Unit 1 : Filmmaking 101

Task 1 : Filming Basics

What are the different on set calls and what they mean ?

Quiet on set = Assistant Director 

Recording = Camera Crew

3, 2, 1 ... Action = Assistant Director 

Cut! = Director 

How to stay safe on set :

When on set you must look out for obstacles and things that could potentially be a risk to anyone as a part of the crew. Risk assessments take place to see any potential dangers and to point them out so anyone from the crew can avoid them or have a work around. Location Recce is similar, this is just a scouting task where you go and look round the location for shooting so you can get a visual representation so you can see in person the size and feel of the space before you arrive so you know how to prepare for something. Don't add anything on set unless its been checked on the risk assessment to ensure they are safe.

How to setup all production equipment :

When setting up all equipment you make sure wires etc are covered over with yellow tape or marked as hazardous so people can step over them or duck under them or stand on them and not fall or have any issues. This is the same for tripods and other lighting equipment, add sandbags to weigh them down so they don't get knocked over easy and tape a square around the leg so it stays in position on set. 

How to perform a location recce :

You go to location for shooting and look round and take photos and see how it feels for your shoot so you know weather or not its worth booking it. Checking all available space to see exactly what the layout is and maybe if you can use the space or not. This is when you can find out if you need to have any obvious dangers like stairs and ramps or overhead wiring that needs to be attended to. 

Task 2 : Shot size, Type & Angle

    Shot Size

 What are shot sizes ?

    - The shot size is what the viewer can see, it's their only POV of the scene . So if you have a close up the viewer may feel confined and too close in an intense moment, filmmakers do this by creating and setting the scene with these shot sizes.

What are the different shot sizes called ?

    - Establishing shot, wide shot, long shot, medium shot, Medium long shot, medium close up, close up, extreme close up, master shot.

What is the purpose of each shot size and what information does it present to the audience ?     

    1) Establishing shot = This sets the scene to show a location change or characters that are entering the new scene, it will give information about the scene and what's happening so the viewers will have a better understanding of what is going on.

    2) Wide shot = This allows the filmmakers to show the mass of people in a crowd with a really wide angle lens to show the whole perspective of what's happening within this scene so the viewers get a good representation for size. This shot size will provide the viewers / audience with a feel for exactly how it is in real life for the different scaled representatives.

    3) Long shot = This shot is for when you want to have a full body from head to toe within the framing of the shot. This will give the perspective the viewer of how tall someone is in the scene or what is happening within the shot while walking and talking between two people.

    4) Medium shot = This shot is a little closer than a long shot and crops it down to the just above the waist to the top of the head. This will give the perspective to the audience of how intense a moment is and what's happening between two people usually with this shot size.

    5) Medium long shot = This shot is from the head to the knees. This provides the viewer to see a little more information than just the medium shot this allows the audience to see more characters and more of the surroundings.

    6) Medium close up shot = This shot sometimes has a good pairing with the OTS shot / view, this allows a wider FOV from the close up shot to this which has a little more information within the shot / scene. This will give the audience a better understanding of what they can see amongst the two characters on screen.

    7) Close up shot = This shot is for making dramatic effect and shows a really specific part of a shot like an individual persons face or reaction. This will allow the audience to feel fully immersed within the film as it provides a sense of confinement and claustrophobia making the audience feel like they cant get away as they feel like they are the other character who may be seeing this.

    8) Extreme close up shot = This shot is just a specific part on someone's face / body and really focuses in on the information given to an audience. This will make the audience feel and get the perspective of extreme claustrophobia making them back away from the screen or sit back in their chair from the feeling they get when being immersed in the scene. 

    9) The master shot = This shot gets multiple people in a scene from one angle who may be sitting around a table or having a conversation, this is a perfect shot to cut away to if the editor needs another angle and its always a go to shot for anything that might need to be zoomed out of if people are talking and have a close up shot of them and then it cuts to the master shot it will give the perspective of what was happening between the two characters. 

    My Classwork :

Shot Type

What are shot types ?

    - Shot types are what happens within the scene or shot itself, this could be the amount of people in the scene and what kind of shot it is, I will cover this in the third question title. 

What are the different shot types called ? 

    - Single shot, two shot, three shot, four shot, five shot, crowd shot, insert, OTS shot.

        - Any shot that has additional characters inside a shot that are behind a main subject will be called a "Dirty [insert number] Shot" This only applies for any shot with numbers 1-5 in front of it.

What is the purpose of each shot type and what information does it present to the audience ?

    1) Single shot = This shot shows just the one person or it may have one person and some additional characters in the background and then the shot would be know as a "dirty single shot". This shows the audience who is in the shot and scene from just a quick glance.

    2) Two shot = This shot shows two people within the scene that might be paired up with any shot size. This will give the audience the idea of who is in the shot and weather or not it is just those two characters or more than two.

    3) Three shot = This shot shows three people within a scene. This will give the audience a perspective of who is in the shot and they will know if there any additional characters or just the three are in there.

    4) Four shot = This shot shows four people within the scene. This shows how many people are in the scene from one shot because it will include all main four subjects and any additional will be called a dirty four shot.

    5) Five shot = This shot shows five people within the scene. This will give an idea of the scale of people within the shots to the audience.

    6) Crowd shot = This shot show any more than 5 people in a scene / shot and allows the filmmakers to give a full perspective on the scene. This will allow the audience to see how many people there are in an auditorium as an example and see the mass of people. 

    7) Insert shot = This shot is for any additional information you wish to add into the scene like when a scientist enters a card swipe entry door, they might film him from a far swiping the card then as he swipes it they will cut to the close up of the card swipe machine and then back out to him walking into the room from a long camera shot. This will give the audience a POV sequence as well as a view for what he is doing from a far distance to establish the location then they will feel like the scientist because of the POV insert of the card swiping motion.

    8) OTS shot = Over the shoulder shot is behind a person. Allowing the viewer to feel included.

My Classwork :

    Shot Angle

What are shot angles ?

    - The shot angle is the height of a shot / camera placement. By doing this you can portray different perspectives through this like power and characters who might not be as powerful. This allows the viewer to see the main differences in just looking at it without anyone speaking.

What are the different shot angles called ?

    - High angle, low angle, eye level, overhead, shoulder, Dutch, knee level, ground level, hip level

What information does the angle give the audience ( Character, Environment, Situation ) ?

    - Low angles can show someone higher up and more powerful equally like a high angle shot panning down to someone below them, however the low angle and be used as a POV for someone with lower power compared to someone with power / status with a high angle shot.

Example of work : 

Task 3 : Mise En Scene

What is Mise En Scene ?

    - How the set within a production will look like the scenery and props etc. It is the overall setting of the scene 

What are the elements of Mise En Scene ?

    - Lighting, Performance, Framing and composition, Props, Setting and Director, Colour, Costume 

How Mise En Scene effects this ending scene from No Time To Die 007  ?

Mise En Scene is used here in the very ending of No Time To Die 007, this is because there is always Mise En Scene in films and scenes because of the lighting and Framing and Composition these are usually the very basic things to consider as the lighting can help portray the mood and feel for the type of scene it might be. Framing and Composition also helps portray the mood, if the scene is off centre it may be the way of the filmmakers trying to make the viewer feel uneasy. The performance of the actors is down to their physical expressions and how well they act either being really into the scene by making everything feel as real as possible, even their communication with the props within the scene like when Mr Bond looks up towards the missile that will eventually kill him and end the characters life within the film 007 he looks up with sadness and acceptance acknowledging the death is upon him. Props within a scene is really important as it adds to the background and foreground helping with depth and small details, props can be anything from the belts and guns to cloths. Colour is also really important as it helps set the mood in the scenes like when the explosions go off it goes orange and red to indicate danger and death which foreshadows what will happen across the span of 2 minutes or so. Costume helps bring together all which was previously mentioned, this is the final thing that should be absolutely perfect this is because it is the main focus point as the actors will be wearing said costume and they will be looked at the most. Setting and Director is the final thing that brings everything together merging perfectly as they are the people who make all this happen and without them, there would be no Mise En Scene.

Task 4 : Rule of Thirds & 180 Degree Rule

What is The Rule of Thirds ?

    - The rule of thirds is how you setup framing and composition of a shot, this is super important to get right otherwise it can make or break a scene if it is not done correctly. The rule of thirds sections off the monitor screen into 9 imaginary sections which is how you correctly setup a scene to ensure it looks even and levelled.

Rule of Thirds Explanation :

    - The rule of thirds has 9 boxes and they are all equally spaced allowing the subjects to be in frame with even space around the subject, people shots are the most common and they usually position the eyes on the first line down from the top which goes across horizontally. The rule of thirds allows you to pan the camera while keeping the subject in the first vertically placed 3 boxes on the left hand side this ensures it is aways even and correct following the rule's implied within filmmaking. 

Class Work (Visual Representation) :

     

180 Degree Rule

What is the 180 Degree Rule ?

    - The 180 degree rule is like an imaginary line, if you cross it you have broken the line of symmetry or the chosen side to film on, so if you pick the right side you stay on the right side you will never move over to the left side as it makes the viewer feel disconnected when this happens and then they will be confused as to why you were on one side and now you have transferred over to the other side. It is a case of having invisible lines and semi-circles which make up the full 360 degrees you theoretically split the scene in half and pick a side and stay on that side for the scene unless you do over the shoulder shots which should also remain on the same side just over the two different peoples shoulders but remain on the same 180 degrees side of the semi-circle. 

180 Degree Rule Explanation :

    - Once you have picked a side you remain on that side and never switch from it as this could result in problems like the wrong camera placement which then throws off the viewer so we need to keep these rules in place so the films we shoot stay symmetrical and look aesthetically pleasing.

Class Work (Visual Representation) - floor plan :

Video Evidence

YOU TUBE LINK = https://youtu.be/BiN-LCCQcpk

Task 5 : Editing

What i understand about video editing in Adobe PR 2022 :

When i was editing i made sure to follow the checklist which was given to me and how to edit correctly, i did add some additional things to the edit to make the final result look better like the sound effects and individual typing noises and popups for the text at the beginning and i also edited the animation for it as well.  

Video Evidence

YOU TUBE LINK = https://youtu.be/ITKPXc7GtHc

Screenshot Evidence of my editing work in PR 2022 :