Third day of filming.

Last sunday we went out for our third day of filming. We got a reasonable amount filming done, including the pan at the beginning and the shot which will be used for our prouction at the start. One of our group members, Victor, unfortunatly could not make it on this day. Once again, we made a video diary explaining what we got done.  

The Pre Production shot list.

This is a list of the shots, angles and movement that the camera will do in our production. This is useful to have as it makes it clear when each shot will bed used and in what order. It mainly means you don't have to remember if the storyboard is unclear. In the far left column there is the number of what the shot is, the next one along is the type of shot and/or camera angle or movement used. the next one is the description of whats going to happen in that shot and finally on the far right is how long each shot will be.  

Shot Number	Shot Type	Description	Time
1	Establishing pan	The camera will pan over the hole area and establish the location	8 seconds
2	Medium shot of main character	The camera will look at the main character (D) who is stood at the side of the road	3 seconds
3	Over the shoulder long shot	The camera will show the car driving towards D	3 seconds
4	Mid shot with focus on character	Main character jumps and hides in bush	4 seconds
5	Medium close up	Character hides as car drives past	5 seconds
6	Long shot turns in to a medium close up of character	Car drives past, character climbs cautiously out of bush	6 seconds
7	Master shot	Character continues to walk down road	3 seconds
8	Mid shot (tracking)	Character continues to walk down road (Camera at side)	5 seconds
9	Long shot	Character walks around corner to confront gate	4 seconds
10	Medium shot (low angle)	Character starts climbing through gate	2 seconds
11	Medium shot (high angle)	Character finishes climbing through gate (Camera on other side)	2 seconds
12	Establishing pan	Character looks about and walks towards building.	8 seconds
13	Pan (High angle), (medium long shot)	Character enters building and walks in	5 seconds
14	Medium shot focus on character	Character starts scavenging for supplies.	4 seconds
15	Worms eye	Perspective of creature moving towards building	3 seconds
16	Close up	Main character continues to scavenge	4 seconds
17	Worms eye	Creature gets closer to building and enters the building	3 seconds
18	Close up	Main character looks at item	3 seconds
19	Worms eye	Creature behind character	4 seconds
20	Close up	Character senses something behind him	2 seconds
21	Low angle( worms eye)	Character turn to hit creature with weapon	2 seconds
22	Long shot	See character putting creature in bag	5 seconds
23	Mid shot	Character walks and looks about in building	4 seconds
24	Mid shot	Looks some more and leaves building	4 seconds
25	Long shot(pan)	Character walks toward the gate. (ref.12)	8 seconds
26	Medium long shot	Character climbs back through gate	4 seconds
27	Close up of main characters face, focus on car and other character	Character steps into view and looks right to reveal car from earlier with new character next to it	6 seconds
28	Close up of character, focus on end of prop(gun)	New character looks at main character and raises gun into view, aims and shoots.	7 seconds
29(extra)	After gun goes off cut to black	Title revealed	4 seconds
30(extra)			seconds

Recreating a movie scene from SE7EN

 

In the past couple of lessons, we have been recreating scenes from a film of our choosing which shows off some good camera shots. We chose to recreate the box scene from the film SE7EN. We recreated the first 30 seconds of it. 

Overall, I think we recreated the shots pretty well, and followed the camera movement well. Of course, the acting isn't great, but we weren't focusing on that at the moment. There were a few things that could've been better about this though. The timing of a few of the shots in the middle are a bit longer than they are in the original scene. Also, there is a lot of switching between 2 different shots right at the end but in ours we just had the two shots shown once, which lessens the tension.

Anyway, this is the finish product, so enjoy!  

First attempt at different camera shots.

The video is this post is what me and my group put together to have a go at attempting some camera shots and using camera movement effectivley. Im going to try and point out what shots we used and why, as well as how they can be improved. I have numbered each shot in the video so you can tell which one i'm talking about.

1. This camera movement is known as panning. This involves slowly rotating the camera horizontally across whatever is going to be in the shot, which in this case, is me! This is effective as it gives the audience an idea of where the scene is set and gives you a brief idea of the character and his/her mood. One thing we did not think about when shooting this shot is what type of actual shot it was. In this case it is just a medium shot but if we used a shot like a close up, the characters mood would of been emphasized to a greater extent.

2. This type of camera movement is known as zoom. This can be used for a varitey of reasons, some of which are to create tension or show that something shocking has happened. It goes from a medium shot through to a big close-up to show the characters emotions. This shot didn't create the desired effect for us as the zooming in took quite a long time, not really creating any feeling or presenting anything.

3. This is known as a tilt shot. This creates a similar effect as the panning shot but this time it is vertical rather than horizontal. But once again with this we didn't think about what type of shot it was, this medium close up that we did was alright, but a close up probably would've been better.

4. This camera movement is know as crabbing as it follows the actor along, without the angle changing, like a crab. This keeps the actor in focus throughout the shot so you get to know what he/she is feeling or trying to acheive. There are a few things that could've been better in this shot. One being, to keep the camera from shaking, a dolly could've been used which is on wheels along a track, reducing bumpyness. We didn't have one available though. Secondly, the head space is an issue as it shows to much of the enviroment taking the focus off the actor and also makes the actor seem a lot smaller than he is.

5. This shot is known as a follow camera movement. As the name suggests it follows the actor. It kind of combines the tilt with the pan to fllow the actor up the stairs. This was done quite well as the headspace is good and the camera movement is smooth with no judders.

6. This final shot is known as a long shot. It puts the actors into the setting and makes the audience more focused on where they are rather than what the actor[s] are doing. This shot went fairly well for us as it does put the actors in the setting. The only problem is there is not much to be taken from the setting we are in, a way we could improve this is by picking a setting which can have a greater impact on the audience.

                               

Camera shot analysis in Quadrophenia.

 In our lesson today, I looked at a scene from a film called 'Quadrophenia.' In this post, I will be analyzing some of the camera shots used in the scene and why the director chose to use them.

One effective shot which is used is this low angle shot. This shot is used because it emphasizes the height of the drop that the man is going to fall down. If the shot was in level with the people the drop wouldn't be seen as that high. It also emphasizes the danger that hes in as it is also a long shot, showing that there is no mean of escape.

In this part of the scene, a long shot is used to both set the scene and show the dominance of the mods compared to the rockers. Firstly, you can see a pier in the background so the viewer immediately knows they're by the sea, and some people might recognize it as Brighton pier, setting the scene even more precisely. Secondly, the shot shows the mods in a big group in a small formation type cluster which stretches across the back of the shot. Meanwhile the rockers are bunched together right next to the camera showing that there is a lot less of them, and emphasizing how outnumbered they are!

This last shot is also a low angle shot, which in this particular shot, presents dominance. With the horse being a tall, strong animal charging towards the camera presents both it and the policemen as the most powerful person in the scene. The camera shot being lower tan the horse, makes it seem even bigger than it is, making the dominance of it even greater. 

   

Camera Shot Analysis.

In movies, using different types of camera shots is crucial because you can tell a lot about what is happening or is going to happen as well as being able to tell the emotions of the characters. Of course, there are other ways in which camera shots enhance the whole production. But I will be focusing on these two main points. 

The shot above is taken from the film 'The Hunger Games'. This camera shot is known as the low angle shot. It is called this because the camera is looking up at something, which is usually a character. This presents the character as a superior character and that they have a lot of dominance. The director has used this shot here because you are looking at the main character, Katniss Everdeen, who at this point is caught in a life or death situation. However, the camera being underneath her shows that she is strong and dominant, therefore reassuring the viewer that she is going to survive. 

Another few types of camera shot are know as close ups. There are a few types of close up, these are Extreme close up, which tends to focus on their eyes, Big close up, which focuses on the whole face, a close up which is mainly the face but can also show you some of the scene and finally a medium close up in which you can see much more scenery. This example here, is taken from the movie 'Se7en'. This shot is a close up shot as you can also get an idea of the scene. Close ups are good as they can easily show what emotion the character is feeling. In this particular example, the character is distraught over the death of his wife. This can be seen as he has tears in his eyes and is struggling to hold it together. The camera shot makes this a lot easier to see as it is focused on his face and all his facial features. 

Yet another shot which is effective is the long shot. This shot lets the viewer see a lot of the setting rather than concentrating on the actual characters or characters. The setting is always key to set the tone of what's happening and that's why it is important to see every part of it. In this scene from the film 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' a lot of long shots are used so that The Shire, in which the scene is set can reflect the mood of the film at the time. At this point of the film, the mood is quite happy and The Shire is seen as quite a peaceful, tranquil place, which both are happy emotions. The long shot provides the viewer with a good look at it all so this feeling is greatly emphasized.