Preliminary Exercise Evaluation

1/ Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?
My group had me, Kerry and Tom A in it. Tom wanted to direct the sequence, and Kerry and I both acted. This wasn't allocated due to it being any challenge, but it was just out of preference; I wanted to try and act and Kerry practised her acting skills too, and so Tom got to be director and it all worked out well. We also realised that we would need more than just 2 actors and a director; for this sequence to be effective and easier to edit, we needed to have a Production assisstant and we needed to check the sound, making sure that everything sounded right and to see if there were any distinct noises polluting the shot. We then allocated Tom to check that the sound was fine, and I was production assisstant for shots with just Kerry, and for the rest Tom was also Production assisstant, declaring what scene it is at the start. As Tom was director and with me and Kerry both acting, he was the only one that could see the whole scene from the camera's point of view and so was in charge of the scenes, meaning that he would say if anything didn't look right and the shots that were taken were based on his judgement; he was in control of all the external aspects to the scene. The rest of the work was distributed evenly accordingly, with the shooting schedule, storyboarding, location, script and even lighting aspects all evenly discussed and worked on. For the ideas to be taken down initially, we had to schedule a planning meeting.
2/ How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?
To plan our sequence we held a meeting in which we decided who was doing what within the scene, the story of the sequence, the script, the storyboard with the location and lighting and any other adaptations written in, and the shooting schedule. We decided all of this based on what we thought was appropriate. The story was just a mixture of ideas that we all had and it was one we agreed on, and then the rest of the factors were made to fit that story. The location was a room with a screen in it so that someone could be watching a film as it is in the story, and it must have a door leading into it to film someone walking into the room. The lighting was to be dark, with the room being dark and the only light coming from the glare of the film on screen. This was not as effective on camera as in real life and so the lighting was an issue that could have been better, but I'll talk about that later. The processed used were the storyboard, script and schedule as mentioned earlier; we did the script first after coming up with the story, and then all worked on different aspects of the storyboard. We used the different skills we learnt about creating and reading storyboards and the different aspects to them in our own storyboard, with the drawings including the different angles the shots were to be taken at, aswell as the distance and the type of shot it was was written on the side. We walked through the whole storyboard once or twice, acting it out, and decided if any changes needed to be made, and also counted the number of different shots we would need, and from where. The shooting schedule was then decided. For this we realised we couldn't just shoot in the order of the shots, as that could require a lot of set-ups and that would be very time consuming for us. Therefore we split the shots into 2, and decided to do the shots inside the room all together in one go, and the shots outside in the corridor at one different time so that we wouldn't have to move from inside and outside the room. The script, storyboard and shooting schedule we made can all be seen with the link on the side.
We used all of the continuity techniques in our sequence to enhance it as far as we could and so used a variety of shots to do so. We had an establishing shot to open the sequence, followed by match on action of the door opening and 2 different angles of her walking, and 2 different angles combined with match on action of her sitting down. We planned a shot-reverseshot to incorporate the 180 degree rule into the conversation, and decided to cut to the master shot of the two sitting to set the scene inside the room every now and then. We also made sure that the shots were all at different angles if next to each other, to keep the 30 degree rule and to stop the glitchy effect happening.
3/ What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?
For the filming of the sequence we used a Canon Digital HDV, with miniDV format tape inside to record the footage onto it. We used a shotgun mic instead of a boom mic to record the sound, as most of it was in close range of the camera and so the boom mic was just unnecessary. We used headphones to check the sound of the video was clear, and these were attached to the camera to clearly hear the dialogue when recording the sequence. The whiteboard was used as a clapper by the production assisstant at the start of each shot so that we'd know which shot and which take it was. We also used the computer connected to the whiteboard to play the scene from the film that the actor in the room (me) was watching, by playing the clip on Youtube on the big screen through the projector. The last peice of hardware we used was the computer to edit the footage into the final sequence we made, using Adobe Premier Pro software. Tools were used to edit the sequence, such as Razor to cut the footage into smaller clips, and we unlinked the audio from the video at times to achieve the correct combination during the clip. It was non-linear editing so that the footage could be cut from any point and moved around, not in the order it was shot. We faded the sequence at the end to a blank screen, fading both the video and sound individually, and at the beginning to start it off. We created a title on Premier Pro and inserted it at the start, from which it faded into the sequence.
4/ What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?
In the planning we had to decide where we would locate the scene, and before we could finalise the location we had to check if it was available. Luckily the room we chose was free at the time of filming as no-one else was working or filming in there. As ours was all inside, the weather didn't matter to the location or any other aspects of the shot apart from the walk into the corridor, and that was fine at the time anyway. We had planned it in a non-linear way however, so that all of the shots out in the corridor were filmed at one time to different weather wouldn't have mattered, as it wouldn't be seen in the shots inside the room. As we were filming at times when everyone else had lessons, there was no noise outside to edit out, so that made it easier for us to act and film. The lighting was to be dim in the room, and so the lights were switched off and the only light was coming from the reflection of the projector on the whiteboard to give it more of a real effect. With the editing we had restrictions, as we had a certain period of time to finish it within and could only edit the scenes with cuts throughout, and so no fades could be incorporated inbetween shots in the sequence, so we only used then to start and finish the clip. Also, I was new to the editing process as I had never used Premier Pro before, and so learning the basics and then the more difficult procedures took time, but helped my understanding of the editing process very much.
5/ How successful was your sequence?
Our sequence was a girl walking into the corridor from outside by opening the door and walking through, and then walking down the corridor and walking into a dark room with a film playing on the screen. She's then noticed by the boy already watching the film in the room whilst she is sitting down. The film on the screen goes on, as the girl asks the boy questions about it, and to each questions he answers short replies getting more and more annoyed. She then attempts a fourth question when the boy gets annoyed and turns to her, telling her to 'shush!'
I think the sequence is good due to all of the rules of continuity shown in it. The beginning has Kerry walking to the room and opening the door, and has a brilliant match on action with her walking in from the other side. This is repeated when she sits down, as its shown from two different angles but with one fluid movement. One of the things missed however, was a close-up of her hand as she pushed open the door, which could have then led on to a match on action of Kerry walking into the room. The corridor also doesn't look good at the start as there's a tattered box sitting on the floor in the corner, which ruins the mise-en-scene on the shot.
The room is dark as she looks through the door, which matches the inside of the room helping the continuity of the scene. The conversation between the two is good, as it cuts from one to another at the right times of a change in speech and it creates a shot-reverse-shot to help the flow of the conversation, helping the understand the expressions of me and Kerry when we're talking. The establishing shot from when she moves into the room is good as it then turns to the master shot which we then refer to during the sequence a few times, to remind the audience of the positions of both of us in the room and where we were in relation to one another. One of the things that didn't work well was the reflection of the film on the window on the back wall. We didn't actually anticipate this from the start as we hadn't taken a test shot, and this was a little distracting during the sequence. If I did this task again i would make sure to remember to do a test shot in every angle, and make any necessary changes.
If i were to improve this, one really important thing to change would be the lighting. Due to the effect we wanted to create in the room, kept all of the lights off and focused the emphasis on the light coming from the film scene. This made the whole sequence too dark, and it was a bit of a strain on the eyes to see everything properly! Next time i would have some additional lighting coming from the direction of the film and out of the shots, so that things could be seen properly.
6/ What have you learnt from completing this task?
I've learnt much from this task just to do with the external factors to making a short sequence, such as all the planning put into it. The storyboarding and shooting schedule was good to do as it taught me a lot of the paperwork needed before even attempting shooting the foottage. The editing taught me a lot becuase it was my first time using it, and so i learnt a lot about how to cut and move the clips around, and how to unlink and extend video or audio if needed. I also realised a lot of the things that should be planned and set beforehand, like the setting, and what things could ruin the mise-en-scene of a shot. The lighting was one issue we hadn't anticipated and i know to do a test shot next time to check any aspects that wern't noticed when filming or planning.

Propp's Narrative Theory - the Matrix

Vladimir Propp was able to create a theory for almost all fictional stories by deconstructing and analysing Russian fairytales and folktales. His theory was that all stories had up to 31 functions, which would happen at some time in the story, and in the order stated. He concluded that each story and fairytale would have only 7 main characters:

1) Villain - challenges or opposes the hero
2) Donor - gives the Hero a magical object and prepares him
3) Helper - helps the Hero during the quest
4) Princess and her Father - marries the Hero, often sought for during the story, rewards the Hero
5) Dispatcher - sends the Hero off into the journey, often makes the 'lack' known
6) Hero - reacts to the donor, marries the Princess
7) False hero/Usurper - takes credit for Hero's actions, tries marrying Princess

Propp's theory in The Matrix

Characters

Villian - The Agents
Donor - Morpheus
Helper - Trinity
Princess - Trinity
Dispatcher - Morpheus
Hero - Neo (Thomas Anderson)
False Hero/Usurper - Cypher

Functions

2) Interdiction - Neo is warned by Trinity that he is being watched.
3) Violation of Interdiction - he doesn't get into the scaffolding, and the Agents get to him.
6) Trickery - Neo is questioned by Agent Smith, and asked to help capture Morpheus by making him look like a dangerous terrorist and mkaing them look like they are his friends.
9) Mediation - Neo introduced to Morpheus, and given choice of the real world or to stay in the matrix.
10) Beginning counter-action - He choses to enter the real world and join Morpheus, which changes his situation and the story.
12) First function of the Donor - Morpheus tests Neo with the fung fu program.
13) Hero's reaction - Neo tries to fight Morpheus and fails.
14) Receipt of Magical Agent - Neo is given the knowledge by Morpheus that the rules of the Matrix can be broken.
15) Guidance - Neo goes to see the Oracle in the Matrix.
16) Struggle - He goes to rescue Morpheus, beats the Agents initailly and then fights Agent Smith.
17) Branding - Neo is shot and close to death.
18) Victory - Agents defeated as Neo gets up and fights Agent Smith and defeats him.
19) Liquidation - Morpheus freed.
21) Pursuit - Neo fights the 3 agents after he is chases from subway.
22) Rescue - Neo is rescued just in time before the EMP is given off.
27) Recognition - Neo is recognized as the One.
28) Exposure - Cypher killed by Tank.
29) Transfiguration - Neo is given a whole new look at the end, he flies off right at the end showing he is the One.

Critic of Propp's Theory

There are problems with Propp's theory, many flaws which mean that it cannot be taken as a theory with which all story abide. Of the 31 points, not all of them appear in one story and many are skipped. Some are even put in different places to how he suggested the order would be, such as Cypher being revealed much earlier on in the film and not at the end as it suggests. Another function that never happens in the film is Neo marrying the princess, in this case Trinity, and taking any throne. This never happens, and there are actually occasions in many films where this doesn't happen at the end of the film. This is mainly because of the age of the theory, and that it fitted old folktales well but doesn't fit modern ones as they are very different to usual stories, to entertain and shock modern audiences more from old clichés. The characters also aren't all in the film, and they overlap so that there are only 5 main characters in the film taking the 7 different roles. However, this theory is quite good as many of the functions do fit the film even though some are repeated and some are in the wrong places; it is good for a theory so old to be proved correct to an extent in modern films.

Todorov's Theory

Applying Todorov's Theorum to the opening sequence of the Shawshank Redemption.
1/ - Protagonist and antagonist.
The protagonist in the film is Tim Robbins, as he is the one who is shown throughout the start of the film, the one who is on trial and the life on which the film revolves around, with him going to prison for life. The antagonist is not clear at the start, as in a way it is the affair between his wife and the golfer. But it becomes clear soon into the introduction that the antagonist in the film for Tim Robbins is going to be jail, and managing to survive.
2/ - Describe the Equilibrium. How is it represented? What kind of camera shots can you identify? Describe the mise-en-scene.
The equilibrium is one thing not set at the start of the film, but is rather just assumed as it goes straight into the disequilibrium, and the cause of it. The equilibrium is therefore not meant to be as important or significant, suggesting that it is just as any other equil. would be, that there is nothing special about this one.
It starts off with an establishing shot of the outside of the mansion and then slowly moves towards the car and then into a MCU on the side of the character to get a look at the main character, and the blank but painfull expression on his face. It then cuts away to a close up of the gun being taken out of the glove compartment and opened on his lap. However, he doesn't start filling the gun yet, and leaves that to suspense as he picks up his bottle and starts drinking it instead, in an MCU of the front of the character. The scene then cuts to another close but this time of him in a court, wearing his clothes a lot more smartly and his hair done a lot more neatly. It then switches between CU of the main character and a LMS of the laywer questioning him. It then reverts back to the shot in the car, with the situation getting more serious as the bullets are put into the gun slowly, one my one. This all happens with the background conversation of the courtroom continuing, and the main character continues speaking. This shows that the shots are both flashbacks of the past, and he is just recalling the incident as he tells the judge about it. The LMS of the laywer then turns to a CU of the lawyer as his case becomes even stronger, and Tim Robbins fate is sealed. Once the courtroom scene is over, the scene then moves on to the main place in the film, the place where most of the film actually does take place which is the prison. It starts off in the inside, so you do not know of where it is or what it looks like, but have just a hunch as Morgan Freeman walks in wearing traditional prisoner clothes. Here again the MS to CU movement is used to hone in on the main characters and concentrate on them alone. A third type of shot used is the establishing shot for the prison, to show how large it was compared to the people in it which was shown by following the van in and then going up and showing the entire front of the prison before going over it and swiveling around the men on the ground going towards the entrance. this establishing shot is an extreme long shot that goes over the whole area and shows the many buildings, covering a large area and ending up as a vast establishing shot.
The mise-en-scene of the opening starts off dark and gloomy, to signify the night. the lighting is minimal, with none of them being bright and mst of them coming from the house in the distance. This added to the sad, almost expression-less face of Tim Robbins in the car creates a sort of sinister shot, with his senses being weakened. The courtroom scene is however the opposite in the way that it is day with a lot of light, the walls are white and though the face of Tim Robbins still seems sad, it seems slightly more alive with thought and seems to understands its surroundings more than what see see in the car. The dull colours of the clothing and the prsion itself show how it to be a dull place, where colour or true happiness is rarely seen. There are no bright colours or bright lights at all so far, all the lighting is pretty much natural and what is not is minimal with little effect, which creates a dark and realistic experience in the film and not one out of fairytales.
3/ - Disruption/Disequilibrium?
The disequilibrium is not subtly hinted or set up to happen in the film, it jumps straight into the disruption of him going to jail for a life sentence. The rest of the story is to do with this disequilibrium, and how he manages to cope with the change.
4/ - Hero's journey?
The hero's journey in the film is hinted from the start as to being able to get through his life at the prison. The court scene where he is pleading that he did not actually do something could make the audience think that he may spend his time there trying to prove that he was innocent the whole time, or try to get out of the prison by one way or another. Morgan Freeman's journey is one from someone already inside the prison, who looks like he could be the one person that could help Robbins in whatever he wants to prove or do. The fact that Morgan Freeman is rejected early parole after being there for 20 years gives a hint that it could take Robbins even longer to get out unless he does something fast.
5/ - What is the new equilibrium?
The equilibrium is restored by Robbins actually escaping from the prison and getting back his life that he had been deprived of for 20 years. The new equilibrium is one similar to the start but one where he is actually happy with his life, and one after the things he has learnt from his long experience in the Shawshank Prison.

Principles of Continuity

The scene starts with a MCU of Will Smith dialling on the phone, when it cuts to a C of his supervisor calling him away to the office, which is when it whip pans at an angle to a close up of Will Smith, then cutting to a CU from in front of him. The CU shows the shock on his face, how he doesn't really know how to respond. The anxiety is seen with the close up, which increases the intesity of the scene and helps the audience understand more about how he feels. The camera then follows him in a MS while he gets up, puts on his jacket with his whole body shaking, and walks away to the office. The shot is focused on him putting on the jacket only, which is why the rest of the frame is out of focus and blurred. He then walks off, with this particular shot following him and ending in a MLS, to show that he has moved away towards the office which keeps the flow going and keeps to the continuity of the scene. The board members are seen through the glass walls in the background, to include them into the scene. This is the master shot of the office, which is used again.
It then cuts to a MS as he walks into the room, with a match on action as the cut is in perfect time with him entering. The boss is then introduced into the conversation with it cutting to a MS of him, and then back and fourth between him and Will Smith a few times as they shake hands, before he shakes hands with the other board member. To re-establish the office scene but still keep with the continuity of the sequence, it cuts to the master shot of the 4 people in the board room with the office noise in the background to show the surroundings once more, as he still moves on to shake the 3rd person, keeping with the match on action rule.
Once he sits down, it uses the over the shoulder shot on both sides of the conversation to show both points of view. It uses this technique repeatedly to give the effect of a shot-reverse-shot, cutting between both characters and the conversation to put the audience in the action of the scene. The shots go from MS shots of both to an MCU of the boss, before cutting to a CU of Will Smith to show the emotion on his face, and make it even more powerful so that the audience can see how he holds back his tears and stops himself from crying which is the main emphasis of the shot. This CU also seems to slow down the shot, before reverting back to normal as he gets up and shakes their hands before leaving the room. The whole conversation in the room keeps with the 180 degree rule, as they showed both ends of the conversation but did not break the rule, another factor in the sequences continuity.
There is a matched cut as he walks out of the room, with both shots flowing together perfectly. The MS is carried on as he walks through, which is then cut to a CU of him walking. This shot is just the same as the MS but focus only at his face, and so it doesn't break the 30 degree rule either. The shot carries on to him going to his desk, where it cuts to a side angle of him stumbling to get his things before reverting to the same shot continued as he carries on walking out. Reverting to the same shot again is another technique with goes with the continuity of the scene. It then cuts to him walking straight outside, but this works well as his walking motion is kept the same so the idea of him having walked straight through the building is given. Here is gives an MLS of him and even though he is in a crowd, it manages to focus on him.
This sequence is one done very well, with the editing being flawless as none of the continuity rules are broken once, and the whole scene flows together perfectly with the match on action and 180 degree rules kept very well, with the cutting of shots at the right time to not make them too quick and to allow the emotion to be seen on Will Smith's face; The principles of continuity are all seen in this sequence.

Accident Sequence Evaluation

1/ -What did you think was the point to the activity?
- The point of this activity was to learn how to put a selections of shots together to create a sequence of continuity, using only six shots from all different angles and showing different parts of the sequence. We had to make a short sequence in which an accident takes place as the focus of the shot.
2/ - In regards to the finished sequence, what works well?
- The opening pan gives a really good idea of the environment around the main character, and even manages to show the reason for the accident, the cone, in the corner of the scene. It sets the scene as an establishing shot, even though the position of the character is somewhat abstract to the next scene.
- The timing of the shots gives a sense of continuity; he hasn't run too far from when it goes from the 2nd shot to the 3rd, and so you can feel it being one whole continuous sequenc. The match on action ensures the viewer that no time has passed between the shots. However, this was not perfectly maintained throughout the sequence.
- There is a whole variety of shots, from the establishing shot to the mid shot at a low angle, focusing on the action of him running. The hand held shot stood out and gave the viewer the experience in the runners view, before it coming back to a mid shot as he falls over, to make the ending a bit more comical. The shots are taken from in front of the runner and behind him, to give a variety of angles.
- They don't break any of the rules, such as the 180degree rule, as the shots are all filmed from the right side of the runner, with the shots being taken from the 2 extremes of the 180 degrees but not beyond it.
3/ -What would you improve about the sequence?
- The opening scene is effective as an establishing shot, but takes a bit too long as it pans too slowly. Also, the end of the shot is irrelevant to the next scene and so defeats the continuity of the sequence at the start. I would've had him in the starting position or kneeling down, getting into the position into the first shot so the second one flows together properly.
- The rest of the shots are taken well but are not long enough, and don't have the match on action done well, as he falls over the cone while he was still far away from it at the end of the last shot, meaning that it looks like time has passed between the shots. This ruins the conituity of the shots. they should have just been a bit longer and they would have gone together well.
4/ -What did you learn from doing this activity?
- I have learnt that the cutting of shots at the right time is truly hard, and slightly bad timing can make the whole scene look like its not continuous.
- I've also learnt of the rules that should not be broken, such as the 180 degree rule, and how to create the effect that match on action enables, and how without them a scene can not be as effective.