Risk Assesment

There are risks involved in filming,firstly the camera strap could get caught, trapped, or pulled which could be dangerous for the person wearing the strap around their neck. To prevent this we will be careful how the camera hangs around our neck.Another danger is the tripod, if the tripod, if someone isn't being careful they may trip over or walk into the tripod, to prevent this we will not leave the camera unattended and we will be careful when moving the tripod. Also if someone picks up the tripod they could accidentally hit someone with it, so we will be cautious when moving it. We have a few outside shots, a danger to this is traffic, to prevent any accidents we will not work in the road and be very wary of traffic. We also won't film in the dark as someone could get hurt. A danger with the camera is that someone might drop it to prevent this we will make sure that the person holding the camera will be very careful with it and handle it sensibly.

Research and planning: Script

Juliette’s bedroom – morning

JULIETTE sits in front of a mirror and puts blush on and mascara on.

Emily’s bedroom - morning

EMILY puts fake tan on.

Lauren’s bedroom – morning

LAUREN uses hairspray and puts lipstick on.

Liz’s bedroom – morning

Liz opens the fridge and gets out some food and a drink.

Juliette’s bedroom

JULIETTE puts high heels on and writes a text message on her mobile phone. The message says: Hey girls, meet me in front of the shopping mall at 11. XXX Juliette

Emily’s bedroom

EMILY goes to her wardrobe and decides what to wear. Her phone rings and she reads the message she has just got.

Lauren’s bedroom

LAUREN puts jewellery on and reads the text message she has just got.

Liz’s bedroom

LIZ is still eating. Then she gets a text message and reads it.

Long Shot of Juliette's house

JULIETTE leaves the house.

Long Shot of Emily's house


EMILY leaves the house.

Long Shot of Lauren's house


LAUREN leaves the house.

Long Shot of Liz's house.


LIZ leaves the house.

Research and Planning: Animatic

This is a rough animatic of our title sequence.
There are some problems with our animatic, the first problem is that the pace is too slow, there are some shots missing and the whole thing was not long enough at the moment

Research and Planning :Shotlist

Shot 1	Close up of wardrobe
Shot 2	Close up of clothes
Shot 3	Close up of phone
Shot 4	Close up of mascara
Shot 5	Close up of shoe
Shot 6	Close up of perfume
Shot 7	Close up of girl and mirror putting on lipstick
Shot 8	Close up of photos on dressing table
Shot 9	Close up of girl using hair spray
Shot 10	Close up of nail varnish spilling
Shot 11	Close up of fake tan
Shot 12	Close up of a notice board
Shot 13	Close up of blusher
Shot 14	Close up of girl putting blusher on her face
Shot 15	Close up of straighteners
Shot 16	Close up of girl using straighteners
Shot 17	Close up of nail varnish
Shot 18	Close up of makeup pallet
Shot 19	Close up of applying the make up
Shot 20	Close up of fridge and fridge magnet
Shot 21	Close up of opening the fridge
Shot 22	Close up of the girl eating crisps
Shot 23	Long shot of the girl and the reflection in the mirror
Shot 24	Mid shot of girl texting
Shot 25	Close up on phone and text
Shot 26	Mid shot of girl receiving text
Shot 27	Close up of phone and text
Shot 28	Mid shot of another girl receiving a text
Shot 29	Close up of phone and text
Shot 30	Mid shot of another girl receiving a text
Shot 31	Close up of phone and text
Shot 32	Mid shot of another girl receiving text
Shot 33	Long shot of girl number 1 coming out the door
Shot 34	Long shot of girl number 2 coming out the door
Shot 35	Long shot of girl number 3 coming out the door
Shot 36	Long shot of girl number 4 coming out the door

Audience Research: Synopsis

In our title sequence we will show four girls getting ready in their bedrooms.

The girls are very girlie, so many girlish things will be shown, such as make-up, fashion, and the colour pink. However, one of the girls is different. Her bedroom will not be as girly as the other girls’ rooms and she will not be such a “chick”. The audience will see the girls texting each other. Therefore the audience will know that they are friends and that they are going to meet. Because of photos the audience will know that one of the girls has a boyfriend. In another shot the girl who is different will look at a photo of the same boy and it will be very obvious that she fancies him, which is a sign for turbulences later in the film. 

Research and Planning: Time Plan

Initial Plan Of Film

We had a group meeting and started to do the initial plan of our film.

We thought about characters that we would have we decided on having 4 girls and 1 boy.
1. The first girl would be the queen bee, the popular one that people want to be.
2. The second girl is the queen bee wannabe, she follows the girl and wants to be her.
3. The third girl is just a tag along, she is slightly 'ditzy' and doesn't really care about her role in the group.
4. The fourth girl is an outcast in the group, she doesn't want to be there and she likes the queen bees boyfriend
The male is the queen bees boyfriend, he actually likes the girl who is the outcast but he is with the popular girl for his reputation.

We have some casting ideas but they are not finalized at the moment, our ideas are Megan Stanley, Emily Nicholson, Molly Hall and Toni- Leigh Porter. An idea for the casting of the boy is Joe Woods.

We are going to film in four different bedrooms for the girls, they are getting ready and that is what will happen in the titles. The bedrooms will be 'girly' and slightly messy as the girls will be getting ready. We may also show the male character in a bedroom on the computer. The props we will need are a mirror, camera, make up, photos, clothes, shoes and other girls things that you may find in their bedroom.
As we are filming indoors we will not have problems with weather or light but we will ask for permission when we use property and equipment.

In the opening sequence we will show the girls getting ready in the morning, this will introduce us to each character and we will see what they are like, as we only have 2 minutes so we have to use photos and close ups to show their status.

The titles will be written on objects, the characters names will be written in different fonts and colours. Similar to how the titles are shown in Romy and Michelles high school reunion. Tilt shots are widely used in chick flicks so we will use some tilt shots in our title sequence.

Audience Profile

A typical audience member for my film opening are teenage girls aged from around 12 - 17 years old, I think they would come from a middle class family that live in small to medium sized neighbourhoods. The audience will  be at high school level, some doing their GCSE's. They will often get together in big groups to watch chick flick films.
The people will be quite normal, everyday people that can relate to characters like Bridget Jones. Words to describe them would be friendly, down to earth and 'girly'. They will enjoy such things as sleepovers with their circle of friends, shopping with their friends, going to the cinema and bowling. They will enjoy watching television programmes such as Sex and the City, Gossip Girl, The Hills, Friends and they will watch night time soaps such as  EastEnders and Coronation Street.
Their favourite films will consist of A Cinderella Story, High School Musical, Princess Diaries and they will love Mean Girls and will often quote the film to their friends.
Their favourite music will be sung by artists such as Cheryl Cole, girl bands like The Saturdays, Justin Bieber, Pink and JLS.
Websites they will visit are Youtube and they will spend a lot of time on social networking sites like Facebook where they will have lots of friends.
Their dress sense will be quite stylish but also simple at the same time, if they wanted something cheap they will shop at Primark, if they wanted to maybe splash out a bit more they will shop at shops such as New Look. They will wear clothes that are comfortable, like jeans, leggings and cardigans.
They dream of living in big cities and places such as America.
If they went to the cinema this week they would see the film eat, pray, love as it is a classic chick flick, they will probably see this with their group of friends.

Genre Research Summary

1. What do the titles tend to look like? Fonts, transitions, pace, contents? Include one or two still images to illustrate your points.


A lot of chick flicks do not start with a title sequence we will normally just be introduced to the main character then the film starts. If there is a title sequence for a chick flick film the writing is usually either a posh and feminine like Freestyle Script, or a simple font such as Adobe Caslon Pro Bold. In the two chick flicks that i studied, one used a freestyle script style of font and she's the man had a very simple font similar to Adobe Carlson Pro Bold. The transitions vary depending on the music, if the music is fast then the transitions are usually very fast. If the music is slow or has a steady beat the transitions are usually slower. The title sequence usually shows you the main character or characters and shows you their life or the start to one of their days. This is done to show what their life is like and to give some sort of back story.


2. What kind of music and/or other non-diegetic sounds are used? Include a link or embed to demonstrate.
In chick flicks their is usually non- diegetic music played at some point, the artist is usually female and the songs are well known. In A Cinderella story they have used a ballad from Natalie Cole. There is sometimes a voice over or the characters thoughts are sometimes played. This helps the audience get to know the character.

3. What types of character do we see in the opening sequences? How are their characters established through technical features (e.g. costume, make-up, setting, cinematography, sound, editing ...) Include one or two still images to illustrate your points.
The characters that the audience sees in the title sequence are usually the main characters of the film and the people who the audience are meant to get to know.  The main characters are usually a group of girls with a male love interest. There are sometimes a group of people below them or a group above the main character who they feel inferior to. The characters can be established by costume as the people who stand out if they are wearing posh or designer wear. Or they may be wearing old, run down clothes to keep them from being noticed. They will either be popular or very unpopular, there is never really an in between.



4. What kinds of mise en scene dominate? What are typical features of setting, lighting, props? Include one or two still images to illustrate your points.
Chick flicks are mainly set in 2 different places, either big cities or high school, there is however some set in small towns. Chick flicks are mainly dominated by American actors and actresses but there have been some successful British chick flicks. Their costume can identify there place in society and their popularity. Their group of friends is also an indication to what sort of person they are.

5. What narrative codes are employed and how? For example, are lots of tight close ups used to create an enigma? Is tense music and fast editing used to create an action code? Include one or two still images to illustrate your points.
Close ups help us distinguish who the man character is and this is something that we are going to take into account when meking our title sequence. Narrative codes are created by mainly the music in chick flciks and how the character acts. Fast editing gives the audience an idea of what pace the film is going to run at, fast paced title sequences generally mean that the film is going to be upbeat and for a younger audience.
Roland Barthes theory is supported in the title sequence of 'she's the man' however Levi Strauss' theory also applies as the girls are against the boys.

6. How is the genre established? How do we know they are action films, or rom-coms, or supernatural horror films? You could comment on cinematography, editing, sound, mise-en-scene, characters etc. Include one or two still images to illustrate your points.
Genre is established by many things, like the location, the characters, the music, the writing, the colours, the way people act. All these things can indicate the genre. We know when a film is of the chick flick genre when there is a female lead Charlotte, then we are led on to the type of character they are. Popular or unpopular are the main types. From this we can get an idea of how they are treated and what their life is like, some can relate to the character some cannot but we still have some idea of what their life might be like. Chick flicks are similar to everyday life except they are slightly more dramatic, this is why so many people can relate to them.The music will usually be sung by a female singer and is a known song, the writing is either simple of feminine and usually in a feminine colour. The first shots will establish the character and some of their location. The genre can be established quite easily in the title sequence.

Research: Title Sequence Analysis:She's the man

I analysed the title sequence and opening scene of ‘She’s the man’. This film is widely known as a chick flick film featuring Amanda Bynes as the main character. Amanda Bynes is a common lead actress in chick flick films and has featured in ‘what a girl wants’ and ‘Sydney white’. When analysing I considered the different elements that were shown to establish the character, surrounding, genre and time. The film was targeted at teenage girls mainly aged 12 – 17. But this film does include football and a lot of male acting which means this film could be aimed at both genres. This chick flick has a lot of comedy in and it can be put into two genders. This opening immediately introduces the audience to the main issue in the film, which is girl’s playing ‘soccer’. This subject is very rare for chick flicks; this girl does go against what girls are typically like in chick flicks.

                   

She’s the man starts with girls playing football against the boys at the beach, from the sounds of the girls cheering we can tell that they are winning. The first part of action we see is a boy on a jet ski, this establishes where they are, and we know that they are at the beach. This then leads on to the beach where the match is taking place. The whole title sequence has a scrap book effect. The filming pauses on some of the people and then flashes colour, shapes and the actors name. This gives it an MTV music video/scrapbook effect. The title sequence is recorded like a home video and is very different to usual chick flick title sequence.

The writing is a simple font, and depending on the colours of the shapes it is on top of the colour of the writing changes. The shapes in the sequence are like drawings and paint splatters. All of them are in bright colours, thias means it stands out to the audience but the colours would appeal to both genders. So most chick flicks would include pink but this title sequence doesn’t have any pink, which is quite unusual for this genre. The title of the movie is shown in the same way as the actors names, except the title is a bold, black title.

The title sequence mainly focuses on the main character, every time it stops to flash up a name she is in view. This tells the audience who the main character is and who they should be focussed on. This is common in chick flicks as the title sequences mainly focus on the main characters. There is an obvious divide in this film as there is a group of girls and a group of boys. This supports Levi Strauss' theory of binary oppositions as it is obvious to the audience that it is girls v the boys, this is a common theme throughout the film. The girls are all skinny, tall and they seem to be confident. In chick flicks the main characters are either confident and popular, or bullied and shy. This film obviously is one about a happy, confident girl. 

The sound is mixed in this title sequence, there is a bit of shouting from the people playing football and some sounds that you would usually hear at the beach (e.g. waves). There is also some sound effects when they are kicking the football, the sounds have obviously been enhanced to be louder. This sound is diegetic as they can hear this sound. There is some non-diegetic music in the title sequence in the form of No sleep tonight by the faders. This song is an upbeat song by a female band, this also fits in with the chick flick genre as it usually starts with female music. The music has a fast beat to it and fits in with the people running around. When the title sequence finishes and it goes into the first scene of the movie the music stops and the speech begins.

The mise- en-scene is very important in these title sequences, the beach is quite a typical place to feature in a chick flick film, the girls are wearing bikini tops, but with their bikini tops they are wearing shorts as they are playing football. The male characters are wearing shorts, some are wearing t-shirts and some aren't we would expect to see this in a lot of chick flicks. As it is usually the girls being attracted to the boys, not the other way round. The group of people are taking up a lot of space on the beach from this we can tell that they are quite popular and that everyone is friends, as they are joking and playing with each other. But through this we can see that the girls stick together, we know that they are a tight unit.

Roland Barthes theory of narrative codes is included in this title sequence. The hermeneutic code is used as the titles only show that they are playing football but this does not give away much of the story. The audience are left asking questions like what does the girls playing football have to do with the film? The proairetic code isn't really used in the title sequence as it is quite simple what is happening, we can see exactly what the characters are doing. The semantic code is also not used in the title sequence. The music is quite fast and upbeat, so not tension is created.  However Levi Strauss theory does apply to this sequence as the boys are against the girls. As this film is mainly aimed at females the audience is influenced into being on the females side. The audience wants the females to beat the males.

The first scene fits in with chick flick genre, it starts with the main character and a boy who we can clearly work out is her boyfriend. They are lying down on the sand and they kiss. This has many elements of a chick flick, with the romantic scene, the boyfriend and the sunny beach. We could find these elements in a number of chick flick films.  The camera is on a mid shot. So the couple take up almost all the frame so the audience is totally focused on them. There is some speech between them before the kiss.  This then leads on to the second scene of the movie.

The opening titles of a film are supposed to indicate to the audience a number of things: the film genre, the time, the characters, and tone. I feel the opening title sequence to ‘She's the man’ does this. The story isn't immediately clear but his keeps the audience guessing and this is what makes them keep watching. They want to know what the link is. The title sequence is very controversial as it is unlike any other title sequence that i have seen on a chick flick. Overall I would say the title sequence was good and interesting, but I do not think it fits in with the chick flick genre.

Research & Planning:narrative theory

Any discussion of the way a story is told is considered narrative ‘theory’

Roland Barthes theory is that there are narrative codes. The codes are combinations of technical features that are meant to have a specific meaning.

The hermeneutic code refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained. This therefore created a mystery code and makes the audience start asking questions. The purpose of this is to keep the audience guising till the end then closure is achieved. Dexter uses this as they do not show the character until the end of the title sequence so throughout the audience is kept guessing.

The proairetic code also builds up tension, referring to an action or event that indicates something else is going to happen. It makes the audience start guessing. Dexter is simply a man getting ready but the way objects are shown close up before zooming out they can look threatening.

The semantic code refers to the way images and music is used in addition to what is being shown. The music sounds quite sinister in Dexter, this builds up some tension

Levi Strauss introduced the idea of binary oppositions as a useful way to consider the production of meaning within narratives. He worked out that taht things were paired but they were opposites of each other.

For example:

Good v evil

Rich v poor

Male v female

You can see binary oppositions in individual film and in film genres. In the Dexter film titles it is not as clear what the binary opposition is. The opposition for Dexter could be his world v the normal/ordinary world. 

Research & Planning:genre theory

Neale declares that ‘genres are instances of repetition and difference’ (Neale 1980, 48). He adds that ‘difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre’.

I applied Neale’ theory to the ‘a Cinderella story’ title sequence and could apply the theory to the opening sequence. Elements typical to a chick flick were common in this sequence. The main character being a female is very typical. The film is always focused around a female lead. The pink credits are typical for a chick flick as it is commonly a feminine film and a feminine colour. The fairytale storyline which we are introduced to in the narrative is typical of a feminine storyline. You would rarely see a fairytale movie focused around a male or ‘the prince’, it is most commonly a female character. The setting of the film in a town in America is very typical of the chick flick genre and is a common setting for a teenage ‘girly’ film.

The theory is also supported in this trailer. Especially in the mise-en-scene. Girls in chick flicks are usually confident, popular and well known. The girl in the title sequence is a girl on the outside who does not even wish to be noticed. The costume for the girl also challenges the theory as the outfits in chick flicks are usually elegant, expensive and elaborate. But the main characters costume was old and simple. Although the people around her were quite typical. The attitude of the main character challenges the theory as we learn she is not known and she is isolated. Chick flicks usually centre on popular, bitchy, cool girls but this film is following a well known story in a modern way so it is immediately different.

Overall i think that Neale’ theory applies to the title sequence in ‘a Cinderella story’.

Research: Title Sequence Analysis: A Cinderella Story

When analysing ‘a Cinderella story’ title sequence, I considered the different elements that were shown to establish the character, surrounding, genre and time.

A Cinderella Story is a well known chick flick movie, released in 2004 featuring Hilary Duff who is a well known actress in the chick flick genre. The target audience for this film is mainly teenage girls aged from 12 to 16 years old. Chick flicks are stereotypically about young girls who fall in love, with the occasional comedy moments. Therefore openings usually revolve around the characters and their typical life. Within the first seconds of a chick flick you are most likely to see something girly.

A Cinderella story initially starts with a view of some mountains, at first the audience cannot tell the genre immediately which you can in other films of this genre. Then the camera moves up the mountains using a tilt movement, this then reveals a castle. The title is shown and then the narrative starts. The camera then continues to zoom in towards the castle, turning outwards to reveal the castle is actually inside a snow globe. Then a young girl is looking at the snow globe. This is when we are first introduced to the main character that is with her dad. The title sequence then speeds up as the scenes change taking us through the girls’ life with her father. Most people know the story of Cinderella, and this film is basically a new updated version. Therefore on the title sequence we meet the evil stepmother.

As this film is a modernized version of the old fairytale the mise – en- scene is different to the original story. The original story explained Cinderella as a servant girl who wore rags. The new version shows a normal teenage girl whose father dies and so she has to live with her wicked stepmother and her evil step sisters. The main character who is called Sam wears casual jeans and a t-shirt; she also wears a cap as she tries to not be noticed by people around her. There are still similarities to the fairytale as Sam is still a servant to her stepmother, they live in a big house and her father dies leaving her. The title sequence also establishes Sam’ dad’ diner, this place plays a big part throughout the movie.  The girl also has a book of fairytales; this shows her connection to the story.

The sound is very important in the title sequence; the sound in the title sequence immediately tells the audience that this film is a chick flick. The film starts with a piece of music, music that you would usually associate with a fairytale, which are usually aimed at females. The music is diegetic as the characters cannot hear the sound. After we see the castle the narrative starts, the girl who is shown tells the audience her modernized version of the fairytale. In those few minutes we get to learn about years of her life. When the girl talks about her dad’ diner non-diegetic music starts, the song is ‘this will be’ by Natalie Cole which is well known for being a female/diva ballad. After the music fades out we are left with a scene between the girl and her father, after this scene we find out the girls father has died. The diegetic sound then returns in the forma of a slow/sad song. The music going from girly to sad is very common in chick flicks as females often link feeling to songs.

The first writing on screen is the title of the film which is shown within the first 30 seconds. It is written in calligraphy, old English way. We would link this writing to fairytales; we would then link fairytales to girls as you would not see this writing in an action film. The credits are written in a font similar to Script MT Bold, they are all written in pink as well which is a traditional female colour. The credits fade in and out of the scenes and travel quite simply. These are fairly obvious signs to the audience that this film is of the chick flick genre.

The opening titles of a film are supposed to indicate to the audience a number of things: the film genre, the time, the characters, and tone. I feel the opening title sequence to ‘A Cinderella story’ does this. The storyline is made immediately clear and the audience are left asking questions like ‘what will happen next?’ and ‘how will this relate to the original fairytale?’ These questions are what inspire people to watch the rest of the film. So if the opening titles succeed in getting their message across, the audience will then want to watch the rest of the film.

Genre Montage

 

This is our montage collage representing our selected genre which is chick flick.

Main coursework introduction

Our task is to create the opening titles of a movie that we have created. It must be 2 minutes in length. I am working in a group of 3 consisting of myself, Lucy and Lutzy. We are going to base our film around the chick flick genre, focusing on teenagers and high school within this genre.

Targets

- Stick to our plans when going out filming
- Double check we have included all elements needed
- Stay calm and patient when it comes to uploading and editing.

Evaluation

I have learnt about continuity editing and what it is, I also got to practice it when filming which helped me understand it a lot more. I learnt that planning helps when it comes to filming as you already have an idea and a structure that you can follow to help you. I have learnt how to film properly and how to do match on action shots, and practice the 130 degree rule. I have also learnt about filming cut-ins and cut-away. I have learnt a lot about editing, I learnt how to capture the clips off the camera and how to use the programmes, I also got to learn how to cut clips and how to put them together properly. I think that the cut away in our video is quite good as we added video transition to make it look like a flashback. I also like our match on action shot as it is quite smooth editing. The next time we film we will probably make sure we have filmed all our clips and filmed the elements we need and film from more angles, apart from that I would not do a lot differently. I do not think we need to plan any more as we planned enough and we followed the plan in order. Another thing we may change is practice time, next time we will probably run through it a couple of times before filming, although it ran quite well without practice, if we practice the actors will probably be more comfortable.

Post production

Editing went very well and we were able to use most of our clips, we learnt how to add special effects which was an visual transition. The only problems we had were problems that we could not help, for example camera cords not working properly and computers failing to work properly. I have learnt how to record and cut clips, I also learnt how to use some effects and how to take sound away from a clip. I have learnt how to turn down the brightness of a clip which is not something that I really wanted to do, but now I know how to do it if I ever need it.

Preliminary Production Video

Production

Filming went very well, we captured around 7 minutes of film which we eventually edited down. We did two to three takes of every scene just so that we had enough to work with. We also took the shots from different angles. Our storyboard did help us as it gave us a guide to the story, there are not as many scenes in the clip as what we put in our storyboard but it helped us keep on track and we could see what order we had to film the clips in. Not a lot went wrong but the first time we filmed we did forget to to film one clip but we went back and filmed it afterwards then edited it into our video. I learnt that a plan can help you to know what order to do things on. I also learnt about how to film properly and where to put a camera when filming. I was able to practice filming match on action shots and the 130 degree rule.

Primary Production Planning

Lucy walking down the corridor towards the door, this is a long shot.

This is Lucy opening the door, this is the first clip of the match-on-action shot.

This is the match on action shot of Lucy's hand on the door

This is a shot of Lucy from behind, entering the room.

This is the cut away of Lucy watching the film

This is the cut in of Lucy shaking her head

Pre Production

We found a location in a classroom as we knew we would need screens so a classroom was practical. I created a story board which covers the events in the video, we will use this to help us when filming. We decided to have a flashback of Lucy as our cut away as it tied in well with our story and ran smoothly.

Risk Assesment

There are risks involved in filming, firstly the camera strap could get caught, trapped, or pulled which could be dangerous for the person wearing the strap around their neck. To prevent this we will be careful how the camera hangs around our neck. Another danger is the tripod, if the tripod is in the middle of the corridor someone could trip over it and hurt themselves. To prevent this we will not leave the camera unattended and we will be careful when moving the tripod. Also if someone picks up the tripod they could accidentally hit someone with it. We are filming on a floor that could become slippery if it gets wet. To prevent any danger we will alert people if the floor is wet and will tell a member or staff. Another danger is that we will be filming next to a construction site. There is a barrier but in order to prevent any danger we will tell people about the construction site and make sure nobody enters it. The classroom we are filming in has lots of tables and chairs, these can be a danger if someone walks into them, to prevent this we will be sensible and be careful of where we are walking. People may trap their fingers in the door which could cause injury, to prevent this we will all be cautious when opening and closing the door.

Continuity Editing

Continuity editing is  basically invisible cuts, it engages the audience. It combines 'match on action' cuts, 'eye line' matches, and '180 degree rule' to create a smooth flow. Continuity editing was invented by Americans to create a cinematic experience.
 The 180 degree rule is a rule that must be followed, if you break the rule people will be the wrong way. The 180 degree rule is used when there are 2 people in a scene and they always have a right/left relationship to each other. They are always on the same side even when the camera moves.
 A match on action is when a person makes a gesture or a movement and it has to match between shots. So when the shot changes they are still matching the action.
 An eye line match is when a person looks towards off camera in one shot and then the second shot shows what they are looking at.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdyyuqmCW14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHh12_JHjTg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VPMEKCITvs

Intro to Preliminary task

Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Life On Mars

Cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and editing can all contribute to the way people are presented in programmes. In life on mars the main character Sam is presented as a masculine, dominant character. Cinematography is used in the scene when Sam chases the suspect. The first establishing shot is the police cars with the sirens on outside the estate. The first character we see in the episode is Sam, who goes and bangs on the door to show his authority. We immediately know he is the main character and he is in charge. When Sam is chasing the criminal a hand held camera was used to make it seem more realistic. We can tell this because it wasn’t smooth, the scene was bumpy. The sound in scene 1 is what attracts the audience attention, as the sound creates suspense. Sound effects were used, as the dog barking was louder than it usually would be. This makes the scene seem more dangerous for Sam; he is taking the risk which makes him seem more masculine. There is some dialogue in this scene when the kid says “Smash his face in,” this also emphasizes his masculinity as fighting is quite masculine. A jump cut is used when the suspect is running away, this builds up suspense and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. In the car journey scene cinematography is used, the extreme close-up shows his emotion as you can see the tears go down his face. This challenges the look of masculinity as men do not really cry; the high angle shot looking down on him outside the car, the car shows his masculinity again. There is non-diegetic music used in this scene when he is crying. This makes the audience feel sorry for him. A car horn sounds and the sound turns deigetic again and brings him back to reality. Before Sam is run over the Life On Mars soundtrack is played, and once he is on the floor the non-deigetic sound of a heartbeat is played to show he has been hurt. Continuity editing is used in this scene when the cinematography changes this creates a smooth cut. It also makes the time seem longer.

By Megan Gorman and Lucy Woods