FEEDBACK

i asked students in the library what they thought about our recreation of the thriller the Killer and the feedback i received was that the video was good for people that have never recorded anything before however personally i believe this video does not represent my true capabilities and throe this experience i believe this enable me to make better work

Group 18 'The Killers' remake

Nabilla: Storyboard of 'The Killers'

We drew a storyboard of the first 40 seconds of the film 'The Killers', which we later remade.  

Nabilla: Health and Safety Tutorial

In our media class, we had a lesson on the health and safety on the professional cameras were going to use for our project. We were shown the do's and don't's, how to function it properly, how to fit the battery and memory cars into the cameras properly. We were also introduced to the tripods. We were given a brief tutorial on how to use the tripods as well, then we were set the task of trying to work it ourselves. I found the using of the tripod very effective since we are going to need it for filming. 


Afterwards, we were shown important shots needed for filming e.g. over the shoulder shots, and we were even given a chance to practise shooting them. We were taught about manual and automatic camera work - what the different was, and we were taught how to use focus on the camera. Additionally, we were taught about spacing. Like when filming, the character has to be in the centre of the shot, there should be no spacing near the top of the shot; this would make it less effective. 


The most important rules were given were:

• Never leave the camera unattended
• Use the camera safely and properly
• Don't let any water damage happen to the camera (leaving it out in the rain is a NO)
• Take care of all equipment
• Always return all the equipment when arranged to

Overall, it was a good lesson and great start to our project. 

STORYBOARD

We drew a storyboard of the first 40 seconds of the film 'The Killers'

Different Camera Angles

 Shot of the feet

 Big close up -

 Rule of thirds

 Wide shot

Nabilla: Introduction to cameras task

 Shot of the feet - We tested out different shots of shoes/feet, and this one was the most successful. As we filmed it by lying the camera on the ground, it is at a worms eye view. We could include this in our thriller opening if we were to show someone's feet whilst walking.

 Lighting - Where we filmed this shot, the lightening wasn't great but I think you can tell from this shot that we basically understood the task. We tried to capture the lighting on a person's (me) face while they were looking out of a window. 

 Big close up - I think this close up was successful because it showed clearly the facial expressions of the person being filmed (Mohammed). Yet again, in our thriller opening we could include this if we wanted to create tension by showing the face only.

 Rule of thirds - We experimented with different angles when trying to get this shot right, but I think this one was the best. It shows how being in one third of the frame can show the character but the background at the same time. 

 Wide shot - We were filming on the staircase so the only wide shot we could get was the the stairs, and I think we did this well. 

Over the shoulder - This isn't the best over the shoulder shot but we tried our best and I think it shows it well enough. We also changed the angles of the camera depending on the height of the people (Muhammed and I).

CLOSE UP

RULE OF THIRDS

We looked at the rule of thirds in many different ways. In the first shot, we used the over the shoulder shot as we thought it was a good method to present the rule of thirds as each person took up a section. However in the second picture we made Nabilla stand on the side taking up 1/3rd of the photo. I thought the rule of thirds is effective as it help structure the frame of the photo and avoid unnecessary space.

WIDE SHOT

over the shoulder

WIDE SHOT & FEET

This wide shot can also be seen as an establishing shot as it gives the audience an idea of the setting and surrounding. This shot is highly effective as it can help create mood and feelings e.g dark room = mysterious and scary. I am planning to use this in my own thriller to help create tension.

This is my groups interesting shot on feet. We chose to do a worm eye view on Ali and Mohammed's feet whilst they were dancing. We also used the tracking shot to follow their movements.

LIGHTING

I found that there was many issues with the lighting when trying to take this photo.  Our model 'Nabilla' contrasted against the window light making her dark in the photo. The lighting made it hard for us to establish what is the main focus point, because even though Nabilla is centred, the bright window light makes us focus on the setting and background. We thought this was an issue as lighting we thought lighting is one of the most important aspects as it help present mood.

OVER THE SHOULDER

This is an over shoulder shot. These are frequently used in films to establish the view of a charecter from anothers, i believe it is also used to create tension and bring the audience closer into the film so that they are more involved.Here you can see the shot is over Nabillas left should facing Ali.

BIG CLOSE UP

In our groups we where set the task of taking a close up still of someones face aswell as including the rule of thrids wich placing the persons face in the centrew with some space to he side over their shoulder. Here you can see my face is centred but to my left shoulder there is some space.

The Conventions of film openings

There are many conventions to a good film opening such as: The companies name/logo, the use of props, Titles, famous actors/actresses names, music, sound effects. This helps the audience have an idea of what is happening in the clip and is also a good indication of what may happen. I think that film openings are most successful when they do not give away too much of the story especially in thrillers. This will create suspense and will keep the audience interested in what may happen. 

Nabilla: Research task

What are the conventions of film openings?

 Title of Film:

 Animations:

 Company name:

 Establishing shot (shows where they are):

Shoes main character:

Dramatic music (thriller style type music)

Health and Safety

After a whole tutorial on how to use the camera, i have learnt many things in order to use this camcorder I've learnt all the basic features on this spersific video recorder such as: how to turn it on, open the lens, adjust the lighting, attach the mic, insert and eject the memory card and how to use the tripod effectively. I also learnt how to zoom in and out with the camcorder however from the exercise i saw that it made the quality worse and wasn't discrete therefore if i was going to zoom in my own videos then i would have to do it manually. Overall from this tutorial i have learnt how to get the best results from each aspect of this camcorder for when i am producing my own piece.  I also learnt how valuable and fragile it is therefore i would have to take care of it when out and about. For example i will always have to shut the lens when not in use to ensure it doesn't scratch, i would have to protect it from the rain (umbrella), hold it tightly and keep it away from any high surfaces.