POST #13 - CAMERA SHOTS AND ANGLES [COURSEWORK]

Hello!!

So, as a part of mine and Emily's coursework agreement, we have split up the booklet so that we can steal each other's blog posts without getting into trouble! :D

So, here's Emily's blog post about Camera Shots and Angles! :D

"Different types of camera shot:
Extreme long shot:
This shot can be taken from as far as a quarter of a mile away. Because of the length away, it is usually used for setting the scene and establishing the beginning of the movie. Also, it commonly shows the outside (a landscape, the outside of  house, etc.). The distance means that it will have very little detail shown in the shot. 
Long shot:
Generally, this shot is the closest to 'life size' shots. Because of the size, it is easier to compare the size and shape of the objects in the shot. 
Medium shot:
Usually, this contains roughly 'half' of a figure. It may be from the waist up and because of this, this shot is particularly used in scenes with dialogue. This is because it is low enough to see the persons movements and what they are doing with their hands, but is close enough to see the facial features of the person. Because of this, it enables the audience to see the emotion of the scene, and what is actually going on in the scene. 
Close-up:
This shot shows very little background because it is concentrated majorly on either a face or a particular object. This shot is good for a more dramatic scene as it can effectively add emotion and focus on someone/something. 
Extreme Close-up:
An extreme close up is seemingly like a magnifying glass, as it is so zoomed in. It can be used to see a certain object in particular detail. 

Camera Angles:
Bird's-Eye view:
Birds-eye view is simply the view from above. It is called this as if a bird looked down, the camera angle would show what the bird would be seeing. 
High Angle:
A high angle is quite a dramatic angle, as it takes the shot from above. However, it is not as high or sharp as the Birds-Eye view. 
Eye Level:
Eye level is a rather ordinary shot and is taken from the 'horizon' line. It is usually used to frame a persons facial features. 
Low Angle:
The low angle is similar to the eye level, however, it is slightly lowered. It can be used to increase the height of an actor, which can be helpful for those playing a role that is taller than themselves. 
Oblique/Canted Angle:
This angle is tilted to the side. It can be used to suggest general imbalance, for example, if a character was drunk or falling over, this angle could be used. 
Worm's-Eye:
Essentially, Worms-Eye is the opposite of Birds-eye. Rather than being taken from above, this is taken from the ground. It gives the illusion of power, as the subject towers over the camera. 

You should use a selection of different shots and angles as it makes the film more engaging. 
By changing the angle, it can create a particular mood- if a shot is taken using Worms-Eye, it can make a person appear intimidating, which would make the scene darker. 
Also, you can use different shots to change the perspective, so that the events are perceived from a different characters point of view. This can make you sympathise for certain characters more (or in some cases, less). 

Examples of effective camera shots:
Harry Potter and the Chamber of secrets:

In the opening few seconds of this film, the camera pans through clouds in the nights sky. The movie begins at an extreme long shot that is at a very high angle. It appears to be in the point of view of an owl, as the camera is 'flying' and breaks through the cloud layer. It pans across Harry's street from above and comes to rest at his house. 
I think this is effective as it already 'sets the scene' for the movie- it is flying which is almost magical, which is what the movie is about. 

It's kind of a funny story:

At the beginning of this scene, the main character simply says "It starts with a bridge" over a blank screen. The camera then 'turns on' and the scene begins on a long shot of a bridge. It is at a low level looking upwards towards the sky and when the focus changes, it turns into an eye level shot. The camera is moving forward, as if it was in a car or a bike. This is effective as it is in the perspective of the main character and shows the audience what they are seeing and feeling. 

James Bond, Skyfall:
This scene opens on a rather normal camera angle. It is at Eye-level and the character steadily gets closer to the camera, so the shot rapidly gets closer. The picture is blurry, yet comes into focus as James gets nearer. It is effective as it obscures the character so we don't actually know who it is, until the camera becomes less blurry. We are relieved to see that he is James Bond.

What effect does shorter shot lengths have?
Shorter shot lengths are usually used in order to concentrate on a specific object or person. They can be used to portray an expression as the background is out of focus. 
What effect does longer shot lengths have?
Longer shots can be used to establish a setting. It can be used to sweep over and 'set' the scene for a film. Also, they can be used to portray an interaction between characters. Moreover, it can be used to show a prolonged section of emotion in a characters face- it can create empathy for the character if we see a long shot of them crying etc.  

Overall, camera angles and shots can be used to portray many different things. If used correctly, they can be used successfully to set a scene or to portray emotion."

Thanks Emily :D

~ Noah C :D

POST #12 - THE COURSEWORK AWAKENS [VIDEO DIARY UPDATE, COURSEWORK]

There has been an awakening... I'm not looking forward to it.

So, hello!

This blog post is going to be a little bit different... since it's a video blog! Or "vlog", whatever.

Enjoy!



~ Noah C :D

POST #11 - MAKING A STORY FROM A PICTURE [PRACTICE]

Hello!

So today, we were told to find a random picture on the internet in the groups we intended to work in for our coursework. We did so, with no context of what we would do with the picture.

Emily and I chose a picture of a cool, angry cat staring out of a window.


After every group had chosen a picture (ours was the best/most cat), we were told to create a story which would revolve around what was in the picture, and write it in 3 sheets.
Each sheet would be a different layer of the storyline and aspects of it, e.g. sheet 1 would be the story on a basic surface level, and sheet 3 would be going right into the nooks and crannies of the storyline.

SHEET 1

WHO? - "The Cat is a person who has been trapped in a cat. He is John Cena"
 <-- This is John Cena.


WHAT? - "The Cat's in front of a window"


WHEN? - "Nowadays"


WHERE? - "At his stately home in America"


WHY? - "Somebody was sick of the John Cena memes, and wanted to defeat him"

SHEET 2

WHO? - "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson turned John Cena into a cat. He was sick of the memes"


WHAT? - "He is plotting revenge against Dwayne"


WHEN? - "Tomorrow"


WHERE? - "John is trapped in a kennel"


WHY? - "He is trying to escape to get his body back and defeat Dwayne"

SHEET 3

WHO? - "Dwayne gets the abilities from Crandalf the Fabulous. He can turn John into a cat with these. If Dwayne fails, Crandalf will turn him (Dwayne) into a cat. JC and Dwayne need to team up at the end to defeat Crandalf. Dwayne is being mind controlled."


WHAT? - "He is plotting revenge against Dwayne"


WHEN? - "Tomorrow"


WHERE? - "John is trapped in a kennel"


WHY? - "He is trying to escape to get his body back and defeat Dwayne"

So... we certainly have an... interesting... story.
Emily was the main driving force of the story, so we have her to thank :D

Anyways, coursework soon coming up. Ech.

~ Noah C :D

POST #10 - FILM OPENING RESEARCH [COURSEWORK RESEARCH]

Hello all!
Today, I'm going to be analysing and deconstructing 3 film openings, that last 2 minutes, plus 3 student made 2 minute film openings!. So, first question is...

WHAT IS EXPECTED OF A FILM OPENING?

*How much of the plot is introduced in the opening 2 minutes?

*How many key characters are there?

*Is there much dialogue?

*How many locations are there?

*What are the credits like?

So, if that's what we need to analyse the opening, let's get into the examples!
Firstly, I've chosen Deadpool, by Marvel and 20th Century Fox.


The opening involves the camera traveling around a frozen shot of the film, right in the middle of an action scene; this is probably done to have an opening that doesn't start at the beginning of the storyline. There is one key character shown nearer the end, which is Deadpool himself. He was probably saved until the end since he has a build up reveal, due to the massive fan following he has, and the filmmakers probably wanted to keep the fans in suspense for a bit.
The opening credits are DEFINITELY more satirical than serious. They play on the clichés of action/superhero movies, by having the names of the actors replaced with "God's Perfect Idiot" (a play on Ryan Reynolds), "Directed by An Overpayed Tool", etc.
There is no dialogue at all, only the song "Angel of the Morning" by Juice Newton.
The only setting is the car on the bridge, since it is just a freeze frame.
None of the plot is introduced in the opening 2 minutes, since as a comedy film, it should open with a good joke... and it delivers.

Secondly is Toy Story, by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures.



This film opening starts off with Andy playing with his toys, with the main character of Woody being introduced as the hero of both the film and this scene. Other characters, such as Rex, Slinky, Hamm and Mr. Potato Head are also introduced, but only as the characters Andy assigns onto them. After the game is done, the song "You've Got A Friend In Me" by Randy Newman starts playing, and it shows Andy playing with Woody throughout his house.
None of the plot is introduced in this opening, since it's more focused on setting the tone and some light lore; Woody is Andy's favourite toy, and is always the hero.
The main character, Sheriff Woody, is introduced in this opening, as stated before, as the hero of this story.
The titles are used in the "blank" areas where nothing is happening. Instead of highlighting the stars of the film, e.g. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, it focuses on showing the animators and more behind the scenes members.
The only spoken dialogue is from Andy, who speaks "for" Woody, Mr Potato Head (known in this segment as "One-Eyed Bart"), and Bo Peep. However, there is a song which is sung by Randy Newman.
The main location is Andy's room, but we see small snippets of the rest of his house as he plays with Woody.

My last movie choice is Avengers: Age of Ultron, by Marvel Studios.


The intro involves The Avengers going through a forest in one continuous shot, fighting HYDRA spies while they go. After around a minute of fighting, it shows Iron Man and Captain America trying to bring down the shield around HYDRA's base.
Some light plot points are shown, such as HYDRA being one of the enemies, and establishing which Avengers team is used.
There are 7 main characters shown; Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and JARVIS, who later becomes Vision.
There is dialogue, which is as follows:

Iron Man: Shit!

Captain America: Language! JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?

JARVIS: The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken.

Thor: Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it. At long last.

Black Widow: At long last is lasting a little long, boys.

Hawkeye: Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise.

Iron Man: Wait a second. No one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said "language?"

Captain America: I know. It just slipped out.

There are two main locations; inside and outside of the HYDRA base in the fictional location of Sokovia. The inside is meant to look like a castle that has been lightly repurposed into an engine of war, and the outside is a snowy forest.

There are no title credits at all, which is probably best since they would distract from all the action; plus, Marvel movies normally keep their titles that would usually be in the intro for a small clip before the mid-credits scene, seen here.

Now, I'll analyse 3 A-Level, student made openings.

First up is an intro by a student with the username "Ben Joels", which I'd safely guess is his real name.


It follows a journalist who tells the audience the truth about competitive racing, and how he was one of the "lucky ones."
There is only one location, which is a racetrack. They don't do too much with it, but there are some fairly nice visuals of some cars speeding along the track.
The credits are fairly bland and seem too forced. They're fairly simple edits, but they don't last long enough. Plus, the film studio credit was taken from another studio; Warner Bros.
The main character is introduced, and we know that he is a journalist who writes about racing.
The only dialogue is from the journalist talking about the "secret world of racing"; however, the speech is very clichéd at many points, and is both bland and predictable.
There is very little plot given away. It mainly focuses on establishing what happened in the past.
The second intro is by "Aiden Stent." It too has no title.

It follows a man in a mask waiting for another man. Once the other gets there, he's immediately pushed over and is threatened by the masked man. He then escapes, and after a pursuit, the masked man gives up trying to catch him, and drops his mask.
There is only one location, which looks like a small train station. Unlike the first A-Level opening, they use it fairly well, given the limited potential of a station. Having people doing flips during the pursuit while using the location to assist that really helps bring more life to it.
There are no opening titles, which is good, since it might distract from the action and suspense.
Some light plot elements are introduced, such as the Masked Man is a man with a lot of power, and that the other man has had experiences with him before, and owes him money.
There is dialogue, but a lot of it is too quiet or too distorted. The only pieces of dialogue I could make out were "Where's my money?" and "I don't give a f*ck about your business."
There are only 2 key characters shown; the Masked Man and the Other Man.

The third opening I chose was by "LogicOfLois", which was titled "Carnage."



It involves two people running through a forest, and gives off a strong indication that one is chasing the other. It ends off with one character, using a rifle, shooting a woman while she has her back turned.
There are two characters introduced, the man with a gun and the woman. We learn nothing about them, apart from one of them is running from the other and that one owns a gun.
There is no dialogue exchanged between anyone.
There are some titles, but they really distract from the rest of the opening, since they fully cut away from the story.
There is only one setting, which is a forest. They don't really use it to the best of it's potential, but it is used as well as the plot would allow.
There are not very many plot details revealed, but all the audience can assume that is one of the characters is in trouble with the other, and has done something so terrible that they had to be shot.

Phew, this post took a while. Worth it though.

Well, my next phew posts will be about coursework... fun(!)

~ Noah :D

POST #9 - OUR FILM OPENING (PART 2) [MISE-EN-SCENE]

[THIS IS UNFINISHED I'M SORRY]

Hello!

Here's Part 2, which I did NOT subtitle "Electric Boogaloo". Shame. Fun fact, that subtitle is from a movie that was apparently atrocious, called "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo".

Anyways, back to the project.

FINAL IDEAThe final idea we settled on was of two boys, who had been murdered, stalking and watching a man as he leaves his workplace.

It would start out with the man working on his computer for a few seconds, and then getting up to leave. Before he does leave however, he picks up a newspaper quickly and we see the headline: "BOYS BUTCHERED". He throws the newspaper in the bin, and then leaves the office.

It cuts to him walking down a path, presumably to his house. However, as he walks past some trees, two boys, blood covered and muddy handed are seen peering through the trees. They're ghosts; but this is shown to the audience by having the boys doing something fairly loud and active, and the man pays no attention. It then ends with the man walking through a gate, and the boys have somehow appeared right behind him.

FINAL CHARACTERS AND CASTING
<wendy>

FINAL LOCATION
The final location we chose was the office Megan's dad has in their house, it said office but it didn't specify what type of office and, since we couldn't get hold of an office in the city centre, we chose to use the office in my house, but we won't make it obvious or known that it is a home office as the scene after is him walking through Kett's Park, on the path that leads from the estate to the business estate on his way home so it would make no sense having him walk from his house to his house; It wouldn't be what we were looking to achieve. ~ Megan

PROP LIST
Not many props are used; one we had to make is a newspaper cover. I took that task on, by taking a logo from "The Daily Bugle" from the Spider-Man movies (I thought it'd be a cool Easter egg), and constructing some fake headlines around it, including "Is Dat Boi REALLY Waddup?" and "Touis Lomlinson leaves 'Wrong Direction'" I then added in some random words to make it seem like there was a story on the front.

The only other props we really needed were the office scenery, but that was all already there, such as a computer, documents, etc.

COSTUME
<wendy>

FINAL LIGHTING PLANS
Our final lighting plans to meet the specification, is we're going to film the part with artificial lighting when its dark outside to the artificial light shows up even more, or just simply film with the lights on and to film the second half with the main character walking home outside to fulfil the natural lighting aspect. ~ Megan

BEHIND THE SCENES IMAGES


FINAL VIDEO
AUDIENCE FEEDBACK




~ Noah C :D

POST #8 - OUR FILM OPENING (PART 1) [MISE-EN-SCENE]

[THIS IS UNFINISHED I'M SORRY]

Hello!

So... another Film Opening. But this time, it's focusing on mise-en-scene! :O

My group (group consisting of me, Megan and Wendy), were given 5 post-it notes which gave us the mise-en-scene elements we should use for our new 2-Minute opening. I'll mention these later on.

Along with those post-it notes, we were given two sheets that had 20 questions between them, and so we've split them up so we get a fair amount each. So, here is Part 1, or Sheet 1, or whatever you want to call it.

WHAT WAS THE TASK?
<megan>

WHAT ELEMENTS OF MISE-EN-SCENE WERE WE GIVEN?
Well, there are the 5 elements of mise-en-scene in general, which are Props, Location, Cast, Costume and Lighting. Oh, and from some sources, they say Décor as well, but we probably paired that up with Props. The elements we got were:

- Props - Newspaper

- Location - Office

- Lighting - Artificial and Natural

- Costume - Muddy Hands

- Cast - Two 7-11 year old boys

... Yay :3
We found that most of them were easy to deal with, except the Cast, since we couldn't think of anyone immediately. Eventually we did find a pair (Megan's cousins).

INITIAL PLOT IDEAS
*Looking at the elements of mise-en-scène, we came up with different genres in order to create a plot, as the genre will effect the mood of the film and therefore will need an appropriate plot to suit the mood. Our first interpretation of the mise-en-scene elements we received was to create a light-hearted film, perhaps a coming-of-age romance or a generic romantic comedy. 
An idea we thought of was using the boys as minor characters in order to bring two characters together. For example, an adult male character asked the two boys for help in order to get a girls attention, and the boys would conceive a mischievous plan in order to do this.

The second idea was a family film. Two boys are waiting in their mum's office for her to finish work. They're obviously bored and their mum is paying no attention to them. They find a newspaper on her desk and begin to make paper airplanes with it and throw it at their mum, but they stop when she scolds them. They constantly try to get her attention but she doesn't give it to them. They take their mum's potted plant and wipe the soil all over her office without her noticing.

Our final idea was for horror.
It started with a man being in an office on his computer (artificial light), he then packs up to go home. Before he leaves the office, he picks up a newspaper that reads 'Two Boys Murdered' and throws it in the bin. The man goes to leave the office and tension begins to build before it become overwhelming with suspense due to tense music. At this point a man is going down the elevator, and the music cuts out when the music cuts out, making it anticlimactic. The elevator doors open revealing an empty corridor. The man leaves the building and when he gets outside he sees a child crying. The other child is then joined by his twin, who has a twisted smile on his face. The man asks if they're alright, but then he looks behind them (what's behind them isn't revealed) and looks frightened before starting to run away. The opening finishes with the man being dragged off.* ~ Wendy (some light edits)

CASTING IDEAS

*The first idea was to use Megan's brother and his friends, since they were 12/13; only just outside the age bracket. But when I spoke to them, I realised they look much older than they are. Therefore, they wouldn't fit the age bracket.
 The second idea was that the only boys around that age (or similar looking to that age) were Megan;s cousins; they were a convenient casting choice, as the boys live in Wymondham, and her aunty trusts me to look after them. Megan texted her aunt Emma to see whether they were able and willing to act for us, this is what she said.

 So they seem like the best option as they are both free that day and willing.

The other character we need, the man working in an office hasn't been decided yet, the two options we had were Megan's dad, because then my aunty might feel a little more comfortable with an adult there, especially if we were planning on filming in the city centre. I asked him in person and he said he was more than willing to help.. However, if he backs out, Wendy's boyfriend said he was more than happy to help also.* ~ Megan (some light edits)

LOCATION IDEAS/RESEARCH
We had to choose where to film, more specifically, we had to choose an office.
Megan almost immediately mentioned how her dad worked in an office, and how she could check if her dad would let us into and film in the office(s).

However, we did have to come up with a backup location in case we couldn't film in the first office proposal. We came up with filming in one of the offices in school, most likely on one of the days during October half term when no-one will be working in the offices.

Wendy also had an idea of having an elevator scene in the opening, and we considered using the elevators in the Riverside car park.



But we thought that it could be awkward filming, since other people are going to want to use the elevator, so we did also consider using the stairwell near them. In fact, the lighting and conditions of the stairwell is fairly creepy looking, so it'll fit the genre well.

PROP RESEARCH/IDEAS
*The prop we required for the film opening was a newspaper. There were many ways this could have been featured, for example one of the characters could have been briefly reading it and it would be an insignificant feature in the film. We decided to use this prop as a plot device by hinting to the audience as to who the two boys featured are at the end - the ghosts of the newspaper featured characters (Two Boys Murdered). This would therefore give a subtle hint to the audience, as well as actually play a role in the film as opposed to being a pointless feature. In order to create this custom newspaper, we decided to design a front page cover to the newspaper and then fold the front cover over a genuine newspaper to add depth and make it realistic as a newspaper.* ~ Wendy

COSTUME RESEARCH/IDEAS
*Both of our ideas so far have been horror or thriller based so we were going to have the boys dressed in their usual clothes, but with some fake blood, we were also given the must have of muddy hands so they will have to feature somehow on the boy, also the fact our setting is an office means the man who is getting scared will most likely be in a suit or work attire.* ~ Megan

LIGHTING RESEARCH/IDEAS
The lighting we got was a mixture of artificial and natural light. This meant we have to use bulbs and the sun/moon. We decided that the artificial lighting could be done with the office, since it will obviously have the lights in the ceiling.
With the natural light, we thought that just filming "outside the office" settings would be good, since it'll be outside and either the sun will be out or the moon might be bright enough to give a unique looking light source.
However, there could be an opportunity for both at the same time; if we film later on in the day, there will probably be light from the moon and from the street lights.

TARGET AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
<wendy>

FILMING PLAN/SCHEDULE
*After checking when actors were free, we have all decided that Monday 24th of October is the best day for everyone, also considering public transport is more regular on a weekday for anyone living outside on Wymondham and Norwich, we're filming in the afternoon because the evening is too grainy for camera quality and the morning is difficult for people to get to our location.* ~ Megan

So, that concludes part 1. For anything that is quoted in *stars*, it is taken from Megan and Wendy's blog, since... you know... we split up the questions.

Join me again soon for Our Film Opening Part 2: Electric Boogaloo.

See ya!

~ Noah C :D