Anton and Ruth's Preliminary task.

Preliminary task write up. 
 Our task was to film a walking scene which included a door opening and  then lead to a conversation between two people. We had to make a floor plan with all the different camera angles and we had to create some kind of a script for our dialogue. At the end of filming we had to edit all the scene and put them together to create a continues short clip.
 We worked in a group of three and each of us contribute to the task. We all had different ideas for a story board ,floor plan and a script which was proven to be quite difficult to come up with and so we kept that for the end. We all thought of different camera angles which we could potentially use and concluded in a final decision which everyone agreed upon. We rehearsed the walk and took a few shots in order to see how it would actually look on the screen. The location that we chose to have a conversation was a pagoda which made filming it sitting down a bit problematic because we either kept breaking the 180 degree rule or the pole kept getting in the way. So we decided to film it while standing up. Which solved the 180 degree issue. However that was our only problem duo to our team work which in the end resulted in success. If we had more time to plan this task it would probably have resulted without any problems and a much more improved version of this clip. Because we relied on natural light where as we could have added extra effects and include shadows to emphasize the anger and power in Ruth's movement and actions. Also due to the location we did not have the control over sounds in the clip as it was outside and the sounds of the wind and children playing.

 We tried to incorporate the following techniques such as lead and nose room so that the audience sees that she is determined to a specific location and also head room to give a sense of power. We used a variety of camera angles to show the continuity of the clip in order to make it look more smooth to the audience without making anyone confused . The 180 degree rule was a bit troublesome in the location we chose. As the pole kept getting in the camera's way, and even though when we did break the 180 degree rule we personally thought that it looked interesting and cool. However that was not part of our task and therefore we kept it plain and simple. We used a electronic door in order to show that she is the powerful out of the two characters the door open for her! Not, the other way round.
 I have learned a lot during the process of making a short clip. I learned that in order to get a good clip, you really need to put effort and time into your planning other wise you just make mistakes throughout and it is very time consuming which in our case we did not have much. I have also learned that there are actual rules to filming a conversation such as the 180 degree rule. I never realized that filming from different sides of the scene at once can create such a confusing and create a distorted sense of location and also due to the different camera angles you can create a great sense of power depending if it low or high angle. I was reassured  that tripods are actually needed and it is very hard to keep the camera still. All of these thing will help me in my future clips and probably the most important thing was planning , because i realized what chaos it creates when you are not fully prepared.

How do directors film a conversation?

                         Breaking Bad - Gus vs Walter

In this great scene from Breaking Bad the director decided to use a very simple but effective way of filming a conversation consisting of 4-6 camera angels.In the beginning the director decided to start the conversation from a slightly odd and quirky angel, he may have done this in order to give the audience a different perspective, to show the full picture of the location and surrounding. He then switches to a classic 'master shot' which shows both characters from the side facing  each other, they are equally spread out in the shot in order to show the equal power level between the two.The director  will switch back to the scene from time to time to show continuity of the conversation.

The director uses the 180 degree rule throughout the conversation which creates spatial awareness, most conversations are filmed following this rule. The 180 degree rule is where all the cameras are on one side of the scene, there is an invisible line which cuts through the scene and cameras are only on one side of the line. This method creates a clear and understanding conversation , where each character is in there specific position and they do not switch throughout which stops the audience from getting confused.Another general method of filming a conversation is using the rule of thirds this is method shows a more detailed and a more individual  show as it is focus on one character instead of two , the two shots are relatively the same for each character the only difference is the distance of close ups. The closer the show the more intense the conversation gets. In the scene of breaking bad you will notice that as soon as Gus stops being a manager and gets to the point, the camera zooms in on his face to show the intensity and seriousness. The fact that we also see from over the shoulder also gives a sense of idea how the character sees the other person from his perspective
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                                                Godfather

In this scene the director only uses 3 different shots and most of them focus on Vito Corleone as he is the main and most powerful character. The director used head room and nose room to show hes power in this scene. The shot switches back to the end of the room to show the surroundings as Vito stands up which may give a sense of tension and suspense. As Vito walks to the other character the camera follows him which may emphasize importance. When the Vito is talking to the character the director uses a high angle and vise versa.  
      
Why is 180 degree rule important? Why might a director break it?

The 180 degree rule is important because it gives a sense of where characters are in relation to each other which in turn allows to understand the staging of the scene without having to actually see the whole set. It creates spatial awareness The 180 degree rule also makes in much easier for the audience to follow the conversation instead of being distracted. A director might break the rule if he wants to make the scene disoriented or perhaps it might break up the scene into different sections instead of one long conversation. Directors are geniuses of their own master piece and they can make it work for their own personal desire which a normal audience wont understand.  

The beginning of AS media course work

Hello fellow blogers, my name is Anton Goddard and this is my personal media blog. Hope you enjoy!