Preliminary Analysis

After filming our preliminary task, we analysed them to see where we could improve on for the final project. The analysis follows:-

Preliminary Task Analysis:

Our preliminary task was a short 45 second film about a man trying to change the world. It was filmed and edited by our group with two of us filming the sequence and two of us starring in it.
The first step in making our preliminary was to sit down as group and discuss what our preliminary short film was going to be. After brainstorming some ideas we drew up a very brief storyboard as a general guide and frame for what we were going to shoot, a short film entitled ‘Hunger.’ We made a storyboard which consisted of 12 shots, this storyboard was only a rough guide but was rather crude and vague which made us suffer problems later on when deciding which shot/camera angle we had chosen to use when we wrote the storyboard as we did not make it clear enough.
The film was shot in our school over the course of a one hour lesson. This was an easy location to shoot from as we knew it very well and could decide on the best locations to use. It was also available as we were already near possibly shooting locations making it possible to shoot our film quickly and with short notice.
For our Preliminary task we used 2 low quality Mini DV cameras. We decided to use 2 as it enabled us to be able film our action match as we were cutting from the same action on screen but between two different camera angles which we did for our dialogue sequence.
Overall the shoot went quite well. The composition of most shots was generally quite good. Problems arose with composition mainly due to the rule of thirds not being followed on some shots, this is something we will take into consideration when it comes to the main task. Another problem we faced camera shake as we did not use tripods for our preliminary task, this is something we plan to avoid in the main task by using tripods. The sound quality on our short film was not a very good standard, we plan to overcome this by using directional microphones which will be used with the cameras. The main problem we faced in the shoot was the general competency of the group, the shoot took longer than planned because we did not find a room to film in in advance meaning we wasted a lot of time looking for free class rooms to film in. This was due to the lack of organisation in the pre production stage of our short film.
Another problem we faced to do with the incompetency of the group was the forgetting of lines which can be put down to the lack of organising we did before we decided to shoot.
One of the things that went quite well was the editing process using Macbook Pro's and Final Cut Express 4. We were able to add fade’s and titles to our piece. The rules of continuity editing were strictly followed and we managed to execute it quite well. We added non diegetic music to our preliminary task to fill in silence, it was successfully ducked at the right moments so that dialogue could be heard, although the audio quality was not of a high standard in the first place due to the camera’s we used. We wanted to add titles to our sequence but because we did not have the correct level or technical knowledge to maneuver Livetype, therefore we had to export our sequence to iMovie to add titles which lowered the video quality as it had to be compressed each time.
Our Task went reasonably well, there were some problems we encountered but these were mainly due to the lack of organisation on the shoot. It was all quite inefficient was we did not know what shots needed to be done because our storyboard was not at a high enough standard, other things such as camera shake due to the lack of tripod and some minor problems with sound, are the main problems we faced during our shoot. It was a test of our organisational skills and really showed us what will be required for the task up ahead and showed us ways we can improve which, without doing the preliminary, we probably wouldn't have learnt.

A few screen grabs of the editing process shows our stages of editing:

 - We used Final Cut Express 4 on a Macbook Pro to edit 'HUNGER'

- We added non-diegetic music to our film

- This music was ducked so that the audio dialogue from the footage was audible 

- The footage faded out to at the end to draw the film to close

The Final Preliminary Task

Progress

We have finished the production of our preliminary task and it is ready to be edited

Planning the preliminary task

The Start work on our preliminary task took place and we started story boarding our preliminary task. This was a realisation that our final storyboard may have to contain a considerably larger amount of detail and planning.

Opening conventions of films

In order to understand the conventions of opening film we studied the opening sequences of films in a similar genre to the one we tried to create. 

Understanding the Conventions of an opening Film
The Bourne Identity, 2002, Directed by Doug Liman

To understand the conventions of an opening film I will refer to the first 5 and a half minutes of Doug Liman’s 2002 film,”The Bourne Identity,” a spy thriller starring Matt Damon.
The film starts with the Universal Ident to signify it as the production company. Atmos affects of rain and whistling wind are played during this sequence as a sound bridge. The use of pathetic fallacy to set up the mood of the opening scene in indicative of the genre; a thriller.
The Establishing shot shows an unidentified character floating in the sea from underneath the water, Lighting and rain can be seen above the surface of the water, here the heavy use of pathetic fallacy can be observed which further creates a dark unnerving and unsettling mood.
During this sequence non diegetic music gradually fades up on the soundtrack, the use of a pedal in the score heightens the drama and builds up tension. The use of hand held camera technique as the fishermen on the boat are first introduced reenacts the motion caused by the violent storm rocking the boat and adds to the unsettling mood being constructed.
The use of eye line match when a character goes out onto the boat and looks out to sea introduces the Main character; Jason Bourne. It is after this shot that the title of the film is shown. A dissolve to black is followed by a super imposed title which appears to ‘float’ up to the front of the screen, obviously referring to the opening setting of the film. The font used for the title is a futuristic looking font which fits in with the idea of it being a spy film.
High angle shots and canted angle shots show the main character being lifted onto the boat, the use of unconventional camera angles help to give the scene an unnerving feel. A change in the non-diegetic score also helps to do this. The use of syncopated drum fills add drama to the music, as the does the arpeggio and occasional accented notes all adding to create a much more exciting opening sequence filled with suspension and also heightens the anticipation of the audience for what will happen next.
The pace of cuts quickens as Bourne is carried down into the boat, this coupled with the extensive use of hand-camera technique adds realism and allows the audience to be wrapped up in the narrative through willing suspension of disbelief. There is accelerando in the music as the tempo speeds up, speeding up the pace and excitement of the scene. The lack of continuity editing and jump cuts quickens the pace of the opening sequence raising the levels of anticipation of what will happen next from the audience.
The tempo of the music slows down and a pedal is reintroduced as Bourne’s wet suit is slowly cut. The sound of the creaking of the boat helps to add an eerie vibe to this scene. A close up shows his wetsuit being pulled away to reveal two bullet holes in his back, the then cuts to a reaction shot of the fisherman looking after him. As this happens a single high pitch discordant note is heard which emphasises the eeriness of that particular moment. 
 Later on in the scene the camera follows the fisherman through to where Bourne was laying unconscious on the table moments ago, when he gets there, a whip pan moves from him to the table to reveal that Bourne is no longer there. A shot then shows him being grabbed by Bourne as he shouts “What are you doing to me?” a the music drastically changes in pace to a very short electric guitar fill-in as he pushes the fisherman into a wall and starts to interrogate him. The large number of cuts during the sequence controls the flow action and makes it very fast and frantic. The use of held-held technique here reinforces the realism and action of the scene. The scene ends with a shot of Bourne being asked his name to which he replies, “I don’t know.” The shot for this last bit is a Medium close up and is held for a longer amount of time than other shots in the sequence, drawing the opening scene to a close.
Overall, the use of a non diegetic score helped to add serious tension and drama to the opening scene. The extensive use of sound effects which contributed to the pathetic fallacy created an eerie and unnerving mood about the scene. And the extensive use of hand-held camera technique added a sense of realism to the scene.

The start of . . . something?

This is the begining of my Blog which I'm going to use to show my progress of my Media Coursework.