1. Whilst filming our Preliminary exercise, we learnt how important it was for our
sequence to flow seamlessly. To ensure this occurred we were taught the basics
of continuity editing, how to stick to the 180-degree rule and finally the
shot/reverse shot. The entire conversation was filmed from both characters;
then edited later.
We made a few mistakes such as an unwanted person being in one of our shots;
if we had more time we would shoot the scene again. Due to the lack of time we
didn’t have this as an option. Furthermore we made the mistake of changing the
sequence to black and white. The problem with this was that, it was hard to
make out what was happening throughout the scene. However we stuck to the
180-degree rule.
The final film opening gave us more time therefore we were given more creative
freedom, to experiment and conjure up ideas. We did not use a shot/reverse shot
sequence as we had a single character. We did use a match on action shot and
followed the 180- degree rule.
For the actual opening we had more time; this time gave us much more time to
plan and research. We used the money in the bathtub shot from “Slumdog
Millionaire” and the blood in the sink shot from “Psycho”. The amount of time we
were given also allowed us to explore different camera angles and shots. If a
mistake was made, we had enough time to re-shoot it, as we were not limited for
time. This led us to using many more experimental shots such as close-ups,
medium-close ups, low angle shots and reflecting an angled shot of a mirror,
making it seem like the audience is peering in from the side-lines. Making them
seem almost as if they are part of the action.
Mise en scene was kept simplistic in our preliminary sequence, as we were
confined to the college space. On the other hand for the final opening, we were
free to experiment with Mise en scene. We were able to use different locations, in
our case, Northwood Hills Station and a member of our group’s house. The
setting was established with a wide shot of the station and the title appears. This
time we made sure that there was enough lighting for the audience, to be able to
see what was happening. The type of lighting we used was all natural ambient
lighting. We had access to more props; making our sequence seem more realistic.
In terms of costume for the preliminary, it wasn’t thought out. However for the
final opening we had to think more about how we wanted the audience to
perceive the character.
Soundtrack wasn’t considered well for the preliminary task because we had time
to spare. However when choosing a soundtrack for our final sequence we had to
make sure it flowed seamlessly. This meant that we chopped and changed the
sequence according to the track. The song really helped with the “cool”
“laidback” atmosphere. An important shot is the appearance of the title; we had
to match it to when the singer says money. The lyric money would help the
audience link the title to the song and what the sequence had coming up.