My Preliminary Task

Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.




Match on action: A match on action, a technique used in film editing, is a cut that connects two different views of the same action at the same moment in the movement. By carefully matching the movement across the two shots, filmmakers make it seem that the motion continues uninterrupted.


Shot/Reverse Shot: Shot reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.


180-degree rule: The 180° rule is a basic guideline in film making that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line

My Group's Notes On 'All The Boys Love Mandy Lane'

Opening credit - Red background signifies blood. Title - blade slash/girl screams - typical for horror.

Blood drops down and the shot pans down to a school – Normal school day.

Song hints at what is to come in the film?

Mandy Lane appears – typical blonde (Looks an outsider or new, by how everyone reacts to her).

Range of shots used: Establishing shot, close up, medium shots, long shots ect.

A typical person that the audience wants dead from the start appears and is immediately offensive.

Shot scrolls up to establish next scene this is a pool party – Normal setting, nothing out of the ordinary, normal swimming pool/party clothes.

Music again – Hint?

Again a different range of shots are used to focus on people enjoying themselves – quite quick shots.

The person the audience wants dead is offensive to Mandy again, her friend water pistols him which turns into a fight, and this is used to build up the tension. Something going to happen with these two in the future? Fight shows who is the strong out of the two. Both want the same thing – Mandy Lane.

Binary opposites of each other – Brain vs. Brawn.

Night – something going to happen?

Mandy’s best friend of roof – shows power? Loner?

Talk about Mandy – argue (never can get along). Best friend tricks him to jump off roof to impress Mandy. Guy slips, clearly drunk – outcome revealed? People are worried about him (the sportier guy) about him jumping off the roof – still drinking, Mandy shocked.

Song again – Hints outcome?

When the sportier guy jumps of the camera is like it’s a PoV (Point of View) of someone falling slower (as he exits the shot).

Hear screams, makes audience tense and want to know what has happened, as the guy enters the pool which blood surrounds him, audience is shocked.
Brains beat brawn.

Lessons From Microdrama

1. Make a detailed call sheet in order to properly plan what is needed to be shot and when.
2. Film the same scene from more than one angle so you can get the best possible shot.
3. Possibly use a narrative or voiceover to aid the audience.
4. Do not film a conversation with the camera, take multiple shots if you want to cut between the conversation.
5. Choose location wisely so that it fits the scene and you get the best possible end product.
6. Do not needlessly zoom in on certain parts in scenes, keep the same level of zoom for the whole shot unless necessary.
7. Sound effects can be added whilst editing and are not necessary to create while filming.
8. Always use the camera stand in order to get a steady shot, unless a handhold shot is wanted.
9. Tell each person in the shot what to do so there is no confusion and it can run smoothly.
10. Parts of shots can be cut out, so keep the camera running for a short time before and after the shot, so you definitely know it is filming.

Deconstruction Of Our Microdrama (Ben. Gone. Mad)

Deconstruction of Ben Gone Mad

My 5 Favourite Films Of All Time

1. Inception
 (Christopher Nolan, 2010) Budget: $160m. UK Gross: £35.3m. US Gross: $288.4m. This is one of my favourite films because the special effects were extremely well used. There was an interesting plot, with a phenomenal climax.
2. The Hurt Locker
 (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008) Budget: $11m. UK Gross: £308.9k. US Gross: $12.6m. I enjoyed this film because it portrayed a real experience. It was extremely gripping and tense throughout which makes the film what it is.
3. The Hangover 
(Todd Williams, 2009) Budget: $35m. UK Gross: £21.6m. US Gross: $277.3m. I love this film because the plot is outrageously funny. Also, the perfect actors were cast to play each role, making the film even more funnier.
4. Happy Gilmore
 (Dennis Dugan, 1996) Budget: £10m. US Gross: $38.6m. I enjoyed this film because although the plot is predictable, it is work into an extremely well worked comedy. Adam Sandler is hilarious in this, as well as Ben Stiller's short role as an Elderly Home Employee.
5. Step Brothers 
(Adam McKay, 2008) Budget: $65m. UK Gross: 6.4m. US Gross: $100.5m. I enjoyed this film because there is no true plot to this film, it depicts 2 arguing brothers and how they get one over on each other, with humerous consequences.

The Brief

THE BRIEF, EVALUATION + HOW ITS ALL MARKED

THE BRIEF

Your mission is to carry out the following brief:

Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.
Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.
All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.

The coursework is worth 50% of the AS (same at A2) and the marking (detailed later) is divided into 3 sections:

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: 20%

PRODUCTION: 60%
EVALUATION: 20%

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? 

• Who would be the audience for your media product? 

• How did you attract/address your audience? 

• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? 

• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
  
  
  
  HOW ITS ALL MARKED [ie THE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA]
  
  When the examiner is marking all this, they have got to write a paragraph for the exam board justifying the marks they've given me. The grid embedded below summarises the criteria they have to follow, and so I'm advised to occasionally re-read this and ask myself where I think I'll fall within the marking scheme!
  For each section there are key components of the work which the examiner has to assess as being one of the following:
  

  MINIMAL
  BASIC
  PROFICIENT                                                                                                                                      EXCELLENT

If I think I'm currently at the 'minimal' or 'basic' level for any of these, ask myself (and Dave!) what I can do to jump up to at least proficient.

G321 - Simplified Marking Criteria as 1 Sheet