Media Studies- The Evaluation

Before we created the actual thriller piece, we were to carry out a preliminary (prelim) task. The task given was that we made a one minute clip on a short conversation of some sort. It can be in any situation as long as we kept to 180 degree rule. This is where we have to keep to one side of the action. If we do have to go the other side then we would have to make it clear to the audience that this is what we are doing. For this we would have to have a shot of panning around the other side of the action. We also have to remember about shot reverse shot which is where you have in a conversation; the shot would go to whoever is talking. It can also be an over the over the shoulder shot.

Kidnap

This is one of the freeze frames we used to introduce the characters in the short clip. We thought this was one of the best ‘movie style’ ways to show it the names. We thought that a medium shot from the character would be appropriate so the audience can see what sort of clothes he’s wearing to give the audience first impressions on what this will be about. For example: whether it is formal or informal. With the shirt and tie it is suggesting that it will be formal.
We also gave each character a different colour on each freeze frame to add a bit of personality and variety so it separates them from each other.

 

In this shot, the camera zooms right into the watch in that scene and then zooms out of a different watch in a different setting with another character.
The first thing I notice in this screen shot is the lighting on the hand. One side of the watch is dark and the other is clearly visible so when doing my thriller I would have to think about this.
Camera shot wise this is going from a close up to an extreme close up to a close up to a medium shot over the shoulder.
This now gives us the impression than two characters have some sort of meeting, gradually bringing up tension as the camera shots are quite quick. Also being with the girl brings the mystery up a bit more.

 

This shot shows one character pulling another along the corridor. It is a cross between a long shot and a medium shot to showing the majority of their bodies and the corridor.
The lighting in the shot makes it clear to us what’s happening. The lights in the corridor also add effect as it looks like it goes on forever.

 

We thought a CCTV camera look would be appropriate for this kind of scene as it gets straight to the action and you would expect action to be taken from CCTV. This shot is the first bit of important that is given to us telling what’s going on. We used a long shot so it gets both of the characters in as well as the setting.

Over all I think we used a variety of shots. We used a lot of medium shots and which changed in between each other especially when the female and male characters were walking up the corridor. Taking in feedback from our class mates who reviewed it, we were told that at one point the 180 degree rule was broken when the male character worked into the meeting room. After having a closer look we did see the problem so this would be something to look out for when creating the thriller clip. But in context on shots, we did use medium shots, long shots, close ups, extreme close ups, over-the-shoulder shots and we also had shot reverse shot which was one of the elements we had to include. As well as the type of shots, we also used a varied amount of angles, from in the middle to high angled shots. However, there wasn’t any from the floor facing up wards so we should think on that in our thriller as this would show more authority over characters. We also used match on action when we switched from looking at the watch, zooming out of the watch in the different room. We thought that zooming into it and out was very effective because as an audience, we wouldn’t expect it. I thought our titles were also quite effective, very film like, because we made the shot freeze whilst we read the titles so we didn’t miss anything. Also at the end, we thought that when we were closing the extract, the music started before the credits started.

We didn’t have too many problems with the lighting over the shots because they were simply natural lights. However we could have had a bit more neutral lighting on the characters when they are talking. Maybe stage lanterns would be the most appropriate at about 50%. This would just add a little bit more clarity and effect. Also, we should check shadows on the little things for example, the watch shot where half of the hand was dark.

I have learnt many things doing this preliminary task. I have learnt all about match on action and shot reverse shot. I also knew nothing about the 180 degree rule. The prelim gave us a chance to explore lots of different shots than what we knew about. It also made us think about how much planning is necessary so we know what we’re doing on the day where we start filming. Planning meaning not just story line but sound, camera angles and shots.

I think the main things I will need to improve on for the thriller is keeping an eye on the 180 degree rule, using more shot reverse shot and add a bit more lighting to where is needed just to create that extra effectiveness.