During the rest of the course I think I should concentrate on learning how to edit and film continuously so any film clips I make make complete sense and have no gaps. However, this does half rely on the standard of filming as well as editing and iMovie skills.
Sunday, 31 October 2010
iMovie Skills. 12/10/10
Previously, I've only used Windows Movie Maker to edit movies. However, in the first few weeks of AS Media I've learnt how to use iMovie. I learnt how to import clips I've filmed on a video camera, and how to do continuity editing. As I mentioned in the post about filming 'The Breakfast Club', I think this is the most important part of editing a scene of a film. I learnt how to edit using Match on Action whilst doing the Preliminary task, where me and a partner had to make sure the filming and editing of someone walking through a door made sense. We found it quite difficult to try and get the door in approximately the same place on the screen each time - as during filming we had to have a shot from either side of the door whilst the actor was walking through it. We didn't manage to get it exact, but by using one of the tools on iMovie, me and my partner managed to get it quite close. So far in the course I've also learnt how to give a movie I've made credits and a title and how to crop and cut down clips of film.
During the rest of the course I think I should concentrate on learning how to edit and film continuously so any film clips I make make complete sense and have no gaps. However, this does half rely on the standard of filming as well as editing and iMovie skills.
During the rest of the course I think I should concentrate on learning how to edit and film continuously so any film clips I make make complete sense and have no gaps. However, this does half rely on the standard of filming as well as editing and iMovie skills.
Filming 'The Breakfast Club'. 4/10/10
Whilst filming the scene from 'The Breakfast Club', I learnt about master shots in film. The master shot of this particular scene was a high view point shot from the top corner of the room, as we attempted to recreate as a class when filming (the master shot being one camera shot that is repeated throughout the filming.) I attempted to count the amount of times the master shot was shown in this particular scene, and counted three out of around twelve separate shots.
I played Claire in the filming, and had to walk through each part of the scene I appeared in before filming them. I also learnt that it's necessary to begin filming at least 10 seconds before saying action so as to give plenty of room on the tape for editing between shots, and so as not to miss any of the acting on film.
In editing the film on iMovie afterwards, I learnt how to cut scenes down to exactly the point I want, and the rules of continuity editing. (e.g. the 180 degree rule) The main thing I learnt is that continuity editing is extremely important in editing as this is what makes the filming make sense to the audience.
I played Claire in the filming, and had to walk through each part of the scene I appeared in before filming them. I also learnt that it's necessary to begin filming at least 10 seconds before saying action so as to give plenty of room on the tape for editing between shots, and so as not to miss any of the acting on film.
In editing the film on iMovie afterwards, I learnt how to cut scenes down to exactly the point I want, and the rules of continuity editing. (e.g. the 180 degree rule) The main thing I learnt is that continuity editing is extremely important in editing as this is what makes the filming make sense to the audience.
Comparing how the title sequences of ‘The Island’ and ‘The Proposal’ are constructed to draw in the target audience. 27/09/10
The opening sequences of films, though short, give the audience a good idea of a few things to do with the film. These would include the tone, often where the film is set, the actors that appear in the film and an inference as to what the film is wholly about. I’m going to compare two completely opposite film opening sequences - ‘The Island’ and ‘The Proposal’. The first being a typical film in the sci-fi/action genre, the second being a romantic comedy.
Before the title sequence begins, all films have the film company(s) logos shown that were used to create the film. In the case of ‘The Island’, the company logos are shown on a plain black background, zooming toward the audience and out of the shot. The first logo shown is Dreamworks, with the logo following for Time Warner Company.
In ‘The Proposal’, the first company logo shown is Touchstone Entertainment, followed by Mandeville Films. The song ‘Find My Way’ by The Gabe Dixon Band kicks in as the logo for Mandeville Films is being shown. In comparison, in ‘The Island’, as the words “Dreamworks Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures present” appear in plain white capital lettered font - after the logos have been shown - the noise of wind can be heard clearly in the background and the music doesn’t cut in until the first shot of the title sequence. In ‘The Proposal’ the title sequence begins directly after the film company logos have been shown by cutting straight to a point of view shot of someone walking through a forest. The words “Touchstone Pictures presents” then appears from left to right over the top of the shot of forest, in plain white capital lettered font again.
In the first scene of the title sequence of ‘The Island’, the camera cuts straight to a shot of clouds, where the music cuts in. The music has no words, just harmonies and instrumental to introduce the film. Even as the music has begun, the wind can still be heard over the top. The shot zooms slowly closer to earth, as the clouds disperse we can see land surrounded by dark waters – the first inference of an island, where the film is predominantly set. The main actors name is shown as the camera is zooming into the island. The font is the same as that of the presenting font.
‘The Proposal’s title sequence carries on with the point of view shot of forest. The shot then begins to zoom out until we can see shelves of books surrounding, and realise that the forest shot is on a television. The shot carries on zooming out until the audience can see the back of an actresses head. This uses the same technique as ‘The Island’, when first showing Scarlett Johansson in the title sequence. In ‘The Island’, an extreme close-up shot of a woman’s shoulder is shown; with the material she’s wearing flying in the wind, obscuring the shot slightly. Having the first shot of the actress from behind makes the audience unsure as to who it is, creating mystery. However, in ‘The Proposal’, it quickly cuts to a medium close up shot of the actress from the front, as the name of Sandra Bullock appears in the same font as the presenting, directly beneath her head, making it known as to who she is. Similarly, as the shot in ‘The Island’ is being screened, the name of the actress appears in the bottom right corner, still in the same font as the first actor’s name, telling us that the actress being shown is Scarlett Johansson, though we don’t fully see her face until around 1:30 seconds in.
In both films, the audience can immediately guess a certain amount of knowledge on the characters shown. For example, after Bullock has been introduced in ‘The Proposal’, the camera circles slowly around her, zooming out at the same time. By doing this, the shot shows the characters home and we can see that she’s extremely tidy, as the room she’s in is tidy and minimalist. Also shown in this shot is the main location of the film; through the window of the characters house, we can see the sky scrapers of a city.
Similarly, when Johansson is first shown in ‘The Island’, we can see she’s clad in white and her outfit has a lot of material to it. This, traditionally points to wealth, which links to the storyline of the film and introduces her character, even if only in a minimal way.
The title of ‘The Island’ fades into the middle of the following shot. As the camera is moving over dark waters – creating a creepy atmosphere - the title fades in. The title font is separate to what we’ve previously seen in the title sequence; it’s more decorative, causing it to stand out easily amongst the rest. In comparison, ‘The Proposal’s title is in the same font as the previous company credits, only on a slightly larger scale, causing it to stand out more.
Both films show the female lead in the title sequence before the male. In ‘The Island’, Ewan McGregor, though mentioned first in company credits, isn’t shown until around 1:20 minutes in, where-as Johansson is shown 0:36 seconds in. Similarly, in ‘The Proposal’, Ryan Reynolds, though being second in the company credits, isn’t shown until 1:15 minutes in, where-as Bullock is shown at 0:50 seconds. The whole time it takes ‘The Proposal’ to present their company credits is 2:38 minutes, the last name mentioned being the directors. In comparison, the time it takes ‘The Island’s company credits to screen is 1:32 minutes and the last names mentioned are the film’s editors. This could indicate the importance of jobs on the films, as ‘The Island’ would require more CGI and therefore more editing than ‘The Proposal’, this teams names would be mentioned last.
The target audiences of ‘The Island’ and ‘The Proposal’ are hard to decide. Generally, the two films have a mass target audience, though ‘The Proposal’s range would be larger than ‘The Island’s, because the age certificate is a 12 so the mass audience starts off younger. Also, as ‘The Island’ is a sci-fi and some may find the genre isn’t to their taste or they may find it slightly scary, this limits the amount of people who would want to watch it.
Before the title sequence begins, all films have the film company(s) logos shown that were used to create the film. In the case of ‘The Island’, the company logos are shown on a plain black background, zooming toward the audience and out of the shot. The first logo shown is Dreamworks, with the logo following for Time Warner Company.
In ‘The Proposal’, the first company logo shown is Touchstone Entertainment, followed by Mandeville Films. The song ‘Find My Way’ by The Gabe Dixon Band kicks in as the logo for Mandeville Films is being shown. In comparison, in ‘The Island’, as the words “Dreamworks Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures present” appear in plain white capital lettered font - after the logos have been shown - the noise of wind can be heard clearly in the background and the music doesn’t cut in until the first shot of the title sequence. In ‘The Proposal’ the title sequence begins directly after the film company logos have been shown by cutting straight to a point of view shot of someone walking through a forest. The words “Touchstone Pictures presents” then appears from left to right over the top of the shot of forest, in plain white capital lettered font again.
In the first scene of the title sequence of ‘The Island’, the camera cuts straight to a shot of clouds, where the music cuts in. The music has no words, just harmonies and instrumental to introduce the film. Even as the music has begun, the wind can still be heard over the top. The shot zooms slowly closer to earth, as the clouds disperse we can see land surrounded by dark waters – the first inference of an island, where the film is predominantly set. The main actors name is shown as the camera is zooming into the island. The font is the same as that of the presenting font.
‘The Proposal’s title sequence carries on with the point of view shot of forest. The shot then begins to zoom out until we can see shelves of books surrounding, and realise that the forest shot is on a television. The shot carries on zooming out until the audience can see the back of an actresses head. This uses the same technique as ‘The Island’, when first showing Scarlett Johansson in the title sequence. In ‘The Island’, an extreme close-up shot of a woman’s shoulder is shown; with the material she’s wearing flying in the wind, obscuring the shot slightly. Having the first shot of the actress from behind makes the audience unsure as to who it is, creating mystery. However, in ‘The Proposal’, it quickly cuts to a medium close up shot of the actress from the front, as the name of Sandra Bullock appears in the same font as the presenting, directly beneath her head, making it known as to who she is. Similarly, as the shot in ‘The Island’ is being screened, the name of the actress appears in the bottom right corner, still in the same font as the first actor’s name, telling us that the actress being shown is Scarlett Johansson, though we don’t fully see her face until around 1:30 seconds in.
In both films, the audience can immediately guess a certain amount of knowledge on the characters shown. For example, after Bullock has been introduced in ‘The Proposal’, the camera circles slowly around her, zooming out at the same time. By doing this, the shot shows the characters home and we can see that she’s extremely tidy, as the room she’s in is tidy and minimalist. Also shown in this shot is the main location of the film; through the window of the characters house, we can see the sky scrapers of a city.
Similarly, when Johansson is first shown in ‘The Island’, we can see she’s clad in white and her outfit has a lot of material to it. This, traditionally points to wealth, which links to the storyline of the film and introduces her character, even if only in a minimal way.
The title of ‘The Island’ fades into the middle of the following shot. As the camera is moving over dark waters – creating a creepy atmosphere - the title fades in. The title font is separate to what we’ve previously seen in the title sequence; it’s more decorative, causing it to stand out easily amongst the rest. In comparison, ‘The Proposal’s title is in the same font as the previous company credits, only on a slightly larger scale, causing it to stand out more.
Both films show the female lead in the title sequence before the male. In ‘The Island’, Ewan McGregor, though mentioned first in company credits, isn’t shown until around 1:20 minutes in, where-as Johansson is shown 0:36 seconds in. Similarly, in ‘The Proposal’, Ryan Reynolds, though being second in the company credits, isn’t shown until 1:15 minutes in, where-as Bullock is shown at 0:50 seconds. The whole time it takes ‘The Proposal’ to present their company credits is 2:38 minutes, the last name mentioned being the directors. In comparison, the time it takes ‘The Island’s company credits to screen is 1:32 minutes and the last names mentioned are the film’s editors. This could indicate the importance of jobs on the films, as ‘The Island’ would require more CGI and therefore more editing than ‘The Proposal’, this teams names would be mentioned last.
The target audiences of ‘The Island’ and ‘The Proposal’ are hard to decide. Generally, the two films have a mass target audience, though ‘The Proposal’s range would be larger than ‘The Island’s, because the age certificate is a 12 so the mass audience starts off younger. Also, as ‘The Island’ is a sci-fi and some may find the genre isn’t to their taste or they may find it slightly scary, this limits the amount of people who would want to watch it.
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