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.