Overall from the completing the preliminary task, I do not think my opening sequence would not have been as successful as it would have been if I had not done this. Reason being I would not have understood the importance of certain rules such as the 'Match On Action' and the 'Shot Reverse Shot' and the '180 degree rule'. I also from previous tasks the planning I.e. the story boards, production schedules, assets list and shot lists etc. Both tasks completed have been fun and interesting, and I can say that I have learnt a lot more about film making that will definitely help me for the future in film. In the opening I used the 'Match on Action' as this was the best and my most effective technique I used from the prelim. I did not use a 'Shot Reverse Shot' as there was no direct dialogue or close interactions between the two characters that were closely linked in order to see their reactions and emotions there fore it was not possible nor necessary.
Match on Action Shot Reverse Shot
Thinking up of the idea for the 'final'- When it came to the point where we had to come up with an idea for my final opening sequence as first I thought of a few ideas from books that I have read and always wanted to see a film version of them. I knew from the start that I wanted to create a 'Thriller' genre film. But when it came to planning the ideas I found it hard to create the storyline, so that it would create tension and suspense. From the ideas I thought of I would have had to change them around as they were quite complex but I could not work out the best ways to film them and for them to become understandable to the audience in the required 'two minutes'. So for this I thought I would need to come up with a more simpler yet effective idea. I did struggle with this stage as I had tried to focus so much on the previous ideas I was having less time to focus on a new simplier idea, which made my filming and post production stages to become more tight in the time sense. Unlike the previous tasks were we had an idea already I found it easier to plan and make the film successful (not to say the one I did alone was not successful).
Prelim and Final- For the preliminary task we had certain objectives to follow I.e to include someone entering a room through a door, sitting down on a chair and having a conversation with someone. Within this the '180 degree rule', 'Match on Action' and 'Shot Reverse Shot' had to be performed. Whereas in my 'final' opening sequence we had to make sure that our ideas were going to keep the a 'steady shot', 'good use of framing shots', using a 'variety of shot distances and shots', 'shooting material appropriate to the task', using factors of mise-en-scene such as 'colour', 'figure', 'lighting', 'objects' and 'setting', 'editing that is suitable to the idea' and using 'titles' appropriately. In my final I made sure I included each of these in order to create an effective opening sequence.
My example of 'Match on Action'
The difference between the both tasks were that the preliminary task required us working in groups which was an advantage so that there were more in put on idea, opinions and support was given from each member, whereas for the final I had to use my own idea, opinions and get feedback from possible viewers. This wasn't such a bad thing however it was good when I had another group member sharing their opinions when certain things were not working. The final task was more harder/challenging and time consuming but a great learning experience.
The purpose of my opening- The main purpose of the opening was to make a simple and effective opening that would show great editing, titles, filming especially as this was where I was being assessed, the acting and special effects etc had to be effective and convincing as it worked as an added bonus. Unlike the prelim task that was only a short task it did not require a lot of time for the filming, editing stages however this was slightly rushed due to the disruptions. We did put a lot of effort in to the prelim task as we would have benefitted from it when it came to doing our final as we would have a better understanding of timing and film quality.
Another reason for this is because I am a ‘perfectionist’ I like my work to be at a high standard all the time and I like it to be 'perfect' especially when it comes to media/filming. However it was important that I learnt the fact that not everything will go to plan when filming as of plenty of reasons and it will not always be completely perfect as there may are always be a few errors in even top ‘block buster’ films. Even considering this I still made sure that my filming was perfect and at the highest quality although I did notice a few continuity errors when watching the sequence over with family. But they didnt notice!
Planning process for both tasks- For both tasks the planning was so important as it helped me to prepare for the filming stages. The elements I had to include in the planning were the specific shots that I would be using, the equipment, props and costumes and most importantly the actors and the production schedule as this explained formally the days on which we were filming and times. I found the production schedule useful when it came to booking certain rooms (mainly for the prelim task) as it would prevent any disruptions for myself or other groups. An example of this was during the planning for the prelim task, we had asked if we could use a specific room that contained all the lighting equipment etc, as it was not properly booked other groups used the room when we were meant to use it this caused our filming to be delayed in which took us longer to film certain parts. This was also the case for filming in a corridor during school times, we had a lot of disruptions from the younger students (on their lunch break) walking, shouting etc through the corridoor, which was very annoying and delayed us even more time especially as we had written signs. So in the future if a prelim task is filmed during school time then I would re-schedule for outside of school hours when we would be less likely for disruptions.
Learning and the Filming- I had learnt that a filming process without any errors, problems, disputes is highly unlikely. I found this in both tasks. From the prelim task each group member was entitled to have an opinion. They were allowed to share their ideas that constructive critisms when some ideas did not work. I learnt that it always best to try different ideas out until you achieve the best and most suitable in order to make your film a success.
The filming task for my final was a long, tiring and quite stressful process for me. The disruptions and errors that encountered left me feeling very frustrated. Despite feeling like this I had to be profressional and push it off and make sure that the actors were happy and comfortable with what they were asked to do.
I made it clear to the actors that they were not to feel obliged to perform any actions or talking parts that they did not feel comfortable with as my main obligations were to make sure that they were happy with their roles. I felt that a main responsibility of mine (being the director and producer) was to keep track of the actors were warmth, and hunger levels when filming. So before the filming process I made sure that they were fed and were warm enough for the outside filming. I made sure that i was very professional and organised throughout the process and also using time schedules that fit around both actors and me.
Food I prepared after a long period of filming :p
Influences and Research- Through research and stories of trying to find different ideas for my opening I spent a lot of time watching a whole variety of different thriller openings which I really enjoyed. I also read over two of my favourite books (that I have mentioned in my ideas in a previous post) to try and work out a good range of ideas to choose from. Whilst watching the films I closely analysed the situations and shots and all key elements that were required in my film. Such films I watched were 'Panic Room', 'Secret Window', 'DEJA VU', 'The Game', 'Casino Royale', Quantum of Solace', 'Flight Plan', 'Taxi Driver' and a few more. Also after watching the openings of these I used one of the features that allows you to watch over the film but with the director using a 'voice over' which talks about how they made the film and why they used certain elements. An example of one that I watched recently was the 'Twilight Sagas- New Moon', I throughly enjoy listening to these and learning about their ideas and reasons on why they use certain shots. This also helps me to widen my knowledge of different shots. (However I do have to keep watching them in order to remember them) This research was also used to help me get an idea of the type of things they use in order to achieve their target audience.
Factors to consider and the major problem I encounterd-
When explaining the actions and directing the actors I had to be thorough with explaining as I find it hard to describe and explain things. This eventually got easier for my as I got used to the idea of directing.
Similarly to the prelim task, rather than shooting just one shot of each section we shot more that three, this was so that when it came to editing and cutting the footage we would have more options to choose from. Also with this we tried from different angles similar shots, this was so we could see what ones worked better. I followed the same sort of process went filming my opening sequence, also along with this I got a variety of different 'back up' shots. The purpose of this was so that when it came to post production if a few of the original shots that I had got wern't as efficient or effective or did not come out as well I would have extra or better effective shots. Using these extra shots and or the back up shots gave me gave me more advantage for post-production i.e. editing as it meant that I could chose from a wider variety of different shots and which ones were the best which gave suitable lighting, acting, shot accuracy, steady hand etc.
I did not use very many of my back up shots due to the limited timing of the sequence. Here examples as stills:
ADD THE SHOTS OF THE 'KITCHEN- TAP SHOTS AND KETTLE SHOTS'
The first filming session for my final sequence did not go well for me. The reason for this was because I had worked and planned out that I would use 'Greenhithe station' as the opening shot for my opening as it showed a good variety of lighting and normal process people carry out in the evening I.e. coming out of the station walking home, getting on or off the bus etc. This shot was spoilt because of the inconsiderate youths and members of the public trying to purposely disrupt the footage. This made me frustrated as I spent a lot of time preparing for that specific filming time and location. This also effected me and the female actors comfort, and because of the size of the camera it drew a lot of attention to public which made me feel vulnerable (bearing in mind this was shot in the winter when it gets darker early). Also Due to weather condtions made it harder as the disruptions meant that we had to stay outside in the cold for longer. Eventually I got tired of the disruptions so we packed up and moved locations. This was much different to working in a school environment as telling students to go elsewhere would have a much different approach to telling youths outside of school as they were far more intimidating.
However because of this and the use of back up shots I came up with an even better idea i.e the shot of the male in the car window mirror- 'extreme close up' which enabled my very opening to be more effective which certainly made me feel much better; especially from the great constructive feedback I recieved.
Back up Location
Back up shot
Final Product- I am very happy with the final result of my film. Although there are a few errors it was a learning process for me and i now understand a lot more about the filming process and industry. I had gone more in depth in understand about ‘film companies’, ‘distributors’ and ‘production companies’ which have improved my knowledge and will help me in the future. I thoroughly enjoyed the film process and directing stages and in fact I know have gained more ideas and goals that i want to learn and achieve in order to get in to the film industry.
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