Preliminary task - Miss Georgiou

My group members are myself, Amber-Louise Reed-Johnson and Lily Badcock.

The intention of the preliminary task was to familiarise ourself with the camera and tripod and also to experiment with camera angles, camera shots and editing techniques. Our group was given the task of creating a one minute clip of a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character and exchanging dialogue. We were asked to use camera angles such as the 180 degree angle and the camera shot the mid shot.

The first camera shot used was the panning shot, this lasted 4 seconds and consisted of the man walking to the door, panning shots are used to follow a specific character and duly so that is how we used it, the main point of focus within this shot is the man and the audience will follow where he is going. Another panning shot is used several seconds after when the man enters the room and begins to converse with the woman. This shot put the point of focus on both of the characters and sets the two characters up for a conversation.

The next shot used is the two man shot from behind, both characters fit into the shot and thus a conversation can easily be held without continusly having to cut to each character. Two man shots are used to fit two characters within one shot as they are both the point of focus within a particular scene. The two man shot is used again when the man and the woman exchange books, this time at the front and close up, the facial expressions of both characters can be deciphered and the audience can see that they are happy.

A close up is used when the man gets a book out for the woman, the audience have a closer view and can see the character's facial expressions, a very important aspect of reading and relating to a character. Close ups are very common within movies as they create an undeniable sense of focus on a particular aspect within a shot.

Within this task we learnt several things in terms of editing and cinematography. We learnt how to edit our clip with Final Cut Pro, we learnt transitional techniques and how to crop and cut unwanted parts of a clip. We learnt how to handle the equipment, the tripod was hard to use however we overcame the obstacle and easily used it to get a better more stable camera angle. Our group worked well together and we easily made the clip and edited it, there were no arguments and the acting was well done with a lack of mistakes. We now have experience in terms of filming and have the confidence to film by ourselves and use the equipment in the near future.

Here is the clip we made for our preliminary task:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL6hTM7J0d0