoned.

Character 2: You know dam well that all that comes out of your filthy little mouth is bullshivice after all that has been in it you slut.

Character 1: Your just jealous that I can get all that I want and that you can not even go on a steady date with out something destroying it.

Character 2: ARRR YOUR SUCH A FAT PEACE OF SHTAKO!

Character 1: Yeah that's right run along now, you know that I am far better than you in all areas.

Preliminary Shot by Shot list

After my practices at editing I was given a small brief for my preliminary task. This was that it consisted of a person walking into a room and meeting someone and having a conversation with them. It also needed to have the 180 degree rule, match on action shot and shot reverse shot present in the clip. I first created a synopsis.

1. Establishing shot of the Sixth Form Building.
2. Flowing shot of character 1 walking through and towards the room.
3. From outside show character 1 walking into the room.
4. From inside show character 1 walking into the room. (Match on action shot)
5. Character slams the door to get attention.
6. Characters 2’s head rises up fast.
7. Character 2 sees character 1 come toward her. (Shot reverse shot)
8. Character 1 looks at the character 2.
9. Character 2 looks at Character 1 while they sit down.
10. Both characters look at each other in silence.
11. Character 1 breaks silence with the start of a conversation. (180 degree rule)
12. After conversation ends character 2 walks out quickly and violently.

My Practise at Editing

When I went out to take some videos I was using a Panasonic SDR-S50. This is my own camera that I have used for some time. It has a 78x zoom and a 33 mm wide view. I also used my own CAMLINK CL-TP2800 tripod to help me stabilize the shots.

To practice my editing I used Serif Movie Plus X6. I have never used this software package before so I am currently a beginner.  I have however used Photoshop before which allowed me to easily understand what most things were.
                                                      
First I selected the clip that I wanted to use. I then used the trim tool to cut a section that I did not want out of it. Next I added some effects to create a creepy and mysterious feel. I adjusted the brightness and contrast to make it clearer, adjusted the curves to make it darker, added a filter which created a black outline around the film clip, I adjusted the gray-scale to make my film black and white and finally I added some noise to make the clip seem old and appear like secretive film. Finally I muted the sound to the clip.

This is my final clip.

Assistance

Finally I looked at all the area that I will need to consider and what help I could use with them. This include camera work, ideas, script writing, actors, sound/editing and technical and general advice on the work.

Lighting

Then i needed to look into the lighting that I wanted for my film clip.

 

I decided that I would need most of my film would need to be dark so I would need a dark room wit little light, gray and groomy weather and finally a dark area with some light coming through to change the mood of the atmosphere to make it less horrific and more romantic.

Sound

The next aspect of my film intro that I need to think about is the sounds that I will have in my film.

I separated them into sounds that I would need to edit in and ones that I can get naturally.

Props

After designing the costumes I looked at the props that I would need.

Most of these props I have or can buy very easily such as some airsoft guns or pyrotechnics, others however will have to be brought by others to the shoot such as the hand bag, or there own airsoft guns.

Costumes

After selecting my locations I chose what my characters would need to look.

My main character is the Green Skull so he will need to have a green skull mask, camouflage gear, bouts, a chest rig with attachments for magazines, and other equipment and finally gloves with carbon fiber knuckles. The others are less detailed. The lovers only needs to be in normal school cloths, the experimenters is going to be the army so in army gear, the police are going to be in there normal cloths and the criminals just need to look rough.

Locations For Filming

After deciding what title, synopsis and genre I was going to have to select some locations for filming.

I decided that the places that I could use would be a school ground, a road side and a woodland area.

I then added whether I would need permission to shot at these locations. The school grounds I would not need permission as it would be at my school. The road side I would need permission as it would be outside of my school. Finally the woodland I would both need permission and not need permission. I would need permission because one woodland location would be near my school and the people in charge would need to know where I was going. The other location would not be near my school and be done out of school hours thus not needing permission.

Finally I added some images that illustarte what the locations would be and what it could look like.

People Thoughts and Feelings on My Shot by Shot List

I asked the same people as before to also comment on my synopsis. Their opinions were:-

Billy

At first it appears as if the girl is being stalked, making the audience believe something bad is about to happen to her, however there is a shift in tone as it is revealed the figure is actual the girls lover. The tone then shifts to action as the figure is attacked and begins to flee. Overall I like the concept and the constant shift of tones should work if executed correctly.

Amy

When I first started reading I got the sense of romance genre but when it got the part when she walked into the woods by herself, it felt creepier because you don’t know what is going to happen. Then when the groups show up I could see that there was going to be some action with weapons and fighting. I like how all these genres link together and I think that it will work.

Tracy

As I began reading the plot I thought it was going to be a story about secret lovers, but as the story continued I could sense a darker side to it.  The ideas are good as it brings together different genres and would appeal to both genders.

Neale

Action triggers action triggers pause. Confusion, mystery, darkness, fear follows and then tenderness and delight. It leads to a contrast, opposites attract and a contradiction in terms. More fear, a shout, a reaction and chase plus confusion. The speed of the narrative is what drives everything on pulling the viewer in to unconsciously consider both the story and the style …. and whatever happens next.

Matthew

The story begins with a sense of romance and action combined together, however it does defiantly have a creepy overlay effect to the whole thing.  The action begins to pick up when all the groups show up, all the genres mix up together.

Holly

It starts off with a sense of mystery and secrecy, the tension seems to build as it appears that the girl is being followed. When all of the groups show up that is when the action seems to actually begin.

Over time I will change and adapt the synopsis to improve it and link it with other aspects that I will create. 

Synopsis

This is my synopsis of the film I am going to be creating an introduction for.

Four hunters, one prey. From his quiet and boring life one mans life is turned upside down when his suit becomes fused to his body. Now he is ruthlessly pursued and is left fighting for survival. Will he be able to clear his name, and get out of this nightmare that he has been forced into and get back to is true love or will he be captured by another hunter and face consequences from another’s doing. As he tries to find ways to clear his name discover how this horrible occurrence happened and what the plans are for him as he is hunted for personal vengeance.

Final Title

Below are all the possible titles that I came up with for my film. After taken on board what people thought of my titles I decided to merge 'The Hunt' and 'The Green Skull' together to create my final and best title... 'The Hunt for the Green Skull'.

People Thoughts on My Film Names

To get a better insight for my title after coming up with some of my own I asked some people to comment on the titles so that I could get an idea of what people would think the film from the title that I had created and to see if they could give come advice on how to make them better. The response were:

Billy

The two titles that stand out to me are ‘The Hunt’ and ‘The Green Skull’ as the former sounds exciting and the latter refers to the titular character.

Amy

Out of all of the titles, I like The Hunt and The Green Skull the best because they sound exciting, thrilling and creepy. You could also get an idea about the film just from these titles.

Tracy

I prefer the title “The Green Skull: Loves Pain” as I feel this would entice both genders to see the film. The Green Skull would appeal to men / boys where as if you add Loves Pain it softens the mental image of the film which would make it appealing to women / girls.

Neale

The only titles that make sense, on their own, or whet the appetite are those with ‘skull’ in them. The others could be anything and give no clue to the subject matter, the genre or the potential plot. The skull titles suggest pain, excitement and thrills, which is exactly what you need to draw people in.

Matthew

To me there aren't any which stick out, but the only title which makes sense on its own is the green skull.

Holly

Reality vs Virtuality and The Green Skull sound like sci-fi/fantasy. Green Skull would sound the best as it makes sense without anything else written there and The Green Skull: Loves Pain sounds slightly narcissistic. 

Conventions of Crime

Finally I looked at the conventions of crime.

As you can clearly see there are a lot of crime conventions that need to be taken into account when creating a good cop movie. they need to be realistic depending on the subject matter, have a personal impact to some one and have a few stereotypes.

Conventions of Romance

On a less grim and adrenaline fueled topic the conventions for romance was to be what i looked at from fantasy.

Romance films are primarily aimed at females as they are suggested to be the more emotional in relationships. In these types of films the important key conventions are happy endings, sexuality and is very emotional.

Conventions of Fantasy

The next genre conventions that I looked at were for fantasy.

Fantasy is mostly fictional. These include Magic, Mystical Creatures and Ancient locations such as Camelot from the middle ages. These types of films are heavily CGI'd in order to capture the best elements.

Conventions of Adventure

After Action I looked into the conventions of adventure.

Action and adventure films normally come as a package however to make sure that the main theme is adventure there are some important aspects that must be involved such as iconic villains, stereotypes such as a damsel in distress and Basic good VS evil. In recent adventure films the female role has become drastically stronger as either the main role or as an accomplice to the main role.

Conventions of Action

Then I looked at the Conventions of action films.

With an action film there is not as much that is needed to create a good movie however, with some of these the prepositions and scale of these have to be very large. These include Massive Destruction, Weapons, Explorations and Crashes and many Fights.

Conventions of Horror

The next section of research that I conducted was on the conventions of horror films.

As you can see there are a lot of aspects towards a good horror film. Some of the most common are Small communities, dark attributes, disturbing scenery and sounds with dark colours and dim lighting.

Genre Start Point

Below are the steps that I went through to get my desired selection of genres.

First of all I looked at many different genres. The genres were science fiction, speculative, horror, action, slice of life, paranoid, philosophical, adventure, comedy, romance, faction, historical, thriller, mystery, political,  crime and fantasy. All of these have a good outline and can have a good effect on any production.

Next I read through all the descriptions of genre and deleted the genres that did not interest me or were not a particular favorite of mine. Eventually I selected horror, action, adventure, crime, romance and fantasy. I then decided which one I would definitely be able to create and which ones could be a struggle as shown with the key above.

After that I searched around on the web and found some images that strongly related to each genre. As shown above these included Carrie, G.I.JOE, John Carter, Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunter, Warm Bodies and finally Hawaii Five-0.

From there I thought up some of the reasons why these are good genres. The three that I choose was because they are my preferred genre, they are some of the most common themes used and finally because of how easy they link together. This is where I decided that I would not focus on just one theme but but have one major theme and then use the others as sub genres that cross over with the main genre.

Finally I decided on what genre I would use as my main genre. I decided that this would be Horror and that the rest would be used as sub genres that would each have an worthy appearance in my final production.