First lesson using final cut pro

Yesterday, we started using final cut pro to edit the beginning of our prelim task. Before we started we talked about the importance of using this programme and the importance of knowing how to edit. In the real working world being able to use this editing programme as a base for other programmes allows us to possibly get a job, or more likely to with the knowledge of the programme. This programme is generally used for fast changing scenes like adverts it is not used often for films, apart from the film True Grit with many fast changing scenes.

 Matt (one of our media teachers) went through with us how to open up our folder. He would show us on the big screen then make us do it too so we had a full understanding of how to get up our work. In media terms a name for a folder is called 'bin'. We made our first 'bin' called 'rush bin'. In this bin was all our original shots. Then a second bin was made called 'log bin'. This was our chosen shots which we would then edit to put in a sequence.  Once we had our scenes we had filmed up on the screen, we went through how to choose where the clip starts and finishes. Then how to make the sequence so the scene flowed. If there were voices in the background of the end of one clip you could cut them out. You repeated this with each clip and placed it in order. We got about a quarter of the way through editing our prelim task, we went slowly as we all tried to get an understanding for the programme's tools.

Opens Credits "Sexy Beast"

Use of mise en scene
Introduced to first character which is who we mainly focus on in this opening sequence. He is in speedos with sun cream and other items on the floor suggesting he is quite a lazy character. This is then emphasised by the way he talks to the pool boy, the man clearly doesn't do anything for himself. His voice is fairly cockney and his attire suggests he is possibly a dodgy character.
Then it moves onto the women driving in the car but it is an over the shoulder shot which is slightly ambiguous as we do no know who she is. The man is wearing a gold necklace which is stereotyped to cockney people.
Use of camera
Opens with an establishing shot of the sky so the audience can concentrate on the pink opening titles, then the camera moves to a medium long shot which shows the main character. There is then a two shot of the man and pool boy which has a shallow depth of field highlighting the authority the man has over the worker. Later there is an establishing shot of the man sunbathing next to his swimming pool which has connecting hearts in it, this is fairly cliché and shows the audience what time of man this person is. After there is then an over the shoulder shot of the woman, this doesn't show her face which is fairly ambiguous so we don't know where the woman is going or who she is. The establishing shot shows a house in the mountains, which is in the middle of no where and this highlights the isolation of the place. This is then picked up again with the over the shoulder shot of the man walking to put his shoes on and it again shows that where he is, is in the middle of nowhere.
Use of sound
The lyrics in the song are fairly poignant. The beginning of the song starts with
 "Strolling along minding my own business"
  - these lyrics emphasise the way he is approaching this time of 'minding his own business.'
"suntan lotion in that bottle of yours
Spread it all over my peelin' skin baby
That feels real good
All this skirt lappin' up the sun" - these lyrics are said when the sun tan lotion is on the floor and then he puts the flannel on himself to keep him cool and as he lies down and 'groans' because he has been cooled down it says 'that feels real good' so the lyrics connect with the image at the time.
The music very upbeat suggesting a good mood and atmosphere.
Use of editing
The length of the cuts make some shots awkward for example the shot of him lying down with the flannel on him. It also highlights the humour in this film.
The credits are in bright pink so they stand out and they are also representing his lifestyle being bright pink as pink sometimes suggests fame.
When the film pauses with the opening title it causes the audience to look at the title for longer. It is also quite funny as it is paused in quite an awkward position.

The Shining opening credit

In this opening sequence of 'The Shining' we had to analyse mise en scene, editing, camera and sound. Stanley Kubrick uses this opening sequence to create a creepy mysterious idea that is carried on throughout the sequence. It opens with  the warner bros opening title, with warner bros being very well known it gives this film and automatic judge that the film will be relatively well made. I think this opening sequence is very effective and accurately creates the mood it is trying to create.
Firstly, in the mise en scene the location is clearly observed. The car is driving through mountains that seem to go on for a while, suggesting the character is driving far away to somewhere in the middle of no where. In this sequence we are not introduced to any characters or a plot, leaving the audience thinking creating an ambiguous atmosphere.
Secondly we look at the use of sound, the music is very creepy and mysterious. It creates a disturbing atmosphere and feels, to the audience, that something is coming up behind them or someone is watching them. Music plays a big part in scenes because if the music with this opening scene was a joyful song in the charts, it would create a very different atmosphere.
The use of camera is very important in this scene as it creates the idea of someone watching the person in the car which connects to the music. The camera follows the car using birds eye view shots, and wide angle shots, with nothing around them highlights the ambiguous atmosphere.
Finally the use of editing in this scene is confusing to me as Kubrick uses a bright blue font for the credits, this does make them stand out however it is a contrast to the scene, bright blue normally suggests happiness and peace and this contradicts the idea of the opening sequence. The change of camera angles is also part of the editing and I feel that Kubrick did this well because there was a constant sinister element to the sequence.

Mise en Scene of a scene from 'The Holiday'

Tent Scene - Media

Preliminary Task

Yesterday we shot our preliminary task, the whole class took part in it and we were in groups of 4. A script was given to us which was fairly simple, although for some reason we kept forgetting it and then we put our own meaning to the task. We all used the camera as there were different angles to shoot from so even if you were acting you could still get a feel for the camera when using it. Myself and Harry, another student in my class volunteered to act. It was quite comical as he is a brilliant drama scholar and acted great and I can't act to save my life so the contrast already had a comical feel. Kate and Arabella were behind the camera a lot of the time placing us in the correct position and moving the camera to where it was supposed to be.

There were several shots that needed to be taken which were: one wide - we shot this multiple times so we could perfect it as much as we could. This also saves us if any editing goes wrong we can always go back to the wide shot as it captures everything. Then close ups of each character to emphasise their facial expressions but also including the setting behind. The close ups were filmed by Harry or I filmed him. Another shot we did was over the shoulder, this gives a more interesting perspective because you can potentially see what the character who's shoulder we are looking over, is looking at.

Our group was situated in the classroom, we had to talk together to come up with an idea for our shoot. In the previous lesson Matt, one of our media teachers told us that filming is "10% doing stuff and 90% communication" thus we made an extra effort to communicate with each other. We came up with the idea of not being able to reach the projector, as I am very small I obviously had to be the one who couldn't reach it. We found it very amusing as it was a small thing (turning on the projector) and having such pressure to do!

We started off filming the wide shot with the whole scene, we did this numerous times as we needed time to correct it and also we had to get into the flow of things as it was only our second time using the cameras. Kate was the director for this scene, and Arabella was the camera man. They communicated before shooting with the "stand by", "role camera", "action". After filming the wide shot we did close ups. The camera didn't need to be moved which was a lot easier and by doing this, in the real film world it would save a lot of vital money. Finally we took the over the shoulder shots which we did have to move the camera.

Our group all worked well together and I feel we worked very independently and fairly professionally. It was a good start to my filming experience.

Coursework Task Defined

Video

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. Both preliminary and main tasks may be done individually or as a group. Maximum four members to a group.

Shooting a sequnce

I was excited to start my second practical lesson as I was wanting to know what was next from the lesson last week. 
We were in groups of four and we had to set up the camera and tripod like we had last week before we started anything. This meant we had to have the bubble in the middle because we did not want any slanting shots. My group knew exactly what we were doing. After that our teacher did a few role plays with a few of us showing us how to make a sequence, with extra people involved such as a director, camera man and the actors. 
As this is just the beginning we kept the camera on the tripod without using zooms or holding the camera. To start I was director, Laura was camera man and Harry and Kate were the actors. We shot the scene a few times with different camera views. We first shot it all in an establishing shot with Kate on the sofa and Harry walking in, looking at her, sitting down with her and then Kate leaving as she is clearly not amused. We then did some mid-shots so it was clear what the characters were doing, and also some EPUs so we could see the facial expressions clearly. 
My first filming experience shooting a sequence was exciting and helped me catch a feel for what it is actually like. I enjoyed it very much.

Camera lesson with Adam

In this lesson we gathered an understanding of different shots. Unbeknown to me before learning about this different types of shot sizes represent different meanings. As an example, an extreme close up (ECU) usually of the face, try to convey an emotion and/or detail whereas a long shot shows the full figure of someone which contextualises the character and their location.
Different shots can also be used to represent someone's authority such as a high angle is when the camera point down above eye line which indicates low status or vulnerability. In contrast a low camera angle (below eye line) can indicate high status, someone in power or someone intimidating.

We used 'Pleasantville' as an example to look at the different shots. Films or programmes usually open with an establishing shot to indicate the location. Pleasantville opened with an establishing shot, then moves on to a three shot which suggests closeness within the group of friends, highlighting people get on at the school. There is then an ECU of the boy showing his emotion. There is then many shot reverse shot close ups with the same eye line to look like the boy is talking to the girl however we realise this is not the case when there is then an establishing shot to show who is in the school grounds and he is no where near the girl and she is actually talking to the boy she is with. There is then a two shot of the girl and boy talking together to emphasise the idea that it was their conversation the girl was replying to. The opening sequence ends on an establishing shot which is also at a high angle emphasising the boys vulnerability.

My first lesson using the camera

Thursday 5th September 2013 I had my first proper camera lesson. I was very excited to start learning about it because I always hear my family talking about film cameras and productions but I could never fully understand what they were talking about, so I am looking forward to learning in this lesson.

We used sony NX5 cameras (the one above), and we will be using these cameras throughout the year. We started by setting up the tripod and becoming familiar with how to change the hight of the tripod. Tripods are very very useful pieces of equiptment as they hold the camera in place, it is highly recommended to use tripods as they stop camera shake and provide a clean image. 
The camera has many different buttons, all that are very obvious so it becomes quite easy to work. We were first taught about the zoom and focus. To have a clean, sharp image you must zoom in very close to a particular part of an area such as the hair on a person and focus it until it is sharp. The zoom then helps take different shots such as a ECU or a mid shot. 
On the cameras we also learnt about exposure to make the frame lighter or darker. The camera has 3 sets of ND filters. These are like sunglasses for the camera. Another thing we learnt was about white balance. The white balance button was the one button that is so tiny! However you find a white background you focus up, maybe put an ND filter on and then press the button. If the correct number comes up then the white balance is correct and the other colours in the picture will be precise. 
I enjoyed learning all these basic techniques to get started. It was a very interesting lesson and I cannot wait to learn more. 

My first blog

Hello, my name is Phoebe Palmer and this is my first blog. I am making this blog for my AS media studies coursework. I have never written a blog so I'm not too sure how this goes, however I do know what I am writing about so hopefully it will go well. For AS I am studying English Literature, Media Studies, Photography and Psychology. I have a particular interest in media as all my family have something to do with film, music and production. 
I am particularly interested in the filming and production of films, documentaries and also music videos. I am very into music, some of my favourite bands and artists are: Mumford and Sons, Daughter, Bastille and Tom Odell. I have been on film sets for a film called 'From time to time' where my nan did the costumes and she took me to the set. I found it very interesting and have always had an interest in the media world. 
I will be posting throughout the year of my media lessons and what I do in them, 
Phoebe. 

This is me on the left