Since I now have both last years Continuity Project and this years, I will be able to see what skills I have improved upon or learnt. As a result I will be creating a video review comparing the two which will cover areas such as:
-Framing
-Quality
-Set Choice
-Music Choice
-The Continuity Aspects
-180° Rule and How closely it is followed
-Relation to the Screenplay
As well as anything else that may come up, I hope this exercise will help me to be more critical with my pieces in the Future.
Monday, 25 November 2013
Saturday, 23 November 2013
Continuity Project Video
Here is my completed Continuity project video. In terms of what I think about it I do enjoy certain aspects about it, yet I still have a number of problems with its composition.
AS LEVEL CONTINUITY PROJECT - Clean Start from David Smith on Vimeo.
Firstly, I find that the music at the start makes it a little more interesting to watch by appealing to more than one factor. However, there is a noticeable change in the screenplay and exactly how we recorded this part. Originally the main character would walk down a hallway with different shots from a moving camera, we found this too hard to achieve and so we decided to shorten this sequence on the day to save time for editing. The original idea of having the character talk on the phone was also scrapped as it seemed very dull and lifeless when it was actually placed in the piece.
Secondly, the continuity portion of the piece is relatively well done except for one noticeable error I only noticed a short while later. Due to editing a particular editing problem involving clip timings, we see our main character start a piece of dialogue, sit down and then in the next shot he once again sits down, I would have removed this had I noticed it earlier but it slipped my mind. The rest of the features hold up moderately, such as the action matching with both the doors and with the money exchange regardless of the dialogue error of stating "Can I borrow a five" where upon the other character hands him a twenty pound note.
Compared with last years attempt however I find this to be a much stronger piece as we kept a straight forward approach instead of veering the focus halfway through production.
AS LEVEL CONTINUITY PROJECT - Clean Start from David Smith on Vimeo.
Firstly, I find that the music at the start makes it a little more interesting to watch by appealing to more than one factor. However, there is a noticeable change in the screenplay and exactly how we recorded this part. Originally the main character would walk down a hallway with different shots from a moving camera, we found this too hard to achieve and so we decided to shorten this sequence on the day to save time for editing. The original idea of having the character talk on the phone was also scrapped as it seemed very dull and lifeless when it was actually placed in the piece.
Secondly, the continuity portion of the piece is relatively well done except for one noticeable error I only noticed a short while later. Due to editing a particular editing problem involving clip timings, we see our main character start a piece of dialogue, sit down and then in the next shot he once again sits down, I would have removed this had I noticed it earlier but it slipped my mind. The rest of the features hold up moderately, such as the action matching with both the doors and with the money exchange regardless of the dialogue error of stating "Can I borrow a five" where upon the other character hands him a twenty pound note.
Compared with last years attempt however I find this to be a much stronger piece as we kept a straight forward approach instead of veering the focus halfway through production.
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
The Difficulties of using a moving pan to follow a character
At the start of my piece there is a rather annoying issue of
getting the camera to turn smoothly to instigate a pan, the main problem comes
from the issue of it being such a delicate process and the grip on the tripod
itself is just a solid line of plastic, making it slippy at times. I think that
in future I am actually going to use some gloves when operating the camera or
having others operate the camera, even simply golfing gloves should provide a
tight grip to allow smooth flow. The second problem I have with this is how
increasing the height on the camera by extending the legs also makes the tripod
a tad more… ‘Spindly’, it is a little bit more prone to knocks and shakes as
you can clearly see in the piece. To counteract this, one should keep a tight
hold and locked body position when turning, be very tight with the control and
perhaps press one hand on the base when turning so no shake can ensue as the
base is firmly pinned to the ground.
Corridor song music
There is a mild change, instead of Huey Lewis's Power of Love, I am instead going with Hip to be Square, simply because its much more punchier and a large degree more catchier.
Set Change
While the Corridor remains the same in the piece I have changed the room used for the conversation, simply because the light levels dont change as drastically over time as they do in the new one, the sound quality is also better in the new room.
Thursday, 14 November 2013
Ending Title Music
For the Ending title music I have decided to go with something that is still light hearted yet also has something of a kick to it. The song that I have chosen is 'Itchycoo Park' by 'The Small Faces', I find it to be very interesting as an ending song.
Shooting Method
In order to make sure that I can get a clean edit, I am recording the scene from three seperate points of view, one after the other, what this allows me to do is eliminate the risk of seeing another camera in the shot and also it gives me more editing options to work with, with more footage I can make a more interesting piece with a cleaner shot reverse shot as opposed to one where the camera just keeps cutting at the end of a sentence.
Script given to the Cast
The Following is the basic script that I have given to the cast, Its simple and easy to follow so I cant see much issues arising from dialogue
The 1st Man in this Story will be played by David Smith while the 2nd man is played by James Appleby
The 1st Man in this Story will be played by David Smith while the 2nd man is played by James Appleby
*Blank Screen* 1st Man- *Phone Rings**Pick up*
“Hello, This is Charles Baker… Yes… Oh… Well, Thank you very much, Goodbye”
*Click* “Aaaaaw Yeah”
*S*2ND Man -“Well well well were awful cheery
today” Says the man looking backwards and forth between him and his paper.
*T to S* 1st Man – “Yep, as of today I am
officially employed.” He states with a smug disposition.
*S*2nd Man- “You don’t think you’re letting this
got to your head, Just a little.”
*S to T* 1st Man- “Not, Even, Slightly, If you'll
excuse me, I need to go celebrate”
*S* 2nd Man- "Honestly". "WAIT.
His majesty couldn’t loan me a Five could he" Sarcasm
*T* 1st Man- "I don’t see why not." *
Gives him the Note*
*S* 2nd Man -“Cheers Man”
*S* Sitting
*T* Standing
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Set Breakdown
In terms of the set that I will b eusing for this particular piece I have simply decided to use Framwellgate School Sixth Form as it will simply allow me to both produce a atmosphere that does match the theme (People Going into employment from a young age ,'First Jobs') and also allows me to be nearby an editing area if I need it, Which I probably will. To help me explain the shoot I have taken some pictures of the areas that I will be filming in.
First Up is the area where the Two main characters talk, Its a pretty simple set up although I am probably going to change this table out for a couple of rectangular tables, as round tables can sometimes make it difficult to show characters being opposite each other in direct dialogue.
Second is the Long Hallway used for the opening scene, should the scene seem too short I can also use the corridor around the corner
 |
Simple Set up...
|
 |
| Long Walking shots to accompany title. |
Second is the Long Hallway used for the opening scene, should the scene seem too short I can also use the corridor around the corner
Since the project requirement calls for a action matching between characters, I am going to use both the action of opening a door and also that of the money changeover written in the story later on.
 |
| Opportunity for door action match requirement |
Monday, 11 November 2013
Slight Change In Screenplay
I have decided to make one small change to the screenplay. Nearer the beginning of the piece there is a scene where a character can be seen entering through a door and the camera then stays behind instead of following. Instead of this I have opted for a different style where the camera starts on one end of the door and then end up on the other to allow me to pan the camera to the left down the hallway while still following the Main Character.
Music Choice for the Opening of the film
The Music tht I have chosen for the opening of the film will be the well known classic song by Huey Lewis and the News. The Power of Love. While this may seem perculiar due to the dating of the song. I still think that the beat is perfectly sound and just upbeat enough to express the characters mood.
Thursday, 7 November 2013
Appropriate music for the Opening section of the film and that of the End Titles
In the opening section of the film I would like to use something smooth yet punchy. I would also like it to be more of an instrumental focus than a vocal one. For the ending scenes I want it to be a little bit more powerful and solid in terms of the beat to give it a strong finish. As of now I cannot think of a good example but I will be sure to update my blog should I discover it.
Basic description of the concept for the Continuity project
The concept of the short film is a rather simple one, It simply follows one particular portion of an individuals life in a rather upbeat manner accompanied by rather upbeat music and ending with a nice smooth title.
In the story we follow one particular character to start with and this eventually evolves into a dialogue between two characters. The scene follows the following events:
Firstly, we open to a black screen with a voice over of someone being rung on a telephone, the tone is distinguishable and is clearly identified as a phone. It is then picked up and answered by the main protagonist of the story. From what can be interpreted from his line of the phone, he has recently been employed into a job that he very much hoped to get. for a brief second things go quiet and then we quickly cut into a scene of someone walking down a corridor from the level of their feet from the side, then from the back, finally ending on the right hand. Each of these are done to music with cuts at recurring intervals. After the hand shot the walking is timed to allow the protagonist to walk through a set of double doors into another hallway while the camera stays behind the double doors.
This starts a change of view as we cut to a shot of a man from over the shoulder while he is writing in a book. From the angle a door can be seen clearly and the first man from earlier walks into the room with a sense of "Swagger"
"Well Well Well, Were awful cheery today" Says the sitting man, From the point of view of the camera which is placed behind a seat that the first man sits in while still allowing an over the shoulder shot.
Just before he sits down the camera switches back to the point of view of the sitting man. Just in time to see him sitting down.
"Yep, as of today I am officially employed." He states rather smugly, all the while the camera remains in its position.
Cutting back to the second man. "You dont think you're letting this go to your head, just a little."
Just Before the sentence ends the camera switches back to allow the first man to say "Not, Even, Slightly, If you'll excuse me, I need to go celebrate" He begins to get up when this sentence begins and the camera pans slightly up with him.
The camera cuts back to the sitting man shaking his head saying "Honestly" In an amused tone. The camera shows the first man beginning to walk away but quickly he is verbally stopped by the sitting man.
Quickly the camera, now elevated to the First mans position shows the sitting man stating "His majesty could'nt loan me a Five could he"
Camera Cuts back, "I dont see why not." States the first man as he recieves his wallet from his pocket and pulls out a note.
The camera starts on the sitting man leaning up for the note, then cuts to first man letting go of the note. "Cheers man" says the sitting man, whom the camera rests on. The First man simply nods and walks off. As the first man walks away the camera is now placed at the other end of the room and follows him. The voice over states "Life is good", Music begins to rise into the scene and as soons as he adjusts his jacket, Him having walked closer to the camera, the scene ends and cuts to a title screen with the credits. On the title screen the music is made much more noticeable.
In the story we follow one particular character to start with and this eventually evolves into a dialogue between two characters. The scene follows the following events:
Firstly, we open to a black screen with a voice over of someone being rung on a telephone, the tone is distinguishable and is clearly identified as a phone. It is then picked up and answered by the main protagonist of the story. From what can be interpreted from his line of the phone, he has recently been employed into a job that he very much hoped to get. for a brief second things go quiet and then we quickly cut into a scene of someone walking down a corridor from the level of their feet from the side, then from the back, finally ending on the right hand. Each of these are done to music with cuts at recurring intervals. After the hand shot the walking is timed to allow the protagonist to walk through a set of double doors into another hallway while the camera stays behind the double doors.
This starts a change of view as we cut to a shot of a man from over the shoulder while he is writing in a book. From the angle a door can be seen clearly and the first man from earlier walks into the room with a sense of "Swagger"
"Well Well Well, Were awful cheery today" Says the sitting man, From the point of view of the camera which is placed behind a seat that the first man sits in while still allowing an over the shoulder shot.
Just before he sits down the camera switches back to the point of view of the sitting man. Just in time to see him sitting down.
"Yep, as of today I am officially employed." He states rather smugly, all the while the camera remains in its position.
Cutting back to the second man. "You dont think you're letting this go to your head, just a little."
Just Before the sentence ends the camera switches back to allow the first man to say "Not, Even, Slightly, If you'll excuse me, I need to go celebrate" He begins to get up when this sentence begins and the camera pans slightly up with him.
The camera cuts back to the sitting man shaking his head saying "Honestly" In an amused tone. The camera shows the first man beginning to walk away but quickly he is verbally stopped by the sitting man.
Quickly the camera, now elevated to the First mans position shows the sitting man stating "His majesty could'nt loan me a Five could he"
Camera Cuts back, "I dont see why not." States the first man as he recieves his wallet from his pocket and pulls out a note.
The camera starts on the sitting man leaning up for the note, then cuts to first man letting go of the note. "Cheers man" says the sitting man, whom the camera rests on. The First man simply nods and walks off. As the first man walks away the camera is now placed at the other end of the room and follows him. The voice over states "Life is good", Music begins to rise into the scene and as soons as he adjusts his jacket, Him having walked closer to the camera, the scene ends and cuts to a title screen with the credits. On the title screen the music is made much more noticeable.
Monday, 4 November 2013
House M.D. Season 2 Episode 24 "No Reason". An interesting editing example.
Among my peers it is no secret that I am a monumental fan of the hit series
House M.D. The show itself may follow its own sense of cliché now and again
with the repeating theme of finding a problem, thinking they have fixed the
problem, accidentally made it worse, finding out something interesting about
the person, House will then have an idea come to him from something random
(such as a Taiwanese disease seen from a woman’s thong), and they'll be cured.
But it isn’t the repetitive story arc that I would like to talk about.
Editing is something that up to this point the show had been pretty straight forward with, a bit more rapid for tension and smoother for resolutions, but in the Season 2 Finale, there is a fun editing ploy used to tell the story.
Simply put, at the start of the episode Dr House finds himself in a predicament where he has been shot in the neck and the abdomen. He wakes up the next morning fine and dandy in a hospital bed, the only difference being that people won’t question what he says anymore, and he is always correct, House ends up confronting his boss Dr Cuddey to see what’s going on and why on his chart his surgery included the chemical Epinephrine, given its ability to put patients into comas for short periods. She says that it was to help with the pain and will also help to heal his thigh muscles according to a German study. House is adamant that this was a failure on the part of the surgeon. As the episode goes on weird occurrences begin to come into play, such as treating a patient, then talking to his wife, only to find he is in fact a widow, his wife died years ago. Eventually House begins walking around again, helping one particular patient who is literally exploding (Rather Gruesome). It is then that he comes across a great marvel, while talking to Dr Wilson, his conversation moves from his room to a stairwell. House has no recollection of moving to the stairs and it is simply context that causes him to move from place to place. *Spoiler* Because of this House determines that he is in fact in a coma and consequentially dissects a patient with a large machine designed for surgery.
By using the sharp cuts from scene to scene, coupled with the fact that House is literally being thrown scene to scene, we can understand his confusion greatly, His entire existence at this point is based on context and what his mind believes happens next in the "Story" regardless of House being aware of the situation.
*Ultimate Spoiler Warning* House is still in the coma after all. He asked for the Epinephrine but couldn’t remember.
Editing is something that up to this point the show had been pretty straight forward with, a bit more rapid for tension and smoother for resolutions, but in the Season 2 Finale, there is a fun editing ploy used to tell the story.
Simply put, at the start of the episode Dr House finds himself in a predicament where he has been shot in the neck and the abdomen. He wakes up the next morning fine and dandy in a hospital bed, the only difference being that people won’t question what he says anymore, and he is always correct, House ends up confronting his boss Dr Cuddey to see what’s going on and why on his chart his surgery included the chemical Epinephrine, given its ability to put patients into comas for short periods. She says that it was to help with the pain and will also help to heal his thigh muscles according to a German study. House is adamant that this was a failure on the part of the surgeon. As the episode goes on weird occurrences begin to come into play, such as treating a patient, then talking to his wife, only to find he is in fact a widow, his wife died years ago. Eventually House begins walking around again, helping one particular patient who is literally exploding (Rather Gruesome). It is then that he comes across a great marvel, while talking to Dr Wilson, his conversation moves from his room to a stairwell. House has no recollection of moving to the stairs and it is simply context that causes him to move from place to place. *Spoiler* Because of this House determines that he is in fact in a coma and consequentially dissects a patient with a large machine designed for surgery.
By using the sharp cuts from scene to scene, coupled with the fact that House is literally being thrown scene to scene, we can understand his confusion greatly, His entire existence at this point is based on context and what his mind believes happens next in the "Story" regardless of House being aware of the situation.
*Ultimate Spoiler Warning* House is still in the coma after all. He asked for the Epinephrine but couldn’t remember.
Starting the Continuity Project
The new
term has begun and with it is a new project, for this project I will be
required to focus on the areas of:
· Action Matching
· The 180° Rule
Hopefully
this won’t be as much of a disaster as last years in which we took a comedic
turn that didn't fit, wasn't funny and potentially ruined the piece. Here’s
hoping that this year’s piece will be helped by my experiences in the past.
Key
Points for this Piece include shooting the following scenes:
· Conversing with dialogue in a Shot/Reverse shot
Lack of posts for a week
While I thought that a trip to Cumbria would have been a relaxing getaway to work on a few blogs in the woods with a nice cup of tea. North West England's Broadband and Wi-fi Capabilities have much to be desired and I struggled even getting a phone signal in most areas let alone 3G. I have now set my clocks forward back 20 years in the North East and I can now easily work again. Apologies for the Inconvenience.
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