Preliminary Task: Theory

 Theory

After we completed our first preliminary movie we made a review and divided the sections into – Theory, Technology and questions. This post will focus on the Theory aspect of the review.

When discussing theory we were a bit confused on what would be classed as theory and what would be technology, but this is what we came up with.

·         Making fake blood and scars

As weird as this may seem we did indeed make scars, cuts and bruises for our main character but as it did not go with her skin colour and it was too heavy we decided to abandon that idea and just draw on the cuts and splash fake blood in her face.

·         Script Writing

The script work was an obvious element of theory work so there was no confrontation on this but as we did it as a group we could all have the same opinion on the script.

·         Storyboarding

Storyboarding was another obvious element of theory work as it also included all of us in the group but involved using paper.

·         Choosing the right location

Choosing the right location was very easy at first because of the lighting but then when it came to editing, we then had so much problems we changed the location to a class room.

·         Interpret text into film

I found this kind of hard personally, I say this because all the ideas that were thought of and written out were very difficult to portray film so I believe we struggled a bit there.

·         Using free time effectively.

I honestly think that as a group we did use our time effectively but I also think that what we completed in the short time could have been better. Thus leading us to create a new video.

Review on First Video for Preliminary Task 

Representation

Representation

· To show what something means

· The way we look at things

· How things come across

· Camera shots

· Character representation - How its presented

The sophisticated definition of representation:

- The action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so presented. Their description or portrayal way of someone or something in a particular way or as being of certain nature.

Synonym: Presentation, Portrayal, Image

What type of things could we talk about in terms of representation?

During the lesson we were put into pairs to come up with different things we thought would be ideal for representation. After we came up ideas we then came back to the group and shared/talked about the different points.

Here is what the class thought of in terms of representation:

· Jewelry (religious or just fashion)

· Gender (male or female)

· Skin tone (showing different race)

· Facial expressions

· Clothes/ Make-up

· Posture/Body Language/Actions/Walk

· Dialect/Language and accent

· Intelligence

· Behavior (good or bad)

· How characters interact with others

We then later went on to discuss the 6 main areas of representation, with the input of everyone in the class we did a closer analysis of the areas and key words used to describe them.

1. Gender: How the person wants to be perceived. (Male, Female or Transgender)

2. Age: Age is not only how old someone is but how much responsibilities they have as a person and how much respectthey need as they grow old, it can also be how mature the person is.

 

3. Sexuality: A person's sexual orientation (Heterosexual, Homosexual, Bisexual, Asexual, Pansexual, Demi - sexual)

4. Class and Status: Upper, Middle or Lower Class. Class and status can also be decided on how intelligent one is, how well one speaks and how much power one has.

5. Physical ability and disability: Completion of something based on ability. [With this area we decided to expand a bit more than the others, we thought it would make things easier to break down the different types of mental and physical abilities.]
 

Here is what was thought up:

Mental Disabilities:

- Bipolar

- Paranoia

- Eating Disorders

- Multiple Personality Disorder

- PTSD

- ADHD

- ADD

- Alzheimer’s

- Depression

Physical Disabilities:

- Paralysis

- MS

- VI (Visually Impaired)
- HI (Hearing Impaired)

6. Regional Identity: The identification of where a person is from later determining the stereotype of the area, dialect and accent.

Sound

Sound

Definition of Sound:

Noun

The vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person's or animal's ear.

In class we were discussing sound and decided to start the lesson off by identifying 5 different very famous theme tunes of TV programs. There were two very important questions we had to answer these were:

ü  How does it make you feel?

ü  What type of program are you expecting it to be?

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air:

How does it make you feel?

- This sound makes me feel happy and just puts me in a good mood. It also tempts me to sing along to the rap.

 

What type of program are you expecting it to be?

- I personally think the music was aimed at kids because it is upbeat but also being there is a rap it might include teenagers. Another thing is the rap it states that he is from west Philly indicating it is an American TV show.

The A-Team:

 

How does it make you feel?      

- The sound makes me feel empowered and important in some way, but I personally feel as if I am on a mission whilst listening to this music.

What type of program are you expecting it to be?

- This music is mainly aimed at adults; I say this because it sounds as if it had aged comparing to the first one. When I first listened to it I instantly thought about super heroes that are on a mission of some sort. Also the sound/music varies between American and British.

 

Dr Who?

 

How does it make you feel?

- The sound is very dark and makes me wonder what is going to happen next. As if I am actually part-taking in the TV show. 

What type of program are you expecting it to be?

- This music is aimed at Sci-Fi fans because of the way the music has been synthesised. Being that I have said that I do believe with music like that there will be a lot of alien characters, maybe appealing to young boys.

 

Eastenders:

How does it make you feel?

- The sound is very happy at the beginning but I think as it gets to the middle of the music not only does it sound 'Christmassy' but as if it can be dark at the same time. 

What type of program are you expecting it to be?

- This music is very family friendly so I believe it is aimed at any ages group but I also think it can be very dramatic because of the dark sounds (bang bang).

 

Hollyoaks:

How does it make you feel?

- The sound is very upbeat and happy.

What type of program are you expecting it to be?

- The music also sounds family friendly but also like a documentary intro. What I mean by this is near the end of the theme tune it sounded like animals, making me think it would be an intro for a wildlife show.

 

After the task we then went on to discuss the technical aspects of sound and the key words.

Keywords:

Soundtrack - The narrow strip at one side of a movie film that carries the sound recording.

Theme Music - A melody used to introduce or identify a television or radio programme, a dance band, a performer.

Sound Effects - A sound other than speech or music made artificially for use in a play, film, or other broadcast production.

Ambient Sound - The background sounds which are presented in a scene or location.

Dialogue - A conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or film.

Voice Over - A piece of narration in a film or broadcast, not accompanied by an image of the speaker.                                                                                    

Direct Address - The use of a term or name for the person spoken to, as in securing the attention of the person.

Diegetic Sound (natural) – The sound of which is visible on the screen or what is implied to be presented by the action of the film these are:

ü  Voices of characters

ü  Sounds made by objects in the story

ü  Music represented as coming from instruments in the story space

Non - Diegetic Sound (man-made) – The sound of which is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action these are:

ü  Narrator's commentary

ü  Sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect

ü  Mood music

Sound Bridge - When the scene begins with the reminder sound from the previous scene before the new sound begins.

Parallel Sound - The sound you hear that would naturally go hand in hand with the film on screen.

Contrapuntal Sound – The sound you hear that you wouldn’t associate with the events on screen.

We then colour coordinated the list with Blue Diegetic sounds and Red as Non – Diegetic sounds. As you see in the list ‘Direct Address’ is coloured with both red and blue this means that it can be both.

Why is sound used in television programs?

From my point of view I think sound is used in television programs because without sound we would not know what the characters are saying and they wouldn't know what mood they are meant to set. Causing upset throughout the audience.

Film Production

Film Process

 

Before we were given our preliminary task were separated into groups and told to discuss how we thought the film production works. The Image below is what we as a group came up with.

 

We divided the list into 3 three parts:

ü  Pre - Production

ü  Productions

ü  Post - Productions

Pre - Productions - Pre-Productions is what is done before the actual filming has started. This would consist of hiring cast members, designing costumes, building stages, preparing script, deciding the location, creating a story board and many more 

Productions - Productions is when the filming has started. In productions all the stuff that were completed in pre productions now contributes to the final outcome.

Post Productions - Now Post Productions is the last stage in film production, this is when the trailer has been developed and is 'leaked' so the public have time to comment on and their comments are then to be reviewed by the film staff. This is also the time when they get to set dates for the releases and meet the general public.

Angles

Angles




In class we broke down the different meanings for angles, this applied to our practical work greatly as it helped us to improve previous work that needed to redo

For example in my group’s preliminary task we used so many different complicated shots that it just made our clip very confusing. We then learned about these different angles and redid the preliminary task using several of the angles and movements that are listed

Camera Angle

Noun

The mathematic angle/degree at which the camera is set up at, usually classified into low, mid and high angle.

Static Shot

Noun

A shot that lacks any form of movement: Tilt, Pan, Zoom and Track.

- The shots that are listed below are frequently used in the film industry. 

 

Pan

Noun

When the camera moves side to side on a fixed point.


Panning 

 

Tilt

Noun

When the camera moves up and down from a fixed point.

Tilt

Zoom

Noun

When the camera lens moves in and out from a fixed point.

Zoom

Track

Noun

When the camera follows a subject and is unattached from a fixed point.






Tracking an object (Behind the scenes)

Shot Types

Shot Types

Definition

Shot types are the shots used in a scene that can have an intense effect audience and enhance their reaction. Shot types are generally decided upon in pre-production and are firstly story boarded so that everyone involved knows what they need to do when it comes to filming.

 

EWS (Extra Wide Shot)

·         A shot of the landscape, this normally used to display a character and their surroundings (setting and mise en scene).

·         On a camera this would be 100% zoomed out.

 

VWS (Very Wide Shot)

·         A shot that also shows the landscape and the character.

·         On a camera would be 90% zoomed out.

 

WS/LS/FS (Wide Shot/Long Shot/Full Shot)

·         Shows just the whole character and the settings.

·         On a camera 50% zoomed out.

 

MS (Mid-Shot)

·         Shows some part of the character in more detail while still showing surroundings.

·         On a camera 40% zoomed out.

 

MCU (Medium/Mid Close up)

·         This shot is in between mid – shot and close up, this would display the head and the neck.

·         On a camera 30% zoomed out.

 

CU (Close Up)

·         A feature that takes up the whole frame.

·         On a camera 20% zoomed out.

 

ECU (Extreme Close Up)

·         Shows a certain feature in very sharp detail.

·         On a camera 10% zoomed out.

 

CI (Cut In)

·         Focuses on another body part in detail.

·         On a camera also 10% zoomed out.

 

CA (Cut Away)

·         A shot of something other than setting or character.

 

2 Shot

·         A shot that includes two people.

 

OSS (Over shoulder Shot)

·         A shot that is looking over a person’s shoulder looking onto someone else.

 

Noddy Shot

·         This shot is mainly to do with sound.

·         It is from an ‘Interviewers Perspective’ so this means you can hear them but you cannot see them.

 

POV (Point of View Shot)

·         Show the view from the person’s perspective.

 

WS (Weather Shot)

·         This is a shot that only displays the weather, mainly for the background.

Reflection

These different shot types are used in all the mini clips we have created, when creating a movie yes you plan ahead about what shots you want to use but when it comes to filming, these shots change and you end up using a range of different shots. This can be a positive and negative aspect as yes you have a lot of shots that help tell the story but it can also make your movie or clip look cheap and lower the quality.