PRELIMINARY EXERCISES

TABLE TOP SEQUENCE

 We began our film opening with a newspaper from the time of WW2. The newspaper was open on a page with three men who were circled with red pen which created a sinister effect. Next to the picture there were words which stated that the three men are targets. The camera then shows an open briefcase with a gun and legal documents inside which makes the audience question why there would be a gun in the briefcase. The camera then finally pans to the right which reveals Finn's hands holding a pack of cards which he then slides across the table revealing the 4 cards which when put together say 'AK47'. The sequence then fades to black and cuts to a video of me walking up some stairs with bomb sirens and Neville Chamberlain's announcement about England declaring war with Germany playing in the background and then, once I reach the top of the stairs the video goes black and the words 'Chamberlain' appear.

CONTINUITY EXERCISE

For this exercise I worked with Matt Heyns, Sam de Bruin and Finn Hanley. We made a video about football where Matt was taking a free kick in the dying moments of the game. I was in goal and had to make sure that Matt's shot went in. Finn was the cameraman. He used a variety of different shots including; two Shot, Reaction Shot, Point of View shot, Close up, Over the Shoulder, Tracking Shot, Three Shot, Low to High and Panning Shot. I also illustrated the storyboard. 

I am very pleased with how the video turned out. We used a range of camera angles which really helped show our wide knowledge of camerawork. We had a good idea and executed it very well.

Too imporve I would have changed the location of where we filmed to an actual football pitch inside a stadium. Furthermore, I would change what the actors are wearing to an actual football kit which would further indicate the reality of the situation.

ON THE SET

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

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

Cameras and tripods. In groups we passed the camera around and each of us practiced how to handle the camera, insert the battery and memory card. When you pass the cameras around you should say 'yours' and 'mine' to avoid the risk of dropping it.  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 (WB) is the process of removing unrealistic colour casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in the photo. Proper camera white balance has to take into account the "colour temperature" of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth or coolness of white light. You adjust it by selecting the ‘WB’ on the camera, it will then come up with little pictures representing difference colour tones that are used in different lights which will give a more realistic effect.

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

On set We then learnt the terminology used in the film industry on set. The director shouts 'Standby' before filming to ensure that everyone is ready and when they are, they reply 'Standing by.'

When the director shouts ‘rolling’, everyone on set must be quiet, then he /she shouts ‘action’ which tell the actors to start. After the shoot, the director has said the last ‘cut’, he / she will say ‘strike the kit’ which is the film crew's cue to pack away, put the batteries on charge and ensure that the footage is uploaded. 

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

CAMERA ANGLES