Preliminary Filming Task - Continuity Filming

Within the preliminary filming task we have been aiming to use the following rules to broaden our knowledge on filming and camera techniques.
The 180 Degree Rule
The 180 degree rule is set to establish a relationship between two characters or 'subjects' without confusing the audience. With this there is an invisible line which the two characters/ subjects are standing on and the camera must stay on one side of the line at all times in order to avoid confusion as the audience automatically associate certain characters to be on certain sides of the shot, changing this will reverse the characters positions and cause confusion. The only way of breaking the 180 degree rule without causing confusion is if the camera shows it being broken by panning around the back of one character for instance with the other character still in view so it is visible that the camera angle is being changer but both characters are still in the same position.
Shot /Reverse Shot
This is where there is a shot of one character looking at another, followed by a reverse shot of the other character looking back at them.
Match on Action
This is where action begins in one shot and continues into another shot to create two different views of the same action at the same moment in the same movement.
We were then asked to make a short film that would include those techniques. Here is our plot.

Original Ideas

• Jonny rushes down the corridor. With a pan shot of him.
• He stops at the door and thinks for a minute. The camera is focussed on the side of Jonny.
• The camera then moves for a close up of the door and his hand reaching for the handle.
• The camera then moves to the inside of the room having a medium shot of the door using 'match on action'.
• The camera then pans Jonny from the top of the room (birds eye) walking to a seat opposite Freya, the other character.
• The camera will then use the '180 degree rule' to concentrate on the actors and their conversation using over the shoulder shots and 'shot/ reverse shot'.
• At the end of the conversation Freya will give jonny his wallet and the camera will pan him leaving the room. The door closes behind him.
• Script

(Jonny walks into the room, Freya is sat down reading a book)

Jonny: Hey Freya!

Freya: Morning Jonny. What you up to?

(Jonny looks around)

Jonny: Well I've lost my wallet and I think I might have left it in here.

Freya: Well I think I picked it up for you when I was leaving.

Jonny: Oh thanks Freya! You're a dream.

Freya: I know.

(Jonny looks around again)

Jonny: I'm so hungry! I'll see you later ok, and thank you again Freya.

Freya turns back to her book as Jonny leaves
Freya: You're welcome Jonny

Storyboards

Final Piece

Report

Within our short film we managed to include a match on action shot as well as abiding by the 180 degree rule. We also included a birds eye view shot as the opening shot, a high angle shot during the conversation, a close up when opening the door, a wide angle shot as Jonny walks towards the camera, tracking as the camera follows Jonny through the corridor, an over the shoulder shot during conversation, we also used a tilt shot when Freya picked up Jonny’s wallet and gave it to him.
During edit, we used the razor tool to separate and cut clips, we used a dip to black video transition to close the short film, we used two layers to display and alternate our clips to prevent confusion and make the timing and cropping easier to see.
We used a digital camcorder to capture the film onto tape, then we uploaded the raw footage onto a computer using a usb cable connected to the camera and on Adobe Premier Elements we used the ‘Capture’ tool to copy the video from the tape into digital format on the computer. When all the footage was captured we separated the different shots into individual clips and named them accordingly to make the library of different clips simple and clear and easier to use when arranging clips on the timeline. Once this was done we ordered our clips on the timeline by the process of eliminating bad quality clips and trying to include a varied range of shot types. We then cropped the different clips so they fitted together in a logical order and the film ran smoothly, then we put on the finishing touches such as the dip to black effect and the 5 second title at the beginning. We then exported the film as a movie and as a windows media file, as one will be compatible with DVD and one will be compatible with Youtube. Finally we uploaded the film onto the Youtube account and embedded the film into each of our blogs.
We struggled to collect a series of shots that could easily be put together during edit although we managed to film most of the shots we found that we were unable to place them together in a chronological order due to the fact that we had no shots to fill transition periods and struggled to synchronise the audio in alongside the actors facial movements within the shots. We did manage to collect all the shot types that were required though including shot/reverse shot, it was just a shame that we couldn’t use the footage due to lack of transition shots and time to re-film.
Our original briefing was to create a film using a variety of shots which would prepare us to make our final product and make us more competent with a camera. Therefore in spite of the fact that we were unable to include some of the shots that were specifically asked for such as shot/reverse shot, we still managed to make a film that had a varied range of shots and good quality camera control, also this exercise will help us in our thriller filming as it highlighted our weak points and allowed us to pick up on what we need to change when filming in the future.

History of Social Realism in British Film

Realism began in the 1930’s with documentary films, and a prime example of this is with the ‘father of documentary’ John Grierson, who founded the British documentary movement and created classic films such as Drifters (1929), Industrial Britain (1933), Song of Ceylon (1934) and Night Mail (1936). In these films he gave an insight into not only the different type of jobs within Britain but also to the people behind those jobs, and he made their lives poetry, literally. Take for instance the film Night Mail, not only did he film how the postal service worked but he noticed that something was missing and realised he needed to catch the peoples journey, not just the post, and on top of this he had W.H. Auden write verse for the film that described what was happening making it literally poetry.
Social realism came into full swing during the 1960’s where a whole new style of British film was made, and has highly influenced film ever since. Back in the 60’s this style of film was known as ‘British New Wave’. This film style represents real life subjects and stories in true form, with all bared and no roseate cover pulled over the top to make the subject seem less harsh than it is. The stories tend to be about people and their struggle to endure everyday life in down and out areas and working class society. The typical settings are gritty, destitute areas. A lot of the films were adapted from books and plays as social realism was active in literature and theatre at this time.
From social realism came the “kitchen sink” dramas which some also referred to as “angry young men” films. Most of the directors of this style of filming had a background in theatre, television and documentaries such as Tony Richardson, Karel Reisz and Lindsay Anderson. Their films were dubbed as “angry young men” films as they tended to focus on the “economic and social problems of a frustrated male protagonist who attempted to make free from society and its expectations through the use of alcohol, sex, sports and money etc.”
Tony Richardson was very much a part of ‘free cinema’ which is what he described to be “independent of commercial cinema, free to make intensely personal statements and free to champion the director's right to control the picture”. These films were made without inhibitions, and led to the social realist aesthetic of putting ordinary people with problems onto the big screen. He is a key example of a director that adapted films from literature and theatre that was thriving with social realism. He adapted stage plays such as Look Back in Anger (1959) and A Taste of Honey (1961) and literary classics such as Tom Jones (1963), The Loved One (1965) and The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968).
Ken Loach is a very political director, still alive today he stands by social realism and has not allowed himself to be influenced by Hollywood or anything else that threats corrupting his style of direction. He started began doing docudramas such as Cathy Come Home (1966) which told the story of homelessness and its effect upon families, but he’s best known for his film Kes (1969) which focuses on the story of a young boy in a mining town whose life is altered by his relationship with an injured kestrel that he nurses back to health, but even with this there’s no escape from his fate of being trapped within drudgery of the industrial North. This film became a massive hit and a ‘school movie’ favourite. He is still making movies today and one of his more recent ones Sweet Sixteen (2002) is about a teenage boy who resorts to dealing drugs in an attempt to escape the poverty of the housing estate and create a new life with his drug addict mother.
These type of films have influenced the British film industry greatly and films today are still based upon similar views about society and the working class such as Ratcatcher (1999), Billy Elliot (2000) and This is England (2006) which are all based around the bottom of the social hierarchy and the struggle to fit in and survive within the community and other peers.

http://www.filmsite.org/60sintro.html
http://www.britmovie.co.uk/
http://filmstudies.suite101.com/article.cfm/social_realism_in_british_film
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/cathycomeho/cathycomeho.htm

Hopes Costumes

Hopes daytime outfit has been chosen to flatter her and make her look sexy and confident to coincide with her personality. The long black jacket was chosen as it elongates the figure and mainly to keep the actor warm as the shooting will take place in winter, therefore we worked around that finding something that is sexy and suitable, the jacket fits this. The original idea was to have a pencil skirt, but this is slightly overdressed for working in WHSmith, also it wouldn't look very good with a long jacket, therefore we decided on smart jeans with high rich purple heels that add glamour and the deep purple connotes wealth and royalty, which fits in with Hopes personality where she is so vain she classes herself as royalty.



The jogging outfit has been chosen to be suitable for jogging, yet still look relatively sexy and smart, so a black and white outfit has been chosen so that Hope still looks quite smart, this just shows that she takes care in her appearance at all times. The white jumper will show up well on camera in the evening, along with white trainers, the black jogging bottoms will be bootlegged to add to the well presented look, they also are figure flattering and sexy.

Tags costume

The costume is simple, and not overcomplicated with accessories. I have decided to keep his outfit simple to reflect his character where he is described as a bit of an outcast, with this though I don’t want him to blend in. He must stand out on screen. Therefore, I have made his outfit a simple deep red hoodie with dark, simple jeans and dark shoes. This is a risky outfit to choose as the character could end up being portrayed as the ‘gangsta’ type with the hoodie which is definitely not what I am aiming for Tag to be, so when the outfit is on him it shall be tweaked somehow to avoid this. The hoodie is red as it represents danger and blood, it also stands out in a crowd, which isn’t usually something you would want for a shifty character but we are aiming at creating a very obvious irony that will make it clear to the viewer from the beginning who he is and what he does. The hoodie will have ‘TAG’ written on the back in big, clear white letters as this can be zoomed in on to use as the film title in the opening credits as the film is called ‘Tag’. This will also add to the ‘in your face’ style irony and make it crystal clear who he is from the beginning. Jeans were chosen to keep the outfit very casual in contrast to Hopes work outfit which will create an obvious contrast between the two characters. Dark shoes were chosen simply as to not draw attention to them.

Storyboards

Lighting is added in type as it was not present in the storyboard drawings.
The lighting in storyboard 1 and 2 will be ambient daylight.
The lighting in storyboard 3 will be ciaruscurro.

The lighting in storyboard 4 will be ambient daylight.

The lighting in storyboard 5 will be ciaruscurro.

The lighting in storyboard 6 will be non-ambient, there will be daylight along with the light of a bathroom light and added light to prevent darkness in the mirror if required.

The lighting in storyboard 7 and 8 will be non-ambient, light will be shone from above to make shadows visible below the eye.

The light in storyboard 9 will be ambient daylight.

The lighting in storyboard 10, 11 and 12 will be ambient daylight.

The lighting in storyboards 13 and 14 will be ambient daylight.

The lighting in storyboard 15 will be non-ambient, as it is in the evening there will be street lighting and added light shone from the same direction as street lights just to make sure the character is visible whilst looking like natural lighting.

The lighting in storyboards 16, 17 and 18 will be non-ambient as they will be aided by extra light to make up for lack of streetlights. In storyboards 17 and 18 the light will be directed towards Hope and away from Tag as it puts her in clear view and him in the shadows, emphasising Tag's shifty character.

The lighting in storyboards 19, 2o and 21 will be non-ambient due to added light makig up for lack of street lights, also in storyboard 20 a light will be shone from directly above to make the facial expression more emphasized and create a good contrast between light and dark on the characters face.

In storyboard 22 no light is required.

In storyboards 23 and 24 the lighting will be non-ambient as chirascurro lighting will be used to create vivid light angainst dark contrasts making the scene seem like a nightmare.

In storyboard 25 lighting will be non-ambient as a light will be shone above the eye to create dark shadows on the face.

In storyboards 26 and 27 lighting will be ambient daylight.

Brainstorming and development of ideas for my thriller plot

First Draft

Second Draft

Third Draft

Opening Shot

Planning For Thriller Opening

TAG

Plot Synopsis in under 100 words

Hopes fate is set when she rudely bumps into a stranger at the station one morning before work. Later that day during her evening run she is followed, killed and 'tagged'. (31 words)

Plot Synopsis in greater detail
An alarm goes off at 6am, a hand moves to turn off the alarm and Hope get out of bed, and she then goes to the bathroom to wash her face. During this, her fate is revealed, as shots of dead parts of her body are intertwined with her morning routine.
She goes to work at the train station where she bumps into a stranger (Tag); here is where her fate is decided. As she goes for an evening run, she is attacked and killed, a tag is placed on her dead wrist stating her fault that caused her death (insolence), and the screen fades to black. Cuts to an alarm going off at 6am and a hand moves to turn it off…

The plot has unravelled to become a psychological/crime thriller.

Characters
Hope Lost is the main character, she is around 16 years old, is overly confident, rude, vain, and selfish. The name ‘Hope Lost’ was decided as it reflects her fate. She works in WHSmith in the train station in Norwich, this has been decided as it is a good place for her to come into contact with the other character, and it is also a good location in contrast to the location for the death scene.

‘Tag’ is the second character, he is only known as ‘Tag’ as it adds to a sense of mystery and danger, it also reflects his character, as he leaves tags on each of his victims, the tag states what the victim did to him in order to cause him to get revenge (this is his signature way of killing) for instance, Hope was rude to him by bumping into him without apologizing so she was insolent therefore the word on her tag would be insolence. Tag is around 16/17, is quiet and introverted, a social reject, shifty, easily offended and slightly psychotic which when put together with Hopes character creates deadly consequences.

Casting
As only 2 characters are in the production we thought it would be sensible to cast actors within our Media group for convenience and reliability as it would be impossible to create a good film with somebody that was not reliable. Therefore we chose to cast Freya Lincoln as Hope Lost and Jonathan Lawson as Tag, these were a good and convenient choice as not only are they in my group, they are drama students which means there will be good quality acting.

Intertextual References
Only one intertextual reference is being used in the thriller, this will be a shot of Hopes dead eye which will be executed in the same way as that of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.

Responsibilities

Filming/ Camera Woman: Amy Nolan
Acting: Tag = Jonathan Lawson Hope Lost = Freya Lincoln
Directing: Freya with input from Jonny and Amy
Responsible for ordering camcorder – Freya
Responsible for props – Amy
Responsible for costume – Amy, Freya, Jonathan
Extra lighting equipment – Freya

Shooting Schedule

Fri 21 – Sat 22

Shoot train station scene.
Shoot in Hope’s house morning scene inc. bathroom and bedroom.


Fri 28 – Sat 29

Phone box scene up to body falling to the ground


Fri 5 – Sat 6

Prep for close up scene inc. Fake blood etc.
All close ups of the dead body parts


Fri 12 – Sat 13

Optional – any extra filming required in the city
Optional – any extra filming required in Hempnall


Order a Camcorder for: 21st NOV
28th NOV
5th DEC
And depending on whether completed or not 12th DEC also


All shooting in own time not lesson time due to there not being enough time to get to and from required locations.