Foundation Portfolio - Main Task Brief 

For my main task, I need to film the opening sequence of a new fiction film. This needs to include titles and soundtrack to last approximately two minutes. In order to plan for the task I have created a story board of the opening scene which is complete with camera shots and angles, directions for the actors to follow and directions for props and where they need to be. I will also add sound track notes which will help the actors know how to act to what music or how to perform an action to a certain sound effect. I also know that the main task needs to be complete with an introduction merged into the opening scene station who the director of the task is and rolling credits at the end to say who was involved in the making of the task. I know that the scene needs to include a variety of camera shots and angles in order to show my understanding of camera techniques, aswell as showing editing skills in the final clip to prove my ability in editing tasks.

My group did a pitching session in the lesson where we threw ideas in together and decided on a genre, a location, the characters that will be played and the theme. We have yet still to do the script, which will need to be written as a group so that there is no confusion on what people are saying.

This is my Preliminary task that I filmed and completed with my group as part of my media coursework. I used a variety of camera shots and angles that showed my skills in filming and camera work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZrskMkwUSU&feature=youtu.be

Mise-en-scene-Merlin

We watched a clip from the TV series Merlin and analysed how mise-en-scene was used to represent the different classes and status. The setting for the clip is in a medieval castle which shows instantly that there will be a bondage of classes from royalty to peasants. We saw Merlin who is a peasant have a fight with Arthur who is royalty. Their clothing also shows their different classes, with Merlin we saw him wearing a ragged t-shirt and jacket along with ripped trousers that are dirty. This reflects his status as a non-important peasant who isn't important. In contrast we saw Arthur wearing a bright red tunic with plates of armor in him for protection, this instantly displays his authority over Merlin and his status as royalty and power. 

The lighting also showed the difference in classes, when Merlin is in the castle room that he is not supposed to be in and gets caught by the woman, the room is well lit and highlights how wealthy the royals are because everything is lit up and colorful, whereas when we see outside, apart from the natural light of the sun, there isn't much artificial lighting showing how dark it is to live outside the castle as a peasant where there are no privileges, highlighting the major status difference between the two.

Props also highlight key differences between the two classes, in the clip when Merlin is in the castle we see various expensive items like stone pillars, big glass mirrors and huge wooded tables. Then when we saw the peasant village we saw old and cheap pots and pans, as well as numerous stone fires and makeshift shelters, highlighting the extreme difference in wealth and class, how the wealthy are much better of with everything there for them whilst the lower classes have to fend for them selves.

Movie Clips

(29/09/15)

We watched a clip from an action movie which featured an aggressive interrogation between two detectives and an accountant.  The first shot we see is a continuous shot showing us how the detectives walk into the room showing them as powerful before we even heard them speak. The director used multiple camera angles in the clip to express all the emotions in the room. The camera switched from face to face pausing for just a second to allow the audience time to think about how the characters may be feeling.

 We also learned how directors use different shots and combine them into one to make a whole scene. We looked at a car chase clip and analysed how the director used different angles to portray how the situation looked from the characters perspective, and how the sounds also make the scene feel different by rapidly changing the pace of music at different times.

Examples of editing

(29/09/15)

Editing describes the relationship between shots and the process by which they are combined. The relationship between shots may be graphic, rhythmic, spatial and/or temporal.

There are many different types of editing these include: 

Sound editing: where sound effects are added to a scene after shooting to make the scene more realistic and lively for the audience to watch.

Continuity: Where several shots appear together and seem to link together> the audience should not be able to notice where the cuts have been made.

Montage Political: This is where meaning is used to make meaning out of the sots used, usually in the style of 1920's

Montage Hollywood: used o present a story or important information in a short way used at the beginning to recap what happened previously in the film or show.

Transition: Is where the director moves from one shot to another, there are different types of cut such as straight cut, fade out and face up.

Wipe: This is where one image is replaced by another without dissolving, eliminating the first shot then replacing it with another shot.

Dissolve: This is where one image gradually move onto another one in a smooth transition.

History of editing

(29/09/15)

In 1908 D.W Griffiths created the film "for love of gold" that featured the first ever continuity cut for a scene. Griffiths also realized that he could express emotions through different camera angles and pace of editing and that it wasn't all down to the actors. 

In 1915 "Birth of a nation" was released and immediately caused heated debate about the meaning of it with racism and discrimination being accused of being shown in the film. Despite this it was a break through in terms of editing because it featured camera shots such as panoramic shot, long shot and still shot. 

The Kuleshov effect was discovered  by a soviet director called Lev Kuleshov. The effect was a montage effect that Lev believed the audience would respond more to. 

Before long, analog editing and digital editing made an appearance. Analog was slower and used before computers. The film negative was cut down and pasted into order. Digital editing was much quicker as it was on a computer, Footage is put onto a timetable and is then cut down  and is then pasted into order and then the effects are put in.

Since then, editing has greatly improved with advanced effects, high tech camera ability's and greater options for props. Special effects and sound effects have transformed editing with the ability to add almost anything via effects and sound effects bringing the ability to add any sound that's needed at any point. 

(22/09/15)

Sounds

In today's lesson we learnt about how sound is used to express a scene and how they are used in the film industry. We learnt about the different sound uses and how each one is used to express certain characters and locations, and even emotions. Some of the different kinds of sound use include:

• Diegetic- is any sound that is from a person or object that is within the field of vision for the audience.
• Non-diegetic- is any sound that comes from somewhere outside the audiences field of vision.
• Direct address- is when a narrator or character talks directly to the audience instead of characters in the actual film, this technique breaks the verisimilitude because it acknowledges the presence of the audience. 
• Sings- are short bursts of music, sometimes used to bump together different scenes.
• Sound Bridge- is where the sound continues across one or more cuts/transitions.

We also learnt that sound is one of the most important features of a film, even more than the actual picture, this is because with sound the audience is able to use their imagination. Whereas wit a picture, its already there and the audience have to just assume what sounds would go with it.

(22/0915) 

Lighting

In today's lesson we learned about the different kinds of lighting used in TV show. We watched a doctor who clip and analysed how the lighting was used to express different characters and the importance of certain scenes. We learned that there are are different types of lighting, 

Such as: 

• High Key- used to make a character or a location seem friendly, happy warm and safe. 
• Ambient- used to make a location or a character seem warm and welcoming
• Chiaroscuro- used to see the effect of low key lighting. Used to make a location or a character seem very dramatic or unusual.
• Naturalistic- used to make something seem more authentic
• Artificial- used to make something seem fake
• Accent light- used to highlight the audiences attention to a specific object or character
• Fill- used to fill the scene with light to express a particular scene

(14/09/15)

Uses and gratifications theory

In today's lesson we learned about the uses and gratifications theory, and how it applies in today's society. Understanding why we watch/seek out media and why we actively challenge what we see in the media. We learnt about the representations of sexuality, gender, social class, ethnicity, disability, regional identity and age and how different films and aspects of the media show stereotypes in different ways. We also learnt a simple way of what mise-en-scene means.

 Props
 Lighting
 Appearance
 Costume
 Expressions
 Setting

(10/09/15)

Camera Shots

In today's lesson I learned about camera shots and how the directer uses them to interact with the audience. We looked at a clip from the 2006 "Superman returns" directed by Bryon Singer, and picked out the different types of camera shots he used and why they were significant. We learned about how different directors use different types of camera angle and what the effect on the audience was. We looked at camera shots like birds eye, dutch angle and high angle shot and discussed when they would be used in a film and the significance of them. We discussed why certain shots were used such as:

• The high angle shot view was used to show how the security guards going up the stairs  were threatened and vulnerable to the gunner on the roof.
• The close up shot on superman's eye was used to emphasis how power he is and showing the fact that a bullet can bounce of his eye, showing how he is the most powerful character yet.
• The low angle shot was used to show the gunner from the police men's point of view, emphasizing the vulnerability of the police men to the overpowered bank robber.

(03/09/15)

From today's lesson I gained an understanding of what I need to achieve a good grade in Media Studies. I understand that I need to create weekly blogs in order to show my understanding and progress over the upcoming weeks. I also have a better understanding on what I need to include in my blogs. In the lesson I briefly looked at different news articals online such as the Guardian and the Daily Mail and how they presented different story's in different ways. http://www.theguardian.com/uk