Sonia's Television Blog

What is a Documentary? They are unscripted They employ real people but they often require a performance element  Typically shot handheld but they do use fixed camera techniques  Does not use formal Hollywood muse en scene.  Using natural lighting and natural locations  Documentary is purest sense is filmed observation . A recording or 'Document' of reality . Primarily for informing rather than escapist entertainment. Term first coined by scottish filmmaker John Grierson. Grierson described documentary as 'The creative treatment of actuality '  Formal Documentary Observational, current affairs, polemic.  Hybrid Documentary Reality, or even scripted reality, drama documentary.  Reconstructing the events of the story. 'Documentary film is traditionally perceived to be the hybrid offspring of a perennial struggle between the forces of objectivity (represented by the 'documents' or facts that underpin it)'  Exposit...

Storyboards Storyboards are used for pre-production. They enable you to use detailed planning of the entire production. Each department such as sound, design, camera all use a storyboard too work out the entire production. Shot description - Taxi Driver - There are a few variants but the following will get the best results.  Medium Shot Wide Shot Close Up Shot Extreme Close up Camera Movement Tilt Shot Crane Shot Over the shoulder shot Make a 1-2 min trailer for Soft - Think about scenes, key moments that sell the story. 

Another small project we got assigned was called 'Crossing The Line' Simon gave us a 1 page script of how to explain the 180 degrees rule in a interesting way. I really have learnt a lot about this rule and how it can really improve the performance of the characters and the surroundings around them. Every time i did an over the shoulder shot i did not cross the line and you could really focus on the main character talking BUT also you can see the other characters reaction. This rule is brilliant and could really improve your work tremendously, the surroundings around my characters were really clear they were sitting around a table explaining to each other how the 180 degree rule works. In future i think i could really improve these shots but using less lighting and maybe filming outside or in a public area to give it more of a realistic feel.   Work in process - I really love using Premier, i am really improving my skills with this editing software. Adding texts an...

Wide shot – Conveys sense of place and context. Can also convey characters’ relationship to surroundings or social relationship to other characters as an ‘Establishing shot’ Medium Shot – Focuses viewers’ attention on one or more principal characters. Commonly used for dialogue scenes as ‘Two Shot’. Close Up – Conveys intimacy and emotion. Often used for interior monologues/voiceover or speaking directly into the camera. Extreme Close Up – Conveys heightened emotion (Fear, Suspense, Desire) dramatic tension or a reveal. Rule of Third – Subject placed at aesthetic intersect. High Angle Shot – Danishes character or subject in frame, emphasising vulnerability or isolation. Low Angle Shot – Emphasises character or subject dominance in frame. Dutch/Tilt angle – Disorienting crates psychological tension. Expressionism – Angle shots are a common feature of expressionism, particularly the classic German Expressionist films of the 1920s-30s. It presents...

So today i finally i finished my Chair project, i really took my time with it as i wanted to add some effects into it such as brightness and Contrast and I also played around with the titles and transition. For my first short little project i am very proud of what i have done, i can finally say i feel very confident with using all the Sony cameras such as a PMW. I have only been using Adobe Premier Pro for a short while but i can also finally say i am very confident with it too! The possibilities are endless with these two. My chair project is very short but its about quality not quantity for me:) I also worked on the best exporting settings with Adobe Premier as i wanted my film not to be downgraded by its exporting settings. This is my final piece; 

A Story is a significant of what happens A Plot is what happens Story is something thrown in the air and catch it, if you don't catch it it's not a story.  All the characters should have big buts. The more moments the better, beginning middle and end . Audience needs to pay attention , needs to make the audience see what has happened so far in a different light. You have to make choices for your characters, make sure that you always have moments in your screenplay. The 180 degree Rule!  Where you position the camera in a scene is where you place the audience in the scene. Make the audience look at what you want them to look at, confuse and excite them. You can shoot the scene however you like! 

We had out first editing workshops and it was one of my favourite workshops ever, editing is one of my strongest points when it comes to this course and i absolutely love it. Fergus went through the basics of Premier Pro with us and i fell in love with the software, he also gave us some clips to edit together and evaluate. Fergus gave me some brilliant feedback for my short cut film giving me a great confidence boost! We did only get introduced to the basics but i wanted to do more, so i browsed around Premier and added some transitions and effects!

On Monday we were given our first mini challenge where we had to film and edit our first little short 'film', i've been working on this project since Monday trying to perfect it. I've been trying to use Adobe Premier Pro as it is more challenging and gives better results rather than FCPX. There is tonnes of special effects you can create with Adobe rather than Final Cut, so i'm really trying to get myself to get in the habit of using Premier Pro instead. I am still in the process of editing 'The Chair' and these are some of the screenshots i've taken while editing.

So today we had another great lecture from Steve Coombes and it was about how to make sure your audience is interested in your characters and their dialogue. Here are some key things he made sure we knew! Dialogue Things you shouldn't do in dialogue; Pointless dialogue - don't do it! Don't make your dialogue on the nose Characters rarely say the truth ; lies.  Too forward dialogue  Don't use a character’s names too much Different people speak in different ways  Don't make the dialogue too real  No empty chatter - if it's not moving the story or the character don't do it Not everything has to be dialogue  Don’t give information in dialogue I’m not in love – but you are Thing about what the characters can’t say Denial is great Characters You should know your characters in your script as well as you know your friends! If your character doesn’t have a flaw, it will be ...