After researching thriller film openings, we had a preliminary task to complete. We did this before we did the construction of our final task. The reason for this preliminary task was to get an understanding of the different types of editing techniques. These were techniques such as: Match on action, shot-reverse-shot and 180 degree rule. When filming our final task, we will link the techniques we used in the preliminary task in our final thriller opening.
Match on Action:
This is where a scene has a cut and then the camera perspective changes and the cut scene begins from the previous stage the character was at. For example, in my groups preliminary task, a girl is walking through a door. The camera will start from the hallway view until she approaches the door and then the camera's perspective changes to the inside of the room which she is walking into with a cut in between.
Reverse Shot:
This is normally shown when characters are having a conversation. For example, in my groups preliminary task, the camera is switched from each characters perspectives whilst each character speaks
180 Degree Rule:
This is when the camera stays on the same side as the participants during the shot/clip. This rule is applied so that the audience does not get disorientated with the shorts displayed on screen. For example, in my groups preliminary task, the camera stays the same side of the characters when they are having a conversation in the classroom.
Group Members:
- Rianna Brathwaite (Myself)
- Darren Smith
- Shannon Prizeman
- Jamal Ali
Brainstorm of Initial Ideas:
These are our brainstorm of initial ideas for the preliminary task. The idea highlighted in green is the idea we chose to use as our preliminary task. We decided to choose this ideas as we felt it would be the most interesting to try and construct. We also felt that it would give the audience an enigma to why the young woman had to give/owe the man a large amount of money. The reason will not be revealed to match the conventions of a thriller genre film.
StoryBoard
This storyboard was created in order to follow whilst filming my groups preliminary task. Underneath the pictures, the camera shots and directions are included as a guideline.
Actors/Props/Costume
This is the girl in our preliminary (played my myself, Rianna Brathwaite)
This is the man in our preliminary task (played by Darren Smith).
Girl:
Rianna (played my myself, Rianna Brathwaite) is a teenager which owes a man some money. She got caught up at work and is late in returning the mans money. She is the innocent protagonist. This is shown by light coloured costuming with a soft tone of voice and facial expressions. The prop she uses is an envelope containing the money she owes.
Man:
Darren (played by Darren Smith) is a young man expecting a large amount of money from a teenage girl. he is awaiting her in a room. He is the antagonist and shows this by using a harsh and loud tone of voice, and wearing dark coloured costume. The props he uses is an Iphone and a Blackberry which is symbolic to him being a business man.
We created a script in order to have a more detailed understanding of our storyboard in our preliminary task. We included dialogue so the actors and actresses had a direction of what they had to say and what they had to do at each given time. This was to make the video flow and to make it look more realistic.
Rianna is walking down the corridor and only her feet are seen. The camera is then switched to a mid shot of her face and body walking towards the door holding an envelope for Darren. The camera is reversed to the same shot but the back of her head. The camera zooms into her hand opening the door. She opens the doors and walks in to find Darren sitting at a table expecting her with an unfriendly expression on his face.
Girl (Rianna): (Sits down opposite Darren at the table)
Man (Darren): What time do you call this?
Girl (Rianna): I... I came as fast as i could.
Man (Darren): Well Thats not good enough is it?
Girl (Rianna): I know, I'm sorry. I got caught up at work.
Man (Darren): (Bangs the table viciously) I dont care about your problems, i want my money... NOW!
Locations of the Setting:
The location we chose to film the preliminary task is our college "Christ the King: St Mary's"
This is where we are going to film the girl walking down the hall way. We will see a shot of her feet and then a reverse traking shot and then a tracking shot from a mid shot.
This is where we see a shot of the girl walking toward the door and through the door. A match on action is performed here, where the camera starts off from outside and then we see the shot from inside.
This is where we see the conversation between the man and the girl. A shot reverse shot in a mid shot is shown in this scene.
Participants:
Darren Smith
Rianna Brathwaite
Shannon Prizeman
This is a clip from youtube which is explaining how to use basic techniques from Final Cut Pro. It was a stepping stone to help us use this in our preliminary task and then again in our main task. By using Final Cut Pro, we will be able to import all of our videos and camera shot all together to then begin editing our clips.
Filming Schedule:
The timing of our filming took approximately an hour. This is because we needed to take shots from different angles.
Participants:
Darren Smith
Rianna Brathwaite
Shannon Prizeman
Jamal Ali
Schedule:
16:00 - Meet group members outside media room (Christ The King;St Mary's)
16:05 - Start setting up camera and tracking equipment in the corridor
16:20 - Begin shooting the shots in the corridor using angles and contrasting shots
16:50 - Complete shooting in corridor
17:00 - Prepare camera onto a tripod for the shooting inside the class room
17:05 - Set up the camera for the long shot
17:15 - Complete shooting and change angle for conversational angle
17:45 - Finish shooting preliminary task
Participants:
Darren Smith
Rianna Brathwaite
Shannon Prizeman
Jamal Ali
Schedule:
16:00 - Meet group members outside media room (Christ The King;St Mary's)
16:05 - Start setting up camera and tracking equipment in the corridor
16:20 - Begin shooting the shots in the corridor using angles and contrasting shots
16:50 - Complete shooting in corridor
17:00 - Prepare camera onto a tripod for the shooting inside the class room
17:05 - Set up the camera for the long shot
17:15 - Complete shooting and change angle for conversational angle
17:45 - Finish shooting preliminary task
Editing Schedule:
We have allocated the timing for editing to be approximately for an hour. This is to make sure we achieve our match on actions and shot reverse shots correcting with a natural flow.
Participants:
Darren Smith
Rianna Brathwaite
Shannon Prizeman
Understanding Editing Techniques:
Preliminary Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaLck355c8I&feature=relmfu
Intentions for the Main Task:
The shots which are shown in this preliminary video will be incorporated into the main task video. My intentions include match on action, shot reverse shot and keeping to the 180degree rule. We will also incorporate the thriller conventions which represent a thriller genre.
