Week 6

In the first class of week 6, we performed the analysis of exercise 4. First of all, our group chose scene 2 as an exercise. Because there are multiple dialogue scenes in exercise 2, we could have more choices in the shooting angle, such as s two-person dialogue scene and a three-person dialogue scene. This will be a new challenge for all of us. after that, we made a storyboard and shooting list based on the script. Simultaneously, we also discussed what type of lens to shoot and the shooting angle. Secondly, the most of the dialogue scenes, we have complied with the 180-degree rule. In addition to some lenses, we have discussed the use of the 30-degree rule. From reading some articles, I learned that the 30-degree rule is that the angle between the front and rear lenses should be greater than 30 degrees when shooting the same object. This approach may prevent the audience from diverging from the storyline. At the same time, it also keeps the audience from noticing the movie’s editing and ensures the movie’s continuity. Furthermore, if the camera movement angle is less than 30 degrees, the transition between shots may look like a jump cut. This rule also applies to different lens types. Therefore, when cutting from a wide-angle lens to a close-up lens. If the camera stays in the same position, it actually looks like a weird zoom effect, not a cut.

In the course on Thursday, we discussed exercise 3. Robin still shared with us the work of everyone and then discussed and analyzed them. The most impressive part for me is the clip from Jeremy. The clip’s beginning is a close-up shot of a mailbox, which directly catches the audience’s focus on the email. The email is a clue that runs through the entire short film. After not finding the letter in the mailbox, the actor walked on the road, and the director used the first perspective to shoot and move to see the surrounding environment. This makes me feel very cool. I guess this is to use the empty environment to show the protagonist’s emotional loss. Next time I want to imitate this skill to do a new exercise, I will attempt it in a new field. I look forward to it.

Week 5 

This week, our focus is still on the preparations before the shooting. Robin shared a script with us and shared two completely different storyboards at the same time. The first is to use a one-shot method to shoot, and the second is to use a large number of medium shots and close-up shots to show the dialogue scene. Besides, I also deeply understand that the preparation work that needs to be completed before shooting is crucial to the subsequent film, which is the basis for conducting a good movie. Before each shooting, I should carefully complete the floor plan, shoot the plot summary, edit the plot summary and shooting list.

On Thursday, the content of class again mentioned the knowledge learned last week and Monday. First of all, we analyzed two clips of the same plot. They come from different eras and different countries. But the state presented by the two films is entirely different. Such as the performance of actors, the camera movement, and the camera’s position. Moreover, I have extreme feelings about the performance of actors. I argue that the actors did not have many emotional ups and downs in the clip 1938, but the director added a lot of close-up shots, and the actors’ excellent detailed performances in the close-up shots could highlight the mood of the actress at that time.Besides, I deem that in the 1938 clip, the director emphasized the portrayal of the characters. On the other hand, in the 1941 clip, the director used a long shot to show the surrounding environment at the first scene and switched to the next mid-range shot through the character’s movement; there is a  smooth transition from the environment to people. This is an efficient shooting technique for me. Furthermore, Tom Reilly mentioned in the big picture that scenes in movies are usually assembled from a compilation of shots. It is usually to shoot the entire extremely long shot. In ‘the wild bunch’ movie, I also found that the director uses an extreme long shot to explain the story’s environment. This allows the audience to better integrate into the movie. The plot of the film looks more reasonable.

Week 4

In the week of four. We reviewed the theories learned in the previous three weeks and the previous summary. After that, an in-depth analysis of the interpretation potential and functions of the camera coverage. Robin tells us that it can be called decoupage in French. At the same time, our future learning will be closely related to this word. In addition, we watched several different clips and explored how to make the plain line interesting and attractive. The three key points are the actor’s performance, the action of the camera, and the actor’s position. First of all, the actor needs to show his excellent acting skills and infectious lines, making the audience more immersive. Secondly, accurately switching the camera angle and moving the camera position allows the audience to experience the movie differently, and the movie looks more sense of depth. I also deem this an important factor because the audience might experience the realism in the movie.  Tom (2009) mentioned that the actors’ performance and the content of the film must look and feel real. If the film is not real, it will lose the audience and credibility. The third point is that actors move their positions appropriately during the dialogue, making the characters more dynamic and making the plot more interesting. Moreover, we also focused on researching different countries, cultures, historical periods, and filmmakers; there may be a common approach to coverage trends. On the contrary, the aesthetics and culture of each movie will be different under all different backgrounds.

Thursday, we focused on exercise two. Sharing with us everyone’s work in the class and then discussed and analyzed them one by one. I found that every work taken by students with the same script is very different, and during the comparison process, I have some problems that need to be improved, especially the shooting angle. Among them, I was most impressed by a self-portrait and the performance of his work. His shooting angle is in a low position, which makes me feel very novel.

ASSIGNMENT 1-Reflective Writing (THE SCENE IN CINEMA 2021)

Week 1

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/ziwei-cai/2021/03/18/assignment-1-reflective-writing-the-scene-in-cinema-2021-week-1/

ASSIGNMENT 1-Reflective Writing (THE SCENE IN CINEMA 2021)

Week 2

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/ziwei-cai/2021/03/18/assignment-1-reflective-writing-2the-scene-in-cinema-2021/

ASSIGNMENT 1-Reflective Writing (THE SCENE IN CINEMA 2021)

Week 3

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/ziwei-cai/2021/03/18/assignment-1-reflective-writing-3the-scene-in-cinema-2021/

ASSIGNMENT 1- Film  Analysis (THE SCENE IN CINEMA 2021)

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/ziwei-cai/2021/03/18/assignment-1-film-analysis-the-scene-in-cinema-2021/

Truman World

Link to movie scene：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdwuW8n3JYA

Recently, I revisited the 1998 American movie Truman World, which is one of my favorite movies. The plot of the story tells that Truman is the protagonist of a popular reality show. He has lived in the reality show world since he was born. Everything around him is false. His relatives and friends are all actors, but he doesn’t know anything about it. In the end, Truman walked out of this virtual world. This is the third time I have watched it, and each time I have a different feeling. Through these three weeks of study, I have a deeper understanding and analysis of this movie. In particular, the lens used in some scenes is unique. Most movie scenes’ lens center follows Truman’s movement, but the angle and shooting method of the lens has changed greatly; a similar alternate uses a high-angle shot, a low-angle shot, and the wide-angle used in the movie’s lenses. For instance, one of the scenes that impressed me the most was the beginning of the movie when Truman greeted the camera. The lens advances from the middle shot to the close shot. This shot directly gave Truman a close-up, showing the importance of classic lines in the show. Moreover, the lens is in the form of a home TV frame, showing Truman and his neighbors’ introduction. After they finished introducing myself, there was a lamp in the sky that fell on the ground. Truman walked over and picked up the lamp that fell on the ground. The screen moved directly from the long shot to the close shot, which clearly showed Truman’s confusion and left clues for the plot behind. In the next scene, Truman sits in the car, which is a low-angle shot lens. I found a circle that like a lens. The audience is watching him through this lens; the outside of the circular area is all black in the picture, showing the lens’s invisibility, telling the audience that his life has been monitored. Finally, each of these scenes is unique and important.

Week 3

In the third week of learning, we focused on the position of the camera. According to analyze the importance of the camera’s location to the movie by watching several different movie clips. This is the essential information that I ignored in my previous studies. First of all, I learned different camera positions could help the movie express a complete display of the plot’s development. Second, if the subject remains the same, changing the camera angle and position might make the audience intuitively feel the story’s development. Moreover, when it comes to the camera’s position, the 180-degree rule in the film must be mentioned, which is a basic criterion for film production. Setting the camera position within 180°, most of the time, could ensure the correct handling of the direction of the person or object on the screen. Specifically, the 180-degree rule stipulates that the dialogue between two people in the same scene must always maintain the same left/right relationship. If the camera passes through an imaginary axis connecting two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new lens from the other side is called the reverse angle. For example, in Monday’s class, we saw a clip of Gossip Girl. Serena is on the left, and Blair is on the right. And then Serena should always face the right. Even at the end, Blair leaves the screen; Serena should always face the right. If the two actors’ positions are not moving, the camera positions are swapped with the previous ones, which may cause the audience to puzzle most of the time and may disrupt the scene’s fluidity. Generally speaking, as a beginner, I should abide by the 180-degree rule.

In the class on Thursday, I chose 2a as my script, and I will use the knowledge I learned before to practice shooting.

Week 2

In this week’s course, our focus shifted from the script to the camera. We mainly discussed the camera lens. Especially the focal length. At the same time, we watched a few single-shot clips this week. First of all, Robin showed us several lenses with different focal lengths in class. It is vital to understand the different characteristics of each focal length before using it. Moreover, I learned that the focal length determines our angle of view, and it also determines the range of the photographer’s view. When the focal length is shorter, the view’s field is wider. The greater the extent of the scene captured by the lens. On the contrary, when the focal length is longer, the smaller the range captured by the lens. Furthermore, the focal length is usually expressed in millimeters (mm). To watch a few short videos, I understand that a long focal length lens is suitable for shooting a person’s details. Therefore, using a long lens will easily make the background blurred and shadowed, allowing the audience to pay more attention to the actors performing similar behaviors and expressions. The wide-angle lens means that the photographic angle of view is relatively wide, suitable for the environment with a large shooting range, and could show the fusion of the environment and the characters.

In general, through the study and analysis this week, I have a better understanding of the lens. In a film, different lenses can make a film look more layered and diversified. This is what I ignored in my previous studies. I used to spend most of my time editing but ignored the use of the camera itself. Finally, each focal length corresponds to a different scene, and I will spend more time practicing how to use them accurately as the focus of my next study plan.

Week 1

The Scene In Cinema is a studio that I am very interested in. First of all, this is my last semester before graduation. After that, I plan to be a director, so I want to have a deep understanding of film theory and film editing skills, especially shooting angles, positions, light, and lenses. At the same time, I hope that through this semester, I could clearly understand how to become a qualified director, and at the end of the semester, I hope to produce an excellent film.

According to the first week of class, I learned a few basic elements about the film. The first one is the scrip should be based on the storyboard and floor plan before shooting the movie or short video. Besides, a storyboard and floor plan could help directors, photographers and actors accurately determine their location, scenes, and angles. Secondly, we discussed 4 different scripts in groups in class. My team chose scripts A and D. I found If there is only a script, each person’s shooting angle and camera shot types of field are completely different. Furthermore, one of the important effects of the storyboard and floor plan is reducing the time consumed. It can tell everyone on the shooting scene what needs to be done, such as the actors’ position, the camera’s direction, and tell the director what needs to do next step. The second basic element of filming is camera shot types, in which we have learned three main shot sizes: Long shot, Medium shot, and Close shot. Finally, this week we watched 6 different clips. Their common feature is the use of a one-shot to complete the shooting. I personally think that having a one-shot will make the picture feel smoother. This editing technique is beneficial for me. 

I am generally delighted that I chose this studio, it is useful for me, and I hope studio that The Scene In Cinema suits me very well!

EXPERIMENT. SCREEN. SENSATION 

Post 24：Reflection

In this shooting, I still learned a lot. First of all, I chose to complete this assignment myself. The most challenging thing for me was that I had to think of a story to shoot on my own. This part is the longest time I spend. I am very grateful to my friends, when I told them I wanted to continue shooting a movie about fashion, they shared a lot of good ideas. I also listened very carefully to their ideas. My ultimate source of ideas is to bring together their exciting ideas and come up with a new idea. So, it’s useful to listen to other people’s opinions.

The second point I think is essential is not to entangle a thing that is too difficult to complete, which will waste a lot of precious time. At the beginning of the brainstorm, I wanted to make a movie about the clown. First of all, when I was conceiving a story, I constructed the storyline too complicated. As well as the makeup part, I need to shoot two parts of the clown makeup and makeup remover. I didn’t find the right actor because it was too painful and took a lot of time. Additionally, I didn’t integrate the two elements of fashion and clown perfectly, which eventually led me to give up. Fortunately, this is only a week of waste. I am delighted that I soon came up with a story that suits me more.

The last thing I want to mention is that it must make a plan b. In this filming, because there are many unexpected things. For example, the actor has to run through the crossroads very quickly. I did not make a consideration that there were too many people crossing the road, which made me impossible to shoot. Fortunately, I have prepared a few more shots to replace this scene. This experience also made me feel once again that the plan may not be able to keep up with the changes. At the same time, allow enough time during the shooting to deal with any accidents that occur during the shooting.

EXPERIMENT. SCREEN. SENSATION 

Post 23：Pryer

Filming & Editing: There is a scene in the filming, and the actors need to run on the road. The running part was slowed down in the final movie. This is an effect that adjusts the camera’s shooting speed. I slowed down the camera to one-sixth of the time, which is new knowledge for me. And I deem this is useful and helpful for me. At the same time, I think that shooting slow motion with a camera is smoother than shooting at a slower speed on a premiere.

Regarding the choice of music, I spent a lot of time choosing the right music. This time I spliced each shot together and edited them, and finally selected the music. I think this is one of my mistakes because music is the last choice. As a result, many frames and music cannot be matched together. And finally, I need to spend more time re-editing these frames. For myself, I will remember this time and correct it next assignment. Moreover, I will choose the music before editing the screen next time.

I encountered a very interesting accident in this edit. I probably edited the 30-second screen, but I forgot to press the s key to save. And then the computer crashed, and most of the edited videos disappeared. Re-editing made me very helpless, but I spent more time thinking about better ideas. I am delighted with the final film. After this accident, I developed a good habit which is finished editing any screen I will immediately save it.