Progression from the preliminary task to the final product

Ryan. A. Henson

IntroductionIn my preliminary task I demonstrated two different camera techniques which were:- 180 degree rule- Shot reverse shotThe preliminary task was very useful in giving me and our group a brief feel for film making, which I believe helped us in our final product when making decisions regarding camera angles. The criticism and feedback we received on our preliminary task was also extremely useful as we were able to correct any wrong decisions we may later have made when producing our final product.

Preliminary TaskThe 180 degree rule line works in a way where the camera and the characters are always separated by a line in between them, and the camera will never crosses that line. This gives the camera view a front perspective, which makes it easier for the viewer to watch without becoming confused as to who is where in the scene. The Shot reverse shot is also used along side the 180 degree rule, this is when the subject is having a conversation, for example at a table, and the camera switches between the subjects.

Preliminary Task

Poor use of lighting

Uncomfortable camera angles

Poor camera quality

Preliminary TaskWe received criticism for multiple features of our preliminary task video, for example:

Poor use of lighting: We received multiple accounts from different audiences stating that it was clear we had not planned the lighting for our video, as some shots were very lit up and others were too dark to make out the facial features of the characters

Uncomfortable camera angles: Our audience described various shots as “uncomfortable” and “unsettling”, stating that this was because of how close the camera was and the angle at which the camera was looking up at the characters in certain shots.

Poor camera quality: The quality of the camera used for our preliminary task video was often criticised, we used a GoPro camera as we thought it’s mobility would be useful. However many of our audiences complained of the “fisheye” style shot that is produced. This can be seen in the background as walls and the doorway appear distorted and curved. The image was also criticised for its blurriness and shakiness when the camera panned from character to character.

AS Film OpeningThe match on action shot has been used in our final product. It followed the victim in the woods, showing the view from both behind and in front of the subject. However we did not include the 180 degree rule line & shot reverse shot as our genre of film was a slasher horror, and it is not a convention to show the encounter between the victim and killer as such a scene using either the 180 degree rule or the shot reverse shot as it will release the killer’s identity. Doing this in the opening of a film would destroy the film’s plot before it had even started.

AS Film OpeningCamera quality

Camera angles

Use of lighting

AS Film OpeningWe have worked to improve on the criticism we received from our preliminary task video, for example:

Use of lighting: In our preliminary task we received multiple complaints stating that some shots were very lit up and others were too dark to make out the facial features of the character. Because of this we planned to set the location of our film opening outside in a woodland area away from any unnatural lighting. Furthermore the natural lighting at our location lit up the face of the victim brilliantly, showing any expressions of fear.

Camera angles: Our audience from our preliminary task described various shots as “uncomfortable” and “unsettling”, due to how close the camera was and the angle at which the camera was looking up at the characters in certain shots. Therefore we decided to reduce the amount of close up camera angles used in our final product and when they were used we made sure that they showed at least the top of the head down to the shoulders.

Camera quality: The quality of the camera used for our preliminary task video was criticised for it’s “fisheye” style image, blurriness and shakiness. The way we resolved this problem was by simply using a better quality camera and a bipod, we chose a camera much more suited for independent film making. This provided us with a much clearer image which decreased the blurriness and got rid of the “fisheye” effect. Furthermore using a bipod extremely helped to reduce the shakiness of shots when producing our film opening. The bipod we chose to use also came with a built in spirit level which allowed us to make sure the camera was steady, especially on the uneven woodland floor.