Establishing Shots - Inspiration

Establishing Shots - Photos

These are some photos that we have taken which we could use in the opening of the film as an establishing shot. We decided to get a range of photos and compare them all to decide which one would work the best.

 The establishing shots have to include an empty, desolate location to create the verisimilitude for the story line as there is no-one left on the earth ap

art from our main characters and the zombies.

We also used this video for inspiration on our establishing shots and took ideas to use a range of different camera angles for effect.

I Am Legend

The following times are example of desolate, and empty establishing shots that work really well with the 'last people on earth' and zombie themes.

0.26 - 0.29

0.32 - 0.35

0.37 - 0.39

0.52 - 0.56

1.19 - 1.24

The 17th - Preliminary Task Evaluation

The 17th Evaluation

For the preliminary task, we were asked to produce a piece of footage were the character had to walk through a door, approach another character and then exchange two sentences of dialogue. The task had to include three principles of continuity which were: match-on-action, shot/reverse shot, and the 180 degree rule. Match-on-action is when a character opens a door and begins to walk through it, and then is shown from a different angle coming through the door, at exactly the same pace. The shot/reverse shot is usually used when two characters are in conversation and shows one character (usually over the shoulder of the other) whilst each are talking to one another. The final principle was the 180 degree rule is used so that the characters always have the same right-left relationship. If demonstrated correctly, it will look like both characters have remained on the same sides throughout the scene.

We decided on our idea by comparing both of the storyboards that we put together and seeing which would be the most effective. It was also decided on which would be the easiest to demonstrate the three principles.

After we had chosen the idea, we sat down and looked at the storyboard and then wrote out a list of props, locations, and dialogue. It was then down to the process of elimination to again choose which would be the most effective. It was hardest to decide on a location to film, as most of the suitable locations were already taken. In the end we decided to film in the school toilets, and work with what we had. It was easy planning on from then as we found two friends that were willing to act in our filming, and the clothes they were wearing were already suitable enough.

We had decided that, learning from previous mistakes we would film each piece of footage at least three times with variations on the shots each time. This would give us more than enough to edit to a high standard due to the footage we could choose from. We also knew to take a tripod, as a previous film piece could have looked a lot better without constant unsteady shots. We both filmed equal amounts of footage, and all the footage we were happy enough to take into editing.

When we started editing, we were satisfied with the amount of options we had to choose from due to the amount of footage we had filmed. We decided that it would be more effective to start with a variation of very quick shots from different angles showing the character leading up to the match-on-action. We edited this very well, and the effect we were looking for was there. As we took a ‘no-nonsense’ approach to the filming we left ourselves plenty of time to get the editing sorted. We had finished before anyone else in the class, and we had spare time to add more effects to our already ‘finished standard’ piece.

We decided that the whole piece would look better in black and white, to give that extra feeling to the film. We also decided that the film needed some background music which we created and added in, and we were more than happy with how much better it looked and sounded with that in, as the score created a better atmosphere. We were very pleased with the final piece, and we believed that it was to a very high standard. The best part was the match-on-action which worked extremely well due to the editing. Finally, the only thing I would change would be, possibly have more of an opportunity with the location.

Advert Evaluation

Advert Evaluation - 'Spontaneous'



The initial briefing for this project was to create a 30 second television advert for either sunglasses, perfume or an energy drink. The advert had to be creative and show knowledge of camera techniques.After the task is completed, we should have been able to understand be comfortable with using 'iMovie' and have improved knowledge of camera techniques and shot types.

Our advert is for an aftershave called 'Spontaneous', and the initial idea for it, was taken from the already existing music video called 'Weapons of Choice' by Fat Boy Slim. In the video, the famous actor Christopher Walken is dancing around a hotel in time to the music. In our advert, after our actor (Robin) puts the aftershave on, just like Christopher Walken dancing around, Robin dances around the school, in different places. We chose to copy the idea of the music video because when people see our advert, it is easily recognisable as being the same as the 'Weapons of Choice' video. As the video is well known, it makes it easier for viewers to acknowledge our advert. By using the same dancing theme from the video in our advert, it shows us applying intertextuality, expanding our media knowledge.

Our advert only had one actor in it, and we didn't use props at all, apart from the aftershave bottle right at the beginning. Props weren't significant in our advert, the most important factor was the location where Robin was dancing. As we was using the same ideas from the music video, it was important to film Robin dancing around in a variety of different locations. We also had to find suitable locations which would allow Robin to dance around with space, and to look effective at the same time.

The production process went very well, we finished all our filming with enough time to check through it, and decide whether we needed anything else to make it perfect. In the end we decided that what we had was enough, and then we started editing. It only took the one lesson to become familiar with the basics of 'iMovie', and then once we was all confident we started to experiment further with more of the features. It only took two lessons, and two lunch time sessions to finish the whole editing of the film, and then a further 15 minutes just to add the finishing touches to the final piece. I learnt about the importance of different shots, and how effective they are to do with representation. It was important to include high angle, low angle, longs shots and close ups to maximise the effects that we wanted to put across to the audience.

One of the main strengths that our advert had, was that the acting went almost perfectly with the music that we wanted the advert to have. Our advert was successful in showing the effects that we wanted to show the aftershave had, this was mainly due to the acting, timing, shots and music.The production process started with a practice of different shot types without the camera, we first filmed without a character to establish the camera's position and then the actor was placed in the shot, for filming. The advert had strenghts and weaknesses, some of the strengths were the actual acting created a real link between our advert and the music video, secondly our advert featured many different camera angles including high angle, low angle shots, also long shots and meduim close ups. The main lesson of this project was the importance of a tripod and getting numerous versions of the same shots this would of allowed us to have more footage to edit with. Some disadvantages that we learnt, was the importance of a tripod. We could have used the tripod much more than we did, and this would have made the advert look a lot more professional, rather than 'home footage' style.

I learnt a variety of things whilst doing this project, for example I learnt the basics of 'iMovie', and I explored some of the many features it has to offer. I also learnt how effective different shots are, and when I am asked to film again, I shall definitely remember the importance of the tripod.