Archive for February 2013

Changed Idea

By Test | Tuesday, February 12, 2013 | , , , Leave a comment

After discussing the problems with our current idea with our teachers. We decided that we'd need a new story-line to accommodate the action that we wanted to incorporate into our sequence. After much consideration we decided that our idea would be based around a stolen weapon prototype that would make the wearer invisible and give them integrated graphics. The story would be about a developer who steals the suit when he finds out the makers want it for bad, the film follows him as he tries to escape from the company and get the suit to safe hands.

Our opening scene now goes like this:

> Two agents walk in a garage area are talking about what they're looking for
> A tracker is pulled out and the agents start looking for the item, not knowing exactly what it is they are after
> The tracker goes haywire and the agents aren't sure what's going on
> One agent pulls out a gun and starts panic shooting
> The invisibility on the developer is shut off and he appears behind the agent with the gun and takes him out
> He then moves onto the man with the tracker in his hand
> The sequence cuts to the film title as a bullet is fired

The things we've had to change:

The roles of our characters have changed to two agents and a developer instead of the previous character roles of three teenagers, one of whom steals the weaponised suit and kills the two friends.

The plot is a lot less complex allowing us to film it more easily and also allowing the audience to understand the sequence without having to explain the background of the characters and the reasoning behind their actions.


Action Scene Proxemics

By Test | , , , Leave a comment

While looking for inspiration and ideas for our sequence, we came across this how-to video on gunfights. 


Although our idea was modified and does not include an actual gunfight of this type, the video still gives valid insight into spacing and proximity when filming a visually exciting action scene.

 The video highlights key points of any action scene, especially one where there is lots of movement. When characters are moving about on screen, it is especially important to cut to master shots and establishing shots in order to establish space between the characters, as this is changing. The 180 degree rule is also of utmost importance, as breaking this rule would confuse the audience. The video puts it in simpler terms, explaining that one character should always be pointing his gun the same way, and the same goes for the other character

 Furthermore, this guide video shows how over the shoulder shots can help establish space and can be used to view someone in the distance from the perspective of the character, while also showing the gun and its line of sight. Another similar technique used is point of view shots, which also help establish the scene to the audience.

 The most relevant point that applies to our sequence is the idea of cutting back to the master shot to establish spacing, especially if characters have moved. between these cut-aways it would be fine to add a variety of close ups and more complex framed shots such as tracking and panning, as long as the 180 degree rule is adhered to and the master shot is shown when appropriate.

 With the information gathered from this video, we are now able to revise our shot list in order to make our sequence coherent to the audience