Preliminary Diary Blog

My Role in the Film Making

The main role I played in this preliminary film making was that of a director. This meant I had the responsibilities of taking control of the dramatic and artistic aspects, and visualisation of the script by guiding the actors and cameraman, in order to complete what I had planned for the finished films appearance.
Another role I played within this was that of the storyboard artist. This gave me the responsibility of creating visual images of what different scenes would look like, with consideration for cinematography and the effects it will have on the audience.

Experiencing Filming

My experience of filming was overall positive and enjoyable. Our team worked reasonably well with each other to complete the task within the set deadline, however there were a few arguments to what camera angles should be used for certain shots, which slowed down the process slightly.

Changes Made During Filming

The changes that were made from the original story board were some of the angles at which the camera shots were taken, in what was used as the bedroom of the main character. The specific shots we had to change were the shots of the main character when he is opening the box for the first time and when he is on the phone to his friend Jack. This was because the size of the room and the wide fisheye camera lens we started with made it difficult to film any shots, without giving away that it was a classroom and not a real bedroom.

Adaptations for Future Filming Activities

To improve the efficiency and outcome of our next film we should plan a more detailed storyboard. This would improve our teamwork and cooperation, which in turn would increase the speed at which we complete the different camera shots and would reduce the amount of time taken up by arguments/debates on which angles to use for certain shots.

Practical Skills for Next Time

Next time I would like to try being the cameraman to see if I have skills in this area that would benefit the film making process more than being the director. If I did try out being the cameraman I would have to learn from experience to quickly pick up on the  However, I thought that being the director worked well and so depending on my ability in camerawork I may try further developing my skills in directing to improve the group efficiency.

Editing as Punctuation in Film

"The whole eloquence of cinema is achieved in the editing room" - Orson Welles

David Bordwell says "If [two characters] are in the same shot, I can that they are united... If they are in different shorts, I can say that the cut separates them."

Often cinematic punctuation is punctuated by the characters actions. For example, two separate shots which have no relation can be cut from one to the other, causing the audience to imagine this relationship between the two after showing the characters reactions and emotions. Eisenstein explains this by saying that "A concrete word set beside a concrete world, yields an abstract concept."

Cuts act as narrative ellipses and are a way of description. Freeze frames are used as a moment of clarification, often to allow the narrator to give the audience particular information or insight into the story. Rewinds are commonly used to tell the same story that the audience was previously shown, from a different point of view. Long takes are often significant and include no editing for a purpose, usually to indulge the audience in the scene. Finally, another editing technique of punctuation is to film an object or area that is not the focus of the scene, in order to fill time and space while the characters state or emotion changes.