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 DYM: Roland Barthes' Five Codes

Clip from Diamonds Are Forever (1971, Sean Connery) 0.22-1.31

Enigma Code:

• Where are we? Setting, country etc.
• Who is the man in black? And who is kicking him? Why/what is their connection?
• Why is this man looking for Blofeld? Who is he? 
• Character reveal at 1.07- enigma is over and cannot be reversed. 
• What connection does the woman have to Blofeld? 

Action Code:

• Man is thrown through a wall, lands on the floor- we predict he will try to get to his feet and the person who did it might appear.
• Same man is kicked in the face- he should be severely injured, hurt or tired by now? We think he will give up and be defeated. 
• Cards are dealt in casino- a game will be played and gambling will take place.  
• Man punched in face- he could possibly be beat up some more, maybe similarly to the previous man in black. 
• Bond reaches to undo woman's bikini top- we suspect for romantic purposes.

Semiotic Code: 

• 0.24: stereotypical Japanese room. Connotes the whole of Japan, Japanese culture and its people. Abroad, foreign. 
• Men in suits/smartly dressed: power, authority, position of importance.
• Casino: represents wealth and power, also glamour and possibly greed, deceit, trouble and cheating. 
• Constant physical fighting shows action. 
• Beach-like setting with attractive woman in bikini: symbolises relaxation, 'living the good life', suggests we are at an exotic location or holiday destination. 

Cultural Code: 

• We may not have been to Japan but the room and its objects are what we have seen previously to represent the country and it is what we expect it to be like. 
• Fight scenes, one man will win while other looses. 
• 'Man on a mission' will not stop at any costs. 
• Dramatic music highlights dramatic moments- each kick and punch and throw. 
• 'Bond, James Bond' famous catchphrase. Associated with the iconic character. 

Symbolic Code: 

• Looking for something/someone, themes of adventure and mystery.
• Good vs. Evil?
• The man could be beating these people up for personal gain, or for goodwill. Is it greedy and selfish or morally right? 
• Action theme- fights.
• Calm setting at the start contrasts to the havoc which enters it shortly.

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 DYM: Film Still Analysis

This still is from the film 'Fracture' which I recently watched and highly recommend to lovers of the crime drama film genre.

Why I chose this shot: 

• It immediately appealed to me as I thought the idea of having the murderes reflection in a pool of the dying victims blood was very clever. We feel as if we are looking over the victim, but also can sense the murderer is looking over us as the viewer too, creating an eerie atmosphere and distance from the second character.
•  I felt both the lighting and colour schemes portrayed the themes of the film well. Essentially the entire narrative is based around this one murder and so all is mostly very serious and sinister throughout the film. The shot appears to have an icy blue tinge to it which could symbolise the murders cold-hearted and unnerving actions, along with the general dark wash and low key lighting that also conveys a sad and sombre tone, which follows throughout the film right until the very end. Finally, the victim herself is wearing a plain white top, perhaps to highlight the few blood stains and convey her innocence to the audince?
• The shot on its own also evokes questions: Who is the woman and the man overlooking her? Why is he staring instead of helping her? Did he kill her and why/how?

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.