CCR 3

Skills developed through use of the camera, microphone and tripod on the shoot day.

Use of previous research into techniques on the day, skills developed from directing actors and use of planning documents on the day (storyboard, shot list, shooting schedule etc).

Skills developed through use of the lighting and lenses on the shoot day

Skills i developed in test shoots and technical run-throughs.

My group and I made many test shoots so that we could show our actors exactly what we wanted from them and they could immitate the actions and non verbal characteristics our group members in the test shoots and run throughs on the day of our shoot. We also made test shoots to develop our skills of deciding how to narrate the plot through certain shots and what action we should put in each scene. Below are some of the test shoots we created for our actors:

On the shoot day I used the skills I had learned from the previous workshops to help me. I was able to easily set up the camera, tripod and microphone with my group due to us having the skill and shared experience of doing it multiple times before in the workshops.

Furthermore, shooting on the Blackmagic Mini URSA 4k Camera was quite simple for all of us except for shooting some of the challenging handheld shots when our actor Gabe was dancing due to the weight of the camera and struggle to flow in time with his dancing and movements. However, we managed to overcome this challenge by taking turns so we didnt have to hold the camera for too long and by also developing the skill over alot of practice on the day to shoot the camera while holding it.

I also used the skill of holding the Sennheiser rifle microphone on the day to record sound as close to the actor as possible without getting the microphone in the shot. This helped me to remember that we needed to maintain continuity in the shoot and we all reminded the actors of this. I learnt to specifically record nearer to the action we needed sound from as well such as footsteps or near the killer's mouth for his scream.

We used the skill of communication when moving the tripod and when someone exchanged the camera to another person they would say 'mine' in order to make sure we had hold of it. However, when we wanted to record a certain shot of the killer playing his music and dancing to it with party supplies in the background we were not able to use thr tripod so we used a spare book and small knife as a mount which helped our skills on the day as we came up with a solution in order to film the shot.

As it was my group and I's first experience on an actual shoot we each had to learn different techniques on the day that we had not learned before. An example of this is patience. We each had to display patience while setting up the equipment and for moving and adjusting the camera's for different shots and movements such as putting it in a counted angle for a strange feeling. We also had to develop our communication skills as when we set up the scene with props and decorations we had to make sure that our actors did not feel bored and were engaged with what was going on during the set up. We also learnt about how many takes we would actually need per scene, as we had only made very short sequences before where we needed to take fewer takes such as in the workshops.

We also developed our communication skills by directing the actors and asking them what they needed to do in each scene. This was slightly challenging because we were not all entirely experienced at directing due to us only directing each other in the past which was easier as we all knew the purpose of each scene in Subversion, whereas the actors did not have a full picture of it. Arianna was the main director on the day, meaning she was tasked with this the most. However, I helped her by placing markers on the floor for the actors which i had experience doing in the previous workshops as well.

Furthermore, on the shoot day my group and I used our planning documents so that we had an effective schedule and plan to follow for the day. The skills we had developed from the storyboard and shot list were helpful as we mimicked them through the camera in order to create an almost identical shoot to our storyboard with very similar shots and order. We ran through the risks with the entire crew and cast and made sure that they were aware of all of the exits and risks in case of an emergency.

The use of previous research saved my group and I a lot of time overall in the shoot day.

Prior to the shoot day my group and I had done some preparation on lighting as we knew we wanted to make the audience aware a party had taken place before the sequence. Arianna and I bought LED lighting strips that we spread around the room in order to set the atmosphere and also a small disco light from Amazon. Matt bought us some astera ASPFP1 titan tubes and we developed the skill of turning them onto the setting we wanted. We chose multiple flashing lights to enhance the feeling of a party and strobe lights. We also developed skills from moving them closer to where a scene was being shot so that the lighting could be seen throughout the shot. We made sure the tubes were not in the shots themselves as they would not typically be seen at a party.

We had used the lenses on the camera before to zoom out and in of shots in workshops and to also focus specifically in close up shots. The lenses we used were the DZOfilm pictor zoom lens 50-125mm and also the DZOfilm pictor zoom lens 20-55mm. We used the skills we had learnt on the day by zooming in the lenses to the actor's eyes then zooming out so that the shots would be perfectly clear. We aso learnt in more detail on the day to do the same with props by zooming in as much as possible until they were in focus then zooming out. This was effective as the outcome was extremely clear shots that we used in the editing suite after the shoot.

In conclusion our brief skills on lighting and lenses were further enhanced on the day as we had not used the titan tubes before and we had not used the lenses for certain shots before that we did end up using on the day!

Section Three

This is the shot we used a book and knife for:

3

Production skills learned on the shoot day

Skills learned in logging footage, labelling files and saving regularly

During the editing stage of Subversion I developed some of my skills that I had learned from editing the workshops before. However, the process of editing our opening title sequence was much longer than editing 15-30 second workshops. This is because of the amount of content we had filmed and also because we had to cut all the content down into a ten minute sequence. In order to separate and log all the footage I was taught the skill of putting film from each scene into its own separate log bin. This was helpful as when I needed to change or add footage from a scene I could easily access what I was looking for.

I also developed my organisation skills by labelling the files and log bins to describe the content in each scene. This was helpful as it saved me time when editing as I could choose the file I needed easily as i knew the content in it.

Finally i developed the skill to save my work regularly. This is because I learnt the mistake in the workshop that the Apple Mac Pro which had the adobe creative suite Premiere Pro on it crashed once and I had not saved my work meaning I lost some of it. When editing my opening title sequence I made sure to save my work whenever I made a big change so that I didn't lose any of it when it crashed although it was rare.

Skills we developed through Costume Design and in Effective Hair and Makeup.

Click for the first draft of Subversion:

Harry was put in charge of hair and makeup. This was helpful as he was able to develop skills on costume and he was the only man in our group so he had a sense of both taste and style that he used when choosing costume and hair. Harry made the following choices on each of the main character's:

Due to our film being set in the 90's or living off the iconic style set by that decade, our costumes really lean into the idea of that period. Hence the vision for our main character and protagonists costume consisting of a linen/white shirt, rolled up at the sleeve, with a blue waist coat, complemented by either plaid trouser or different suit trousers, as well as black and shiny brogues or brown loafers. Furthermore we will add golden jewellery, since it will complement Gabe, our lead actor's skin colour, as well providing distinguishability, and also to provide a greater contrast to the detectives. Harry gained inspiration for his costume from the character 'Tangerine' from the film Bullet train.

In terms of the outfits for the detectives since large/baggy suits were a trend in the 90's that seems the route to go for our characters. In terms of personalities for our detectives, we see Ged the actor for our elder, respected, retiring detective, wearing a smarter yet also more relaxed outfit. Therefore suit shirt will be well fitted, as well as him wearing suit trousers, whether or not they're baggy or fitted its not that big of a deal, as the main focus of our shots will be his shoes and jacket. The difference with Ged's outfit is his jacket, due to his respectability and his experience this will be portrayed through his tan/carpenter jacket. Maybe some sunglasses tucked into his breast pocket could be a nice visual.

Regarding Elliot's hairstyle, a spiky hairdo really encompassing the 90's would be ideal. As well as him being clean shaven, or stubbly would also be our preference, yet we aren't sure how far he would be able to go to play the part. Harrt gained inspiration for both of the detectives costumes mainly from the film 'Seven'.

Overall, Harry made some brilliant creative choices on the costume and hair for the shoot. We collectively decided to only use fake blood on the killers face as none of us believed makeup would be essential.

Skills learned when cutting together shots and manipulating speed

Section Two

2

CCR3:How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Production skills learned during research and planning lessons

Further along into the editing process I developed the skill of cutting together shots and scenes to make the sequence. I did this by using the trim tool on Premiere Pro and i also used Matt's help as he taught me how to easily cut certain clips and how to move them over each other if I changed my mind on certain placements and clips. We would press the letter 'I' after watching a clip when we wanted to trim it to a certain point of time and add it into the editing section of a sequence.

Furthermore, Matt also showed me how to manipulate the speed of the sequence. I learnt the skill from him and developed the speed in order to make the majority of my dance sequence in slow motion. This was helpful as putting the montage in slow motion enhanced the eeriness and creepiness of the killer as his dance moves were quite weird and odd along with his facial expressions.

Overall, the skills I required to put the sequence in slow motion and to also cut the sequence together were essential in order to make my opening title sequence effective. If i did not learn those skills the sequence would have most likely failed in success and would have been harder to cut down into two minutes.

Skills I learned when developing character personas with my group.

Skills learned during Development and Pitch Development

Imy Richardson

Here is another draft of the opening title sequence:

Section One

1

Production skills learned in Practical Workshops

During the development stage I learnt production skills from learning what the purpose of an opening title sequence was. The purpose of an opening title sequence is to engage the audience with the content they are about to view and to grab their attention. To set the scene, tone and genre for the entire film and tease information to them, to set up enigmas, to convince the audience to continue watching the film as promises are made during the opening scene for them. To introduce characters. To give a brief introduction to the story.

I learnt the most important factor of an opening sequenvce is to engage and grab the audiences attention so that they continue watching. This can be done by establishing the genre of the film and by using enigmas to engage the audience. I also learnt the 21 title conventions for opening sequences which helped me to recognise that i needed to do the same for my own sequence. Overall, i developed my skills in researching film influences and genre conventions.

I then discussed with my group our concept choices. I presented my concept in a pitch to my group which helped me develop my pitch skills amongst the group. My concept was adapted from the concept from a family who adopted a child and forced him to take place in an indication process by playing the chosen game 21 where if the child loses the game they must die. My new concept was a mysterious mafia like gang which played the game 21 as a punishment to people who disrespected them weekly. The game would lead them to have an opportunity to win the game and leave alive however, they were not aware that the game was rigged. The person believes that if they won they would live but they are actually killed even if they win or lose. I liked this concept the most because my other concepts seemed similar to existing films and this did not. However we decided to go forward with Harry's concept A man is dancing in a bedroom with a mirror ball centred in the middle. Surrounded by him are multiple dead bodies in a pool of blood. The man hears police sirens and continues dancing ignoring them, until the policemen break in to his home and appear at the door to his room. He opens the door and is immediately shot by the policeman. The title appears on the screen and the sequence is finished. We decided this was Harry's best concept because we would be achievable to create in a small shoot.

My group and i developed our team communication skills by deciding which conecept would be the most suitable for our sequence which was Harrys. We then adapted his concept by deciding that the genre should be a psychological thriller due to us being inspired by the narratives of other thriller such as 'The Loved Ones' and 'The Silence Of The Lambs'. This helped us to build on our narrative building skills as we each drew inputs from our imagination along with films and texts to help us create our final concept choice. Our final concept was Subversion is set the morning after a party and is about a presumed killer who dances around his victims holding the murder weapon of a bloody hammer. Some detectives then show up at the scene of the crime and the killer provides one detective with a case file and freely leaves the scene of the crime screaming on his way out.

Workshop two - Camera: How to operate a camera

Our group decided to have one main character and two major side characters in our sequence. We seperated each character so that they had their own character trope which we could develop them more into as we worked on the character's:

Our protagonist is something like an undercover detective/police when has been set up to make it look like he is the killer in the party/dance floor that's been left. It looks like he has been framed due him being covered in blood, holding a hammer and looking completely insane as he dances around this party room with dead people and chaos around him.

Our Donor is the younger of the two detectives that arrive at the scene they find our hero in. The donor, in our opening sequence will be seen to give the hero a clue, in this case a sealed document or something similar. This will help our hero complete their quest.

Our Dispatcher in our opening sequence is the wiser/older detective of the two. He is almost like a mentor to the hero since he is the one who sent him on this quest in the first place.

Overall, our killer and two detectives personas were developed as we made them more similar to typical characters in the media such as making the killers personality more crazier through his scruffy hair and costume to be symbolic of the Joker. We also made our detectives juxtapose each other in costume and manner which reflects the detectives in Seven. I developed my skills of character personas by attempting to give them backstories so that the actors had a better idea of the roles they were trying to play.

The purpose of the workshop was for our group to learn the basics oh how to set up a camera (to prepare to film on it) by setting up the tripod and attaching the camera. We each had a turn at doing this in order to help develop the skill of setting up the camera for the shoot. We learnt many things from the second workshop including:

- How to set up a tripod to the ideal height by twisting the leg locks to adjust the leg size. When the spirit level is facing you the tripod is the correct way round.

- We watched Matt equip the pan handle and followed by attaching the pan handle individually.

- We learnt how to make the tripod head level by bubbling it which was a process where we had turn the twist lock a quarter turn then we moved a bubble to the complete centre in the middle of a small, yellow circle. Then we did a quarter turn back on the twist lock underneath the tripod head to make sure the tripod head was locked in place.

- We then took turns in attaching and detaching the camera to the tripod head. In order to attach the camera we had to press a button and twist round a switch in order to make sure that the camera was secure and aligned.

- We learnt about the v-lock battery which had a small v on it to indicate to us which way to slide it onto the back of the camera. This was a very simple process as it was easy to remove (by pressing a button) as well.

- After setting up the camera we began to practice focusing the lens to create a clear image.

- We leant to focus on the subject's eyes until it was less blurry, then to zoom out as there is a lot of detail in the eyes.

- Followed by this we learnt about white balance which is when light gives off different colours in different settings. We can adjust the natural blue lighting of the outside to white as it is more appealing by adjusting the white balance on the colour setting.

- Furthermore we learnt how to adjust the exposure in different lighting conditions by pushing a button up for darker lighting and down for lighter lighting.

- Finally, we attempted to focus the camera onto an object where we could obtain all of the detail from it. In order to do this we had to adjust the tripod legs length and attempting to focus the lens perfectly by zooming in and out. By the time we had completed this we had finished the session.

- I Overall, I developed my camera skills from this workshop which was very helpful for my group and I.

Below is an example of a film Matt provided us with that builds tension and holds enigmas in the opening scene of 'I am Legend'

Workshop one - Ideas: Coming up with an opening sequence concept

Workshop three - Shooting a sequence: How to capture a narrative

Section Four

In our first workshop a teacher named Matt provided our class with a brief introduction into how opening title sequences are created and the lengthy process behind them. This is because most of the members of our class including mysled had no previous skills on how to create an opening title sequence. The workshop helped to inspire my group and I to start to come up with some ideas of our own for the opening title sequence.

I learnt from the workshop that the beginning of a film is known as act 0.1, as the opening scene acts as a promise that will end up coming later on in the film. In the workshop we were also taught to focus on literature and art when attempting to come up with an opening scene as it helps us to come up with original ideas as apposed to elements from existing films where there's a possibility we will end up copying elements from them. This helped my group to develop the skills of coming up with more original ideas as opposed to taking elements from films and tv shows we had watched.

I took this information forward with my groups planning by looking at the examples Matt provided us with in the workshop to help us see how original concepts are created and how they build tension to entice an audience and convince them to continue watching for the rest of the duration of the film.

4

In our third workshop our group filmed two short sequences independently of a member walking into the shot, picking up an object, putting it down and walking back out of the shot. We used no sound for this as we didn't have the skills and we weren't fully prepared to shoot a film with sound yet.

We learnt and developed the skills of how to film our scene using three different shots. These were: long shot, mid shot and a closeup. We learnt about the 180 degree angle where we had to film everything inside of that angle to maintain continuity.

We wanted to make sure that our subject was walking in from the exact same direction every time we filmed so that they would maintain continuity when editing. Our subject also had to pick up the same object using the same hand every time we filmed it in order to maintain continuity.

We also learnt that when filming the subject we should make the camera the same height as the subjects eyeline as it looks more visually pleasing. We did the same when filming the object itself by lowering the tripod.

Our group developed camera skills when shooting and we reused our skills in other workshops and in our final sequence. We used the skills by shooting more scenes from different angles in order to have hold of a lot of content in our final piece

Production skills learned during post-production/editing

Workshop four - Cutting a sequence: How to edit a narrative using continuity

Workshop five - Shooting a Sequence with Dialogue: Capturing with sound

The purpose of the fourth workshop was for our group to learn the basics of editing from Matt and to edit our multiple takes that we had shot in the previous workshop into two short sequences.

We learnt the basic names for tools on the editing platform. For example a folder is called a bin (named from first developments of early film where reels were placed in small silver bins). We also learnt to trim the clip until the subject first enters it and to trim it as soon as the subject leaves the shot this is referred to as "Last moment in first moment out".

Furthermore, we learnt to add our different clips and make them into a sequence by moving and cutting certain clips for continuity.

Overall, we were able to develop our editing skills by making a short sequence with the same editing techniques such as continuity editing that we later used in the opening title sequence.

Skills learnt during Digital Storyboarding

In our fifth workshop my group learnt how to shoot a small sequence containing dialogue and sound which we had never done before.

Matt gave us a microphone attached to a wire which we each individually had a turn at connecting to the camera and he instructed us to hold the microphone as close as possible to the actors (we used Harry and Kate).

We had to check to make absolutely sure that the microphone would not get in the way of the camera as well so that it would not disrupt the sequence. I was tasked to hold the microphone while Arianna filmed a few short sequences of the actors passing each other a role of tape.

In our first shoot we had not filmed enough content for the short sequence, specifically close up shots of our actor to communicate to the auidnece how they were feeling in the scene. However, in our fifth workshop we had devdloped the skills to film as many takes as needed to make the task of editing easier.

When we completed our shoot this time we made sure that the camera and tripod was in line with the subjects eye line and was completely focused. We ended up filming two short sequences with plenty of dialogue and we filmed close ups, mid shots and wide shots of Kate, Harry and the tape.

Overall we developed the skill of filming sound and dialogue on a set. We also developed the skill of filming more content from different angles.

During the research and planning stages I developed my storyboard skills by creating a storyboard of the basic storyline of our opening title sequence including descriptions and images of what is taking place and different camera shots to provide our group with a breakdown of the scenes. I then created an animatic of the storyboard on Imovie which was helpful to display my entire sequence through drawings. I learnt my animatic skills from this and Youtube.

Workshop six - Cutting a sequence with dialogue: Editing with sound

Workshop seven - Titles: Adding fonts and credits to a sequence

Skills I learned when adding and editing titles and editing sound

In our sixth workshop we went to the edit suit for our second workshop on editing. The purpose of this workshop was for Matt to show us how to edit dialogue into our sequence along with multiple different shots.

I worked with Kate to edit a sequence and we used a few shots which we had put into the log bin. Each time we added a new clip the sound would also be imported so we developed the skill of how to unpin it and only use the sounds we wanted from each clip in order for it to sound smooth and to maintain continuity editing.

We learnt that we need to use the exact same dialogue every time we film a new clip for our sequence. This made make editing much easier later on. We also developed the skill of maintaining continuity if a subject hold's an object by making sure it's always in the same hand in the different shots.

As I was out of school when the final workshop took place in the editting suite Arianna (a member of my group) offered for me to use her workshop video.

After playing around with the fonts, colour, and placing of the text, she was given some clips and a few different audio clips to use to put together an opening title sequence along with the text over the top of it.

After the workshop i caught up with her on the skills she had developed during the workshop which was how to add titles and credits to a sequence on Premierre Pro. I later learned how to do this as well

This is the short sequence Kate and I made:

This is the video Arianna edited credits on to which she

provided me with:

Skills learnt from Shot Lists, Shooting Schedules, Location Recce and Risk Assessements

Thank you for watching!

I had not had any previous experience editing and adding titles as I had missed the workshop for it. This meant that I had to learn from Matt how to do this in the edit which took some time. The other members of my group also helped me to do this as we had to remember and note down the name's of certain fonts for the credits and title and also the size they should be so that all the credits were equal on the screen. This was effective as I caught up with how to edit the titles and credits quite fast meaning it ended up being quite easy to edit the credits and title.

When i was editing sound I learnt from Matt how to use the sound bar and multiple other sound effects. I learnt the skill of adjusting the pitch and volume of the diegetic sound such as the scream at the end of the sequence. Originally the diegetic sound of the scream was too loud compared to the non diegetic music and diegetic sound which was much quieter. This means that if an audience watched it originally the scream would be too loud and could hurt the audience's ears. This meant that changing the sound made it more smooth to listen to for the audience.

Matt also taught me to add sound effects in the sequence as he showed me a folder on the Apple Mac which had plently of options for sound effects I could use. I learnt that to enhance the grossness of the opening scene to engage the audience i needed to make the sound of the hammer exiting the blood on the bodies head sound more gory. I used the diegetic sound effects of a dog chewing hard dog biscuits for this. I also was encouraged by my teacher to build tension towards the end of the sequence by using the non diegetic sound of a drone humming so that the audience would be prepared for a intense and unique ending to the sequence.

Matt also created genre specific music with me which we had adapted from an instrumental song he thought had atmospheric connotations of a thriller due to the music being rapid and building up to a beat drop. I learnt the specific connotations of music used in thrillers by doing some research into films such as the 'Joker' which had a dance sequence in it with some creepy music to enhance the weirdness of the Joker's personality.

Overall, I learnt many skills based on editting titles, credits and sound. These were essential elements in order to make my opening title sequence a success!

Arianna worked with me to create both a shot list and shooting schedule. The shot list was helpful for me to develop my animatic as we learnt the skills of how long to place certain shots for and which types of shots we should choose. An example image of the first page of the shot list Arianna created is on the right:

Furthermore, the shooting schedule also helped us to decide how long we need to film each scene for and how much time we will have on location for the day. We learnt skills of how to use it to our best ability for the shoot day. The shooting schedule consisted of the time we would take to shoot scenes, the places we would be shooting scenes at and the overall plan of the day of shooting our opening title sequence. An example image of a page from the shooting schedule is also on the right:

Prior to filming our opening title sequence I visited the location of Ewhurst with my teacher to make sure that we would be able to shoot there. The Turrets which was a small boarding house in Ewhurst was the perfect setting due to it having a spacias living room and kitchen, plenty of toilets, only being a ten minute drive from school and having full availability for our shoot day. I was tasked with taking some photos of the location to show to my group in order to get their approval that it was the perfect set to shoot at. I learnt the skills of being a location Recce from this and the tasks required by being one.Some pictures i took of the location are below:

Joker dance scene - inspiration

Kate had to create the risk assessment sheet for our shoot day in order to make sure that we would all be completely safe at all times on set and we would know what to do in case of an emergency.. She learnt the skills of how to create a risk assessment sheet by using a template she had found and from my location Recce as she checked the pictures to see if she could find anything dangerous. A picture of the risk assessment can be seen on the right: