Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

In the preliminary task we learnt a lot of skills which we applied to our main task (film opening). In our preliminary task we realised a few shots had objects in the background as we did not notice them until we started editing (in the classroom there were bags on the tables). This helped us with our main task as tried to make sure there was nothing in each shot before filming them, leading to us having more useable footage when editing in the main task. We also learnt how to follow the 18O degree rule as we found in the preliminary task if we crossed the 18O degree rule it could confuse the audience watching it (during the dialogue). This crossing of the 18O degree rule helped us a lot with the main task as there were a lot of walking shots which could have went wrong if we hadn’t made the mistake during the preliminary task. If we had made the 18O degree rule wrongly in the main task the viewers would be confused as the protagonist would have been walking in all different directions and the plot would not have made sense (when she walks over the hill).

In editing we learnt new skills from the preliminary task such as inserting titles, matching shots, and keeping the continuity of the film seamless. We also learnt how to fade in and fade out (both cross-fade and dip to black) and also how to fade titles in and out which helped with the continuity of the main task. The match shots in our preliminary were not great as a result we made it key that all our shots would be matching by filming everything outside in one day to keep the same weather conditions, same clothing, same lighting etc. All of which helped with the matching of our shots whilst editing in the main task. The preliminary also helped us improve the main task by teaching us how to edit with the sound as in the preliminary during the dialogue there was a shot we wanted to use but not the audio of that shot as we wanted to use the audio of another shot. Therefore, in the main task as we added diagetic and non-diagetic throughout the film opening, we have diagetic sound in the bushes and as the protagonist falls over. This was to promote realism and keeps it authentic.

We also learnt how to log and capture the video we recorded during the preliminary task so we could cut out the parts that weren’t needed or that we re-filmed. This helped throughout the main task as we had to know how to log and capture on Final Cut Pro in order to edit as we learnt how to do it in the preliminary it didn’t take as long to capture in the main task as we already knew how to do it. We also learnt about shot/reverse/shot in the preliminary task which we used during the preliminary as the teacher and parent had their discussion. We used over the shoulder shots so we could see the expressions on the other persons face whilst being told how their child was doing. We also improved the shot variations in our main task by using a variety of shots during the preliminary such as pans, tracking, close-ups, and low/high angle shots and we saw the result of using these shots and how they presented the character in the scene so for example, high angle makes the character look inferior.

How does your media project represent particular social groups?

In our film production we have decided to represent the teenage generation who attend “wild house parties.” In order to create tension we determined that our protagonist (Nicole) would be female, as they looked at as weak and vulnerable as this helps spark a reaction of sympathy from the audience.

The gender is represented in this production by reinforcing the stereotype of female as a victim ,and the male is the attacker, showing he is living up to the stereotype of being strong and aggressive. These are very typical representations of males and females in thrillers so the purpose of this is playing to the audience expectations.

We have tried to fulfil the stereotypical view which adults hold towards teen drinking culture by suggesting that her action later in the piece are solely due to the amount of alcohol she has consumed. The reaction adults will have toward it will be different to those of people of a similar age and background .

Due to the fact that our film opening depicts a teenage lifestyle we thought it would be relevant to analysis a clip from the hit television show Skins, as it focuses on a group of young adults and what they do in the spare time. It gave us ideas for the costumes that the characters should wear but also how they may behave in a party situation.

Shot List Of Film Opening

We have produced a shot list for our opening, we may alter this slighty in future by adding more shots to this. We have used a wide range of shots to give variety to strengthen the emotion which the characters are feeling.

*SOUND BRIDGE*

Fade in from black to a blurry vision of girl texting.
Low angle close up of mobile in grass (shallow focus)
Zooming out from mobile to look around the surrounding area
Pan from girl’s feet to face showing her clothes
Extreme close up of girls eyes opening
Mid shot of girl lying on park bench
Girl gets up mid-shot
POV shot looking at surrounding

BEGINNING OF FLASHBACKS

Establishing high angle shot of getting ready
Close-up of makeup on desk
Over shoulder shot of girl in the mirror
Long shot of girl getting ready (choosing clothes in wardrobe)

**FLASHBACK**

Close-up of hand on alcohol bottle
Tracking shot of guy handing glass to girl
Zoom out from Extreme close up of girl mouth drinking alcohol to medium close up

**FLASHBACK**

Pan shot of guy and girl walking in park
Extreme close-up of characters holding hands
Two shot of characters being intimate
Long shot of them walking towards camera (walk past)

END OF FLASHBACKS

*SOUND BRIDGE*

Master shot of surroundings including the girl on bench
Close-up of facial expression
Long shot of girl getting up while looking confused
High angle shot of girl walking (insert credits)
Extreme long shot of girl walking (insert credits)
Close-up of feet walking
Wide angle shot of girl walking
Sudden black screen (silence) with fade in title ‘Black out’ then title fades out.

Outline Of Our Film Opening

We have decided that our film genre will be a social realism/ thriller and have called it ‘Blackout’. Due to the plot surrounding the opening we are using flashbacks to symbolise the pinnacle events leading up to the climax. As we do not want to show everything in the opening we have decided to keep the male characters identity unknown and focus solely on our protagonist (Nicole)

In order to portray this we feel that our settings are key, we have decided to film in a park in the early hours of the morning to catch the sunrise which is paramount in out opening. This will also prevent disruptions in filming as there will be very few people around at this time.

We will incorporate sound bridges and voiceovers in our clip to ensure the continuity editing is of a high standard. Also the dialogue used during the flashbacks will give the audience an insight into the plot.

Opening of Film Evaluation

Bhaji on the Beach

From the opening scene we can tell that the film is a Social realism drama with issues like; racism and Family dynamics involved.
Juxtaposition is used in the tracking shot on the shops situated on the main road as there were Asian shops right next to English butchers selling pork. The sound bridge supported this by the fact that the radio played Asian music and spoke in English when passing these shops. There were also contrasts when Mrs.S hallucinates and has visions of both Asian and English films, coke cans and Bollywood posters.

Racism is hinted through the white male spray painting a swash sticker motive on a boarded up window, also when the newspaper delivery man states that it is hot outside and assuming that she is used to the temperature. When Mrs.S looks at the newspaper the headline reads ‘they curried my budgie’ which implies that Asians eat household pets.

The Usual Suspects

From the opening scene we can tell that the film is a Thriller due to the fact there is a low key lighting which connotes a scene of mystery in addition it has eerie sound bridge throughout.
We are asked the question who is the antagonist after we see a dead body lying on the ground. Through the use of medium shots we see a dark mysterious figure whose face is never revealed therefore, adding to the suspense of the opening scene.

The Mise-en-Scene is late 195O’s attire with the unknown character in long coat and trilby hat. We also see the key props of cigarettes and guns which symbolise danger and support the period of the film. The mode of address used by him creates tension as he is matter of fact and frank to the man on the floor. Even though we do not actually see the man being killed we hear two gun shots which are then followed by a scene of a male figure escaping down a ladder.

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Throughout the duration of our preliminary task we have learnt numerous things related to camera work and editing software such as; match cuts insuring seamless continuity, inserting titles into frames and adding fades ins and fade outs. We also made sure we used shot/reverse/shot during the dialogue between the two characters this enabled us to see the characters emotions. Although we found it difficult because of our settings [classroom] we made sure to not break the 180 degree rule.

There were many things that worked well when completing the task, as we filmed during the day we did not need to add any extra lighting this made our job of filming easier. Overall the continuity of the film was reasonably seamless. However, if we had more time we could have made the beginning less static between shots.

To enable the clip to appear seamless we used match cuts as they flow together smoothly. A specific example was when the teacher opened the door from the inside then we saw the reverse of the door with the parent stood outside.

During planning and filming of preliminary task we felt that we understood the 180 degree rule but didn’t truly understand how it could effect the audience of the clip or how it disturbs the audience (especially in chase scene, etc)

As we edited our footage we found that the 180 degree rule was being broken when over shoulder shots of Joe were captured. To rectify this mistake we made a group decision to leave to the camera angle out of the final product.

We feel that this preliminary task has strongly raised our awareness of this 180 degree rule and how we should incorporate it through pre-production (storyboarding), production (filming) and post-production (editing).

Parents' Evening