Studio Lesson 4: Preliminary Task

Yesterday, we were not introduced to anything new, instead we were asked to create a task including shooting all different angles and producing a build up of tension and suspense throughout a sequence. We were put into groups of 4, my group included Georgia, Cesca, Jess and myself. Jess and I were playing actresses in this sequence and Georgia was made the director, following by Cesca being the camera director. Personally, I feel my group worked very effectively together and successfully achieved many positive outcomes.

We were given a stimulus to follow, involving a sheet with specific angles to include, however, we accurately went beyond this task and filmed different shots and angles to create originality and to help include our initial thoughts. We used a Sony NX5 camera and placed it correctly on a tripod and quickly began our filming. Fortunately, placing it on a tripod was fast and easy as we have had lots of practice and therefore this does not waste any time. I understood we needed to include shots, technical terms and many more points we had learnt in previous lessons to create a successful sequence, for instance, remembering the 180 degree rule and quoting directors dialogue.

Firstly, throughout filming the rushes we learnt it is vital that we film the whole scene from start to end for all the different angled shots. This is very useful and effective when starting to edit our sequences as we will have a number of different shots but all producing the same amount of time and subject; for example, when we want to match up two different shots it will allow smoother transitions and will be achieved in a much quicker time. Our filming was introduced with a wide shot of the scene as it is very important to set the scene. Continuing, we directed our first sequence to have myself walking in through the door, and immediately quoting the first line of the scene; we initially intended myself to straight away start speaking to add quicker pace and sudden tension.  Secondly, we filmed many more shots, including over the shoulder shots, close ups, extreme close ups and more wide angles, however, I think we should of shot a long shot of the characters feet walking in and out the situation. I learnt by including extreme close up shots it allows the audience to appreciate the characters facial reactions and how they are feeling through expressions. Similarly we shot a close up of the hockey stick being snatched out of the character ‘B’s’ hand to enhance the tension and exaggerate the viewers response.

At the beginning of shooting we considered how to include different new sounds and techniques learnt. For instance, at the end of our rushes we used a pleonastic sound of the door slamming behind me to create suspense and continue to build the tension in the shot. For our use of location we directed our sequence to be filmed in a classroom and decided to include a hockey stick as our prop to achieve mysterious thoughts and to maybe seek more tension. We used post it notes with ‘x’s on to increase the continuity of the scene and to allow correct direction from the director at all times.

We completed this task in order to help us to continue to practice our skills to lead up to our thrillers and to feel more comfortable within shooting the rushes. Personally, I feel this preliminary task helped me to understand the contrast between the first lesson of filming and this lesson, as I felt more confident using the devices and technical terms; this was therefore very beneficial and made me feel more eager to continue practicing and filming in future.  In my opinion, we didn’t run out of time, we didn’t get distracted easily and we worked effectively to achieve the best outcome possible, this was helped my correct team members in my group with their attitude and discipline towards the task. To prepare for next time when filming rushes I would continue to work quicker and practice the different filming angles in my own time.