Planning
The first process before we were able to touch equipment and film was to plan. Immediately, we managed to agree that the opening would be a crime thriller, set in a police interrogation room. ideas then adapted to this when the characters were being planned, as the traditional criminal and cop had to be shown, but with addition of a lawyer. the story line was understood by all members of the group.
We located our scene in a small room which holds a capacity of a few people. this was convenient for our scene considering there was three people in the screen time, relating it to the idea of it being an interrogation room. The light surrounding was limited, which meant that we were able to turn of the lights and ask permission to use some of the light equipment for effect.
However, to create the storyboard with the camera meant that we were able to analyse the types of shots we could use. We took various shots, some of which were not able to add to the story board due to faulty shots. the main idea of the picture storyboard was for us to know what we will be doing in the actual filming.
A problem that occurred whilst taking these pictures was the understanding of the 180degree rule and the reverse shot angle. We got confused between the two, making us take pictures that would result in a bad filming shot. these pictures contained wrong positioning, as some pictures taken for the reverse shot were taken from the wrong side of the room. This was corrected by the teacher, and we corrected this whilst we carried out our filming session.
This is the initial story board, containing pictures that influence what exactly was going to be filming and what angles we would be using.
Process
For the project, we needed equipment, which was borrowed from the City and Islington media department.
Equipment used:
Camera (including Memory Cards)
Tripod
Lighting
Camera wheel Holder
With this equipment, we were able to start filming according to the story line, starting of from the buildings corridors which we made to look like passages in a police station.
The first shot was of Javayl (the cop) walking towards the door of the interrogation room. the shot we used was a tracking shot, following Javayl until he reached the door.
Advantages
- It was a good location as there was very less noise
- has a lot of space
Disadvantages
- At the far side of the corridor, there is a big window which allows in a lot of light. the brightness was at the level we needed it to be, but the idea of having a transparent window in the main part of the police station did not make sense.
- the tracking shot had to be done perfectly, not only avoiding the window, but also getting the shot to perfection with a lack of experience
To perfect this shot, we all handled the camera using the wheel holder for balance in this scene so we were able to pick what shot was best on the viewing screen. This scene completed after a turn each with the camera. It wasn't hard as we thought it would be. In the previous group activities, most shots were still shots used on tripods. It differed in this shot but it was easy to practice through this project.
The next shot was the close up shot of the handle inside the interrogation room match cutting Javayls contact and movement from outside the room. It continued to Javayl walking in and sitting down, then further on interrogating the client and lawyer.
To set up in the room we chose was quite difficult in terms of using the equipment in a compact area. The main table took up too much space, leaving Emadul who took control of the Camera to film all the shots of Javayl (the cop) before the shots of Remello and I as we had to move the table in the direction of the person being filmed, due to the space we had to make a satisfiable shot. After the scenes were filmed that involved Javayl, Remello and myself were filmed, doing the same movement with the table.
However, we figured that although the table had been moved in the separate shots, the audience would not realise as our blocking was precise.
To film this, we carried out the same script whilst filming Javayl first and then Remello and I. it was tricky timing our speech as the filming inside the room did not plan out how we wanted it to be. The handling of the light equipment also added to the difficulty because we did not have enough space to put it on something stable. Therefore, one of our group members that was not in the shot held the light. this resulted in the continuous movement of the light on the table in the room.
The making of this Prelim not only introduced the group to the unfamiliar equipment, such as the camera wheel holder and the lights, but also introduced us to different types of ideas involving Plots, Shot angles and locations. The idea of making a thriller opening differed to the different types of filming and editing we have practiced with before. this strengthened our ideas towards the filming and editing of our upcoming project when we film our thriller openings. the reason we chose a crime thriller was to maintain the ideas that we are planning to put in our official opening, as the crime thriller section is what we are focusing on. we are confident on the making of the plot and filming as it was handled well in the Prelim. location/setting is something tha would be changed through the experience of the prelim, as we have acknowledged that filming in compact areas can be dificult. targetting a wider location, more spread and suitable for the upcoming thriller is what will be done, knowing that our mistakes in location occured due to the boundaries on where we could film in the area.
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