Preliminary Exercise Evaluation

1) Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?


I was in group 3E, and in my was Adam Romo, Daniel Sheldon, and myself, Matthew Smith. Below is a picture of our group.

We split the roles up equally. We all contributed and put in equal effort into storyboarding, creating ideas and planning our shooting. As we only had 3 people in our group and Adam and myself were actors in our sequence, Daniel was camera and sound man for most shots. I filmed the one shot in which I was not in (0:07-0:09) but apart from this shot, Daniel filmed the whole sequence. Adam and I balanced this out by taking a more dominant role whilst editing. Adam's job was to capture all shots filmed and transfer them onto the timeline. He then split these into the different shots and alternated them between Video Track #1 and Video Track #2. My job was to make a rough cut, getting rid of all 'Actions' and 'Cuts' and ordering shots. Then Daniel's job was to fine cut all shots and make sure the continuity was fine in regards to match-on action. I feel this worked really well, and we all feel that we spread the work out evenly.


2) How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?


When we first planned our sequence, we jumped straight into storyboarding the below sheet. We came up with a quick, rough storyboard that gave our whole group an idea of what was happening and a chance to input ideas. We worked out the storyboard very easily, as we had easy access to our set, so each of us stood up and explained a part of a sequence was, pretending we were the camera, and acted it out. This made the whole thing very visual and made storyboarding easy and quick.

The above is our storyboard. We stuck by it almost completely  and used this, aswell as the below shooting schedule to help us when filming. The only changes we made to this storyboard was shot 3 and shot 7. Shot 3 was changed to look like shot 4, and became a mid, over the shoulder shot with the camera on me over Adam's shoulder. Although we changed this shot, it was still acting as the reaction shot that was part of the brief. Shot 7 was changed to look like shot 8, as a master, wide shot. We also added in a shot 9 and 10. Shot 9 was from inside of the room of the bully closing the door, and shot 10 was exactly the same shot as shot 8.


We are able to apply Levi-Strauss' theory of binary opposites to our sequence. Good vs. Evil is one of them. The nerd is the good as he has done nothing wrong and the bully is the evil as he is 'stealing'. Innocent vs. Violent is another binary opposite. The nerd is innocent, despite his reaction, and the bully is violent as he roughly chucks the nerds books onto the floor.

We are also able to apply Barthes' 5 codes to our sequence:

• Engima - Who is the bully? What has he been doing to the nerd? Why does the nerd go crazy? How long has it been going on for? What has happened in the past?
• Action - The bully (antagonist) throws the nerds' (protagonist) books on the floor, and then the nerd flips out and shouts "I'm fed up with you pushing me around!!" The tone of both of their voices help the audience quickly establish who is the protagonist and the antagonist.
• Semiotic - The high angle/low angle shots make the bully look superior and the nerd inferior which is vital in our sequence. The clothing of the bully makes him seem intimidating as he is wearing a hoodie, a piece of clothing that is strongly associated with disruptive, poor adolescent behaviour.
• Cultural - The title sequence, and the name of our sequence, NERD, puts the audience in the mind set of a bullying situation, which works in our favour.
• Symbolic - Due to the length of our sequence, it doesn't contain anything that is obviously symbolic.

3) What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?

Above is a picture of myself using all of the equipment that we had available for our production. When filming, we used a Canon HD Video Camera, with an attached Shotgun Microphone ontop. We didn't record in HD however. The Shotgun Microphone had 3 settings; Shotgun, 1 and 2. Shotgun was used for our conversation shots, as it gives the clearest sound settings when the subject is directly infront of the camera. Mode 1 was a little bit wider, allowing us to hear more background noice, which we used for our master shots. Mode 2 was very wide, and all surrounding sounds could be heard. We didn't use this mode at all. We were provided with Sennheiser headphones which allowed us to make sure the sound was alright before we started filming.

As you can see above, we were also provided with a clapperboard, and a tripod. We used both of these in all shots.

When it came to editing, we used a Dell Optiplex computer with Windows XP operating system. The program we used was Adobe Premiere Pro. This program was highly sufficient for the type of editing that we needed to do, and it allowed us to order, cut and finely adjust our sequence so that it was understandable for the audience.

4) What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

When we were planning, we had to consider implementing all elements of the brief, which was:

• Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match-on-action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

We had to make sure that our sequence was capable to include all of these factors whilst maintaining that the sequence made sense to our audience. We planned before hand about all the match-on-actions that we intended to include, and always kept in mind what we were going to do when editing our sequence. Also, when planning, we always had to be conscious of time as we only had one hour to film, and another hour to edit so we couldn't make our sequence too complex or long. However, this wasn't hard as our sequence is extremely simple. Saying this, when we were filming, we were always checking the clocks, and making sure that we didn't spend too much time on any individual shot, as, although not being practical, we could go back and re-shoot shots at the end if we had time.

Post-production was the area in which we had to pay most action to the footage we have captured. Although we couldn't go back and film anymore, we had to make sure there was no continuity errors, that our sequence made sense, and that the match-on-action made our sequence believable and realistic. When editing, we did notice that a few of our shots wouldn't fit into our sequence because the continuity would be ruined. We attempted to put in a better reaction shot, but it didn't work well and in the end, we took it out. The match-on-action between shot 1 and shot 2 was one of the shots that we needed to get correct so that it would flow well and we all feel that it was perfect timing. Below is a picture of Adam and Daniel at our editing studio working on our project.

5) How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve / do differently?

I personally feel that our sequence did the job it was meant to do, and that we successfully acknowledged and met all of the parts of the brief. However, there are both pros and cons in our sequence.

The pros are that we managed to implement all the necessary requirements that were established in the brief. We were able to maintain good continuity techniques. We followed the 180-degree rule, achieved successful match-on-action, and used shot/reverse shot well, and overall, I believe we produced a high quality final product. The cons are that the storyline of our sequence isn't awfully original or unique, and is very simple. This means that the audience may be a little bit bored when watching it, but as the brief of the project was to include all the techniques, this was necessary.

In hindsight, I would make sure that we spent less time re-shooting shots and try to get a wider variety of shots filmed. This way, we could make our sequence a little bit longer, whilst still including all the continuity techniques and allowing a better narrative to be established. I also feel that we could of used some better angles, and shots like the one below are rather plain and get boring if used too much.

6) What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?

From completing this task, I have learnt that it is always important to plan ahead of schedule and make sure that what you are doing is time efficient. I have also developed skills such as team-working, creativity and technological skills. These will all help when completing the rest of my foundation coursework. I hope the understanding that I have gained from this task will help me when it comes to creating a 2 minute opening sequence, and I believe that it will help me.

Applying Barthes' Theory to Casino Royale

This is the opening sequence of the 2006 Action Thriller 'Casino Royale', directed by Martin Campbell, featuring Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace, The Golden Compass) and Mads Mikkelsen (Valhalla Rising, Clash of the Titans).

Enigma (Hermeneutic) Code

• Who is he chasing?
• Why is he chasing him?
• What has he done?
• Where are they going?
• Are these the main to characters?
• Who's the protagonist?
• Who's the antagonist?
• Where is it set?
• What is in his rucksack?
• Where does he get to when he stops running?

Action (Proairectic) Code

The action in this opening sequence is obvious, the chase. It is adrenaline-pumping, full of action and stunts, and leaves the audience sitting on the edge of their seat during the crane in the sky shots. The suspense builds when Bond is surrounded while holding, what the audience is now lead to believe is the antagonist. They believe him to be cornered and out of options, and the audience is wondering what has happened when Bond gives up, but then the action starts up again as he shots the person he was chasing, and explodes the building they were in and escapes.

Semiotic Code

The setting that they are in is a marketplace, with lots of people watching snake charming/fighting, which suggests that they are in a middle-eastern area. This is confirmed during the crane scene as you can see the sun high in the sky, with very hot weather and dirt tracks all around.

Cultural Code

This sequence doesn't contain many cultural codes. However, being a James Bond film, the audience is expecting to see high levels of action and impressive explosions and this is addressed at the end of the opening sequence.


Symbolic Code

All of the scenes in this sequence have quite defined meanings so this code is close to inexistant. The shot of Bond dropping his gun at 8:53 could be seen as a sign of giving up, or that Bond has a different aproach to the situation.

Applying Levi-Strauss' Theory to The Dark Knight

• WARNING: The above film snip-it has a BBFC rating of 15, and is not suitable for viewing of anyone of a younger age.

This is the opening sequence of the 2008 Action Thriller 'The Dark Knight', directed by Christopher Nolan, featuring Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain, 10 Things I Hate About You) and Christian Bale (Terminator Salvation, Public Enemies).

The binary opposites presented in this opening sequence are as follows:

• Good vs. Evil - This is possibly the most obvious, and frequent binary opposite that appears in all films and is unsubtlely shown in The Dark Knight. This binary opposite helps signify the genre of the film, and instantly, within this opening sequence, allows the audience to gain an understanding of what this film is going to be about. The good is the bank workers, who are taking hostage, and the bank manager who attempts to fight back, who initially looks to be a hero, but then is killed and is proven to be a false hero. The evil is the bank robbers, the masked gunman who kill the 'hero' and break into the vault, making off with thousands of dollars. This sets the rest of the film up to be based around good vs. evil.

• Known vs. Unknown - The criminals rob the bank while wearing masks, and only one of these robbers reveal their identity, the Joker. This shows that this character is unique, and different from the rest. He is the only robber to leave the bank alive, with all the money for himself, which hints to the audience that he set up the heist.

• Calm vs. Anxious - The character that we see as the Joker is calm and controlled throughout the whole scene, whereas all everyone else, not only the hostages, but the other robbers are all on edge, and anxious to get the job done. They work through it speedily, attempting to get the job done as quick as possible. But the Joker, after killing everyone, even has time to go back and put a grenade in the bank managers mouth, showing that he is in control and has everything planned out as he doesn't seen keen to get away from the scene.

• Happy vs. Sad - All the masks worn by the robbers have a frowning 'clowns' face painted on except one. The wearer of this mask is the Joker, which, one again, makes him look unique and the centre of attention. The scars that he possesses which the audience can see when he removes his mask give him a permanent 'happy' expression which is another binary opposite in itself, as he has a happy expression while killing people.

Applying Todorov's Theory to 21

Who are the agents: the protogonist and antagonist?

The protogonist is Ben Campbell, the young white male seen cycling through the city and narrating the 'Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner' story. The antagonist, although unknown for the majority of the film, is Micky Rosa, Ben's MIT Professor. The secondary antagonist is Cole Williams, the security manager of the casino that Micky, Ben and the rest of the team hit when travelling to Las vegas. He can be seen as a red herring throughoust the film as despite him being an antagonist, his actions seem miniscule when compared with Mickys'. 

Describe the Equilbrium 

At the beginning of the opening sequence, a lot of close-ups are used to get a sense of the audience being involved, and instantly draws them into the film. It opens by using a mixture of CGI work, and flashback shots, describing to the audience how they run their operations. The extreme close-up, playing through from 1:22 - 1:26 (actually 2 shots but looks like 1 shot opon first watch) gave me the idea of him getting prepared for something, and the shot at 1:30 confirms this with another ECU of him applying a fake moustache. The black background in these shots make his face look enlightened, and this added together with the framing makes sure the focus is completely on his facial features (binary opposites). 

Is the Disruption of Disequilibrium introduced or hinted at? 

The phrase "That's what got me into all this mess" sets up the films disruption and the disequilibrium is introduced in a very unsubtle way. "And a hand running through perfect flowing meant only one thing... Get out, get out now." is said while, although unknown to the audience at this meant, Cole Williams, the secondary antagonist mentioned earlier is seen chasing towards the camera, which we assume is from the POV of Ben Campbell. As I have mentioned, this is a red herring. The real disequilbrium is Micky Rosa getting 'revenge' and stealing all of Ben's money, taking back his referral towards Harvard Med meaning he is unable to even qualify for an attempted scholarship and has no money to pay to attend there. 

Are there any visual/verbal/aural clues that hint at what the hero's journey might be? 

I feel that the sequence of Cole Williams chasing towards Ben whilst he clumisly grabs all of his playing chips hints that his journey may be counting cards to make money as he says that he has made over $600,000 doing what he does. 

From your knowledge of the film, how will the equilibrium be restored and what will be the new equilibrium? 

The equilbrium is restored by Ben tricking Micky into doing 'one final scam' at which Cole Williams gets Micky back and the chips that Ben has won for his pension. In Cole's last act of kindness, he forces Micky to pay Ben back and re-place his refferal for Ben to get into Harvard. Ben's story of how he counted counts is what makes him 'dazzle' and he gets the scholarship into Harvard Med.

Applying Todorov's Theory To Disturbia

Who are the agents: the protogonist and antagonist?

The protogonist is Kale, a young white male who propels the story along by attempting to reveal the secrets of the antagonist. The antagonist is Mr
 
2. Describe the Equilibrium. How is it represented? What kind of camera shots can you identify? (e.g establishing shots to create a sense of space or use of CUs/cutaways to emphasise particular objects/characters faces). Pick out 2 or 3 examples. Describe the mise-en-scene: what meanings to the props/costumes/lighting/framing carry?
3. Is the Disruption or Disequilibrium introduced or hinted at? (e.g the serial killer in "Seven" is introduced in the title sequence).
4. Are there any visual/verbal/aural clues that hint at what the hero's journey might be? (e.g having to solve the murders within a time-limit of seven days in "Seven")
5. From your knowledge of the film, how will the equilibrium be restored and what will be the new equilibrium?

Principles of Continuity

The directors will use many different types of shots for variety, to give the desired effect and for continuity. The main shot used for continuity would be a Long/Wide Shot, generally used to establish a scene. This shot allows the directors, editors and the continuity department to make sure there is nothing changing between shots that shouldn't change.

Continuity Editing


The process that comes from 'Continuity Editing' is calling suture. This is where there audience is metaphorically sewn to the narrative, they begin to believe what is happening in the film to be reality, and forget about real life. This is achieved by the almost 'invisible' editing process as it causes the viewer to forget that they are watching fiction and to enter the parallel world. 


Continuity Editing Techniques


This is just a few of the, in my opinion, best continuity editing techniques.

• 180 degree rule - When filming a two-person-facing shot, the camera must always stay on the same side of the people speaking, so the camera must not cross an imaginary straight line passing through the two characters. It is perfectly fine to film from either side, but once filmed from one side, you must not change as it will give the impression of jumpiness.
• 30 degree rule - Make sure to change the camera angle by more than 30 degrees if using the same composition and framing so as to make give the audience the ability to notice a visible 'jump' in the film. This is known as a jump cut.
• Cross cutting - This is where shots are placed next to either other on the timeline but do not belong together in the narrative sequence. This is useful for showing that two different scenes are happening at once, like a car chase.
• Shot-reverse-shot - This is the cutting between two people having a conversation. A good way to make this sort of sequence not boring is to film it once with a master shot showing both characters, a CU of each character and a BCU of each character. This way, when it comes to editing, it can be mixed up and varied so that the sequence isn't boring and plain for the viewer. 

Accidents Task 

In our lesson today, we were set the task of portraying an accident scene (lowscale e.g. nothing too impressive like car crash or being shot) in 6 shots without the use of editing material. We had to do this by shooting one shot after the other as they would appear in the sequence (if we were to make it properly). This meant that the sequence we filmed wasn't of extremely high standards but it allowed us to, when we watched them back, see some of the errors we made.

• Although we followed the 180 degree rule, the location of our filming was a wide alley, meaning that the walls on both sides is very similar therefore, when we watched it back, the people who hadn't been on our production team thought we had switched the side from which we were filming, and had not followed the 180 degree rule. In future, we would make it alot clearer that we had stuck to the same side.
• We tried to incorperate the 'shot-reverse-shot' technique when filming by including a master shot, a close up and a big close up, however, as we only had 6 shots, and didn't have access to editing materials, we had to do it by hand, so when watching back, it didn't give the right appearance. Saying this, the master shot still did establish the scene. In the future, we would film more takes of each shot, and get more angles in so that we could make our scene a little more interesting.

Useful Storyboarding Materials

I have done a web search in an attempt to find some useful storyboarding materials. I have found a few websites which I feel gave me a little more knowledge about storyboarding and the way that storyboards are used to make films successful.

Websites:

• http://accad.osu.edu/womenandtech/Storyboard%20Resource/
• http://www.storyboards-east.com/storybrd.htm
• http://www.storyboards-east.com/sb_coke.htm (This is just a storyboard that I liked)

Videos:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvdJq7RrSR0
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA8yNSVuYxo

These videos show how to storyboard, and contains a well-known storyboarder in the filming industry.

P for Psycho

What is happening in the opening sequence of the film?

In the opening sequence of the film, we are introduced to two characters, one who we presume to be the 'psycho' and the other who appears to be a young male. It begins by zooming into the the male toilet door, and then mixes to a low angle of the 'psycho's' legs which has a slow tilt up to the man rubbing his hands. The low angle already signifies superiorness. This is followed by a pan from left to right across various objects such as a belt, a picture frame and a purse/wallet. This cuts to a CU on a plughole with blood flowing down it and then to a CU of the psycho bandaging up his hand, then clenching his fist. This shot tilts up to a close up on his head turning as a boy enters the room. It blurs quickly from right to left and then cuts to a mid shot of the man tucking his gun into his belt. An extreme close up follows of the mans eyes, with underlit lighting. The man says the words "BAD MOVE, KID...", it fades to black, slight pause then 2 single gunshots.

How is the narrative flow established?

The narrative flow is established in the opening sequence through the detail within each of the shots on the storyboard, and the annotations that accompany each frame. The arrows, framing descriptions and descriptions all add up to a successful storyboard and narrative flow. It helps us visualise what we would see, and this helps us come up with our own personal narrative flow.

If you were directing this sequence, what aspects of the storyboard would you like to change?

If I were directing this sequence, I would of used more cuts rather than fades and mixes, especially in the transition between shot 11 and 12. A cut would of been more effective because it would make it more sudden and pacey, therefore adding to the overall effect of someone being shot. If a few more special effects were used, I feel it may of made the thriller genre more obvious, as it may be unclear as of yet what genre the film is.

Storyboarding

What actually is a storyboard?

Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence, including website interactivity. (Definition taken from Wikipedia.) In my eyes, a storyboard is a set of images, generally hand-drawn, that represent the camera shots that will appear in a sequence within a motion picture or animation.

Why is storyboarding an essential part of the film making process?

Storyboarding is a vital part of the film making process because:

• It allows anyone on the production team to see visually what the sequence is planned to look like.
• It allows a group of people to brainstorm and get ideas down together.
• It lets director experiment with shots and angles before going out to film on set.
• It shows the actor how to react to special effects in advance from the shooting.

All the above reasons mean that storyboarding is necessary when planning out a film, and although not the whole film has to be storyboarded, it is vital that the main action scenes, or emotional shots are storyboarded so everyone has a preview of how these big scenes are going to pan out.

Reflections on shots

Q1. Describe your shot and identify in what way it could be described as representing your chosen genre.

This shot is a long, worms view shot. On the far right we have an unknown subjects leg, and in central shot, we have a young white male, lying on the floor who seems to have a distressed look upon his face. We have taken this shot as if it were from a thriller. The shot seems to have a slight high angle tilt on it, which makes the unknown look superior, and the white male inferior. The lighting in the shot is key to making it a successful photograph. The darken hallway at the end of the corridor shows the unknown, and as the males legs seem to be laying into this, it puts emphasis on this shot being a thriller. The light rays on the young males face put emphasis on his worried and slightly afraid look, and the lighting on the unknown characters leg makes it stand out even more, and makes the presense of this character a lot more known. All of these points add together to make sure the genre of thriller to established.

Q2. What did you actually do to achieve the effect?

We didn't actually plan this shot, it was pure luck. However, we placed the camera just above the floor, and made Alex position his leg and shoe just in shot, and made James lay down infront of him. It was a simple shot to capture, and didn't require any props or extras. We are pleased with the outcome of this shot.

Q3. Identify what is successful about your shot?

I feel the expression on the young males face makes the shot successful. It allows the viewer to quickly understand that the male feels like he is in trouble. The beams of light also put more emphasis on his expression.

Q4. What would you do in hindsight?

In hindsight, I would attempt to remove the light beams that hit the floor as they draw the attention away from his face slightly. I would also like the whole shot, except his face and the leg to be a shade darker so as to establish more of a thriller feel.

Disturbia Opening Sequence

• WARNING: The above film snip-it has a BBFC rating of 15, and is not suitable for viewing of anyone of a younger age.

This is the opening 10 minutes of the 2007 American Thriller 'Disturbia', directed by D.J. Caruso, featuring Shia LeBeouf (Transformers, iRobot) and Sarah Roemer (Locked In, The Con Artist).

At the very beginning of the film, the 'Dreamworks' and 'The Montecito Picture Company' idents are overlaid with suspense-building music, which instantly builds the tension, and automatically makes the viewer wonder what this could be for. Before any visual shots appear, a conversation can be heard, between, as of yet, two unknown characters. "Do you think he sees us?" "Nah, he can't see us. Trust me, he can feel us watching." This could be possibly very misleading for the viewer, as it, personally, made me think they were spying on someone, however, this is quickly rectified as visuals appear of a father and son fishing. It is a close up on the river, but zooms out to an extreme wide shot, showing the two fishing together on a sunny, blue skied day, with snow tipped mountains in the background. All of these aspects come together to give the impression of a nice place to live, and along with the accents, it is easy to tell it is set in America. They spot a fish, and the camera goes to a close up of this, whilst in the background you can hear the father giving Kale tips on how to catch him. This signifies a good father/son relationship, and gives the reader a feeling that the father while be there to watch over and guiding Kale for the whole film. The phrase 'Father-Son moment' is used, which emphasises this point.

There is action within 4 minutes of the start of the film, which gives the viewer a good eyesight intro what the film is going to be about. During the car crash, there is a lot of close ups and medium close ups, so the emotions are really viewed. The death of the father right at the start shatters the viewers impression of him helping Kale throughout the film, and throws the viewer off of what they believe the film will be about. However, in the death of the father, he is still looking out for his son, which puts strong emphasis on the relationship they had. After the car crash, Kale goes around to his fathers side of the car, but the camera doesn't show his dead body at all. It remains as a CU on Kales blood covered face showing the anger, sadness, and emotional pain he has. This lets the viewer know the father is dead without having to show it. The title sequence follows this. It is a very simple sequence, made purely of a black background, with white text reading 'Disturbia' and blurs and expands behind it. It fades to white and then into the next scene. There is a slow, calming piece of music overlaying this, but it ends with the title sequence.

Within the introduction, there are two comedic scenes; the mid shot of the two of them having the 'Father-Son moment' where Kale sarcastically tells his father he got a girl pregnant, and the MCU of the two of them in the car, on the phone to the mother, joking about buying the fish. This shows that the film will contain elements of a comedic manner, and will not be sense of action, and horror throughout. Nonetheless, the early death in the film shows that it will not be a comedy, and that the main genre is still going to be horror/thriller.