Preliminary video task

This is our preliminary video that we made to help us develop skills to use in our actual film opening. We included examples of match on action shots (the shots showing her walking through the door at the beginning), shot reverse shots (between her and the sandwich), and we kept to the 180 degree rule. This task helped us to understand the various effects of combining shots and different shot lengths, for example we thought the build up of intensity made through the repetition of the shot reverse shots was effective.

However, when making the real film opening I think that we should add a greater variety of shots and more camera movement to make the story more engaging, as well as improving the editing to make the film smoother and less disorientating for the audience. Furthermore, the mixture of different genres and styles in this preliminary video - the horror aspects of the soundtrack and the Western style intense shot-reverse-shot of her and the sandwich - are not particularly clear. To develop and improve this, we will research into the conventions of various genres if we continue with this multi-genre style.



Preliminary Task Requirements

There are three main requirements to consider when creating the video for the preliminary task.

1) Match on action
This is a technique that is significant in relation to continuity editing. After a shot is filmed, the cut to the next shot matches the image of the previous one, giving the feel of continuous time. For example, a shot of someone opening a door is followed by a shot of the door opening from the other side, though in reality it isn't necessarily the same one.

2) The 180 degree rule

The 180 degree rule states that the camera should only film from angles within a set 180 degree radius around the characters. If many shots from different angles are shown together it can disorientate the audience, stopping them understanding the content of the scene.

3) Shot/ reverse shot technique

This technique is a common convention used when filming dialogue. A shot is filmed from a certain angle, for example, of a person in conversation. The next shot will be the same but from the opposite, or reverse, angle. These can be used in quick succession to gives the audience the impression of continuous interaction between two characters, or to show a character's reaction to something.