Evaluating the Construction of our Opening Sequence

Section 1 : CAMERA WORKThroughout this task, I took on the role as the main cameraman, and so I tried to carry out

the camera work to the highest of my ability

Steadiness of ShotsWhen watching through our opening sequence, there were no shots that ever stood out to me as being overly unsteady. I tried to avoid these unsteady shots by:

1. Taking time to set up the tripod when on uneven ground, such as on the school field. By taking time to make sure each leg was adjusted properly, it ensured there was no wobbling when filming, and shots were framed on a horizontal plane.

Flat

2. Limiting the number of pans used, as to pull these off effectively it must be completely smooth and at the correct pace to follow the subject.

3. When performing a pan shot, I would ensure that I took enough takes so that I could use the steadiest one. For example, the pan of the girl running out of the driveway and up the road was taken several times, the so the steadiest could be used.

4. Avoiding carrying out zooms. By zooming in manually on the camera, we would not get a steady zoom, and it would take time to adjust and focus. For this reason we used close ups to emphasise certain aspects rather than a zoom.

Variety of Shots

In our planning sessions, we tried to include a mixture of shot types. These were…- Establishing shots- Moving subject shots- Long shots- Medium shots- Close ups- Extreme close ups- Low and high angles- Pans

The shots that I thought worked best were the establishing shot of the corridor and netball courts, and the close up of the girls PE shirt tucked into her knickers.

What I did not think worked so well were our low and high angles, and also our extreme close up of the girls note on her hand.

The Establishing ShotsI thought both of these shots were quite effective, due to the framing. The corridor shot is centrally aligned and also a slight high angle (due to placing the tripod on a chest of drawers). This means you can see straight down the corridor in the centre of the shot, emphasising its chaos.

I also think the netball courts shot is framed well, as we can see the courts with the team in the background, as well as our main character running towards them. This establishes not just the setting, but also the people involved in this scene.

The Close UpThe reason I thought this shot was effective was because it emphasised a feature that was there throughout the whole scene, but may not have been noticed until this point. It is then followed by the girl running off, so offers another chance for the audience to see this element of humour after it has been emphasised to them. Its off centre alignment also makes it look like we are not making it too obvious, but just highlighting it to the audience.

Low and High anglesAlthough these were used on several occasions, I do not feel they were as strong as we would’ve liked. Our high angles were restricted to the tallest height of the tripod in most cases, and so I think these shots were not extreme enough; for example, the high angle from the teachers POV looking down at the student. We could’ve tried to place the tripod on a table or chair for extra height, but this would’ve meant I would’ve also had to balance on something for the extra height needed to get behind the camera, causing a health and safety issue.

The Extreme Close UpThe purpose of these shots is for emphasis, and we wanted to emphasise that the girl was incredibly late for her mothers birthday meal. We therefore attempted to carry out an extreme close up of a reminder the girl wrote to herself on her hand. However, I do not feel that this shot emphasised enough, as the resolution was not overly high and so the note on her hand was slightly unclear. To improve this, I should have repeated the shot and tried to change the lighting in her room so it would be more clear what im trying to emphasise.

Section 2: MISE EN SCENE

Mise en Scene was something that we thought about thoroughly in our planning sessions, and takes into account the continuity of our costumes, settings, props and lighting and how this was all put into the frame. The Mise en Scene also had to be relevant to our plot and genre.

Costumes

This was something that had to be well thought out, as recurring characters had to be wearing the same clothing throughout as our opening sequence was showing events through the course of 1 day. The clothing also had to match that of a school environment.

Main CharacterOur main character is a sixth form student, and so we decided on clothes that would be appropriate for a school environment. Filming took place on many different days over about a 3 week period, and so she would have to wear the same outfit for these filming sessions. For this reason we chose leggins with a jumper (and a coat when outside), because even if she wasn’t wearing this exact thing on the day, she could bring a jumper with her to wear over the top without having to change her whole outfit in school time. This clothing also matched the weather, as it was clear when filming outside scenes that this is not set in the middle of summer. The one outside shot when she was not wearing a coat is the final one of her running up the road, but this was intentional as her forgetting her coat shows how rushed and unorganised she is. However when filming the netball scene, we provided her with the school PE kit to wear. This made the scene more realistic, as she fit in with the rest of the team, you knew she would be playing netball as soon as you could see her clothing.

The Best FriendSimilarly to the main character, she is a sixth form student, so should be wearing clothes to represent this. However, this friend is only in two different scenes, and so we did not have to worry so much about choosing ‘easy’ clothes, but just clothes that match the time of year the main characters clothes would be worn in. This character therefore appears in coloured jeans, a top and a coat.

ExtrasThe Class – clothes to represent a typical class of sixth formers (casual/smart)The Teacher – again casual/smart, to fit the stereotype of a teacher and make it obvious that this is what role she is playing.Busy Corridor – mixture of lower school, sixth form and teachers, their usual clothes were worn (uniform or casual/smart) as this is a true representation of school life Netball team – school PE kit and netball bibs, as this is realistic and the bibs with clearly marked positions on represent what sport is about to be played. This film is aimed at girls and nearly all girls have played this sport, so the bibs will be easily recognised.Couple on the field – the boy wears a smart suit being from a separate school, as it is clear this opening is set in an all girls school. The girl must be wearing casual/smart clothes like the other sixth formers, and a coat to match weather conditions.

By forward planning and having continuity in mind, I think we were successful in representing the characters and the surrounding environment through costumes, and by using very stereotypical costumes (netball bibs with positions written largely across them), we could clearly represent niche groups of people within school life.

Settings and LightingWe filmed at several different locations for our opening sequence, and these locations were:- A classroom- School Corridor- Outside school walkway- Netball courts- School field- Friends houseThe main issue with filming at several locations, is continuity in the weather (for outside locations). Although weather can change throughout the course of a day, we did not think that it would be realistic to have one seen when it is raining, and another in clear sunshine. This is why we struggled to stick exactly to filming at the times planned.

Classroom and CorridorThese were easy locations to film in, as they were not weather dependent. We chose a classroom to film in that has many windows and so a great source of natural light. This meant that we did not have to rely on artificial lighting, which may reduce picture quality. However, the corridor we wanted to film in is across the other side of the school, as the corridor is the biggest and busiest. This meant that when we filmed the girl exiting the classroom into the corridor, we had to film at an angle such that you couldn’t see into the classroom, so viewers would not be aware that this is in fact a different classroom to the one they had just seen.

The School WalkwayWhen we filmed this, there was a light cover of cloud but nothing too heavy to restrict lighting. This was also helpful, as this was not an extreme weather condition so could be matched with most other weather we may encounter.

The Netball CourtsThis was the last location we filmed in, because it took us lots of planning to find a day that we could all make that would tie up with when a netball team would be using the courts. Then, when we found one, it rained on that day so weather conditions were not appropriate for us to take the camera out into and film in. When eventually we did find a day, there was again a light cloud cover, providing good lighting and also linking with the previous scene’s weather conditions, which was meant to take place just moments before. This link shows strong continuity, and makes this sequence all the more realistic. I also think we were fortunate to have on site netball courts, as netball is a stereotypical sport for girls of this age.

School FieldWhen we originally filmed at this area, it was dark and drizzling, and therefore we had to make do with very dim lighting. It was also out of school time, and so there was no one else there, which may have not clarified to the audience that it’s a school field. However, when we re-filmed, it was sunny with just a few clouds, providing great lighting. It also made it look as if the clouds had cleared since the morning, without the difference in weather being too significant. This clearing of clouds was also useful, as very much like the ladder, it could symbolise something (in this case her day may start to get better as school has finished and she is on the way to her friends house).

Friends HouseAlthough filmed at a completely different time to the school field scene, we were lucky enough to have very similar clear and sunny weather conditions. When watching our footage back, we noticed that the low sun (we filmed quite early in the morning) produced ‘diamonds’ of sunlight across our shot as the girls entered the house. Although this was unintentional, we loved the effect that this gave, and so left it on the shot. However, once in the house, I struggled to find the correct angle to film from due to the light coming straight through a large window at the back of the bedroom. The girls were sat with their backs to this light, and so their fronts were quite shadowy. This made the correct angle to film from difficult to find, and so this part was very time consuming. The light through the window also reflected on the phone screen when we tried to film the missed calls appearing, and so Shannon had to film this separately at her house when we realised the screen could not in fact be seen. This didn’t really provide us with a continuity issue, as the phone shots were close ups and so you cannot tell they were filmed t different locations. If I could redo this section of filming, I would’ve chosen a time of day in which the sun would not be directly behind my bedroom window, as we would still have sufficient lighting but would not have to worry about shadows.

PropsWe used props as subtle ways of making the overall scene more realistic, and also for symbolic means.

Books and foldersWhen the girl is woken from her daydream, she has the book in front of her that she was daydreaming from, showing that this is where her voice over came from. This book also reappears when she drops her folders in the corridor, so this reappearance is a reminder of what just happens, and shows how she has just left that class.

LadderThis is the most symbolic we prop we use. We took the idea of how walking under a ladder brings bad luck, and used this to represent the bad luck that is to follow. I really like this subtle hint, and audience feedback upon showing our sequence suggested we used more ideas like this in our sequence.

Netball SignWe stuck this on the wall after passing under the ladder, pointing in the direction of the courts. It was quickly drawn up on lined paper and so was slightly messy, so we found time to re-film the shot of the sign but printed one off of a computer to make it neater and more professional. However, we were faced with a continuity issue in that this did not match our original sign that could be seen in the corner of the shot of the girl walking under the ladder. After a lot of debating, we decided that using our original, messier sign was better than having an obvious continuity issue. Although not ideal, we did not have to time to re-film this whole scene with the new sign, as the caretaker had to be available to supervise the use of the ladder. Although the sign was only roughly drawn up, it was still clear to read, and many signs put up around schools (ie. reminders on classroom doors) are quickly written up by hand, and so this sign actually fits a hectic school environment.

FacemasksWe included facemasks, as this is another popular stereotypical idea of what girls do when having sleepovers. It was a way of showing the girls beginning to relax and have fun together at the end of a school day, before the final rush and chaos of this girls day begins.

Mobile PhoneWe used an iPhone to show the missed calls on, as this has a clear format of showing more and more missed calls growing. The iPhone is also the most popular smartphone, so the majority of viewers would recognise its format as soon as they see it, and be able to make an instant link.

Section 3: EDITING

Editing our work was a long process, and we made the most of all our time we allocated to it so that we would end up with the most clear and effective outcome.

Transitions

We decided against using transitions between cuts, as we had seen several examples of this being used and we thought that they give an ‘amateur’ effect to a film. We wanted our opening sequence to look as professional and real as we were capable of making, and so we decided that that use of transitions would not be appropriate for our sequence.

CutsTaking time to decide where to cut different shots was essential in making our sequence clear to the audience. We also wanted to vary the length of our shots, with some longer shots and some very short and snappy, to give a sense of chaos. An example of these short and snappy shots that I was very fond of were the shots of the netball hoop missing the hoop on multiple occasions. These were cut very short and placed next to each other, so images of a ball missing a hoop from various different angles kept being played. This highlighted just how useless the girl is at this sport, and subtly enhances this point to the audience. However, one point made by the audience when we showed our sequence was that we could have benefitted from using more of these snappy shots, to keep up with the fast tempo of the soundtrack we used. Although this would’ve significantly outweighed the number of longer shots, it would allow our sequence to keep up its high-energy pace throughout the whole 2 minutes, and it would flow more.

Match on ActionAn example of the use of match on action was during the scene in which the girl wrongly thinks a boy is waving at her. We took time in cutting these shots at exactly the right place to that they flowed into one another, and did not lag behind or skip ahead. However, we had a continuity issue the first time that we filmed this, in that our extra’s hood was up as we filmed her walking towards the camera, but had blown down when we filmed her walking away from the camera. It wasn’t until we put these cuts together on the editing software that this mistake was realised, and so we decided, considering we had enough time, to re-film this section. Although we could not use the original extras again, we found a new person to play the boy, and I stepped in to play his girlfriend. The second time we filmed, we made sure to keep continuity in our heads at all times, and checked the footage before wrapping up that scene.

Shot-Reverse-ShotThis was used in our very first scene, between our main character and her teacher. We wanted the facial expressions of our characters to be clear for these shots, and so we did not cut them too short. This allowed the audience to realise the confusion between the pupil and her teacher, rather than cutting too soon for it to be noticed. This was also incorporated with high and low angled shots (the pupil sat down and the teacher stood up) from each of their point of views, so we could enhance the power the teacher has over the girl who has clearly got herself into some trouble for day dreaming in class.

FadesWe used a ‘fade to black’ at the end of our sequence, so that it did not just come to a sudden end. This fade shows that this opening section of the film has come to an end, and the moment of darkness would provide a fresh start to when the film restarts in a different location and with the initial sound track having ended. However, we did not fade into our fist shot from the dark screen with the voiceover. We wanted this to start suddenly and abruptly, to show the unexpected awakening of the girl from her daydream.

Split ScreenWe used a split screen on one occasion in our sequence, and this was when missed calls were appearing on the girl’s mobile phone from her mum as the girl was oblivious to this and having fun with her friend. Using this split screen with the girl laughing and giggling on the left side, with cuts of more and more missed calls appearing on the right, really enhanced how clueless the girl was, as the concern of her mother through missed calls contradicts the fun we see the girl having at the same time. It also makes the audience feel like they are more aware than the main character, as we can see the calls when she couldn’t, exaggerating just how unorganised she is.

TitlesWe had our titles playing spread out over the shots, as our audience is young teens. If we had all the titles at once and on a blank screen, then our younger audience would most likely lose interest and not read them. However, by making the titles slide onto the screen throughout our sequence in a simple but bold font, our audience would be more likely to take them on board, and their attention would not be lost before the film has even started. My favourite title is that when the name of the film appears. We place this on a freeze-frame of the girls face as she runs out of the house in a state of panic with her face mask still on. This is most likely her unluckiest moment of the sequence, so having our title ‘Just My Luck’ appear at this moment shows the clear link between the title and the film. This freeze-frame also adds an element of humour due to the facial expression of our actress, and gives time for the title to be read and taken on board.

Section 4: SOUND

We have used a mixture of both diegetic and non diegetic sound in the opening sequence, through the means of voiceovers, soundtracks and sounds obtained through filming.

VoiceoverThis was easy enough to record from home, so we supplied our actress with the extract she needed, and she recorder herself reading this out using the voice recorder on her iPhone. This was then sent to us, and we cut what we needed out of it, and ensured that the end of the voiceover tied in with the girl awakening abruptly from her daydream by being hit with paper.

The School BellWhen leaving the camera on record between lessons for our establishing shot of the corridor, it picked up the sound of the school bell very clearly when lessons ended. This allowed us to cut this sound out and use it to end the classroom scene. We played this in coordination with the girl burying her head in her hands in despair, and this school bell then signified to beginning of the fast paced part of our opening sequence.

The Sound TrackOur soundtrack begins after the sounding of the school bell, and at the same time as the establishing shot of the corridor starts. It gives a new feel to our opening sequence, going from quite serious to fast paced and upbeat, as we begin to learn more about a day in the life of this girl whom we have just been introduced to. Many of our shortly cut shots are in time with the beat of this soundtrack, such as the shots of the netball missing the hoop. The song also comes to an end with the ending of the sequence, with the phrase ‘Lucky Strike’ being repeated in the final shot of the girl running up the road. This contradicts her unluckiness, and suggests that when the rest of the film begins we may see a turn of luck. The music also fades out with the final shot, so that a completely fresh beginning can take place next, indicating the beginning of the rest of the film now that the audience have been introduced to this severely unlucky girl.