The rule states that when filming, the camera(s) should remain the same side of an imaginary line. The line is drawn perpendicular to the cameras viewpoint in the establishing shot of the scene. This rule helps to enforce continuity in the film. Breaking the rule will confuse the audience, especially in chase scenes or conversations.
Shot reverse shot.
Shot reverse shot is a continuity editing technique used in conversations or simply characters looking at each other or objects. As shot showing what the character is supposedly looking at is followed by a reverse angle shot of the character themselves looking at it, or the other character looking at them. If the rule is broken, it can distort the audiences sense of location of the characters in the shot.
Match on Action.
Match on action is an editing technique for continuity editing in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. This creates the impression of a sense of continuity-the action carrying on creates a 'visual bridge' which draws the viewers attention away from slight cutting or continuity issues.
The 30 degree rule.
The 30 degree rule is rule used in filmmaking with the purpose of creating continuity between different shots within a larger sequence of shots. When moving your camera between shots the camera should be moved a minimum of 25 to 30 degrees (with a maximum limit of 180 degrees) to avoid jarring transitions also known as jump cuts. This helps you seamlessly piece together a larger sequence of shots. Big transitions help hide small continuity differences
The Rule of Thirds.
The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. You then position the important elements in your scene along those lines, or at the points where they meet. Your frame becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the frame to interact with it more naturally.
While creating and editing my initial film i show alot of strengths and weakenesses throughout. One of my strengths is that the camera was quite still while filming and moved cleanly when taking my second shot. We also planned our shots carefully so each shot would cut easily onto the next one. A weakness was that the lighting was a little too dark which stopped the filming becoming as effective as it could be. Another weakness was that the cuts were not as clean as they could've been, which is what I'm also hoping to improve on as I film more. One of my targets I should aim towards is to focus a different shots to make my film look better such as close up shots, medium shots etc. another target I could aim towards is changing the pace of my shots and make some faster than others to build tension.
My narrative will be based on a young girl on the way home from school, with the sense she is being followed. As she goes on, she discovers that she is being followed and gets even more scared, building tension for the scene as it carries on. The scene will end with the girl being kidnapped by the unknown man who has been following her.
I already know and understand a lot of the horror genre's codes and conventions and am planning to include most of them in the my opening scene. A convention I will include is having one of the main characters as a young girl who will play as the victim, the male character will also be the antagonist, as horror genres usually stereotype men as being the scary villain. my scene will be set in a rural area such as the woods to create a ominous and scary atmosphere which most horror films use at some point during the film. I will include the convention of a predictable narrative, which most horror uses, including the victim being either kidnapped and tortured with no one to help her. My opening scene will include the conventions of diegetic sounds such as, screaming and calling for help; as well as diegetic sounds I will be including non-diegetic sounds such as an eerie, high pitched soundtrack which will get louder as the tension rises.
To make my opening scene most like a horror genre I will use possible settings such as it being in a forest/woods, while the victim is walking home from school, the use of rural settings builds tension for the audience as they know the victim has no way of finding anything or anyone for help. I will film it in the late afternoon to create low key lighting, however not leaving it too late so the film ends up too dark on screen.
My characters I aim to use in my opening scene are, a victim who will play as a young, innocent girl. Along with an antagonist, who will be a make to match the stereotypical convention of a male villain and hopefully at the start I will include extras, such as the victim friends who leave her when she decided to walk home.
For my opening scene, I don't think many props will be needed but I am planning the antagonist to be wearing dark clothing and will be holding a bag to cover the victims face suddenly at the end of the scene. The victim will be wearing casual clothes and will be holding a bag with school books as she would be coming home from school.
Throughout my opening scene the shot I would like to include are: Long shots to show off the wood setting and show the victim walking through it. Medium shots would be used to allow the audience to recognise the victim. Close ups will allow the audience to notice the victim's facial expressions of terror and anxiousness as well as showing body parts such as low angles of feet walking through the leaves. I will include a two shot including the victim and antagonist when he finally kidnaps her to imply that we have reached the climax of the scene.
When describing my mise-en-scene, I plan to film the scene in the evening while the sun sets to create low key lighting. The setting will be a forest to create a spooky and mysterious mood. the victim will be wearing casual clothing so connote her innocence throughout the scene whereas the antagonist will be wearing dark clothing to connote his power and strength and will present a negative move towards the character, we will possibly put makeup on the antagonist to make him look scary but also insane.
My initial idea for my opening two minutes is a horror genre, I am aware of many of the codes and convention on the genre and am looking to incorporate those into my opening two minutes. My possible narrative that I would hope to reveal in the opening includes a young girl on the way home from school, with the sense she is being followed. As she goes on she discovers that she is being followed and gets even more scared as the scene carries on. The scene will end with the girl being kidnapped by the unknown man who has been following her, and leave an enigma for the audience to keep them on the edge of their seats. My opening two minutes will be set in the middle of a forest to build tension and will lead to a main road when reaching to the climax. I hope to film during the late afternoon towards the evening in order to create a mysterious and scary atmosphere. Possible main characters I wish to include are a young girl who will be known as the victim for the film, and an antagonist who will be an older boy or a young man.
He's Just Not That Into You opening scene analysis
The scene opens with a long shot of a playground filled with children; the non-diegetic is a calm happy and innocent sound which plays throughout the scene. we are introduced to a voice narrative as well as the non-diegetic sound who begins with the opening line 'a girl will never forget the first boy she likes' throughout this we are shown a young girl and young boy in a two shot, the audience believe that this is the young girls first crush but suddenly we see the boy push the girl over and calls her 'dog poor' we are shown a close up of the girl upset and crying, wondering why this boy has been so mean to her. As we are shown a long shot of the boy running off, the shot cuts to an over the shoulder shot of the girl with her mother as she tells her about her experience with the young boy. The mother explains to the child that he only did those things because he liked her, and the shot cuts to a close up of the girls face connotes confusion. The narrative suddenly comes back and says 'there it is, that the beginning of our problem' this can be seen a general convention of a romance film as the girl is usually seen upset about a boy and is later comforted by a friend or family member. The narrative is trying to tell the audience that sometimes girls find an excuse to hide the fact that a boy just isn't into them and that if a guy acts horrible to a girl, that means he likes them.
The shot cuts to a close up of an older woman crying and surround by other woman consoling her, they tell her that the boy who she is crying about likes her too much and is the reason for why he is upsetting her so much, this is also a general convention of a romance film as the woman is consoled by many of her girl friends to make her feel better and the reason they are there is usually because of a boy. the shot cuts to an extreme close up a television, which then cuts two a close up of two girls both staring at the phone. one of the girls is waiting for a boy to ring her and her friend is also consoling her and telling her that he probably just lost her number as an excuse, this is a general cliché of a romance film as the boy is seen as the jerk who upsets the girl and is usually waiting for him to 'call her back'.
The next shots are woman all over the world finding excuses as to why boys are not acting interested or why they are upsetting them. Girls in all different ages, job roles and cultures are seen doing the exact same thing, consoling each other and telling themselves everything apart from the fact that in some cases he just isn’t that into you. This is a general convention of a romance film as the girls are always seen as the victim and the one who is ended up hurt by the man. the narrative picks up again and tells the audience that woman are scared to admit that he just isn’t that into you and create so many excuses to try and hold onto the thought of a happy relationship. This is a general convention of a romance film, especially for women as practically all of them can relate to at least one of the situations and because of this, it can invite more women to come and watch the film.
The audience also notice that the narrative is probably going to be one of the main characters of the film as she is the prevalent voice throughout the opening scene. The long shot of the scene in Africa fades to black and the audience are shown the title of the film which was what the narrator was talking about throughout the whole opening scene 'He's Just Not That Into You'.
Dear John’s opening scene is set by the beach during the summer, which is recognised as a romantic and beautiful place. The first shot is a close up of one of the main characters, he shows of his body to the audience and plays a part in the general convention of a romance genre as the male is usually very attractive which invites more woman to watch the film. The background has a shallow depth of field which allows the audience to focus on him and his emotions he is portraying, rather than anything else that may influence the audience to become distracted in the background. The shot cuts to an over the shoulder shot of a group of girls and boys sitting on the edge of the pier socialising together, throughout this, the non-diegetic soundtrack music is very happy and cheerful which can add to the romantic setting by the beach.
As the shot zooms in more, one of the boys of the group sits on the edge of the pier but accidentally pushes a girls bags of the pier into the water, as the girl gasps and is in shock that she has lost her personal possessions, the shot becomes an over the shoulder shot again, implying that the main character is overlooking the situation. The boy, who we hear is called Brandon, apologises and run towards the sea to try and get this girls bag before it’s too late. But suddenly the main character heroically jumps 20ft into the sea to save the bag instead. We are shown a close up of the girls face which connotes shock that this man risked his life just to get her bag, the audience realise that this girl will also be the other main character which is seen a general convention of a romance film as both a man and woman meet and eventually fall in love. The shot cuts to the man swimming to the bottom of the ocean to find this girls bag, in the corner of the frame we are shown the title of the film but it does not stand out, connoting that the audience are meant to focus on the frame more than the title. The title is coloured in white which can connote purity and innocence which can also explain how the man and woman eventually fall in love. The scene cuts back to a medium shot of the girl who is still in shock that this man went to extreme measures for her possessions. The shot cuts back to the bag lying at the bottom of the sea and suddenly we see a hand reach for the bag, the camera moves into a medium shot of the man who pushes from the ground back up the shore, throughout this he is seen as very calm and peaceful, and to jump off of the pier and swim to the bottom of the sea can imply that he is fearless and strong. As he reaches to the top of the sea the shot cuts back to the girl, but instead of medium shot, it becomes a close up and her eyes do not leave the man who has saved her bag and possessions, connoting that she is fixated by his strength and bravery for a stranger such as herself.
The shot cuts to a long shot of the pier and Brandon, who originally pushed the bag off the pier in the first place, only just reaching the shore and getting ready to swim to the bag. The audience find humour in the fact that in the distance of the shot, we can see the male main character walking up to Brandon already with the bag in his hand. We are then shown a long shot of both Brandon and John- the main character; both characters jucstapose each other as Brandon is out of breath and now seems quite embarrassed that he could not save the bag, and john is already back on the shore and still calm and composed, even though he has just jumped off a pier and swam to the bottom of the ocean and managed to swim back and still not be out of breath. As John walks up to pass the bag to the girl, the shot cuts to the her running towards him thanking him, her facial expressions show that she is amazed that this stranger to her has risked his life to get her possessions for her.
As both main characters meet for the first time, they introduce themselves and throughout this medium shot the audience is shown Brandon in between the two characters in the background, still trying to catch his breath which can be seen as humorous to the audience. The scene also shows pathetic fallacy as these two people have met for the first time and the sun is shining and the mood is set as very happy and content.
During their conversation we are shown a shot reverse shot between Savannah, the female main character, and John. At the end of their conversation, John starts to walk away; the shot cuts back to a close up of Brandon and Savannah who also start to walk away, the shot again cuts back to John who realises he has walked the wrong way and has to awkwardly turn back towards Savannah. The next shot is a high angle shot of Savannah turning back to walk beside John, the shot tracks both characters while they’re walking and talking to each other and the non-diegetic sound becomes louder throughout, this suggests that this is the start of their relationship which will only grow stronger throughout the film. Savannah invites john back to hers for a BBQ but john insists he stays a gentleman and explains how he has to get back to his father, but agrees to stay for a drink. The shot cuts to a close up of john who becomes shy as she is starting to win him over. The shot cuts to a long shot of him hitting him board against the pier accidentally, which makes him embarrassed and connotes to the audience that even though he is this strong brave character, inside he is still shy and definitely likes Savannah. The sun is starting to set in the background of the shot which adds to the pathetic fallacy and is a general convention of a romance film and the sunset can be compared to a romantic setting. The long shot then becomes a high angle shot zooming outwards and bringing more of the sunset and the beach into the frame ending the opening scene in a romantic and happy mood as both main characters walk off together, leaving the non-diegetic sound to become the dominant sound in towards the end.
The other guy is originally a comedy but the opening scene has a lot of clichés and conventions which can be related to an action genre. The first shot is a recognisable tracking establishing shot of New York City, and the audience are introduced to an opening narrative and the diegetic sound of police sirens. The titles are in the corner of the frame to allow the audience to focus more on the shot that is currently being shown. As the establishing shot is zooming out the shot cuts to a very fast paced shot of a car chase, the camera does not keep in a still position which can connote chaos. This is a general convention of an action as it thrills and excites the audience.
The shot cuts to a close up shot of one the protagonists holding onto the top of a car roof while it is speeding down the highway connoting danger and also bravery and would give the audience the idea that the people inside the car are the antagonists. The close up speeds towards the back of the car where we see a police car following the antagonists. The audience notices that the man in the police car is talking to the man on top of the antagonist’s car, suggesting that they are partners and that this car chase would be a case of good v evil, which is a general cliché of an action film.
The next few shots are very fast paced and cut easily after one another to keep the audience excited. The fast paced shots connote the danger of this car chase, this as well as the sense of chaos are general conventions of an action film as they include a lot of physical stunts, car chases and fight scenes which all add to the thrill of a typical action film.
As the protagonist dangerously tries to shoot the car in front in order to slow them down, the antagonist fights back and we are shown an extreme close up of a bullet moving slowly towards the police car. The shallow depth of field in the background allows the audience to focus only on the moving bullet. The audience know that this shot is in slow motion as we don't get to see a moving bullet in so much detail for this amount of time because they move very fast when shot. As the bullet shoots the police siren, the protagonist quickly changes it for another one which introduces humour into the scene for the audience.
The fast paced, chaotic shots carry on while the antagonist shoots at the roof of his own car to try and kill the protagonist holding onto it, and even though he shoots countless times, the protagonist still does not get hit by a bullet which is also general convention of an action film. The protagonist puts himself in danger and he fearlessly jumps onto the police car behind, showing off his strength and agility, which can also be seen as a convention of an action film as the protagonist is usually stereotyped as a strong man, who has the strength to pull of all these physical stunts without getting hurt at all. As he finally gets into the car the shot cuts to a medium shot of both the protagonists together talking which then cuts again to a slanted high angle view of the car chase. The use of a distorted view also adds to the sense of panic and chaos throughout the scene which keeps the audience excited. The non-diegetic sound is a hip-hop song which stops the lack of tension possibly building up and makes the protagonists seem smooth and cool throughout the car chase.
As the scene carries on, the antagonist turn their car around and start to repetitively shoot at the police car and still cannot hit any of the protagonists, instead blows off the hood of the car, leaving them blind as to what is in front of them. The cameras shot are so faced paced and cut so quickly to a different shot which stops the audience being able to see whets going on in detail, which helps them feel part of the scene as they feel as chaotic as the drivers.
The audience watch as a bus suddenly stops in the middle of a busy road because it is blocked and can’t get through. The shot cuts to a close up of the protagonists shooting off the hood of their car and suddenly driving into the middle of the bus. We are shown a low angle long shot of it crashing through the bus and getting stuck. This is a convention of an action film as physical stunts keep the audience’s adrenaline high and grabs their attention. It is also a general convention as even though they are protagonists, they still put innocent people in danger in order to defeat the bad guys.
As the police car stops in the middle of the bus, the non-diegetic soundtrack stops. The character inside the police car says 'Did someone call 9, 1 holy shit!'. This use of humour allows the audience to connect which the characters as they will start to relate to them throughout the film instead of just seeing them as characters.
As the protagonist think they have finally escaped we are shown a long shot of the bus crashing behind the car to show that they definitely have not escaped yet. At this point the non-diegetic soundtrack begins again to imply that the protagonists are back on track and most likely to win this car chase. We are shown a fast paced long shot of civilians on the top of the bus panicking, wondering why they are being put in such danger and chaos. The shot cuts to a close up of one of the antagonists who is driving the car as we hear him say 'That's it, I’m sick of all this running' which leads onto the car drifting to the side and stopping. The antagonists get out of the car, stand their ground and start to shoot at the bus as it races towards them. The shot cuts back to a close up of the protagonists and are cut to an extreme close up of the driver pressing down on the accelerator implying that they aren't going to give up in any circumstance. As the bus swerves to the side, the car that was originally stuck in the middle of the bus jumps straight out the other side and drives towards the antagonists. We are then cut to a long shot of the antagonists shooting at the police car, to then being cut to a long shot of the protagonist shooting back, but this shot is in slow motion as we hear him say 'You have the right to remain silent...but I want to hear you scream!' throughout this the antagonists retreat and realise that if they don't move now they will die so dive to safety. The audience are then shown a low angle shot of the police car in the air, crushing the antagonist’s car, but still moving straight towards the building in front. The antagonists' car blows up and as the police car crashes into the building we are shown a series of explosions and the sound of glass smashing to connote action, danger and chaos. The explosion is definitely a convention of an action film as it a way to thrill the audience to keep them on the edge of their seats throughout the film. The scene fades to black as the explosion takes over the frame.
