Main Task: Lighting

Another aspect of mise-en-scene is light. These are the main types of light:


Ambient light: The light already present in a scene, before any additional lighting is added.

Hard light: Light directly from a source such as the sun, traveling undisturbed onto the subject being lit.

Soft light: Light which appears to "wrap around" the subject to some degree. Produces less shadows or softer shadows.

Artificial light: Light from a man-made source, usually restricted to studio photo lamps and domestic lighting.

The lighting we will be using in our main task is ambient light when artificial light is not present, and soft light when the artificial light is. We are filming indoors only so this applies to all of the scenes and frames. The reason we decided to use this type of light is to show the school atmosphere and make it clear it is inside. It is also to make it more realistic, hard light might imply a studio feel and we do not want this to come across. 

Main Task: Speech, Dialogue and Script

Throughout the film there will be a narrator. The crew will be sharing this role and we will all take part in this aspect. The following extract is the write up for this and shows who will be saying each part.

This is the narrators script:

This is Brian. Brian is no ordinary guy, firstly Brian likes to make himself look smart. He also enjoys reading about his favourite particle physicist. A confident young lad, Brian not only enjoys academic study but thrives on looking his best for the ladies. Being this gifted has its downsides, as we are about to find out. Meet, Mario- the school bully. It's best to avoid that one, which is easier said than done. [Music]

We have decided that the characters will not have any dialogue of their own. We believe that it would be more comic if the narrator was the only person talking. 

Main Task: Bully's Costume

For the bully’s costume I also wanted to portray a stereotypical representation. To begin with the bully will wear a plain t-shirt of their choice, preferably black. Along with this they will also wear a leather jacket.

They will wear a pair of dark jeans, black, navy or any other deep colour. The shoes the bully will wear will be high-top trainers.

Again, if this cannot be achieved then the following costume will also work:

A hoody will be substituted for the leather jacket, and any choice of t-shirt will work too. I believe the jeans will be available and any pair of trainers will be fine.

Main Task: Brian's Costume

As I am in charge of mise-en-scene I must establish the costumes each character will wear.

Brian

We wanted to portray a stereotypical representation of a 'geek'. This is to add a comic effect to our piece, with this in mind I am going to describe the clothes that he will wear.

A white shirt which will be buttoned up to the top, complimented with a tie. Any tie will be appropriate for our piece, so long as it fits in with our character. Below are examples.

Along with this Brian will wear a pair of shorts, which will have his shirt tucked into and white socks.

He will wear sandals with all of this to finish the look.

This is our first preference with Brian's look. Of course, understandably we may not be able to achieve this look because the cast and crew may not own or be able to find the correct clothing. If this were to happen I have created a back up which Brian can wear.

We believe the shirt will be easy to obtain, but if it is not then a plain polo top will work fine. With this a pair of black trousers or jeans.

A tie will still be needed and we believe this will be achievable as the cast have access to this. Black shoes would be appropriate and the white socks will also be available.

As mentioned above, the first look is the costume we wish for Brian to achieve. All pictures included are just examples and will not necessarily represent the true clothing we will use. We may choose to combine both first and second preferences depending on what is made available.

Main Task: Storyboard

For our main task we had to complete a storyboard showing each frame of the film. Below you can watch me creating the storyboard through a time lapsed video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Woi4T5stWTw

Please see below and view pictures of our completed storyboard for the main task. Please click to enlarge the images.

Main Task: Overview

The brief for our main task is as follows:


"titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes."


I am in charge of mise-en-scene in this piece, with Vicky Hart responsible for editing and Rachel Davis responsible for filming. This post is an overview of the task and more posts will be available for a detailed analysis of each point.


Plot:


A young seventeen year old boy named Brian is a very bright young man. He gets A grades in everyone of his classes and enjoys his education. Despite this, Brian doesn't have a lot of friends and gets picked on by the school bullies. This is a comical adventure, full of stereotypical characters which are aimed at gaining a positive reaction from the audience.


Cast:


Jack Lewis: Brian
Alex Ridley: Bully


Costumes:


The costume for the characters will be extremely stereotypical. With high waisted trousers and a shirt for Brian and black leather jackets and trainers for the bullies.


Set and location:


Most filming will take place in college. We will also be filming on a bus and in a house, avoiding outside as much as possible. 


Props:


Books, paper, pens and bags will be needed for this short film.

Preliminary Task: Three things I have learnt

1. Do not film outside when it is windy without the correct equipment (such as a boom microphone with a cover)

2. Try and film in an area in which continuity areas are avoided easily. For example: don't use automatic doors like we did as they are always opening and closing at different times. 

3. Plan everything before you start filming because it saves time and makes the film flow more effectively.

Preliminary Task: Evaluation

What went well:

• We worked well in a team together and everybody pulled together to produce one product. All decisions were made together and we all agreed on every aspect of the film.
• There were different camera angles used through out which shows diversity and made it an interesting piece to watch.
• When the camera was static is was extremely still which shows skill and when it was point of view we purposely jolted the camera to make it seem realistic.
• The costume fitted in with the plot and made it all seem real.

What we need to improve:

• As we filmed outside on a windy day, the dialogue was hard to pick up as the weather distorted the actors voices. It also interfered with the props, such as paper, making it hard to take all of the footage in one shot. 
• We found it hard to find two clips which flowed together continually. We encountered this during the editing process but resolved the issue swiftly and effectively. 

Preliminary Task: The Video

This is the final video of our preliminary task, please click on the link below to watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6YzdlywuPM&feature=player_embedded

All of the filming was completed by Rachel Davis and all editing by Vicky Hart. Mise-en-Scene was compiled and completed by me.

Preliminary Task: Plot and Mise-en-scene

The preliminary task requires students to be in charge of camera, editing and mise-en-scene. In our group the responsibilities have been decided between the three students and they are as follows:

Rachel Davis: Camera

Vicky Hart: Editing

Charlotte Harbour: Mise-en-scene

This in turn means that I am responsible for script, set, location, costume, props and lighting.

As I am not required behind the camera during filming, i am able to be in the short film.

The plot for the preliminary task is as follows:

A student is walking out of college to go and meet a friend. She walks over to her friend as she has some things she wishes to get help on, these issues are that she does not understand the homework she has been given. In an attempt to complete her homework she asks if he understands the work, but unfortunately he does not.

Planning


There were a number of things we had to consider in order to make our task successful. As this was a scene about a student who needed help with work, we decided the college would be a good place to film. We then needed to decide on a neural place for the friends to meet, so we decided that we would use the benches outside the college as it offered a relaxed atmosphere. After deciding this we thought it was relevant to use the real clothes of the cast as it showed a realistic approach. The following list is the final aspects we have chosen.

Cast:

Charlotte Harbour: Female seeking help with her homework

Jack Lewis: Friend of Female

Set and location:

For this piece we will be filming at the college entrance and outside. There will be natural lighting so there is no use for any extra.

Costume:

The cast will be expected to wear the clothes they already have as they are attending college and the characters are in the same scenario. The fact that their usual clothes are present will make it more lifelike.

Props:

The props required will be a piece of paper, which will be the homework. We will also use our ID cards to swipe across the entrance. I will obtain this from college. 

Preliminary Task: Storyboard

The brief we were given for our preliminary task is as follows: “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.”

Below is a time lapse video of me creating the storyboard for the preliminary task.

AS Media Preliminary Task Storyboard

Following this you can see the pictures below of my final storyboard. Please click to enlarge the images.

Shot reverse shot

A shot reverse shot is a film technique which serves the purpose to de-emphasise the transitions of the shot as much as possible. A typical shot reverse shot example would be two characters (A & B) having a conversation and the camera constantly switching from character A and character B. Typically, character A would be talking to character B (who would be off-screen) and this role would then switch so that the camera is filming character B whilst character A is off-screen. This allows the audience to assume that the characters are looking at each other. This in turn not only creates a steady flow of conversation it also removes the need for a split screen.

Below is an example of a shot-reverse-shot. This image was taken from Google Images.

Match on action

A match on action shot, sometimes known as a match cut, is a cut from one scene to another in which the two elements of a scene (may it be people, objects or any other compositional part) graphically match so that a strong continuity of action is established. 

An example of a match on action cut is the picture below which is a photo from Google Images:

The 180 degree rule

The 180 degree rule is a basic and fundamental rule in the film making process. This rule states that two characters or objects that are in the same scene must always have the same right and left relationship to each other. There is an imaginary line that the camera should never cross, demonstrated with a picture below. 

 Wikipedia

This rule is especially important when using shot reverse shots: if the 180 degree rule is broken in this context then the two characters will seem to be facing in the same direction. With this is mind we can create an example: If Bob (orange) is facing Alan (Blue) and the pink camera is shooting then Bob will be on the right of the frame and Alan will be on the left. This should be a continuous pattern and should never change- if the grey camera were to start filming in continuation of the pink camera then Bob will now be on the left, and Alan will be on the right. This will clearly cause confusion to the audience hence the importance of the 180 degree rule.