Preliminary Evaluation

1. G321 Preliminary Task | Planning
For my filming task, I did a variety of planning. Firstly, my group and I discussed the basics of what would happen in our confrontation
scene; originally, we decided the topic of confrontation would be a stolen apple, but when we consulted with other groups as
feedback, the main reception was that arguing over a piece of fruit was not realistic enough. We finally settled on the idea that one of
us had stolen the others phone, which is more relatable and real for the audience.
The next stage of our planning was to draw up a storyboard. This helped us to decide in what order the shots would occur and what
they would be, as well as letting us go into more detail to what would happen in the scene; this also allowed to decide the location of
our shooting, as if we wanted to film a birds eye shot, we would have to find a corridor with a balcony to film from in order to capture
our image (see shot #1).
The next stage was to decide on the dialogue. We write a basic script, leaving room to improvise, which would make the scene more
realistic and less structured so it would flow more. Afterward, we wrote a shot list, which we would use alongside our storyboard; this
is because we could decide which shot should be used depending on the subject of that particular shot and how intense it was. For
example, when the person whose phone had been stolen entered the room, we used a low angle shot as he was angry; the low angle
shot made him look more powerful and emphasizes his anger at who had stolen his phone (see shot #3).
We had to decide on what our most dramatic moment was in order to emphasize its intensity using specific camera shots and
through the music when it came to editing. We decided it should be as the person left the room in anger at not getting their phone
back; this is because the drama had been building to this moment, so by making it the most dramatic moment there would be more
impact. Also, it builds to the final one-liner of the film, so it creates a sense of anticipation (see shot #12).
In the shot list, we had to make sure we included a variety of shots in order to make the film more interesting. There were also three
other aspects we had to incorporate our scene: shot-reverse shot, match on action and making sure we did not go over 180°. It was
also important that we had good continuity; this means that if we place an object down, like the phone, it had to remain in the same
place in the next shot, and we had to make sure our outfits were the same throughout the shoot on all the days we were filming.
Overall, we met the continuity element really well, as we always wore the same clothes when we were filming so not to confuse the
audience, and we also marked where we were standing at the end of a shot so we knew where to begin for the next. However, did
have one error; when we were walking to the room for the confrontation, we were walking to the left, but we entered the room from
the right. In the final edit, however, we flipped the video so this it was no longer a problem (see shot #2).

2. G321 Preliminary Task | The 180̊̊ Rule
The 180˚ rule is a basic guideline in filming which stats that two characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right
relationship with one another in order to help the continuity of the action. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting
the two subjects, it can confuse the viewers; this is called ‘crossing the line’. An example of the rule being broken is seen in the film
‘The Shining’; this is a psychological horror film, so this works as it creates a sense of confusion in the audience which suits the
unsettling nature of the film. However, an example of the rule being used to good effect would be in a football match; it is important
to keep the goals in the same place otherwise the audience would become confused to which side a certain team is meant to score.
The rule is broken in ‘The Shining’ A football match follows the rule
The 180˚ rule is crucial when filming as if it is not followed correctly, the audience can become confused and the continuity of the film
can suffer. In our preliminary task, however, the rule was successfully followed. The camera always filmed on the left-hand side of our
actors so not to ‘cross the line’ and confuse the audience, as shown in the diagram below.

3. G321 Preliminary Task | Shot Types + Camera Angles
I used a variety of shot types in my preliminary task. For example, I used an Extreme Close Up shot of the both characters eyes when they were
confronting one other on stealing the phone; this is a shot type used in a variety of horror and psychological thriller films as it allows the
audience to experience and identify with the full range of emotions the characters are feeling, as well as creating a sense of serialism, such as in
Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ and the close up Marion Crane’s dead eye. This shot is also used in spaghetti westerns, such as ‘The Good, The Bad
and The Ugly’, during confrontation scenes; we took a lot of inspiration from these films, which is clearly evident through our choice of music, as
it helps to create an atmosphere of anticipation towards our dramatic moment.
Extreme Close Up (Preliminary Task, ‘Psycho’, ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’)
Another shot type that I used during the confrontation was an Over-the-Shoulder shot; this is used many aspects of the media, including
television soaps, as it places the audience in the position of the character, thus allowing them to see what they can see and experiencing the film
with them; this makes them feel more involved in the film, making it more exciting and dynamic to view. This also allowed us to incorporate shot-reverse
shots into our film more easily as the viewers can follow who is speaking in the conversation. Another shot I used a Low Angle shot when
the confronter entered the room, which connotes power and dominance, therefore showing he is determined to get his phone back; this
technique is used in many films when introducing authoritative characters, such as in Pulp Fiction with Jules and Vincent.
Over-the-Shoulder (‘EastEnders’, Preliminary Task) Low Angle (Preliminary Task, ‘Pulp Fiction’)
Another shot type we used was a Birds Eye shot at the beginning of the film when the person whose phone was stolen was walking to the
confrontation. This adds audience appeal as it gives a different perspective of the what is happening in the film. It also makes the character look
small and weak, which connotes vulnerability, and could link to the fact that he may be worried about the upcoming confrontation. I also used a
tilt shot, a convention often seen in thriller films, as it connotes confusion and disorientation; this was used when the character who had stolen
the phone took it back once again, which makes the audience wary of their motives and unsure of what they would do next. Tilt shots are often
used on the antagonists of films, such as in ‘The Third Man’ with the character of Harry Lime.
Birds Eye (Preliminary Task) Tilt (Preliminary Task, ‘The Third Man’)

4. G321 Preliminary Task | Editing Skills
My editing skill developed throughout my preliminary task. I had never used the editing software Premiere Pro before, as I had only
ever used basic programmes such as Movie Maker, which was not very challenging. However, during my time editing, I learned how
to do a variety of skills, such as changing the saturation of the colours to make the mood of the piece more dark and surreal, as well
as making the colour of the shots black and white, which reflects the style of Film Noir. Originally, when I was told that would have to
make some of the shots black and white, I was unenthusiastic as there were not many opportunities which I thought would benefit
from this change in colour without it looking random. However, I came up with the idea that we would use black and white walking to
and from the confrontation, but it would change to colour when the door closed on the confronter entering and exiting the room.
This would make the shots look more dynamic and exciting, and would add to the dark, moody atmosphere, as well as adding to the
anticipation of what would happen once he had both entered and exited the room.
Black and White to Colour (entering and exiting the room)
The reason that I used slow motion is that it created more of an impact at the most dramatic moment of our piece; this was when the
confronter uttered the final one-liner of the film and put on his sunglasses, as it prolonged the moment and allowed the audience to
digest what he had just said so that the moment became more dynamic. I found applying the slow motion effect quite difficult to
master, as I had to find the right balance between it being too slow, so it became difficult to see what was actually happening, or not
slow enough, so that the impact was lost. I applied fade from black at the beginning of the piece so that the transition from the title
card would be smoother, and a fade to black at the end so it would synchronise with the soundtrack fading out for a slick ending.
Slow Motion (famously used in ‘The Matrix’)
I found the cutting and adjusting the size of the video clips quite easy to do, so it was therefore my most confident area of the
editing. This allowed me to edit in match-on-action, where I could cut from one shot to another view which matches the pace of the
first shot to create an impression of continuity; I incorporated this when the confronter was walking to the door, as we shot from
inside before cutting to outside to watch him open the door. Importing the music was also easy; however, getting the levels of the
music correct so we could also hear the dialogue was more difficult, and took me many attempts. I lacked confidence in adjusting the
volume of the clips as I had to mute certain parts due to loud background noise; this was a complicated process and I had to ask
many different people for help before I could get it right. However, I made sure that any diegetic sound, such as the door closing or
the scrape of a chair, was left in for continuity so that the actions made sense.

5. G321 Preliminary Task | Soundtrack and Inspiration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOKhQ8ObQ7E: this is the soundtrack which I used in my final preliminary task. It is a orchestral
piece called ‘Ecstasy of Gold’, written by composer Ennio Morricone for the famous spaghetti western ‘The Good, The Bad and The
Ugly’, starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Sergio Leone; this was a film which acted as a huge inspiration for our final preliminary
task. Morricone has written for many Leone thrillers throughout his career, such as the previous two ‘dollars trilogy’ films, ‘A Fistful of
Dollars’ and ‘A Few Dollars More’, which are all seen to be masterpieces of cinema.
My group and I took a lot of inspiration from the dollars trilogy, in particular ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’. This is seen especially
through the sequence of Extreme Close-Up shots during the confrontation scene where we focuses on each others eyes in order to
portray the full range of emotions from both characters; this shot is famously used in the film, and is often ironically parodied in
Hollywood films, such as ‘Hot Fuzz’ and ‘Kill Bill’, in the build up to a dramatic moment. This is because, as the moment is so iconic, in
adds to audience appeal as the viewer knows what the clip is leading to, which is some sort of dramatic moment or confrontation, so
they will wait in anticipation to what will happen next.
Extreme Close-Up parodied Comparison of Shots (Preliminary to Leone) in ‘Hot Fuzz’ and ‘Kill Bill’
The music builds as the character whose phone has been stolen leaves the room; this is effective as it shows that a dramatic moment
is about to occur. This is a contrast to the opening of our film, where the music is calm as he is waking towards the room, which could
symbolise the calm before the storm, and that he is not yet angry and upset. As the tension begins to build in the conversation – the
phone stealer confesses she took the phone – so does the music, as the strings are joined by a female singer which helps to build the
drama of the piece; this is effective as choirs are often added to the soundtrack to intensify the moment in the film and to add to the
drama, which makes the scene more dynamic and memorable.
The following series of clips shows how we took inspiration from ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ through our choice of shots. For
example, we used a Close Up shot of the phone in our preliminary task much like Leone did of ‘The Man With No Name’s’ gun, as
they both represented the weapon or cause of conflict in each film, so the shots emphasised their importance.
Comparison of Shots (Preliminary to ‘The Good, The Bad ad The Ugly’