PRELIMNARY LOCATION



This is the location I have chosen to use for my preliminary task. 

My reasons for using this particular location for my prelim is that it is a small compact area that prevents natural light, this helped my group create an eerie effect from the low key lighting. The drum kits was removed to free up space, because they are an irrelevant prop for what we filmed. We used the two blue chairs to film the shot reverse shot. The room is a music practice room and this helped block out the background noise, so the dialogue could be heard more clearly.     

what I learnt from utopia

So what is utopia?

Utopia is channel 4s flagship television series, Utopia will follow a group of people who find themselves in possession of a manuscript of a cult graphic novel. The tome is rumoured to have predicted the worst disasters of the last century and the group soon find themselves targeted by a shadowy organisation known only as The Network.

The case study

As a class we studied many different elements of utopia, from pre to  post production, and this has helped me develop my media skills and terminology within media.






colour correction


Utopia is well known for having a comic book effect which was achieved by colour correction in post production. I was inspired by this work, so in my preliminary task I attempted to mimic the style of colour correction. I learnt that importance of colour correction and how it can change the audiences perception of each scene.




engaging with the audience
through utopia I learnt the different ways of how a media source can engage with an audience for example through social media, broadcasting, on demand. this taught me the different conventions of showing media to the audiences.


representation
In utopia we was introduced to how characters are represented in media, for example we looked at the antagonist and how he is portrayed to the audience. We looked at the following media elements that show representation;
- camera shots/movements
- sound
-mise en scene
- editing
Being introduced to representation will help me in my final exam because the is a question of how a theme is represented.  
 

Action video - Toilet Knife scene - AS portfolio

For our first practical task we was asked to create a short video involving a fake knife scene. The task aimed to introduce basic media skills such as camera angles and editing. we used our phones to film and I edited the video on "iMovie". The task also aimed to indicate to the teachers how experienced we are in media.

How Utopia got its comic book effect

Channel 4's flagship television series, "Utopia" is well known for being quite peculiar. In the way the story line is presented and the way it is created. one aspect of this peculiarity is the colour contrast of the tv series. The reference to the comic book effect comes from Marc Munden's  idea of replicating graphic novels bold aesthetics and Munden turned to the Technicolor palette of 1950s Hollywood.

one aspect that gave utopia its comic book effect is in the post production stage, colourist Aidan Farrell and Munden, carefully colour corrected each shot, using certain colours like yellow, cryan and magentas, where as the typicall coulours used are greens, blue and reds. A few examples that Muden and Farrel coulour corrected in post production are making grey british skies blue, making  grass greener and turning blue vans yellow.

Preliminary task and 180 degree rule/Match on action/Continuity  

Preliminary task
For our preliminary task we was asked to create a short video the includes the following; a character walking across a room, sharing dialogue with another character and then leaving the room. the way the scenes are shot is open to our interpretation and the genre of the video is our decision as well.

The genre that I have decided to do for our preliminary task is thriller because I believe it would be good practise for when we do our final task, which is creating a opening scene to a thriller.

 In order for our video to be successful and organised, we created a storyboard to follow when we begin  filming. a storyboard is key to creating a successful media source because it helps you share your vision to the other workers in your group and its the best way of planning a video because all aspects of the video can be noted and visualised. one other aspect of using a story board is that it helps identify problems that may occur when shooting the video, this can speed up the process of filming because the filming time can be used effectively.


This the story board that i created for my preliminary task.

180° rule
The 180° rule is a cinematography guideline that states that two characters in a scene should maintain the same left/right relationship to one another . When the camera passes over the invisible axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line and the shot becomes what is called a reverse angle. 









Match on action

Matching on action refers to film editing and video editing techniques where the editor cuts from one shot to another view that matches the first shot's action. A common example is a man walking up to a door and reaching for the knob. this good match on action editing is commonly unnoticed because it allows the film or video to flow in a sequence

continuity

The system of editing that developed in the early 20th century to provide a continuous and clear movement of events/images in film. the image to the right is an example of bad continuity because one of the props the previous shots has changed without explanation. bad continuity can break the four walls of the imaginative world that film and animation try to create.

Camera shots

The establishing shot
This is an establishing shot and it is commonly the first shot of a new scene. This particular shot is designed to show the audience where the action is taking place. the orientation of the show is either wide or extremely wide, this is so that more shot can fit as much scenery into the shot.










The medium shot
This is a medium shot because it shows a character from above their knees or waist up. the medium shot has many purposes and reasons why it is used. One of them being, It allows the audience to see the characters facial expression and body positioning, this allows thew audience to see the characters emotions.  The medium shot also allows the audience to see interactions between characters.






The close up 
This camera shot is a closeup and it is mainly used to show the audience a subject in a greater detail. In this particular shot the character is washing his hands, the closeup allows the audience to clearly see what the character is doing.










Low angle 
this is a low angle shot, and it is particularly used to perceive the character in the shot as powerfully or dominant because the view of the shot makes the audience look up to the character which metaphorically shows that they are superior.

Welcome to my blog!

I have studied media at GCSE and achieved an overall grade of a B. I have always been interested in various types of media such as films and television series' and I hope to expand my knowledge into my A-levels. I prefer the theory and practical balance compared to GCSE.

I really enjoy filming and editing because it allows me to be creative and unique, I am looking forward to filming my opening thriller scene because I believe that it will be a great chance to show my media knowledge and creativity.

Hope you enjoy my blog. Thanks.