Homework BLK: Clip Analysis on Continuity

Clip from Love Actually (2003) 0.00 to 1.46

• A successful match-on-action is accomplished at 0.41 to 0.42 from two shots where Aurelia passes the phone over to Jamie. At first we are zoomed in on the hands and the first half of the passing of the phone takes place in a CU, then we are shown the second half from a slightly different angle in a MS and it appears to be one smooth seamless transaction.
• After this we have a change of scene, and to establish this new setting we are shown 3 very wide shots from the back, side and front of Jamie (master shot/ establishing shot). However this does not break the 180 degree rule and therefore the audience are able to understand Jamie's location in realtion to his surroundings which later on in the scene are used more.
• Cross cutting is also used a lot as Aurelia runs towards the lake and starts to undress, and Jamie is left behind yelling at her to stop. This creates the impression that the two events are happening simultaniously. 
• Similar master shots are re-used in order to establish the characters new positions and to highlight some of their actions (1.37 as Aurelia dives into the water and 1.18 as Jamie is climbing over the wooden beam).

Homework BLK: Continuity Clips

This is the result of my first shooting task for AS. The exercise was aimed to help us learn about continuity: we worked in groups to create a short clip on the theme of an 'accident' and weren't allowed any re-takes.  

Our Approach

We wanted to use a variety of shot types such as CU's and MS's, and were certain that we wanted a LS to be our first in order to act as an establishing shot. That way the audience would immediately be able to grasp the concept and location of our whole video. We also wanted to include some tracks and pans to experiment with camera movement and to ensure our audience was not bored with only static shots. 

As the task was based on continuity, another of our focuses was to match actions and cuts: we needed to create a fluid piece which made logical sense from all angles.  

What Worked Well

• I feel our establishing shot effectively put the audience in the know and allowed them to see each character in relation to each other, and the space between and around them.
• Our second shot (the OTS) involved and engaged the audience well. 
• Our cross cutting, which showed each character on their side of the wall gave various perspectives without confusing the audience.
• Our re-use of the master shot in order to show positional progression of the two characters. 
• The wide range of shots we used provided interest for a viewer. 
• We followed the 30 and 180 degree rules (although we weren't aware of it at the time!)

Possible Improvements

• Maybe the establishing shot right at the beginning gave too much of the enigma away and could have lost the interest of our audience. It may have been easy for them to guess what was about to happen.
• Perhaps the jump from shot 1 to 2 was too large, and could have disorientated the audience, it was from quite a different angle too (OTS). 
•  There were two people walking in the background in shot 2, which were not shown in shot 1- continuity error. It would be hard to cut these people out. 
• There are general gaps and pauses in dialogue and action between some of the shots (particularly between shot 2 and 3, and shot 5 and 6)

Here is our clip again, this time with some of the continuity errors edited out (not by us). As you can see it flows a lot more smoothly. 
Overall I am pleased with what we produced because I feel we have more positives about it than negatives, and the end result did make me laugh. However there is always room for improvement. 

Homework BLK: Film Clip Analysis

Clip from 'Rush Hour', 1998.

Film Making Conventions

The scene starts with a shot of a car pulling up behind a fancy black gate, followed by a shot of two smartly dressed men behind the same gate but on the other side. This immediately creates a physical and metaphorical barrier between the two parties. 

The man who steps out of the car is dressed all in black and has a vibrant red tie, again this contrasts to the two mens' conventional suits with white shirts and further emphasises the difference between the two.

When conversing at the gate, many over-the-shoulder shots are used to show the two men are in conversation. (0.29, 0.33, 0.38 etc.)

At 0.05, the character standing in the foreground is in focus as he recieves a piece of information, then he passes it along to those behind him, and they are shown in focus as they recieve the information. Each persons positioning and focus in the shot shows exactly how much knowlegde they posess at that moment in time.

The film itself if categorised as an 'action comedy' and both these two genres can be clearly seen at 0.46 (action; fight scene) and 1.18 (humerous moment).  

Cultural Codes

Strong looking men in suits with deep voices, standing side by side, show power and strengh. Typically bodyguard/secuirty duo.  
 

Very fast paced and dramatic music starts once the 'chase' begins (1.09) and we as an audience can sense trouble is ahead. This music is often assiociated to someone running as we have heard in films before, and so we know what to expect and feel. 

Jackie Chan, a chinese man, starts to perform karate style moves and we are not surprised as this is almost steryotypical and makes sense in the audiences' mind.


The front gate, security guards with earpieces, winding road to the house, tall hedges and walls, curtains, large family portrait and high chairs in the main room all are symbols of wealth and quickly convey the familys' prosperity. 

Homework BLK: Film Still and Evaluation

When taking shots, my group decided to focus on both the horror and thriller genres.

For this shot we wanted a location that looked remote and that also had naturally dark and shadowy lighting in order to effectively convey the horror genre to the audience. We thought these two technical codes were crucial in doing so as they both are used in horror films frequently when creating shots and scenes that evoke fear into an audience, along with some mystery and a sense of discomfort. Audiences associate these conventions with the genre and therefore will immediately know how to feel and react to this shot.

What We Did

To acheive this effect, we shot from a slight high angle which created a deep shadow on top of all the books and made it look as if it could almost stretch on forever into the unknown. This adds a horror-style feel to the shot. We also shot more to the left side of the object, (the hand) and not straight on so as to make it appear as if we were looking on from the characters perspective. However we still cannot see the face or body of this person and so we create even more mystery and enigma.

Was It Sucessful?

Personally I do feel this shot was succesful as just from looking at it, it's obvious which genre it belongs to. Also I think the shot is interesting in the sense it sparks many questions such as 'Who does the hand belong to?' and 'Why is this person in an old library?' 'What book do they need and why?'   

Possible Improvements

To improve this shot I think we could have done a number of things, for starters we could have shot on a duller day or blocked out the lighting to make the books themselves even more in shadow. This would emphasise their age and dust and perhaps could have also made the shot look as if it was at night time, which is when most scenes in horror films are shot. If we had more time we also could have thought about the positioning of the hand, altering it in various ways to make it look as if it was grabbing the book or be in a more awkward position to make the audince feel uncomfortable.