VIDEO & SOUND PRODUCTION - Project 2 [Shooting Practise & Editing]

5/9/2022- 24/10/2022 / Week 2- Week 9

Song Yang / 0355576

Video and Sound Production / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University 

Project 2: Video Shooting & Editing

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LECTURES

Week 2: Framing & Storyboard

Earliest Cinema

Cinema technique is all about manipulating shots and sequence that isolating part of it to look at and in what order to see them.

Cinematography

1) Motion picture/ Film/ Video is made up of many shots which require placing the camera in the best position for that particular moment in the narrative.

2) Shot is continuous view shot by one camera without interruption.

3) Sequence is a series of scenes, or shots, complete in itself.

4) Scene defines the place of setting where the action is laid and may consist of series of shots or sequences depicting a continuous event.

Shot Size

The shot size determines how large the area that's visible within the frame.

1) Extreme Wide Shot- Shows broad view of the surroundings around the character (scale, distance, and geographical location). Used to show where character is in his/her environment.

2) Wide Shot- Includes the entire subject and important objects in the immediate surroundings. If used at the beginning of a scene, it is often called an "establishing shot".

3) Medium Wide Shot- Shows a character usually cut off across the legs above or below the knees. Wide enough to show the physical setting in which the action is taking place.

4) Medium Shot- Shows the subject that are important to understanding such as gesture and expression. Usually from the person's waist up, letting their hands and the lower half of their body fall outside the frame. 

5) Medium close-up shot- Films subject character from approximately midway between waist and shoulders to above the head.

6) Close-up shot- Used to isolate the most important part of the subject. Usually the head to emphasize facial expression, or the details of a small object

7) Over the shoulder shot- Shows the subject from behind the shoulder of another person.

8) Extreme close-up shot- Single out a portion of the face and magnifies a detail. The objective is to focus on important details either to increase the drama or impact on a situation. It also allows the viewer to see the information of the picture more clearly.

Composition

1) Rule of thirds- divides the frame into thirds both horizontally and vertically. The points where the vertical and horizontal lines cross are aesthetically pleasing spots to place subjects or to have perspective lines converge.

2) Face modelling- Best when subject is turned 45 degrees (3/4 angling) to the camera

3) 3D solidity- Angling the camera in relation to the subject so that two sides of the objects are viewed, results in the most effective rendition.

4) Distance- Angle the camera so that parallel lines diminish and converge preferably towards the right. To ensure that viewer's eyes are carried in distance.

Subject Height

1) Eye-level angle- From the eye level of an observer of average height or from the subject's eye level.

2) Low angle shot- Any shot in which the camera is tilted upward to view the subject. Can make the character look bigger, stronger, or more noble. It also gives the impression of height.

3) High angle shot- Any shot in which the camera is tilted downward to view the subject. Can make a character look smaller, younger, weak, confused or more childlike.

Screen Direction

1) Dynamic Screen Direction- Constant screen travel depicts subject motion in one direction only. A series of shots of a subject should move in the same direction to show progression.

2) Static Screen Direction: When planning shots with two characters, you need to understand the camera movement in relation to the 180 degrees rule. The rule enforces the camera stay on a horizontal axis and not cross sections, also known as Line of Action.

Week 3: Storytelling in Film

Storytelling in Film

1) Story (What happened): The set of all the events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space, both the ones explicitly presented and those the viewer infers, constitutes the story.

2) Plot (Why they happened? And how?): Everything visibly and audibly present in the film, and material that os extraneous to the story world.

Story structure

3-Act Structure

1) Beginning: Setup / Introduction of a story

To introduce the world

To introduce the main characters

To establish the dramatic situation

Leads to an incident that complicates the story (Plot point 1)

2) Plot Point 1: "plot thickens"

"Inciting incident"

Turn the story in a new direction

Steps up what Act Two is going to be

3) Middle: Confrontation of a problem

"Rising Action"

To develop obstacles / complications

Leads to climax of story (Plot Point 2)

4) Plot Point 2: "longest mile"

"Climatic Turning Point"

Protagonist's quest reaches critical mass

Possible solution is presented

Biggest cliffhanger: will the protagonist win or lose?

5) End: Resolution of problems

Ending of climax

Answer to all obstacles / problems

Tying loose ends

Week 4: Mise En Scene

"Putting on Stage"

Refers to what we see onscreen, its visuals, meaning and all of the elements that appear on camera and their arrangement

1) Composition

2) Set Design: 

Refers to everything the audience see within a particular scene.

Help to build out the world of the location and add even more context to the story.

3) Lighting

Often the tool that conveys mood most clearly.

High-key lighting: used in musicals and romantic comedies to minimise shadows

Low-key lighting: used in horror movies

4) Costume and Props

Costume: one of the most useful tools in communicating a characters's thought and journey

Props: An object with a function serves to drive the narrative or become a motif to underscore the themes of the film

5) Depth of Space

Determined by the distances between objects, people and scenery, influenced by their placement along with camera location and lens choice

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INSTRUCTIONS

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TASK

Project 2: 30s MV Video

In our short video project, each group of us was divided into 3 people and had to choose a song and choreography that we would dance in the music video. After some discussion, we chose the tomboy of Korean girl group (G) I-DLE. The reason we chose this song is that one of my team members is a big fan of this group. This is their latest title song and we all like this song very much. So we all thought it was a perfect choice for this project.

Fig 1.1 A screenshot of the MV

We took the MV of the song as a reference, because the MV shot was very perfect, but because some dance movements were difficult, we could not give a perfect presentation, so we designed a lot of simple movements by ourselves, while taking into account the rhythm and simplicity.

Fig 1.2 Action screen shot

We originally planned to make a remake according to the original MV of the song, but in the process of learning the movements, we found that the shooting technique, operation lens and editing difficulty of the original MV were very high, so it was difficult for the three of us to make the same movements as the original MV. So I started looking for simpler actions on TikTok and found that the videos posted by the account fit our requirements perfectly, so we used the video as a reference to design the general actions.

Shooting process

Fig 1.3 Test the lens

Fig 1.4 In the making

Because our song is dance music style, we did not choose to use a tripod to fix the position, but wanted to make some dynamic mirrors. I specially invited my friend as a photographer to help us shoot.

Fig. 1.5 MV final

Youtube link：https://youtu.be/u-TYU07CN1c

Project 2: Production Shoot

For our second project, we were split into two groups with about 14 people per group to form a shooting production team. We are to shoot these scenes from a Korean drama entitled "Happiness", but it is not compulsory for us to stick to the story. Our final video is a 30 seconds trailer that includes all of these shots.

Fig. 2.1 Scenes and Shots from "Happiness"

After we were introduced to the different roles that a production team should have, we went into our groups and discussed which role each of us would like to take. 

Fig. 2.2 Our group's crewlist 

Fig. 2.3 Our group's photo

Fig 2.4 The shooting process

Editing

Fig 2.5 Adding a Beginning

Fig 2.6 Adjust the color

Fig 2.7 Adjust the audio

Fig. 2.8 Final Short Film

Youtube :https://youtu.be/Q4xrmkcEfdA

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REFLECTION

I like the task of this project very much, because I can finish it together with my classmates and learn how to use the lighting equipment. Lighting is fun, too. It was a real pleasure to see all my teammates working together because we all gave our best effort and were very cooperative. The teacher also asked us to change jobs, so I also experienced the work of video recording in addition to the work of lighting, which was a great feeling. Overall, I am very happy and satisfied with our efficient work and I couldn't ask for a better team.