Filming for our Preliminary Task

Today we went out filming! We asked a friend to be an actor and filmed exterior shots of him walking into a building. We made sure we had appropriate props, such as a briefcase and a clipboard for him to look the part and got to filming! We got shots of him walking in from a distance, we then got him to pause mid walk, as we got a close up of his face. Following that we turned the camera round and filmed him walking from the back, to get a different perspective. Then came the fun part, the Match On Action shot where we filmed our actor opening a door and walking in. This shot was very hard to film as we had to be precise with how he opened the door from the back shot, and then how he opened the door from the shot where we were on the inside filming. Overall i am very happy with the shots that we got to film today, I do not expect them to be completely perfect,as its only our first try! I think if we started out amazing, there would be no room for improvement, so I expect some flaws in the filming. However we tried our best, and so far there is nothing I am unhappy with. 

Our Storyboard

Today we completed our storyboard for our preliminary task, and I am very happy with it as we have got a wide range of shots in our storyboard.

Preliminary Task and Continuity

Today we were set our preliminary task. We must film someone walking along a corridor, into a room, and they must exchange dialogue with another person, then leave the room. This task is to help us practicei filming and editing, and although it is not being graded, I really am excited to put a lot of time and effort into making sure it is really good! My teacher, Mr Welch, showed us some videos about continuity on YouTube, which emphasised the importance of it. I think that it can be easy to completely forget about little details, such as if in one shot your hand is touching your cheek and the next its on your lap. Continuity is about the whole film running without errors. Shows such as 'Biggest Movie a Mistakes' make tv episodes about movies with bad continuity. It is being shown as a joke, I hope that when we complete our preliminary task the continuity will not be an issue.

Experimenting with Camera Shots

Today, during my Media Studies lesson, we were sent out to capture a selection of shots, to further understand our idea of them and why they are used. I enjoyed these tasks, as me and my group went through great lengths to ensure that we got the right shots on our list. It was fun to explore the best places to take this images, such as our Schools exterior for the Establishing shot. I will insert within below the various types of shots that we managed to capture
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Extreme Close Up Shot

This Extreme Close Up shot is effective because it shows the focus of the photo in more detail. In this photo, we blurred the background slightly in order to emphasise the vital importance of the berries in the photo.

 

Long Shot

This Long shot is very useful in some circumstances, as it shows lots of other detail in the background of the photo while also concentrating on the main focus of the picture which is the sculpture of a tree. By using the rule of thirds we were able to centralise the sculpture, this supported the idea that the sculpture is the most important thing in the photo

Low Angled

This Low Angled shot is useful for making the subject of the photo (in this case the sculpture) look more important as it is taken from a lower perspective, meaning that the subject will look much larger. Moreover, you could say that this angle allows the viewer to feel as though they're viewing the subject of the photograph from the eyes of someone who is small in terms of their height.

 

 Establishing Shot
 
This Establishing shot is useful for making the subject of the photo (in this case the sculpture) look more important as it is taken from a lower perspective, meaning that the subject will look much larger. Moreover, you could say that this angle allows the viewer to feel as though they're viewing the subject of the photograph from the eyes of someone who is small in terms of their height.

 

 

 

Shot taken fromThree Different Perspectives

Taking three different shots offers different perspectives of the scene. For example, the first shot of the car could show the perspective of someone looking at the car from the window of a house, the second photo could show the car arriving at it's destination and the last shot could show the car having already arrived at it's destination.

 

 

Starting Media Studies!

Hello and welcome to my blog site!

I am excited at the future of Media Studies, and the thought of creating a blog site excites me, as I have always been interested in aspects of Media, such as photography and film making. Luckily, I am familiar with using the internet, and use blog sites such as Tumblr already.

The thing which excites me the most is the practical side of media, such as editing and creating the final project (an opening to a thriller style film). With that being said, I also think I will enjoy the theory side of media, looking at camera shots and analysing film clips. I have recently found out that we will be watching parts of a series called Utopia,and commenting on the style of the series and camera angles used for different effects. As I enjoy watching television and films, I think that it will put a completely new perspective on things, as I will start to infer the deeper meanings of certain parts in the film or series.

My favourite film series is by far Harry Potter, as it is so interesting and imaginative, the characters are so complex, and the effects used are amazing. Theres so many clues carefully given throughout which we can piece together as the films go on, and as I have heard we will be studying it, I am excited to learn the techniques used to keep the effects just as imaginative as the plot.


Media is a subject I have not studied before, however I do believe that it is an important factor in every day life. As we encounter the Media all the time, be it through magazines, talk shows, or even music. It intrigues me how a subject which was definitely not taught when my parents were born, has grown into such a crucial subject which I think everyone should become familiarised with.

I am looking forward to the future of my time in Media, and updating my blog throughout my Media Studies journey!

Amber Needham