Sunday, 21 September 2014

Framing a shot: Practice with Stills.

I was set the task of taking a series of practice shots, which included an antagonist and protagonist, and certain shots had to be included. I teamed up with Darby and Carmel to achieve this task. With Darby playing the protagonist and Carmel, the antagonist, I was behind the camera. 

Our first shot was an establishing shot, in order to show where the storyline/scene is going to take place. This shot is particularly useful as it shows a large area at once, and therefore makes the protagonist seem much more vulnerable.


The long shot whilst using a background helps to create a feeling of isolation for the protagonist, as it shows the size of the protagonist directly compared with the size of the setting and place.

Using the rule of thirds, we managed to create a long shot, which captured both the protagonist and antagonist. We wanted to create the feeling that they were still outside and are more exposed. We decided that the antagonist would be staring directly at the protagonist, even though they are stood close together. 

We decided we would use the low angled shot, by taking the photograph from below the antagonist, inorder to make them look much bigger than they actually are, to create a sense of disorientation and fear. 

Next, we decided to follow the low angled shot with a long shot using a leading line. The leading line is used to lead the eye to another focus point within the image. We used it to ensure the focus was on how small the protagonist looks from the antagonist's point of view. 



An extreme close up (ECU) is used to create suspense, as it focuses on only one specific object, sometimes with a very small amount of background showing. In our ECU, we blurred our the background, in order to create a feeling of doubt as to what's in the background. 


Finally, we shot the same image from three different viewpoints. We shot the antagonist lent against a tree, in order to deceive the audience. We used a long shot, low angle shot, and a close up.






Introduction...

I am currently starting my first year studying Media, however I'm intrigued to find out what I've gotten myself into. By that, I mean, I'm excited to find out how films and TV shows are made, as I'm a fan lf movie nights and TV box set marathons. 

Particularly, I am looking forward to taking photographs and filming videos(and trying the new equipment!), as photography is a small hobby of mine already. 

Much off my time is taken up by reading blogs or watching 'vlogs' by my favourite youtubers, therefore some of my blogs will be inspired by them. Social media is a big part of my life, and more often than not, I'll be rapidly posting on twitter, when I'm supposed to be doing something much less interesting.

As part of my AS grade, I have to produce an opening scene to a thriller. This short clip will have to create different sorts of emotions for the viewer, such as suspense and tension. 
Overall, I am looking forward to creating these feelings by experimenting with different equipment, and learning the art of film making.