Preliminary Task Evaluation

Our preliminary task is about a conversation in which person A and person B end up swapping items. The point of this task was to show continuity editing, match on action, shot/reverse shot, 180 degree rule and an eyeline match.

We did a match on action straight at the beginning when person A walks through a closed door and opens it, so we see the characters back when she opens the door, then we cut to her walking through the door on te inside of the room to see her shut the door.

We also had both of the characters have a conversation in which we used a shot/reverse shot. I think that we did end up doing this part correctly. Also we did not break the 180 degree rule so the film looks more realistic.

The eyeline match was of both of the characters looking at each other, I think that we could of improved this part as we could of made the eyeline match longer and used more cuts for it.

When we was editing it we realised that we did not do the continuity editing that well as when character A walks through the door there is nothing on the tables around character B, but then as character A walks out of the room there is a book on one of the tables and a bit of blue tack on the table. Again another issue with the continuity editing was that during the shot/reverse shot that after a while we did not notice the book randomly appearing during the shots.

What I would do for next time is that I hope to sort out the issues with the continuity editing and move the books that appeared in the shot and also I would like to make the eyeline match longer.

Preliminary Task Marianne Webb Joe Howlett

Continuity editing

Is when the film is made to retain a sense if realistic chronology and gives the feeling that time is moving forward, it can use flashbacks or flash forwards but it will still be seen progressing forward.

Eye line match

We see a character looking at something off screen and then we cut to a shot of what they are looking at.

Match-on action

We see a character start in one shot and then see them continue to the next.

Graphic match

When two shots are linked with a similar shape or composition of an image.

180 degree rule

It is a basic guideline that says that two characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other.

Shot/reverse shot

Are used to show conversations and or arguments in a scene.

Style of editing

The style of editing is basically how the shots from the film are all linked together, the movement from one shot to the next is called a transition.

Straight cut

The most common form of transition, it is where one shot moves instantaneously to the next without the audience noticing. Straight cuts are used to help retain reality. They do not break the viewers suspension of disbelief.

Dissolves 

Are basically when a shot fades off the screen whilst another shot fades in. The audience will be able to see both shots during the mid point of the dissolve. It can be used to show a connection between characters, places or objects.

Fades

Are a gradual darkening or lightening of an image until it becomes black or white, one shot will fade until only a black or white screen can be seen. It can be used to show the end of a particular section of time within the narrative or it can show the passing of time.

Wipes

Furthermore another style of editing can be seen in wipes where one image is pushed off the screen by another. It is most common for the image to be pushed off to the left hand side as this movement is more consistent with the sense of time moving forward. It can be used to signal a movement between different locations that are experiencing at the same time.

Jump cut 

This is where the audiences attention is brought into focus on something very suddenly. This occurs by breaking continuity editing, it is also known as discontinuity, it appears as if a section was removed from the film. 

Graphic match

A filmmaker may choose to place shots in a certain order to make a smooth visual transition from one frame to another, this is called a graphic match.

Montage editing 

Basically where there are different images quickly edited together, it does not give a sense of the narrative moving forward but still has meaning. They are often used to reflect on chaos, tension or disturbance or a characters state of mind. 

Speed of editing

In films, a scene may last a few seconds, or it could last for several minutes on end. Depending on the length of the sequence it establishes the pace at which a film is happening.

The speed of editing will help to determine the mood of what is taking place on screen.

If the audience needs to feel anxiety and to be full of suspense the editing will indeed be very quick and the scenes and the shots will constantly be changing throughout the sequence. If the audience is to feel relaxed, the scenes would last a lot longer and would change less frequently. 

On the other hand however a film may not need any editing and could just be filmed in one constant take, however due to the lack of jumps the film may seem boring. 

However a trailer for a film needs to show what happens throughout the film in a number of minutes so therefore the editing will indeed be very fast. 

Scenes at the beginning of films need to help us see the story that is trying to be told throughout the film, so they must be long enough for us to understand what is going on throughout the beginning to get us used to the story, however as the film progresses scenes may become shorter due to the story becoming more developed.

The Manchurian Candidate

On the Thriller subject I watched the start of two versions of the film 'The Manchurian Candidate'. I watched the 1962 and the 2004 version of the film to see which one was more appealing to me.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Major Ben Marco is an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. He served valiantly as a captain in the Korean war and his Sergeant, Raymond Shaw, even won the Medal of Honor. Marco has a major problem however: he has a recurring nightmare, one where two members of his squad are killed by Shaw. He's put on indefinite sick leave and visits Shaw in New York. Shaw for his part has established himself well, despite the misgivings of his domineering mother, Mrs. Eleanor Shaw Iselin. She is a red-baiter, accusing anyone who disagrees with her right-wing reactionary views of being a Communist. Raymond hates her, not only for how she's treated him but equally because of his step-father, the ineffectual U.S. Senator John Iselin, who is intent on seeking higher office. When Marco learns that others in his Korean War unit have nightmares similar to his own, he realises that something happened to all of them in Korea and that Raymond Shaw is the focal point.

Most people would probably disagree with me here but I didn't really like the beginning of this film as I found it to be slow, I also found this film to start up slowly unlike most other films that I normally watched so I lost focus at the beginning. However as the film started to carry on I started to get into the story and start to enjoy. It had quite a good storyline in it.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) movie poster.


The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

When his army unit was ambushed during the first Gulf War, Sergeant Raymond Shaw saved his fellow soldiers just as his commanding officer, then-Captain Ben Marco, was knocked unconscious. Brokering the incident for political capital, Shaw eventually becomes a vice-presidential nominee, while Marco is haunted by dreams of what happened -- or didn't happen -- in Kuwait. As Marco (now a Major) investigates, the story begins to unravel, to the point where he questions if it happened at all. Is it possible the entire unit was kidnapped and brainwashed to believe Shaw is a war hero as part of a plot to seize the White House? Some very powerful people at Manchurian Global corporation appear desperate to stop him from finding out. 

I liked the beginning to this version of the film as it started off with more action, still it had the basic storyline of the original version of the film, it is more of an updated version. For example, at the beginning of the film there is a more explosive fight scene, I think that this was used as it was a way to grab hold of the audience's attention. Also in this film, the use of music is used differently to create tense moments throughout the film. I think that  prefer this version of the film as it is more updated version to the last with better effects and better sound wise.

The Manchurian Candidate (2004) movie poster

Lighting exercise evaluation

We worked together on this task as a class, using different lighting effects and what they do and are used for. We ended up using key lighting, back lighting, filler lighting, under lighting, top lighting. low key lighting and finally high key lighting.

Key lighting is the brightest type of lighting and is the one that is used in most settings.

Back lighting is one of the darkest types of lighting and is used to create a silhouette of a character this is thanks to a light behind the person in the camera's view.

We also used a filler light is used to help soften the harsh shadows that the key and back lights on things such as the face.

Under lighting was also used, this is when the main source of light comes from below the character, this is used mostly in thrillers and horrors and it causes shadows to be on the face of the character.

Top lighting was also used in this and this is when the main source of lighting comes down from above, giving a sort of glamorous look to a person.

We used low key lighting where the person looks unrealistic and we also used high key lighting which uses filters that makes it look more realistic.

Mise-en-scene: is basically what is in the shot of the camera, there are different elements to mise-en-scene for example the props on a scene, facial expressions and body language and character's hairstyles and body language etc.

Lighting exercise