Preliminary Task

During this task, we were set to film a scene using a storyboard we were given in groups of 3 using a Sony NX5. The storyboard was simplistic but required several different shots to be filmed; this allowed us to understand the importance of angles, placements, time and patience as we saw it was a long process if it is to be done successfully. Monty was the cameraman, I was the director, India was the actress and we borrowed an extra actress called Lila.

First, we cleared the room we were working in to make sure we had sufficient space to film in. After this was done, we placed the Sony onto the tripod the correct way to make sure that it was safely on. Then we asked the two actors, India and Lila, to stand within the frame, so that we could place stickers down to make sure this was always where they stood.

Following on from this, we altered the tripod so that the frame had the two actresses in correct level to the storyboard. This was the establishing shot and was important for setting the scene for the audience. We ran through the scene once to make sure the actresses knew what they were doing and then started to film. It took about 3 takes to get the shot right due to tiny mistakes, however we were able to successfully get a full take of the scene in the establishing shot and with a back up.

After this we did a close up over Lila's shoulders so we could see India's face. This required repositioning the camera and tripod to match the storyboard. This was an important shot as it made it more naturalistic for the audience and allowed for a different perspective. As well as this, we did the same shot however over India's shoulder so the audience could see Lila's face. This furthered the effect of different perspectives for the audience. With both of these shots we also shot backups for editing.

One of our final shots was taken front on with just Lila's face in the shot. This was so the audience could have a point of view from India's perspective and also so that we could see Lila's reaction in the scene. Then we did the same shot, but showing India's face, again so that we could see her emotions and reactions to the situation and also so we could see Lila's perspective.

The reason it was important to take all these different shots was to vary, for the audience, and to show diversity. Furthering this, it was also important to do back ups in case, during editing, we saw any mistakes that could have been solved through another take.