Independent Study Sheet 1:

The research on this post has helped me gain a better personal understanding before we go into the process of creating our own film. By looking into camera techniques, lighting styles and continuity, I am more aware of the variety of styles we can use and how now to break them.

Technical:
Camera:
• Coverage (The five shot rule and jump cuts)
Jump cuts are transitions between two shots which appear to jump due to the way the shots are in relation to each other. Jump cuts are caused by framing which is quite similar and can be used to add impact and tension.
- Jump cuts within our project could be used where the girl is looking into her brother’s room through the partially open door. Any tension added by jump cuts would make the audience more curious and concerned for what’s behind the brother’s door.

• 180 degree rule, also known as crossing-the-line
This refers to an imaginary line which cuts through the middle of the scene. Filming from both sides of this line would break the rule and disorientation and confusion for the audience. A typical example would be filming a person walking in a straight line from one side of the line, then cutting to the other side of the line; the person would be walking in the opposite direction.
- The 180 degree rule needs to be kept in mind throughout the filming stage of our project, especially in scenes where you see the girl walking through the doorway from one room to another, and scenes which include some form of shot-reverse-shot.

• Rule of thirds
The rule of thirds is a concept in film production that uses 9 imaginary lines to divide a frame. These lines create reference points which act as guides to help framing the image. Points of interests should occur at 1/3 or 2/3 or the way up or across the frame.
- The rule of thirds will also have to be kept in mind whilst filming. Unless impossible to do otherwise, our main point of interest (which will usually be our character in the shot), should not be placed directly in the centre of the shot.

• White balance
White balance sums up the colour balance due to white light being made up of all the colours in the spectrum. On consumer-level cameras, automatic white balance is usually featured; which can become unreliable.
If wanting to perform a manual white balance, the procedure should be done at the start of all filming and every time light conditions change.

• Depth of field (include pulling focus)
Depth of field refers to the range of distances from the camera at which an acceptably sharp focus can be obtained. By understanding the concept, you will save yourself time by not creating out of focus footage and will open up a massive range of creative possibilities.
Iris settings control depth of field. For example, the smaller the iris aperture, the greater the depth of field; this suggests that the more light you have on the subject, the easier it is to focus.

A focus pull is a creative technique where the camera changes focus during a shot. This usually involves changing focus from one subject to another.
Throwing focus is another technique when the shot loses focus completely, and this can be done by turning the focus ring completely until full focus is lost.
- Focus pull could be used in our project again on the doorway shot with the girl looking through the brother’s door. It could start with the focus on the back of the girls head, slowly changing to the main focus being the brother’s room and its content. Shots could also be concluded with the focus being lost completely.

• Exposure (Iris, and ND filters)
The iris of a camera controls the amount of light coming through the lens. The more you open the iris, the more light you let in. Consumer cameras will occasionally have automatic aperture settings, but can be switched to manual where you can usually use dials and buttons. The iris needs to be set so that the main subject is correctly exposed.

ND filter stands for neutral density filter, which reduces the amount of light coming through the camera lens.

Lighting:
• Location lighting (3 point lighting and colour temperatures)
3 point lighting uses three lights called the key light, fill light and back light. The main is the key light which is the strongest and has the most influence on the scene. The fill light is the secondary light which is placed opposite the key light to fill any shadows that are created by the key. The background light is placed behind the subject to define and highlight the subject. This helps separate the subject from the background and provide a three-dimensional look.

Colour temperature is a standard method of describing colours using a range of situations and with different equipment. Colour temperatures are normally expressed in units called Kelvins. In practical terms with video this usually means selecting lights, gels and filters which are most appropriate to the prevailing light or to create a particular colour effect.
- Throughout our project, we wanted quite a dark and ‘gritty’ effect. This could be achieved through the editing stage, or through the lighting we choose to use. Like the short film ‘About a Girl’, we could gradually make our film appear colder and colder until the morning the boy isn’t home, where the temperature could be warmer, suggesting a change, a new start.

Additional:
• Continuity
Continuity is a term that suggests that a series of shots should appear as physically continuous. Throughout the filming of our project, we need to keep our eyes open for continuity issues. For example if we’re shooting scenes, which are meant to be one after another and one is in daylight, one is at night. Another example, if filming on different days, we need to make sure everything is placed the same as it was on the last day of shooting.