We were given the task to create a short film using various techniques, shots and professional editing for our preliminary and given the chance to decide which scenario we would like to pick out of three pre-made scripts. We chose the ‘phone’ scenario which interested us because of the suspense given off by the scripts linked well with our own idea of the main film opening we will produce.
We began by creating our own story board of the scenario plotting in various shot types and angles, this gave us the opportunity to play around with these shot types and find ways to express that suspense we know can be achieved from this scenario. Once we had created the storyboard, we had to find suitable actors that were free in that lesson and up for starring in the movie clip. This turned out to be one of us in Harry Warner and Dan Perrins, who was both eager and desperate to partake in the movie clip. Now although they weren’t the best of actors, it was only the preliminary task and this would give us a good understanding of how good our actors should be in the real film judging on how badly or good the preliminary task turns out to be.
Our opening did not include opening credits or production/company logos which will be needed in the main film. Aside from that the first shot of a close up is how most films begin, it builds up a beginning and doesn’t confuse the viewer for they are just concentrating on one object, whereas if we were to start with an establishing shot it will be more confusing for the viewer. This is why we started with a close up of a phone that is ringing. Then the next shot was one taken a bit further away from the object, allowing the viewer to slowly establish the surroundings without confusion as well as focusing on the object which in this case is the phone. The next shot was a big close up of the phone once more but up against the characters ear, which is when the first piece of dialogue came in “He’s here… got it?… yep… okay… bye…” at which point the shot finished and the next shot of the character placing the phone on the table and turning to the other character in the room with him began, we chose to go with a two shot for this part as it establishes that they are in the same room and is always the beginning of a conversation. During that shot the other character says “is it sorted” which automatically gets the viewer engaged and asking questions like ‘what is sorted?’. The next shot was the beginning of a series of over shoulder shots to carry on the conversation; however we forgot one of the most important rules of them all which was the 180 degree rule. We managed to film the wrong side of both shoulders of the characters which confuses the viewer and must always be avoided. The movie clip ends with an extreme shot of the characters lips Saying the words “you’ll see” which leaves it on a cliff hanger and builds the suspense.
We edited our movie on final cut express because according to our sources it is the one most professionals use and it seemed fairly easy to get around and edit our movie. Once we had inserted each clip we began to cut each one to make them shorter and flow more smoothly. This was very easy to do on final cut. Once we had cut all the shot individually we then added a soundtrack in the background quietly. We chose a tense and slow tune to fit the suspense of the movie clip. Once we added that, we rendered everything and posted it on YouTube for all to view.
Our editing went well and better than we thought it would be, making great progress quickly and finishing the task within the allocated time we were given as guidelines. This enabled us to create something that was not very high quality into something worth watching as the editing made the film more viewable. As well as the editing, we also got the choice of shot type’s right because it built the suspense and fitted the dialogue very well. The added music was also a good choice as it made the film less empty than it was before, and it was also a good choice of music as it also fitted the genre and dialogue of the movie clip very well.
However, there were many faults in the production of this movie clip which included: the 180 degree rule failed, bad acting, unstable shots (camera wouldn’t hold still) and the lack of control over the actors for they were never in a professional frame of mind. This can be avoided by: revising all the rules of editing in media, pick carefully the actors and make sure you view there acting before hand, bring along a tripod and make sure the actors/actresses are well disciplined or be patient and wait for the perfect shot before rushing into it and moving onto the next shot. Thanks to these faults in our preliminary we can now learn from these mistakes and improve upon them and apply these solutions to the problems we faced to our film opening for our official assessment.
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