MEST2 Brief

MEST2 Brief

Group:

• Callum
• Mamduh
• Ra'eesah

Film topic possibilities:

• Modern-noir

An exchange of a suitcase between two people in a seaside setting perhaps gone wrong - could play on the whole idea of Levi-Strauss' theory of binary opposition

• Urban Life

A video detailing the life of a sixth form student, potentially as a way of providing an alternative and arguably more accurate representation of life as a teenager as oppose to the more dominant ones

A drama based around a group teenagers, all attempting to make it big in industries that they aspire to become part of e.g. music, fashion, technology...

A more comedy-oriented film based around a gang who's main source of income emanates from the exchange of books whether they be novels or revision guides to name a few.

Preliminary exercise evaluation

Preliminary exercise evaluation

Brief

The preliminary exercise involves 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. 

Planning process and pre-production

In terms of planning, what this preliminary exercise was able to showcase was the fact that communication across the groups we work in as part of the MEST2 coursework, will be crucial in helping us obtain the top grades. Since we didn't actually carry this out effectively, it meant that elements of our production weren't as detailed as others with this particularly holding true for the shot list, storyboard and script.

Although in coming together as a whole they worked quite well, it could've potentially been better if we had all members of the group working on the pre-production pieces as a collective and feed off of each others ideas while doing it, as oppose to just doing it independently without reference to anything else e.g. group member working on script not having a storyboard to base it upon.

Additionally, being organised in terms of time (when we're going to film) is imperative since dedicating more time than you think you may need to actually making the film can mean that you have more shots to actually work  with in editing as oppose to less which we to some extent, encountered with our production since we in some parts rushed scenes as is evident at 00:34 of the video.

Strengths

One of the clear strengths of our video was our ability of 'capture' the atmosphere that one may come to expect in the scenario of an interrogation. From a sound standpoint, this was done by the more serious parallel, non-diegetic sound in the very beginning of the video, the exclamations of Mamduh, the emotional cries of Abdi but also the silence when the scene cuts to the shot of myself behind the glass window. This leads into the idea of conventions in that one would not be able to hear the dialogue of an interrogation if they weren't in the room, they'd only be able to witness it as it played out. 

This is further added to with lighting, in which a low-key type was implemented with the lamp being the sole source of light visible in the scene. The way in which it highlights only the objects placed on the table by the interrogator and the faces of the characters around the desk not only works towards this idea of iconography for the thriller genre, but it additionally puts a substantial amount of focus on that area in the room instead of there being other distracting elements present.

Our attention to detail is also something that can be commended since by having the CCTV recording template only show up in the scenes where the high-angle shot of the whole room is used, there's an even deeper sense that an actual interrogation is taking place.

More fundamentally though, we abided by the key principles we were asked to follow with match on action with things like Mamduh kicking the chair, shot-reverse shot between Abdi and Mamduh and also maintaining the 180 degree rule.

Weaknesses

Although our lighting could have been said to play to our favour in helping establish the atmosphere of an interrogation, it can also be said to have been one of our disadvantages. With it being dark throughout the entire scene, with the light from the lamp being the only source of light, there were some problems with the visual aspects of our production with grain being present and just not being able to fully identify with the characters and get sutured into the narrative since they were too dark to see.

Another disadvantage relates to the CCTV recording template since the time in the top-right corner was actually constant and never changed. This is important from an attention to detail standpoint since with a real CCTV camera, the time would be changing with each second going by and would not just stay constant for the entirety of its recording.

As already stated in the 'Planning process and pre-production' section, we did have a bad cut within the scene that didn't work well at all and broke the idea of continuity editing. In future to avoid this, what we're going to do is ensure that we record for the entirety of a scene and not stop recording while dialogue is still ongoing unless it plays a part in the plot of our production. As well as this in terms of editing, we have to ensure that cuts between scenes only happen at the end of our clips and not any point before that, or else we essentially completely void the concept of continuity editing within our productions. 

Film Language test learner response

Film Language test learner response

35/48 - B, 1 mark from an A

WWW: Some good analysis & use of media terminology

EBI: Re-do Q2

As a way of introducing the two characters in the opening scene, camera work or cinematography is used as a way of not only hiding the identity of one of the characters, but also showing the demise of another.

When the character sitting down is concerned, medium shots specifically are predominantly used, which are effective in showing what looks to be despair through his facial expression. As he  lights up the trail with the match though, a tracking shot (in addition to straight cuts) are used to follow the flame as it spreads. After this though, a tilt shot is implemented to show that the flame is being doused by this other character with his urine, who we're shown from a much lower angle. This is able to present him as a quite strong and dominant character in comparison to the other one who is shown from more of a higher angle, in turn providing an opposite effect. 

As this second character walks down the steps another tracking shot is used which in combination with sound, which will be further explained in the next question, suggests the demise of the other character. As both characters converse though, this lower angle is used again, this time however only allowing us to see the torso of this character, his face not in shot. This inability to recognise this character helps add to this mystery of him, adding to this idea that he is something of a villain as outlined in Vladimir Propp's theory.

Camera work is also used to put the more violent elements of the scene off-screen, as we don't actually see the character sitting down being shot. Rather, all we view is the barrel of the pistol before this takes place through a medium shot, with the sound of the gunshots letting viewers understand what exactly took place. As the killer flees from the scene of the crime, a tracking shot is implemented again which further adds to this idea of this villain character being able to: 'live to fight another day.'

Preliminary task

Preliminary task

Planning

Planning

Storyboard

Script

Shot List

Media Awards

Media Awards

The Experiment

'The Experiment' happened to be my favourite Year 12 production presented in the Media Awards. This was mainly due to the atmosphere that the clip from it was able to establish. For example, the use of a close-up tracking shot on the 'bulletin board' with a tilt downwards following the actor's finger as it points to 'Alessa Garcia,' before a straight cut transition is used adds this tense and somewhat suspenseful feel to the video, perhaps suggesting that it belongs to the thriller genre. This is also made evident by the very presence of the bulletin board in the scene which could be argued to be iconography associated with thrillers, with strings connecting different articles and images most likely as a method of pinpointing the location of 'Alessa Garcia.' Throughout the clip though, a vast amount of shot types are used such as a low angle one of different office buildings perhaps as a way of establishing the urban setting in which the production takes place, a steadicam sequence inside of the supposedly broken-into house which emulates the look of a point of view (shot) from an actor's perspective and also tracking for when who appears to be the main protagonist is running. One of the more notable ones though were the medium close-up shots of this same protagonist as she ponders over what exactly she can do as she flees her pursuer. These shots followed on by a fade to scenes of the memories she describes in the voiceover, helps suture the audience into the narrative as they develop a personal relationship of a sort between them and this character. The non-diegetic sound offered by the soundtrack in the video also helped add to the tense atmosphere described previously with it providing an almost chilling effect on the audience. Something that sounded like a siren could also be heard in the clip, and this adds to this sense of alarm and danger present at the time. The voiceovers used were additionally quite noteworthy as they helped in conjunction with the actual cinematography, set the scene as to what exactly what was going  on within the production.

Labrat

I selected 'Labrat' as my second favourite film from the Year 12 productions. In a way alike to 'The Experiment,' what I particularly admired of the production was its creation of a sense of atmosphere. In this case, this atmosphere is one of 'going against the odds,' where an underdog strives to overcome the adversity that surrounds him, with the adversity acting as disequilibrium and him overcoming it being the path to a new equilibrium. This also helps possibly establishing this production as being in the drama genre, with its slightly more darker undertones as can be inferred from him in his voiceover. Accompanied by this voiceover is a soundtrack that from time to time with its piano keys, acts a sound bridge to different scenes in the clip. The combination of these two create a sombre outlook on the film and this also contributes to the audience being sutured into the plight/struggle of the character, and so develop a personal relationship for him as described by Blumer and Katz. From a cinematography standpoint, an array of shot types are used here similarly to the video analysed before. An instance of this is the close-up shot of the main protagonist drumming/tapping his fingers on the table. Although there's not a face visible in this shot to more easily identify what the character may be feeling emotionally, the tapping of the fingers connote that he is frustrated with the situation that he is currently in and is just looking for a almost a sense of refuge from it all. This use of different shots is also shown as the character preps up to work in the lab with the big close-up shot of him undoing his zip and the medium close-up of him putting on his lab coat on. This almost, montage type of editing in this scene, accounts even more so during the title sequence, helps showcase what exactly the protagonist is passionate about doing and so immerses the viewers as they are even further sutured into the narrative as a whole.

"What Makes a Good Practical Production"

From the productions we were able to watch in the Media Awards, it's clear that there are a few aspects which can all hand-in-hand help go towards the development of a good overall practical production.

A lot of these aspects are things that we have actually been learning about in-depth in class which include cinematography, sound, misé-en-scene and editing. 

Cinematography/camerawork for one, is effective in helping cover scenes in a production from more than just a single perspective which can help the audience notice details included in one such as the facial expressions of a character (which would probably implement close-ups) more easily. They are also helpful in that they can help establish the setting of a film with things such as panning and tilts too.

Sound is also particularly important since it can help towards the creation of a certain atmosphere in a film. Particularly with non-diegetic sounds such as a soundtrack which is added in the post-production process of a film,  a specific tone can be developed throughout the rest of it, maybe foreshadowing an event, or just in a single sequence of it. Voiceovers can be helpful too since they provide the audience with an insight into how exactly a character may be feeling at that point in time in the film, or just set a premise as to what has and is going to happen.

Misé-en-scene without a doubt assists in making a good production with things like lighting and props on-screen all being apart of this. For example, props can often allow the audience to understand the genre a film may belong in due to iconography they associate them with. Not only this, but they also can be used to create story arcs within the production with say a gun, putting characters into a place of danger and wariness/vigilance. Lighting especially is a very important part of this since things like low key lighting help create an atmosphere  that can be considered scary and more sinister than if high key lighting was used.

Lastly, editing can create a good production since it can affect the way an audience sees a story roll out. Straight cuts for one, usually use chronological order in which to tell a story. Jump cuts however, can help focus attention on whatever is on-screen due to its more abrupt nature while fades can often be used to signify the end of a film or a look in the past (retrospect/flashback).

However while these things can all come together to make a good production, one thing I think needs to be there is an actual good plot to give way to accommodate these things. This is due to the fact that if a production has a captivating story, it can give directors the opportunity to use certain things such as props to create story arcs that let this story roll out in the way they want it to and sound accompanied by cinematography to convey a certain atmosphere to the audience.