Cinematography Exercise task 1

The video can be found here: http://sirhanali.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/cinematography-exercise-task-1.html  this is a blog post of one of my group members, we had technical difficulties that prevented us from being able to share the video on our blogs. Apologies for any inconvenience.


    The task was to create a short sequence demonstrating different camera techniques. In our group we decided to try and create a story line to go with the project. We started off by filming a short sequence, as a practice for the real assessed piece of filming. We did this to perfect our technique of filming and editing, to ensure that we avoid making mistakes in the final recording of our opening to a thriller. The camera shots we had to include in our cinematography exercise were not all present in the piece we produced however the ones we did include were the long shot, close up, over the shoulder shot, low angle shot and a pan with a point of view shot. The reasons for not including all the extreme close up, rolling shot, tilt and high angle shots, were that me and Jake both joined the media class a few lessons later than others and therefore when we joined this group we had to start over with the filming which caused us to have less time. We were also not quite clear on what we were doing and we didn't really have a story prepared before starting of filming.

At the end of the sequence, Jake decided that we should include a low angle shot of the stalker coming out from a corner of the building. They told me to come out and appear as if I was following the girl. The shot was meant to show that I was a powerful and intimidating character. In the shot that we included in the final video, I walked out from behind the building then moved back as if cautious not to be seen by my victim. On one hand it came out as it was meant to and conveyed our point clearly but on the other hand, from a technical perspective the shot was not recorded like I would have wanted it to be, it should have been more adjusted and steady.

We did a close up of the girls face to show the uncertainty on her face and the tension she feels due to her suspicions that she is being followed. We used the point of view and over the shoulder shots to reveal where she is headed and how she sees the area from her perspective. The point of view shot did not come out well, as Manjit was not cooperating with the rest of the group and was being distracted by her phone therefore she didn't quite follow Jakes instructions rushing to get the shot done. However, over the shoulder shot came out good because we were able to do it with no issues. Most of the shots did not come out the way we desired due to miscommunication of the group, lack of expertise and since this was the first time filming for some of us. In my opinion we do not work out well as a group, therefore for the final piece the members will change.

I am aware that the acting was not the main focus of the task, however I must say we did a terrible job in that field. This is especially visible on the close up of the girls face. Overall, I believe that we have failed to accomplish a piece of work that was high standard and if it was up to me I would have asked for more time to finish recording. The place in which we recorded was also quite unsafe because it was a car park and the cars come from around the corner, which means they do not see us until they get close enough for it to be dangerous. Next time we record we need to plan out the story before hand and figure out which shots match well with the desired effect. Another issue we were faced with was lack of material while editing, this is because we only recorded strictly what we needed for the story and didn't include a variety of different shots of the same action so we had no choice as to what fit in the final edit.