Preliminary Shooting Task

Our preliminary task consisted of my group filming a two way conversation. We filmed in a editing suite which worked particularly well for this specific filming task. This was because the set included natural light from a large window and also a door. Both making the set realistic and mysterious. we had two main stage lamps which shined towards the set to enable us (as film makers) the best quality and visibility as possible

My role in this task was co-director.Meaning i got to chose which shots work or not and decided if the set up of the camera was perfect. I also took the responsibility of making sure all shots from the story board were completed and matched that of the one's on the board.

My group and i wanted the actors to be in a situation which showed vulnerability and power. The main plot was the man telling to women to commit a violent and deadly act. The prop was a brief case,along with the dialogue,created a mysterious and powerful atmosphere.The lighting reflected this atmosphere meaning that it casted shadows upon the back wall but still showed brilliant visibility of the actors. This was extremely effective as it created a full image. The lights were placed at a 45 degree angle from the 180' line- 90' from each other. There was a blue gel like material over one of the lights making the ligh less heavy and making it a more dull tone. The light also shone through a fan, which created a dreary effect as the bars created a feel of prison and pressure.

The other roles in my group consisted of Francesca Dowle playing camera 'Man', Josh Jackson playing the role of director and luke looking at the continuity of the actor plus the shadows etc. making sure that there's no great difference between the next shot and before.

Once we got to our filming destination, we then set up the camera and tri-pod. We made sure that the shutter speed, db, white balance and focus etc. were set up correctly. We then shot 30 seconds of colour bars to make sure that, when we do start filming, the first part of it isn't cut out due to the cameras numbers not 'rolling'. There were many other things we also had to consider such as 'shadows' and zoom. Every time when we moved to a different part of the set, we had to then re-bubble our tripod and check the focus.

We filmed to whole dialogue in a establishing shot and then all of it in a mid shot. This enabled us to switch between different positions when needed. We also did various other shots such as over the shoulder shot on him and her, point-of-view (POV) from both, and close ups on specific and relevant information such as a closeup of the door handle being twisted and the briefcase being put down. I also had constantly be aware of the 180' line.

Use of appropriate terminology was also used to make sure all cast were ready for filming. The director firstly said 'standing by' to which all the people in my group replied by 'standing by'. He then said 'rolling' after which the camera man replied saying 'rolling' which meant that the numbers on the screen were rolling. Filming then started when the director says 'ACTION'.