The Messengers

Silence of the lambs

The film starts with some shots of a woman running through a dark, misty wood. Gradually becomes apparent that she is running an assault course.The first part of the opening is filmed in some dimly lit woods. This shows some isolation and gives the shot a creepy feel. We are not sure if she is running away from something or not. There is a girl running through the woods for a long time when tittle credits are shown as well as other names in a simple non-complicated font to show it is a simple story film with no complications it is horror and the tittles come in from production companies,tittles, actors and then the director after other positions in between. The music sets the mood to unease and it continues to show her run. Key props are used to show where the film is based, e.g. FBI cap on the male protagonist with the FBI cap on and murder scene pictures on the wall of the room suggests a FBI unit. There is a P.O.V shot of her looking at the wall to show she is interested in the pictures and information and will show that her and the news on the wall will me connected at one point in the film. There key actress is shown (Jodie Foster) stating immediately that she is the main character. Close ups, establishing shots, wide shots and panning shots are used to capture the scene. There is minimal talking and the most of the scene is just who dedicates her time to work in a male dominant work space there is an apparent masculine blue theme of male dominance when she enters the building as well as props such as guns that connote that the workplace is mostly for the male gender.

The silence of the lambs

Preliminary task

What did you learn about the cameras and editing software during the preliminary task?

In our preliminary task we used a wide variety of camera angles and shots. We first learnt how to use the camera, we were introduced to a tripod this is very important as it helps steady a shot and makes the final cut more professional. We were also taught how to use the zoom function on the camera this is important as you can create close ups to reflect a characters feelings and emotions. After filming we would need to edit the film to ensure it would run smoothly surprisingly our group found the editing process easy as we all have previously had experience in this department. We linked together the different clips we filmed, it was easy to find for the fact that the software would allow us to cut a single frame so a perfect transition could be made. The intended length of a clip was found by the use of the mark in a mark out function which would allow us to track the wanted sections of the film. We were also able to add a sound bridge to the film.

In the filming and editing of your project, what worked well and what could of been improved?

We believe that our group was successful in achieving the correct length of time and a detailed story line in the filming. We felt that we had many takes to ensure we had a variety of angles and the option to experiment on different shot lengths. We also did well on attaching the variety of clips together to achieve match cuts and to change camera angles using so.

We could of improved on our camera skills, specifically using the incorrect shots e.g. using a medium shot instead of using a long shot which cropped Mike's head out in many shots. We also filmed many pointless takes which were not used, this wasted filming time which could of been used else where more productively. During editing the use of imputing sound into the film made the the sound transition of the music and dialog sound a little sharp and rough.

Give a detailed, specific example of how you have used a shot/reverse/shot combination in your film.

We used a shot/reverse/shot in our film when the mysterious character confronts the protagonist in the chapel scene. The exchange of dialog between the two characters created a shot/reverse/shot which was also a medium shot of the mysterious character and a over the shoulder shot of the main protagonist from the angle of the mysterious character. This was redeemed a success in the filming process because a perfect transition of dialog and actions were accomplished in the final edit.

Give a detailed, specific example of how you achieved match cuts during the editing process

We achieved match cuts in places such as when Mike walked up the stairs, the first shot showed a tracking shot of him walking up the stairs which then went to a close up angle on Mike's shoe walking up the stairs, a match cut was achieved as it allowed continuity to occur by using the correct foot he had previously been on. This produced a change in transition and angle to give a detailed account of Mike's actions.

How did you ensure you didn't break the 180 degree rule? Or if so, what did you learn from this?

We did not break the 180 degree rule, to prevent doing so we produced a over the shoulder shot of the mysterious character. We detected that the filming was the left shoulder therefore we would be able to notice if we broke the rule if the shots did not match (e.g. left shoulder or right shoulder)

Shot List

Shot 1
.Establishing shot of the chapel as the protagonist walks in.
Shot 2
.Point of view (P.O.V) shot in the bushes as the protagonist walks through the automatic doors.
Shot 3
.High angle medium shot as the protagonist walks into the corridor.
Shot 4
.Medium shot behind the protagonist as he walks towards the stairs.
Shot 5
.P.O.V shot of protagonist waiting for the doors to close.
Shot 6
.panning shot as protagonist as the as the protagonist turns back around to the stair case.
Shot 7
.Close up of protagonist's foot as he walks up the stairs.
Shot 8
.Low angle shot as protagonist continues to walk up the stair case.
Shot 9
.Wide shot as protagonist continues up the stair case.
Shot 10
.Close up as he then trips and moves into the chapel.
Shot 11
.Low angle shot of door slamming.
Shot 12
.Shaky camera work also medium shot as protasonist stumbles backwards.
Shot 13
.Short reverse shot with the two protagonists engaged in dialoge.
Shot 14
.High angle panning shot and a wide shot as hooded protagonist approaches the main protagonist.
Shot 15.
.Medium shot of character walking away and mysterious protagonist walking into the shot.

Preliminary task: Video

Preliminary introduction

Hello and welcome to our online blog.

For our preliminary task we are going to shoot a short opening which will include the event of a man being mysteriously followed into a chapel. The man is then suddenly confronted and an exchange of dialog is seen where we will use shot reverse shot camera work, suddenly there will be a tracking shot of the man being chased by the other anonymous character ,this chase will also be followed by a 180 degree rule.