EDITING TASK: LEARNERS RESPONSE

Teacher's feedback

• I'm not sure it quite meets the brief BUT you have captured the reality tv genre impressively
• the wipe cuts/transitions work well in this genre but dissolves for shot-reverse-shot do not, it's confusing for the audience. You need straight cuts.
• Good framing and 180 degree rule is observed but lack of match on action is an issue
• Ultimately, this was very entertaining

Peer Feedback

• good music choice
• one jump cut
• funny narrative
• add match on action
• enjoyed the concept
• straight cuts should be smoother

Personal Feedback

• I didn't meet the brief exactly however the mistakes made and footage required to ensure i met the brief were simple and small edits could have met the issue. I would have liked the editing to be smoother and more fluid. The shot-reverse-shot and 180 degree rule in my opinion were met at an expected standard however the match on action was unclear and not present in the final edit due to some technical mishaps. I believe the casual costume choices and 'common' accent are aspects of mise-en-scene which help communicate the reality tv narrative extremely well due to the preconceived ideas audiences have on reality tv stars and the use of stereotypes really allowed chances for a spoof take on the genre. Sound also played a large part with the songs being used were generic pop songs with obvious atmospheric communication that would commonly be found within this genre. Overall, I believe the cinematography and surrounding aspects of mise-en-scene were done well and in future i need to focus more on using appropriate cuts for certain situations and editing my videos in a more apparent, concise manner.  

Cinematography: Clip Analysis

Thirteen Reasons Why; Created by Brian Yorkey, Cinematographer Ivan Strasburg

I believe this is the cinematographer for this particular scene!

The cinematography in this scene alludes to an important plot point for this series. The use of tracking or dolly shots shows the protagonists journey around the school and signals important focal changes for the audience such as the suicide prevention posters throughout the school and the heightened emotions of the characters. The use of a medium shot allows the audience to recognise the turmoil of this character and the build up of tension before the characters eventual emotional climax nearing the end of the excerpt. It also displays social commentary of the issues surrounding the theme of the show through the use of wide shots, the use of wide shots also allows the sheer altitude of the situation to be discerned by the audience as well as the shot of all the characters together showing a climax of the events of the season up until this particular moment. 

Moulin Rouge; Dir. Baz Luhrmann, Cinematographer Donald McAlpine

The cinematography in the opening of this scene is particularly artistic and includes a consistent close up shot of Ewan McGregor's character, writing on a type writer in a sequential edit. The XCU of 'Moulin Rouge' introduces the film aptly as it transitions from the XCU to a wide drone shot of people dancing, suggesting we are now 'partaking' in his narrative. The stark contrast of colour palettes from the muted tones of the windmill and the title sequence to the bright, garish colours of the dancers acts contrapuntally to his monotonous, almost melancholic voice over of the scene. This implies that the story will act almost fantastically as a narrative and that this movie will include a busy, exciting, attention demanding visuals juxtaposing the dark and almost more realistic perspectives of the writer as seen by the last transition into the XCU of the typewriter. 

Citizen Kane; Dir. Orson Welles, Cinematographer Gregg Toland

The opening shot of this excerpt is a close up of a 'No trespassing' sign as well as a tilt to transition the focus from the sign to the house. The movement up the gate and the contrasting textures creates an ominous tone and works with the textbook melodramatic music to supply a genre marker as well as the wide shot, of the two monkeys on the gate, with the house encompassed in fog in the background suggests that the house lies in secret or works with a motif of secrecy, or lack of information which has great synergy with the film noir aspects of this movie in both cinematography and narrative content. 

EDITING PRACTICAL

For our editing task, we decided to incorporate the brief into a spoof of the reality tv genre, the below clip takes the form as a social media teaser for an unreleased, upcoming episode of a new reality tv series, aptly titled 'Reality TV'. I worked with Tamzin and we decided to shoot in a house, to pay homage to the conventional reality tv locations, a house being the iconic staple location of cult classic reality tv show 'Big Brother'. Below is the script of this excerpt as well as the storyboard and shot list that we came up with, Although many shots were neglected in this edit due to my decision to edit it within the trailer composition.

SCRIPT: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IEg1cTBem-qjedndMJXq6pluJOpXM103AgJ6Hmoymo8/edit?usp=sharing

SHOT LIST:

STORY BOARD:

I'm not a drawer - it didn't go to plan.

VIDEO:

Cinematography: LEARNERS RESPONSE

This learners response applies to the cinematography practical seen here - the close up shot mentioned is the one in the mirror [0.02] and the music used is from the Netflix Original Series 'Daredevil'.

1. TEACHER FEEDBACK

• good selection of shots and generally accurate (I think close-up framing early on needed to be a little higher)
• First pan had excellent smooth camerawork; second one outdoors was not so smooth, probably would've needed re-shooting for real coursework
• music and narrative element excellent... but needed longer on that final shot! an xcu surely?!

2.  STUDENT FEEDBACK

• Good use of music to identify genre
• Wide variety of shots
• interesting narrative
• Shaky camera/pans weren't smooth
• clear dead space in close up shot

3.  MY OWN FEEDBACK: 3 WWWs & 3 EBIs

•  shots were accurately labled
•  interesting narrative and use of shots to convey the narrative
•  the lipstick shot was a good use of cinematography

•  shots weren't shaky
•  end shot was an extreme close up
•  clear the dead space in the close up mirror shot

4. WHAT I'VE LEARNED AND IMPROVEMENTS I WILL MAKE

I have learned how to stage shots and how to identify shots in media texts and in the future i will carefully select finishing and opening shots to amplify the impact of the narrative. I understand important concepts to reference when framing a shot to improve the accuracy of the identification as well as how to amplify an effect within a narrative using cinematography - such as including an extreme close up to finish would have had a lasting, more substantial impact on my audience.