Possible location for prelim and final.

We have found a perfect location and have got permisson for filming in an abandoned shop. It has an old worn look to it, it has boarded up windows and doors, wooden floors, hanging wires, old furniture, a great creaking stair case, post piling up, it has dim light, old small windows. Also outside of the windows is a worn out 'back of shops' courtyard, which suits the genre. It looks like a 'suspicious' 'criminal' location, which has good size rooms, good filming spots, e.g a whole above the stairs, so we can film from above.

Prelim Storyboard

On Thursday lesson cover work was set along with the 'shot reverse shot' research, to start our storyboard for our prelim, on the conversation part of the task. We did this in the schools common room however when we had to complete the full story board on fridays lesson we had to redo, the shots as mise-en-scene was different. Whereas on Thursdays lesson we used the bag as the center of attention, the mystery of what was in that bag made the scene more intriguing. While on Friday we had to use a different location and did not have the bag with us, we then decided that a memory stick could be used in the same way to keep the sense of mystery.

I have linked the story boards to google docs, To view just click on the link (for better quality (download to adobe reader):

Shot reverse shot (Thursdays lesson):
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B8Z0x_7LzVC5NTdmNTdjODQtZDM5NC00OGUwLTg2YmMtY2QyMmNkNDU3YTI4&hl=en

Prelim storyboard (fridays lesson)
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B8Z0x_7LzVC5MDM5Zjk2ZGEtZmM5ZC00MGVjLTg0YmQtMDdlYjRjMmZiODEx&hl=en

we hope to have all prelim filming done by this Thursday then we will have the double lesson to edit the shots together. I would also like to express my opinion that compared to other classes we have been given a very minimal amount of time to do the planning, filming and evaluating for both tasks, it puts us under extreme pressure and stress to get it done when we have other subjects to consider as well, whereas the other class has had since November time, including the Christmas holidays and they still have this time to complete if they havent quite finished, we dont have this luxury. It may also put us off the theory we have learnt for the exam, so may need to be re taught it, I would suggest that the media department does not do it this way again!

Thursday 25th Feb... Cover work for Ms Cate.

wherein 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.

here is a great example I found on youtube what talks about it in detail.

Camera Movement ...

1. Pans

A movement which scans a scene horizontally. The camera is placed on a tripod, which operates as a stationary axis point as the camera is turned, often to follow a moving object which is kept in the middle of the frame.

2. Tilts

A movement which scans a scene vertically, otherwise similar to a pan.

3. Dolly Shots

Sometimes called TRUCKING or TRACKING shots. The camera is placed on a moving vehicle and moves alongside the action, generally following a moving figure or object. Complicated dolly shots will involve a track being laid on set for the camera to follow, hence the name. The camera might be mounted on a car, a plane, or even a shopping trolley (good method for independent film-makers looking to save a few dollars). A dolly shot may be a good way of portraying movement, the journey of a character for instance, or for moving from a long shot to a close-up, gradually focusing the audience on a particular object or character.

4. Hand-held shots

The hand-held movie camera first saw widespread use during World War II, when news reporters took their windup Arriflexes and Eyemos into the heat of battle, producing some of the most arresting footage of the twentieth century. After the war, it took a while for commercially produced movies to catch up, and documentary makers led the way, demanding the production of smaller, lighter cameras that could be moved in and out of a scene with speed, producing a "fly-on-the-wall" effect.This aesthetic took a while to catch on with mainstream Hollywood, as it gives a jerky, ragged effect, totally at odds with the organised smoothness of a dolly shot. The Steadicam (a heavy contraption which is attached a camera to an operator by a harness. The camera is stabilized so it moves independently) was debuted in Marathon Man (1976), bringing a new smoothness to hand held camera movement and has been used to great effect in movies and TV shows ever since. No "walk and talk" sequence would be complete without one. Hand held cameras denote a certain kind of gritty realism, and they can make the audience feel as though they are part of a scene, rather than viewing it from a detached, frozen position.

5. Crane Shots

Basically, dolly-shots-in-the-air. A crane (or jib), is a large, heavy piece of equipment, but is a useful way of moving a camera - it can move up, down, left, right, swooping in on action or moving diagonally out of it. The camera operator and camera are counter-balanced by a heavy weight, and trust their safety to a skilled crane/jib operator.

6. Zoom Lenses

A zoom lens contains a mechanism that changes the magnification of an image. On a still camera, this means that the photographer can get a 'close up' shot while still being some distance from the subject. A video zoom lens can change the position of the audience, either very quickly (a smash zoom) or slowly, without moving the camera an inch, thus saving a lot of time and trouble. The drawbacks to zoom use include the fact that while a dolly shot involves a steady movement similar to the focusing change in the human eye, the zoom lens tends to be jerky (unless used very slowly) and to distort an image, making objects appear closer together than they really are. Zoom lenses are also drastically over-used by many directors (including those holding palmcorders), who try to give the impression of movement and excitement in a scene where it does not exist. Use with caution - and a tripod!

7. The Aerial Shot

An exciting variation of a crane shot, usually taken from a helicopter. This is often used at the beginning of a film, in order to establish setting and movement. A helicopter is like a particularly flexible sort of crane - it can go anywhere, keep up with anything, move in and out of a scene, and convey real drama and exhilaration — so long as you don't need to get too close to your actors or use location sound with the shots.

Camera angles...

1. The Bird's-Eye view

This shows a scene from directly overhead, a very unnatural and strange angle. Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognisable at first (umbrellas in a crowd, dancers' legs). This shot does, however, put the audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action. People can be made to look insignificant, ant-like, part of a wider scheme of things. Hitchcock (and his admirers, like Brian de Palma) is fond of this style of shot.

2. High Angle

Not so extreme as a bird's eye view. The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less significant (or scary). The object or character often gets swallowed up by their setting - they become part of a wider picture.

3. Eye Level

A fairly neutral shot; the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene, so that eg actors' heads are on a level with the focus. The camera will be placed approximately five to six feet from the ground.

4. Low Angle

These increase height (useful for short actors like Tom Cruise or James McAvoy) and give a sense of speeded motion. Low angles help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerlessness within the action of a scene. The background of a low angle shot will tend to be just sky or ceiling, the lack of detail about the setting adding to the disorientation of the viewer. The added height of the object may make it inspire fear and insecurity in the viewer, who is psychologically dominated by the figure on the screen.

5. Oblique/Canted Angle

Sometimes the camera is tilted (ie is not placed horizontal to floor level), to suggest imbalance, transition and instability (very popular in horror movies). This technique is used to suggest POINT-OF-View shots (ie when the camera becomes the 'eyes' of one particular character,seeing what they see — a hand held camera is often used for this.

Framing...

I found this interesting and useful to look back on when doing filming...
from http://www.mediaknowall.com/camangles.html

1 . Extreme long shot
This can be taken from as much as a quarter of a mile away, and is generally used as a scene-setting, establishing shot. It normally shows an EXTERIOR, eg the outside of a building, or a landscape, and is often used to show scenes of thrilling action eg in a war film or disaster movie. There will be very little detail visible in the shot, it's meant to give a general impression rather than specific information.

The extreme long shot on the left is taken from a distance, but denotes a precise location - it might even connote all of the entertainment industry if used as the opening shot in a news story.

2. Long Shot
This is the most difficult to categorise precisely, but is generally one which shows the image as approximately "life" size ie corresponding to the real distance between the audience and the screen in a cinema (the figure of a man would appear as six feet tall). This category includes the FULL SHOT showing the entire human body, with the head near the top of the frame and the feet near the bottom. While the focus is on characters, plenty of background detail still emerges: we can tell the coffins on the right are in a Western-style setting, for instance.

3. Medium Shot
Contains a figure from the knees/waist up and is normally used for dialogue scenes, or to show some detail of action. Variations on this include the TWO SHOT (containing two figures from the waist up) and the THREE SHOT (contains 3 figures...). NB. Any more than three figures and the shot tends to become a long shot. Background detail is minimal, probably because location has been established earlier in the scene - the audience already know where they are and now want to focus on dialogue and character interaction. Another variation in this category is the OVER-THE-SHOULDER-SHOT, which positions the camera behind one figure, revealing the other figure, and part of the first figure's back, head and shoulder.


4. Close-Up
This shows very little background, and concentrates on either a face, or a specific detail of mise en scène. Everything else is just a blur in the background. This shot magnifies the object (think of how big it looks on a cinema screen) and shows the importance of things, be it words written on paper, or the expression on someone's face. The close-up takes us into the mind of a character. In reality, we only let people that we really trust get THAT close to our face - mothers, children and lovers, usually - so a close up of a face is a very intimate shot. A film-maker may use this to make us feel extra comfortable or extremely uncomfortable about a character, and usually uses a zoom lens in order to get the required framing.

5. Extreme Close-Up
As its name suggests, an extreme version of the close up, generally magnifying beyond what the human eye would experience in reality. An extreme close-up of a face, for instance, would show only the mouth or eyes, with no background detail whatsoever. This is a very artificial shot, and can be used for dramatic effect. The tight focus required means that extra care must be taken when setting up and lighting the shot - the slightest camera shake or error in focal length is very noticeable.

Film Genres

Action Films
Action films usually include high energy, big-budget physical stunts and chases, possibly with rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive crises (floods, explosions, natural disasters, fires, etc.), non-stop motion, spectacular rhythm and pacing, and adventurous, often two-dimensional 'good-guy' heroes (or recently, heroines) battling 'bad guys' - all designed for pure audience escapism. Includes the James Bond 'fantasy' spy/espionage series, martial arts films, and so-called 'blaxploitation' films. A major sub-genre is the disaster film. See also Greatest Disaster and Crowd Film Scenes and Greatest Classic Chase Scenes in Films.

Adventure Films
Adventure films are usually exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales, very similar to or often paired with the action film genre. They can include traditional swashbucklers, serialized films, and historical spectacles (similar to the epics film genre), searches or expeditions for lost continents, "jungle" and "desert" epics, treasure hunts, disaster films, or searches for the unknown.

Comedy Films
Comedies are light-hearted plots consistently and deliberately designed to amuse and provoke laughter (with one-liners, jokes, etc.) by exaggerating the situation, the language, action, relationships and characters. This section describes various forms of comedy through cinematic history, including slapstick, screwball, spoofs and parodies, romantic comedies, black comedy (dark satirical comedy), and more. See this site's Funniest Film Moments and Scenes collection - illustrated, and also Premiere Magazine's 50 Greatest Comedies of All Time.

Crime & Gangster Films
Crime (gangster) films are developed around the sinister actions of criminals or mobsters, particularly bankrobbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and murdering their way through life. Criminal and gangster films are often categorized as film noir or detective-mystery films - because of underlying similarities between these cinematic forms. This category includes a description of various 'serial killer' films.

Drama Films
Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction. Usually, they are not focused on special-effects, comedy, or action, Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre, with many subsets. See also the melodramas, epics (historical dramas), or romantic genres. Dramatic biographical films (or "biopics") are a major sub-genre, as are 'adult' films (with mature subject content).

Epics/Historical Films
Epics include costume dramas, historical dramas, war films, medieval romps, or 'period pictures' that often cover a large expanse of time set against a vast, panoramic backdrop. Epics often share elements of the elaborate adventure films genre. Epics take an historical or imagined event, mythic, legendary, or heroic figure, and add an extravagant setting and lavish costumes, accompanied by grandeur and spectacle, dramatic scope, high production values, and a sweeping musical score. Epics are often a more spectacular, lavish version of a biopic film. Some 'sword and sandal' films (Biblical epics or films occuring during antiquity) qualify as a sub-genre.

Horror Films
Horror films are designed to frighten and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror films feature a wide range of styles, from the earliest silent Nosferatu classic, to today's CGI monsters and deranged humans. They are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens. The fantasy and supernatural film genres are not usually synonymous with the horror genre. There are many sub-genres of horror: slasher, teen terror, serial killers, satanic, Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. See this site's Scariest Film Moments and Scenes collection - illustrated.

Musicals (Dance) Films
Musical/dance films are cinematic forms that emphasize full-scale scores or song and dance routines in a significant way (usually with a musical or dance performance integrated as part of the film narrative), or they are films that are centered on combinations of music, dance, song or choreography. Major subgenres include the musical comedy or the concert film. See this site's Greatest Musical Song/Dance Movie Moments and Scenes collection - illustrated.

Science Fiction Films
Sci-fi films are often quasi-scientific, visionary and imaginative - complete with heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible quests, improbable settings, fantastic places, great dark and shadowy villains, futuristic technology, unknown and unknowable forces, and extraordinary monsters ('things or creatures from space'), either created by mad scientists or by nuclear havoc. They are sometimes an offshoot of fantasy films, or they share some similarities with action/adventure films. Science fiction often expresses the potential of technology to destroy humankind and easily overlaps with horror films, particularly when technology or alien life forms become malevolent, as in the "Atomic Age" of sci-fi films in the 1950s.

War (Anti-War) Films
War films acknowledge the horror and heartbreak of war, letting the actual combat fighting (against nations or humankind) on land, sea, or in the air provide the primary plot or background for the action of the film. War films are often paired with other genres, such as action, adventure, drama, romance, comedy (black), suspense, and even epics and westerns, and they often take a denunciatory approach toward warfare. They may include POW tales, stories of military operations, and training. See this site's Greatest War Movies (in five parts).

Westerns
Westerns are the major defining genre of the American film industry - a eulogy to the early days of the expansive American frontier. They are one of the oldest, most enduring genres with very recognizable plots, elements, and characters (six-guns, horses, dusty towns and trails, cowboys, Indians, etc.). Over time, westerns have been re-defined, re-invented and expanded, dismissed, re-discovered, and spoofed.

The Start of the practical.. First Planning session.

My group consisting of
- Patrick Greenberg ( http://cherwellmedia6094pgreenberg.blogspot.com/)
- Piyal Matilal ( http://pmstars.blogspot.com/ ) ?

During our meeting, after cafe Nero gave us our Hot chocolates, we made a mind map of genres, from these we decided which genres we could effectively use in 2 minutes. ( I may scan the document in or just write it up on the computer) Our remaining genres left were... Horror, action, Comedy, Romance, RomCom, Crime and Gangster and Drama.

We made notes on why we couldnt do some genres and why we could...
We then went on to come up with ideas for the genres.
Our favored genre was Action.

At one point we went slightly off topic, but it turned out to be a good bit of babbling, as we discussed the recent series of 'Hustle' we all loved the show, and this gave us the idea to do a similar thing.

Rough initial idea... The students at the school suspect the teachers are stealing money from the school and failing the students, a group of student gather to investigate this on finding out this is happening and no one will believe them they start to create a con to get the money back off the thieving teachers...Turning out harder to be than they first thought, that the teachers are a group of high level criminals and the school is just there hiding place, will the students succeed and get their marks.

In the 2 minutes we thought we could have a meeting infiltrated, with 'spy cameras', cutting between the teachers meeting and the students...

maybe like a student racing to get to school as uses good exciting cameras..

This is initial planning and lots of babbling on so... You dont need to read all of this, its just whats going on in my mind....

How are hospital staff represented in Bodies Essay

Bodies is set in a gynaecology surgical ward which deals with female patients reproductive organs, which in reality the majority of the surgery should be fairly minor as it's a common surgical procedure, but In Bodies all the patients the audience meets have some form of complications. Patient 1 a diabetic having a simple dye procedure to determine why she isn't managing to conceive. This was nearly put into jeopardy when she is moved on the surgical list by phone call from the trainee doctor, this showed incompetence and lack of experience, although the characteristics of this students is similar to those in reality, but its unconventional a list would be checked, lists would be checked thoroughly and shouldn't be left to a student, that notes should be checked with list before any operation, this shows lacks of professionalism throughout.
The doctors are represented as stressed busy employees who are always on their feet, they are also shown to lack emotional care, that it is just a job and that they rely on numbers. For example the old lady is given medicine by Rob Lake, she still clearly is in pain but he just leaves her to attend to another patient, the audience is then reminded for a while of the neglect seemingly shown with the diagetic sound of the agonising groaning from her, when they returned there, Authority was shown when a doctor demanded the nurse to give more medication, and not listening to her, which applies back to earlier when the nurse was not listened to when saying the old lady should not be on the ward, showing the hierarchy effect. When the old lady died no emotion was shown, Lake was seen to have no emotion, that the audience was led to believe he didn't care. This is also empathised with Hurley when patients are still in need and he's presenting at a conference.
The Nurses are shown to be more caring less about finance and figures, they are shown to have lower authority, Bodies shows this with high angle cams looking down on them, whereas low camera angles are used on doctors showing authority and power over the other staff member. Bodies also cleverly using positioning of characters to show this, when doing the rounds, going from patient to patient, a 3 shot is used, where the higher power was the front and more in focus with the least important at the back in less focus. But there are times to where the nurses are shown to lack emotional care as chocolates are gifted, all the nurses stop working and fight over them. Although authority is shown throughout with the doctors being represented as self obsessed selfish ignorant people, we have an emotional scene with the death of the lady who only started off with a bad throat, when in the situation of her failing to breathe, Lake didn't want to perform a life saving procedure because he had never carried it out before, It was only from the determination of the nurse that made him do it.
The student doctor is shown to be lacking in confidence, when the audience first meets her, she is reading a medical dictionary Bodies cleverly uses shaky hand held cameras representing nerves. She is also blamed for the list cock-up, though she's the easy one to blame because of her authority, but she is also shown to not care when she says 'Shit Happens'. The audience expects her to make up for this nearly catastrophic blunder, but instead she slacks off work to go on a date.
All the staff are represented to be under large amounts of stress, with the use of props, music and use of conversations. One of the doctors is shown smoking outside, although doctors know more than most about the risks of smoking this represents the extreme amount of stress, Lake also keeps on insisting to various parties to go to the pub, seemingly these are used to counter the stress. Loneliness also seems to be a common theme throughout, The set and the lighting were gloomy and realistic, when Lake was by himself in the corridor a wide shot expressed the wide open lonely place that the hospital can present. In the sex affair scene, it shows the comfort needed, the depression of the day's events getting at them.
The darkness and seriousness at times broken by comical sequences, the sticky tie, simply wouldn't not happen in reality but shows lacks of professionalism, a 'bad day at the office'. Also a sex questionnaire embeds in a serious conversation about a surgical procedure, Lake keeps a professional manner but in a light mood to keep the other patient at ease.

How are hospital staff represented in Bodies... Notes

Serious Photo, ID Card - Camera medium shot to close up to extreme close up.
Dull Hospital
Serious Music - deep
Rush - Urgency
Stethoscope round necks
Nurses chit chatting away
Registra introduced last
Go from bed to bed
3rd shot - most important to least important, woman at back
training doctor not confident - looking through medical dictionary.
Non diagetic as soon as she makes a mistake - making the audience wonder if it will be corrected before it happens
clean surgery- sterile place
Anathetist not listened to from doctor
student slacking off to dates.
Its just a job to them.
Power Authority- Rude to other staff - emergency ward - rejected handshake
Always moving, always on feet
Old lady still in pain but they just leave her
'Sticky Tie'- unconventional
Nurse trying to move old lady. doctor not listening and doesnt think she should standup against him.
Conference over dealing with patients.
Doctor shows no emotion over death of old lady.
left old lady groaning, to deal with other patients
finances more important- do not want it spent, nurses do.. show nurses are more caring.
Everyone stops working to wat chocolate.
Sex questionaire to break up the tension
Doctor just sitting there as woman cant breathe.
when doctor obeys nurse and does something he hasnt done before, she dies
sex sex scene - needs comforting
after- awakardness, avoiding
show complications with every patient dealt with not conventional.!