Preliminary Task - Storyboard

Preliminary Task - Shot and Prop List

Shot List

• Establishing shot
• Over the shoulder shot
• Two shot
• Tracking shot
• Close up
• Point of view shot
• Shot reserve shot
• Low angle shot
• Over the shoulder shot
• 180-degree rule
• Medium shot
• Close up
• Tracking shot
• Match on action
• Wide shot

Prop List

• Knife
• Computers
• Files
• Papers
• Expensive Watch
• Expensive Handbag
• Pens
• Water Bottle
• Backpack
• Clock
• Lipstick/Mirror

Prelimary Task - TREATMENT SCAFFOLD

Working Title:
Codes

Synopsis:

The film is about a wealthy young female student, and is attacked by a hacker who is greedy for her wealth. The victim will walk in and catch the hacker, who then kills the young woman to avoid getting caught.  Additionally, a friend of the victim’s, walks in and sees the hacker stood over her friend’s body on the floor. The friend then asks the hacker what happened. There is no answer and the film ends on a cliff-hanger.

Characters:

• The Victim
• A young female student.
• A very wealthy woman.
• Innocent.

• The Hacker
• A jealous and greedy man.
• Conniving.
• Murderer.                     

• The Friend
• A young student
• Confused as to how her friend could be involved in this.
• Worried about her wellbeing.

Film Techniques:
We will be filming this scene using many different types of shots and camera movement, including the compulsory shots. Examples of the different shots that we shall be using are; establishing shot, over the shoulder shot, two shot, point of view shot etc. In addition, we shall be incorporating the compulsory match-on-action shot, 180-degree rule and shot/reverse shot. Furthermore, examples of camera movements we are going to use are; Tilt, pan, crab, zoom, dolly etc.

Production Considerations:
We are going to film it in a computer suite as it matches the story line well, as the killer is a hacker. Also we will need a fair amount of space as the body will need to be placed on the ground.

Introduction to DSLR

DSLR camera stands for digital single lens reflex. It's a camera with one lens and a mirror which reflects the light where pictures are recorded on a digital card instead of film. To use the camera, you need to have it set on automatic.

Instructions on how to use it:

Use automatic settings

• Set the dial to the green for automatic mode.
• Make sure the lens is set to AF (Autofocus) not MF (Manual Focus).
• Push the shutter button down halfway, the camera will automatically focus on the subject.
• Push the button down the rest of the way to take the picture.

Exposure

• Overexposed:
• too much light
• makes the image appear washed out                 

Underexposed:

• too little light
• makes image appear too dark

Aperture

• A cameras aperture, shutterpeed and 250 settings directly affect exposure but more importantly, they allow to control how each photo will look.
• Controls size of lens opening that allows light into the camera.
• You can blur the foreground and background that bracket your subject (known as shallow depth of field) by opening up the aperture with a low f stop number.
• You can keep your photo shrap from the foreground through out the background (known as wide depth of field) by closing the aperture down with a high f stop number.

Shutter Speed

• Controls how long the sutter opens to expose the image sensor to that light.
• Open it for just a millisecond and you can freeze a fast moving subject.
• Alternatively you can show the movement of a fast moving object by keeping it open longer with a slow shutter speed.

ISO

• How sensitive your image sensor is to light.
• The lighter the ISO the more sensitive to sensor will be making the image brighter
• The lower the ISO the less light is going to go in it, therefore the darker the image will be.

Media Language - Mrs Mallet

Camera Shots

1. Extreme Long Shot (ELS) :
A wide view of the complete setting.
Gives a sense of scale and also provides a location.
Mainly used as establishing shots.

2. Long Shot (LS) :

Closer than ELS but still shows the complete scene.

Background dominates the human figure.

Commonly used in narrative to establish the scene.

3. Medium/Mid Shot (MS) :
Human is seen in detail. 
Gesture and expression are now clearly visible.
Ideal for dialogue and some limited action.

4. Medium Long Shot (MLS) :
Setting is still seen in detail.
Humans can be seen in detail (waist to above head).
A common purpose of this shot is to portray both dialogue and action.

5. Medium Close Up (MCU) :
Subject is moderately close.
Head & shoulders are comfortably seen with little room above the head.

6. Close Up (CU) :
Might only show face in detail.
Often used in  narrative to show emotion.

7. Extreme Close Up (ECU) :
Shows only a portion of detail.
Often used to create a sense of mystery.
Very effective on hiding what something is until a dramatic camera pullback.

Camera Angles

1. High Angle :
Audience views object from above looking down.
Creates sense of scale.
Subjects look small and vulnerable.

2. Low Angle :
Opposite of Above.
Look upwards towards the subject.
Creates feeling of importance.

3. Eye Level :
View is the same as if we were there as spectators.
The camera represents the audiences view.

4. Point of View :
Camera is used as if it is the eye of the character.
See only what the character sees.

5. Crane :
Camera is attached to crane.
Shows scene above it.
Creates sense of scale.
Provides a lot of information.



6. Dutch :
Camera is tilted to one side so the horizon is on a angle .
Creates a disorientating effect.
Unsettling for audience.

Editing

1. The Fade :
The old image slowly blurs into another one.


2. The Dissolve :
Bringing a new shot into focus as the old one disappears.


3. The Wipe :
One shot replaces the other from travelling from one side of the frametto another or wiht a special shape.



4. Superimposition :
To place one image over the other on the screen.



5. Straight Cut :
 creates a natural movement between shots and in many ways emulates the audiences own eye movements.

Lighting

1. Coloured Lighting : 

Gives a particular effect to thee scene.

2. Diegetic Lighting:

Appears to illuminate room a source within the scene, for example a torch, lamp or the sunlight.

3.Location of Light:

Positioning of the light source can also create dramatic efforts within a frame.

3 Point Lighting

4. Key Light:

Hardest and brightest.

Focuses on one side of the main subject.

5. Full Light:

Softer, more diffused light.

Placed slightly on other side of main subject at same angle as key light.

Light fills in shadows cast by key light.

6. Backlight:

Placed behind subject.

Works to separate subject from background.

Usually hard lights.

Create outline around subject.

Sound

·  1. On Screen Sound : 

D Diegetic sounds that come from objects observable within the frame.

· 2. Off Screen Sound :

  Diegetic sounds that come from objects not seen within the frame.

· 3. Synchronous Sound :

  Sound/Music which matches the kind of action on the screen.

   4. Asynchronous Sound :

  Sound/Music which does not match the kind of action on screen.

Media Language - Mr Kerrigan

Camera

1. Establishing Shot: The opening shot in a dramatic scene that establishes the disposition of people and objects in the mise en scene. as such it is usually a wide shot, and is likely to be followed by a succession of closer shots.

2. Two-Shot: A shot in which two figures appear in the frame.

3. Point of View Shot: A camera angle in which the viewer seems to see with the eyes.

4. Over the Shoulder Shot: A camera shot in which the viewer seems to see with the eyes of a character in the scene.

5. High-Angle Shot: A camera shot in which the subject, and angled up at them. This shot can have the effect of diminishing the authority of the subject making them look weak.

6. Low-Angle Shot: A camera shot taken from a lower level than the subject, and angled down towards them. this shot can have the effect of enhancing the authority of the subject, making them look powerful.

7. Canted Angle: A cinematic device  where the camera is physically placed at an angle so that vertical and horizantal surfaces appear diagnal. 

8. Pan: A horizantal camera movement left-to-right ot right-to-left on a fixed axis. the word is short for 'panoramic movement'. a pan following a moving object suggests that we are viewing it from the point of view of an observer.

9. Tilt: A camera movement up or down on a horizontal axis.

10. Tracking Shot: A camera movement achieved by mounting the camera on a dolly and moving it along a track. Typically, tracking shots are used to follow characters or other objects in motion.

Sound

11. Diegetic Sound: Sound that can be heard by the characters in the world of the film.

12. Non-Diegetic Sound: Sound that cannot be heard by the characters in the world of the film.

13. Synchronous Sound: Sound that is directly matched with what is being viewed.

14. Sound Bridge: Editing technique in which visual cuts are deliberately not matched with audio cuts. For example, the editor may cut to a completely new scene, but allow sound from the preceding scene to run on for a short time. Alternatively, we may hear the sound of the next scene before we see it.

15. Dialogue: The conversation that happens between characters in a work of fiction, or the lines spoken by actors.

16. Voiceover: A type of non-diegetic, asynchronous sound in which the audience hear a voice that does not have a source either within the frame or within hearing distance and which is not heard by the people on screen.

17. Incidental Music: Music used in a film or play as a background to create or enhance a particular atmosphere.

18. Stings: A short musical phrase primarily used as a form of punctuation.

19. Ambient Sound: Sound which is natural to a setting.

Mise-en-Scene.

20. Mise-en-scène: The look of a film, derived from its use of sets and settings, lighting, colour, costumes hair and make-up, props, actor movement, and the overall placement and visual composition of these elements by the director.

21. Location: A ‘real’ place, as opposed to a studio, in which something is filmed or otherwise recorded. A location might be a New York City street or a desert.

22. Set: An interior that has been constructed to look like a real place when filmed; the set helps to identify the time and place in which a narrative will unfold.

23. Costume: The clothes worn by characters in a fictional text. The costumes are part of the mise en scène and as such are an important part of signification (for example, as a generic or period identifier).

24. Make-up: Cosmetics used to change the appearance of a performer.

25. Prop: Short for ‘property’. A small item used in a film or TV production to add realism, assist with the narrative or act as a motif.

26. High-Key Lighting: Lighting which eliminates most of the shadows.

27. Low-Key Lighting: Lighting which emphasises shadows.

Editing

28. Cut: The commonest form of edit in moving image texts, this is the instantaneous change from one shot to another in an edit.

29. Shot/Reverse Shot: A convention for showing a dialogue sequence. We cut between the two speakers, showing each person’s point of view.

30. Eye-Line Match: A visual code used to make it clear what the subject is looking at.

31. Graphic Match: A compositional device onscreen, whereby objects of common characteristics of shape or colour are used in successive shots.

32. Match on Action: Two shots in which an action begun in the first is completed in the second, thus disguising the fact that there has been a cut.

33. Dissolve: In editing, a cross-fade between two shots: one fades out as another fades in.

34. Wipe: A shot transition in which the new image wipes over the previous one.

35. Superimposition: To place one image over the top of another on the screenn.

36. Long Take: Not to be confused with a long shot, a long take is a shot of comparatively long duration.

37. Montage: The production of a rapid succession of images in a motion picture, usually accompanied by music, to illustrate an association of ideas or a passing of time.

38. Post-production: The various processes that take place after filming in order to create the final cut of a film.

AS G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media - Overview

My name is Siarah Rana and I am studying Media Studies at Newlands Girls' School.


I will be using this blog to document my AS Media Studies coursework. For AS G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media, I have been given the following briefs:

Preliminary Exercise

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. 

Main Task

The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

This blog will serve as a record of my progress. It will include the documenting of research and planning, production, post-production, and evaluations.