Font Analysis

In this lesson we focused on the different kind of fonts presented to us in film posters and Title sequences etc. we were told that the fonts we use must match the our film openings. For example if its a horror film then the font used will be all drippy and look like blood is dripping. the font has an affect on the audience ; as soon as they see it they'll know that its going to be scary!
Fonts can be split into Serif and Sans-serif


Fonts such as 'times new romans' are known as Serif fonts, they've got a 'tail' at the end. Serif fonts are said to be more formal than sans serif fonts and are more old fashioned.

Sans Serif fonts such as 'Verdana' are tail-less. Sans, which means without in French. Therefore these type of fonts are 'without-serifs'.

Sans serif  (verdana) & Serif (Times New Roman)

There were two different film posters that we looked at, these were of ROCKY and PEARL HARBOR.

This is a font called 'palatino' which is a serif font
; hence the tails at the bottom of the letters.The serif type of fonts are said to be
 old fashioned so this can hint to us that this film contains historical features e.g.
about war etc.

This is a font called 'franklin Gothic heavy' it suits
the title and colours used as a Rock is solid and black and white are both solid colours. Its a Sans serif font....many of these fonts are used for titles e.g. this one. this kind of font really stands out as it is just so BOLD!

Card Game Edit

After we had filmed all the clips for our card game scene ; the following lesson we had to edit it and put all the clips together. we thought we had enough shots however when it came to editing we had to take some of the shots out as they didn't fit in well, this left us with only a few shots. we re-used one main shot more than once.

                  in order to view all our shots we put it onto final cut pro, we were then able to select and delete shots that were unnecessary. we were also able to make shots shorter as most were too long. Final cut pro allows you to add effects and titles. we didn't have time to do this but we will be doing it for our final piece. 

By editing this short Card game sequence I was able to get used to using final cut pro and I can use this new skill to edit our final piece. 

<<<Clip used more than once 

<<< Final Cut Pro

 

The Pitch

For the past couple of weeks we have been working on developing the ideas for our thriller opening. Today we presented to the rest of the class the pitch for it. We started working on the presentation in Wednesday's lesson, unfortunately with two group members missing (Charlene and Wala). However, we pulled together to do as much as we could in class today before we had to present. In the end it went pretty good!

Preliminary Film - Evaluation

Our preliminary film - working title: The Encounter - can be seen here.

"A character opens a door, walks into a room, sits down opposite another character and they share a few lines of dialogue"

Our brief was to film the above scenario, making sure to utilize at least one match cut, an example of shot/reverse shot, and to show understanding of the 180 degree rule.

To plan our preliminary film, we created an 'animatic' storyboard using jelly babies (that can be seen here), taking photos of different possible shots we would re-create in the actual film. However, our original idea ended up being too complicated (many unnecessary characters, plus we didn't pay attention to the actual brief...) thus, when it came to film we thought on our feet and changed the story to fit the brief. So let's get down to some evaluating...

Example of match cut

A match cut is the editing of two shots together where the actions in the shots link together, creating a continuous flow between the shots. Initially we actually didn't include a match cut, however, we finished shooting early so we went back to take some additional shots. We easily filmed a close up of my hand opening the door which was added to the original take. Match cut: check!

Example of shot/reverse shot

Brilliant filming by yours truly...

A shot/reverse shot is a technique in which the camera position of the shots give a sense of conversation between two characters. This can be observed in the example to the right from the 1992 film Light Sleeper. So what about in our preliminary film? Well... we did opt for a great point-of view shot, in which either I'm tilting my head or the so-called common room was built on a slant... (see photo above). Shot/reverse shot: unsuccessful.

The 180 degree rule is a simple guideline when filming: the subjects in the same scene should always retain the the same left/right positioning to each other. At first it can be quite difficult to understand, but when filming, you must imagine an invisible line that connects the subjects. The camera must always remain on one side. If it crosses this imaginary line, it will disorient the viewer as the subjects have suddenly switched positions. However, you can actually cross this line if necessary, as long as you show the camera movement doing this. So in our preliminary film we had to show our understanding of the 180 degree rule simply by not breaking it! Simple enough, right? Well, 'on set', it was a different matter, because even with the 180 degree rule lingering on my mind, we still broke it unawarely. It was only until we got to editing that I realized our mistake. 180 degree rule: unsuccessful.

Visualization of the 180 degree rule

So basically our preliminary film was pretty crap. But! – and I'll speak for myself here – by making these mistakes it has allowed me to gain greater understanding of the shot/reverse shot and 180 degree rule. It's one thing being told about it in class, and another to go out and actually do it. I think this preliminary exercise has proved useful and will hopefully enable us to not make the same mistakes in our final film!