PRELIM TASK STORYBOARD

  

To begin this task we were split in to groups. I was in a group with Gabriel, India and Fred. We were then given a prelim task storyboard (shown above) This portrayed clearly the scene structure, the lines for the actors and the camera angles we needed to use for each shot. After the actors had learnt there lines we set up the camera and then what we did was  film the whole sequence in each angle so when it came to editing we could cut and add bits easily. Our first problem was deciding who in our group did what as we wanted to find a balance between roles. To solve this we decided that Gabriel and Fred were going to act and India and I would be behind the camera and then to balance it we would add more scenes at the end and then all switch roles. To save time we moved the camera around as little as possible so we planned the shots to link up next to each other for example we would have filmed a wide shot and instead of moving the camera we would zoom in from there to set up our next shot where in this case was a close up. Our second problem was when we were filming the over the shoulder shots and we then switched sides, we realised that this would of been filmed the wrong way and the audience would be confused as to the different sides so we then realised we had to apply the 180 degree rule so that we could film it in the right way. When we first started to film we remembered to use the white balance and focus the camera in each shot but we didn't bubble the camera and we realised this when the camera wasn't level but we soon corrected it. If i was to do this prelim task again i think planning in advance is extremely necessary because then you have something to follow while your at the location and it is a smoother process. I would plan every angle and shot to follow with the actors having learnt there lines and also having checked locations to have a rough idea of the standing positions and possible entrances/ exits.

Film review 'The Eye'

The Eye 

This poster advertising ‘The Eye’ clearly portrays the horror genre. There is a close up of a young girls face behind a window surrounded by darkness, this instantly gives the impression that there is an eery atmosphere in the film as it is a gripping image intriguing the audience in to wanting to know more.  The use of blacks grey’s and blues usually suggests the theme of death, angst and terror whereas if bright colours were used it would create a completely different atmosphere as we resemble colours with different emotions such as red with blood and black with death. Behind the girls face the infinite darkness creates mystery and there is a juxtaposition between the jet black and the young girls face as well as the use of droplets of water which run down the window blurring her face hiding elements of her features. Her black hair blends in to the dark background behind making her porcelain skin evolve and stand out. 

Due to the fact that her face is so white her prominent features are emphasized. For example her dark eyebrows and plump lips. This suggests a sexual reference. The water droplets that blurs her face behind the glass of the window creates lines of shadow that look like scars or marks on her face. This can suggest violence or pain. The most obvious feature of this poster is her eyes. Unsuprisingly considering the title of the film. Her eyes are an icy blue/white. This suggests the main base of the film.  We know that she is blind from her icy glare that has no emotion behind it.The blindness connotes that there is a secret. It is very interesting because your eyes gives away a lot of emotion and this myserious expression immediately lures in the audience. 

The denotation of the poster is the window bars. The camera has been postioned low and tilted upwards to capture this for a 3D effect. It has more effect on the audience because the way it is captured makes her look smaller compared to the window bars. It also creates a claustrobhic space which works well with the image of her eyes and they seem like they are trapping something as well and window bars are a good way of expressing this. The connotation of her hands reaching out and resting on the window also express this as she is trapped and wants to get out. It also has deeper meaning towards crime and mystery because fingerprints is what you use to detect people during a murder investigation. The idea of fingerprints being left on a window and slowly fading away is haunting, and the shape of her white hands really stands out against the black.

There are 3 pieces of text The title of the film, one line to entice the audience and the name of the main actress. The title of the film is in the biggest white font, the word ‘The’ is in thin writing as it is less important and the word ‘Eye’ is in thick writing as it is the main focus of attention and it slightly fades at the end. This represents blindness as it is blurry. Again with the title of the actress her surname which is the recognizable part is in the second thickest clearest font because it is the most important. The piece of enticing text at the bottom although it is less significant because it is smaller is in capital letters to attract your attention ‘You wont believe her eyes’ again the connotations of this suggest that she is blind and the fact she cant see creates a huge element of mystery to grip the audience until they have to whatch it. 

Overall I think this film poster suggests a lot to interest the audience but doesn’t give away too much. It’s gripping and haunting and I think it can appeal to many types of audience.

Camera Lesson 2 :180 degree rule

During todays lesson (Friday 26th September) I learnt more about camera angles and the types of angles you should use with each type of shot. For example the process of creating 5 different shots doing something simple like tying up a shoelace and making every shot work together.  We were also taught the 180 rule in order to use the camera in the right way. Its a very important rule that applies to everything in film work. In the situation where someone is walking on screen left to right the rule means they can film anywhere starting from that point and a 180 degrees around that but if its beyond that the audience watching the film would be confused as it would look like they were walking in the opposite direction (right to left.)

Analysing and comparing three opening sequences

The first film I have chosen to analyse and compare the opening sequence is 'Remember Me'. As sad and suspense filled music quietly starts to play and gradually build up, dark flashing colours such as blues and blacks  begin to reveal a blurred film title 'Remember Me'.Within  the first 30 seconds the audience are lured in to a creepy atmosphere and gripped for what comes next.
(photo of blurred title on dark colours).
Following this the audience realises that the title is moving from left to right and the picture clears to reveal a train moving very fast. There is a close up of two blurred shadows that are revealed to be a middle aged woman and an innocent looking girl. The angle then zooms out to a mid long shot where we see both there bodys in full length.
(Photo of woman and daughter full body image standing on platform)
 It is dark and the mother protectively wraps her arm around her daughter looking around in anxt. The audience are then intrigued as anything could happen. It then shows us the location and the year which sets the scene.As they look out for the train there is a mid shot of there backs which immediately creates suspense as we can not see what is behind them. The camera then shows a long shot at an angle which is very important to see there whole body as we see two men stereotypically dressed in all black with there hoodies up.
(long shot of men in black)
There hands are in there pockets and although they look confident there is an unnerving atmosphere oozing out from the way they are standing. There is huge contrast between the two sets of character an innocent mother and daughter and two intimidating men. The camera turns in to another long shot but this time shows the mother and daughter dancing, unaware of the men whatching them. A close up shows the mothers happiness but again as she is looking over her shoulder we can not see what she is looking at and her face begins to change in to complete shock and worry
(photo of mother worried face)
And while the audience are on edge a mid long shot reveals the men staring. As one of the men crosses behind the woman and her daughter the camera zooms in briefly on the man and then a close up of the mothers face as she tries to protect her daughter. Suddenly both men come up to mother with the daughter standing directly behind and mug her the camera zooms in and does a close up of all three faces briefly passing behind the mother and the daughters head so you can just see the mens faces and this suggests authority to the audience.
(Photo of mens two faces and backs of girls heads contrast between characters)
It then shows a close up of the womans face as they step on to the train with her hand bag that flashes to the mans face behind the train window
(photo of mans face behind window showing the horror of the womans face in the reflection)
The camera does a close up and flashes from face to face to show the recognition of whats happened and then there is a  close up of the men as the doors open
(photos of men holding gun)
and an immediate close up of a gun
(immediate close up of gun ) as the mother is shot.

My next opening sequence is My sisters keeper. Here is a side profile close up of what is assumed to be the main character, a young girl, with aspects of a beach background visible. This still image is framed while the media institutions and production companies are introduced.

My next opening sequence is My sisters keeper. Here is a side profile close up of what is assumed to be the main character, a young girl, with aspects of a beach background visible. This still image is framed while the media institutions and production companies are introduced.

It then changes to  a mid shot of a what looks like an animated picture of a kite floating through the blue sky as the main actors are introduced.

About 20 seconds later there is an immediate close up of eggs duplicating on a sped up film that flashes other images related to science. I think i can compare these angles that are filmed in close ups to 'Remember Me' because in both sequences they don't just use close ups like most sequences would but they flash from image to image very quickly that looks like moving picture. This suggest to the audience that there is lots of images to be seen briefly to be able to absorb what is going on and feel emotionally attached to each storyline.

In the same way that 'Rememeber Me' blurs a lot of images and then reveals them, this fragmented close up of memories flashing on an old film projected on books and on photo frames holds the suspense of what the images are going to reveal.

Following on from the biological images this immediate close up at the end of the first sequence of 'My Sisters Keeper' shows two particular features the little girls eyes and the womans teeth. This suggests to the audience how different genes can relate to each other and how they will have an important role to play in the film. I see similarities between this image and 'Remember me' as the close up of the mother and daughters similar features are outlined when revealed but i think that these close ups in 'My sisters keeper' are better because it outlines what features are what more clearly

This also shows an immediate close up of a baby's eyes nose and mouth and this again is in relation to scientific genes and how a family connects.

My third and final opening sequence is from 'Moonrise Kingdom'.

This close up of a painting instantly grips me as a member of the audience because this shot is the first shot we ever see in this film which means that the house in the painting and the painting itself are going to have some relevance even though we don't know anything about it. This is why i am gripped i want to know more and the clues are not easy. The first ever shot in both 'Remember me' and 'My sisters keeper' is not as clear and poignant it does not grip me as easily.

This mid shot grips me even more then the last image as at first it seems just like a plain landing in a typical family home and then we realise a very important connotation that is even more suspense filled as we are desperate to know what the clues will resolve.The same red house in the painting is a toy red house on the landing floor. Again none of the other two films give clues to resolving information and i think this way it involves the audience and is far more gripping.










In 'Moonrise Kingdom' the director has cleverly stopped the clues in this long shot so we can not quite see weather what the boy is doing has any relevance to anything which makes the audience want to see what will happen next and so on. The transition between shots is very sharp and obvious and that is very different to 'My sisters keeper' and 'Remember Me' as theres seem to be longer and less fluid.

In this close up suspense is built as we can not see the side behind the binoculars but then it quickly fades in to a mid long shot where we can now see that the house in the painting is the house the young girl with the binoculars is in. I like the way the first sequence is because it gives enough information but not to much for the audience to be gripped. What i like about this one that is different to the other films is that it is very clear and very precise rather then giving to much detail away to quickly.
Each film is different but my favourite would be Moonrise kingdom because of the clear angular shots, the well hinted connotations and the gripping features that make each transition flow from one shot to another.

Camera Lesson 1

Today  we were looking at the practical side of being able to use and recognise parts of a camera successfully. First of all we learnt how to open up a tripod which is what the camera is supported by to be able to film in a more professional way as the quality is much sturdier. After that we learnt how to fit the camera on top of the tripod by pushing the button on the left and sliding and also opening the lens and turning it on. We played around with the camera getting to know how to use the main parts, zooming in and out, brightening and darkening and also using a tool that helps the camera recognise a colour.This is called white balance where you have to press a small button which you then zoom in on white and zoom out and it picks it up. This really helped me understand the basics about the type of practical work we will be doing.

Film review

 One of my favourite films that i have seen recently is called 'The darjeeling limited' directed by Wes Anderson. This eccentric film was produced in 2007 staring Owen Wilson, Adrian Brody and Jason Schwartzman  with  a rating of three and a half stars on IMDB. This film is about three brothers in there thirties who shortly after there fathers death decide to reconnect with each other by travelling around India on a train stopping at different places as they go. 

I love this film because it is cleverly written and filmed in a way unlike no other. The dynamics are very well portrayed and the colour used creates a very interesting atmosphere. I especially like the way it is filmed like moving pictures along the train. The space is used very well and although the parts filmed on the train there is lack of space the characters use it well and are therefore memorable. There is a huge diversity  between characters which is what makes the film so vibrant. Each brother is very different but the bond that is reformed is something that the audience can relate to. I love how at the start the personalities of the three brothers are completely the opposite and suddenly they just click over things that are unexpected. Although it is not laugh out loud funny, each thing is clever and you notice specific things that relate to one another. The set of the train is designed beautifully with noticeable detail as well as the parts filmed in India there is so much colour and a 3D atmosphere. I normally do not appreciate the set and design of films but in this one i appreciated that the most. The timing of the film in the way they used slow motion shots of running or walking were memorable moments for example at the start a character is running  towards the train but is beaten by one of the brothers. Andersons style has so much variety it differs from so many other films and that is what makes this film so special because it is different in every way but as well as being over eccentric and using specific techniques such as slow motion shots or filming  in particular angles. It  all works together so well and is very connected in every aspect and that is why it has stuck in my ind ever since i watched it.I thoroughly enjoyed this film and recommend it to anyone.