Fahim -- Mihali -- Toby

A trio! When we were discussing ideas, we came up with ideas that we felt passionately about. A film, that would appeal to us! So we are in someways the target audience!! Our final idea is a short film about authority and power. Power comes in some many shapes and forms (money, strength, fear, etc).

Our short film is different to most short films because it is shot in black and white. I chose to do this for two reasons: firstly because it makes it less obvious that we are not actually filming in a night club (due to budget and time constraints), and secondly because I felt it added to the tension of the drama.

Camera

For our preliminary task - we used a very basic canon mini DV and had no tripod, so all our filming was hand-held.

I have operated cameras and editing software for the previous two years, therefore this was more of a refresher.

Key Points we revised:

• Camera angles - the position of the camera in relation to the subject of a shot, may affect how the audience see the subject -- small/vulnerable or powerful/dominant!
• Camera shots - e.g. Aerial shot, [CU], [ECU], [ES], [MS], [POV], [OSS] and two shot.
• Camera movement - e.g. Pan, track, crane, stedicam, tilt and zoom.
• Sound - Non-Diegetic sound and Degetic sound.

-- This link show you the specifications of the camera --

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Camcorders/Digital/md160/index.asp

Representation

The process by which a constructed media text stands for, symbolizes, describes or represents people, places, events or ideas that are real and have an existence outside the text.

Stereotypes of Eastern European people? - The men are stereotyped as being short tempered, very macho, poor, proud, rude, and maybe they're alcoholics too?

Codes & Conventions

The codes and conventions of a text, help create meaning. Codes can be divided into two categories – technical and representative:

• Technical conventions are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example the camera work in a film.
  
• Representative conventions show what is beneath the surface of what we see. For example, a character's actions show you how the character is feeling.
  

Some codes fit both categories – music for example, is both technical and symbolic

Basic conventions are audio, visual and technical effects which are used along with dialogue to shape the plot, the themes and genre of a text. I'm unable to summarise the conventions of a media product, as it's such a vast field and each product follows, its own codes determined by the target audience and the sub-genre they are categorised in.

Once Upon A Time...

Before attempting to create our very own 'tour de force', I had to have a good understanding of basic production terms and camera angles. To begin with Mr. Hardt gave an introduction of the preliminary task. We quickly learnt the technical language and began the planning for what lies ahead!

Key terms

Match On Action - Action started in one shot which is continued in the next. E.g. an exterior shot of your character opening the door is followed by an interior shot of your character entering a room.

Shot/Reverse Shot - When the camera switches back and forth, usually with the dialogue, often over the shoulder shot.

180 Degree Rule - The camera doesn't cross the 'line of actions' otherwise the characters will appear on the otherside of the screen, causing confusion.

The link below provided me with vital information on camera shots and angles!

http://accad.osu.edu/~midori/Materials/camera.html