Introduction of our main task

Draft of shot list


1) Black screen as titles are shown, we will show who is starred in the film, the director and who is assoccitated in the film. The title will not appear yet.

2) From the black screen an eerie sound bridge is going to be used to connect this to where we first see Emily, Also a fade into this scene will be used to connect the scenes seamlessly. Emily will be shown by using a mid shot.

3) There will be a wide shot of Emily on the swing while we also see the surroundings.

4) There will be another mid shot of Emily on the swing and this scene will lead on to the next scene.

5)Here we have a close up of Emily's face as she is walking to a grave and a tracking shot will be used after the close up.

6) There will be an over the shoulder shot of Emily looking into the graveyard.

7) Point of view shot of looking at the graveyard

8) Close up of her feet while walking

9) Distance point of view shot (camera is shaky) NB. someone else is watching her

10) Close up on Emily's face (capturing her reaction)

11) Long shot of her running (camera is behind her)

12) Point of view running

13) midshot of her coming out of graveyard, panting

14) fade

15) over the shoulder shot of Emily opening the door

16) mid shot of her coming in the door (match cut)

17) mid shot of mum watching tv

18) mid shot back to Emily walking up the stairs

19) mid shot back to mom standing up

20) mid shot of Emily closing her bedroom door (camera follows her to the window)

21) low angle shot of Emily looking through her bedroom window (the camera is outside)

22) mid shot of Emily shutting her curtains very quickly

23) Emily walks over to her bed and pull out a box (over the shoulder shot)

24) low angle of Emily opening the box

25) panning of the camera towards the door as Emily hears her mother's voice

26) close up on her mother

27) mid shot of Emily putting the box back under the bed

28) there is a side shot/close up of Emily looking back out of the window

29) over the shoulder shot of Emily, turns around looking angry

30) close up of her hand pulling her drawer open and grabbing a pen and paper

31) over the shoulder shot (but the viewers cannot see the paper) of Emily drawing violently

32) low angle of Emily as the camera captures her expression while her mom shouts her name out again)

33) high angle shot of her mom looking up the stairs

34) mid shot of her mom signing (the camera is on the same level as her) and walking away from the stairs. She hears a bang from Emily's room and pauses

35) mid shot of Emily's door while still hearing bangs

36) high angle shot of Emily's mom coming up the stairs

37) wide shot focusing on Emily (her room is became messy) standing up very quickly and getting out of her room)

38) camera zooms to her drawing

39) black screen with the title of the film (Emily...)

Preliminary Task

In this preliminary task, we learned some useful things which we could apply in our main task. With regards to the camera, we learned how to set up the camera on a tripod and how a tripod can help us use a panning shot as the camera could move without difficulty side to side. Simple things such as how to put a battery or a tape in the camera seemed to be useful for us too. We learned that when filming, we need to film more than we need to so that when it comes to the editing, we can delete the bits we do not need and use what we do. Therefore, we counted to 5 seconds and then started acting so that the 5 seconds at the beginnign can be deleted when editing. The editing software was at first hard to use as it was a new piece of equipment to us but after a few trials, we got the hang of it. We learned how to capture everything we filmed and then from there, take the bits we want and use it in our preliminary. What was really hard was achieving continuity editing. We had to match the actions so that it looked continiuous and confortable to watch. This meant that there shoudn't be any jump cuts. The good thing about a preliminary task is that it allowed us to explore the use of cameras and the editing software so that we can be prepared for the main task. Also, it allowed us to make the mistakes that we do not to make in the main task.

Before filming, we made a shot list of the different types of shots we wanted in our film. However, we did make some changes to it. This is because we realised after been given the camera and the equipments, some of the shots did not look like they would fit together and create a continuity film. This then would overcomplicate the short film and bring us difficulties when editing. When we were editing our film, we realised that we didn't film the part where Ismahan was sitting down as we paused the camera to quick. This result in us having to film it quickly again which was time consuming. What we learned from this mistake was that we need to be sure we got the whole shot taped before stopping or pausing the camera. What did work well was the editing of the door scene. The shot shows Ismahan opening the door and entering from the other side. The opening of the door and the entering were two different shots so we had to match both those scenes up to make it look like one flows into the other. We were suprised of how well and quick we managed to match it up. That was an example of a good use of match cut in our film. What also went well than expected was our use of shot/reverse/shot. We used this when Ling and Ismahan were having the conversation where you see the camera switching from one person to another. At this point we also used over the shoulder combined with shot/reverse/shot in order to expand our use of shots.

We also made sure that the 180 degree rule was not broken by staying on one side of the line, this meant that we had to film from one side keeping the camera on the same side to make sure the characters are not suddenly swapped. If we did break this rule, it would have created disturbance in the film.

Opening sequence analysis

Bhaji On The Beach

Bhaji on the beach starts with a tracking shot showing us an English butcher juxtaposed with an Asian Indian shop. This shows us that in the film, us as the audience will see how the family that the film is focused on will experience life in a white British environment. This gives us hints about the theme of the film; social realism. This is seen when we see graffiti on the walls of Nazi signs and NF. Everything in this film suggests dual culture, such as in this scene, we hear English western music which merges into an Indian song. We also hear a voiceover of a radio station first talking in Indian and then in English. This could connote that the film is about two different cultures and maybe about the views that they have of each other. The camera shots such as cutaways show us that Asha has a hard life distinguishing between her Asian culture and the English culture. We see cutaways of her family where she is trying her best to help each one of them with their problems. From this we can also see that she is devoted to her family, and because there is an Indian god statue she is also devoted to her religion. There is a high angle where the statue god is looking down at her. This connotes that she has forgotten about her culture back home and the god is reminding her to do her duties as a devoted Indian. When the mail man came in, he used subtle racist remarks to Asha about the weather being sunny and that she is already used to the heat because of where she comes from. The newspapers heading states ‘they curried my budgie’ which could also be interpreted as a racist remark. Her difficulties are further shown when her husband asks for his breakfast with an typical Indian accent suggesting he has not been in England for long and also shows dual culture. Her son asks for his shirt to be ironed. This is juxtaposition with the father as the son has a British accent while the father has an Indian accent.

The usual Suspects

The usual suspects
The beginning of ‘The usual suspects’ suggests that it is a thriller. Firstly the scene opens with a tracking shot of the river to the eerie setting of the ship. The lighting is low key which connotes mystery and suspense. The music played is eerie and suspenseful. A mid shot of a man who we don’t know if he is an antagonist is then later killed by Keyser. The setting is set on a ship which adds to the eerie feel of the film. A dead body is shown at the beginning which then shows the man holding a cigarette case and a lighter. The props used suggest violence and at this point we would think he is the villain.
The fire implies danger and death as it leads to Keyser. The camera shows a mid shot of Keyser but does not reveal his face as it hidden in the darkness. He is shown wearing dark clothing which connotes a traditional 50’s “film noir” gangster film. This is a convention of a thriller. The lack of talking builds suspense. As he talks to the other man his mode of address is tense and a close up of the man’s face is shown at a high angle; showing his lack of power. At this point the audience may now think Keyser is the antagonist. As he holds up his gun which is used as a key prop, this again suggests danger and death. A sound bridge as then used for the gun shots. This allows the audience to imagine the scene inside the ship, which creates suspense. Keyser then sets the ship on fire and flees. A figure of his silhouette is shown walking down the ladders making him look mysterious.