Carlos' Media Studies Blog

 After about a month of working on this film, we have finally put together a final draft, ready to submit to Cambridge. I am happy we were able to finish and will miss working with my teammates.  

 After editing for a few hours, we had a rough draft ready. The news broadcast was edited on WeVideo, which is a service provided to use by the school. Everything else was edited on the phone application, CapCut. This includes the credits, splicing of the scenes, sound effects, and music.

 Bengal production company documented their contributions to the final production.

 

 

 

After shooting all necessary shots, we were able to create a storyboard in order to help with our editing and organization. A rough draft of this was done on a sheet of paper, we improvised it and created a similar version on powerpoint. This storyboard helps us decide on how to frame our shots, from what angle to shot them and what camera movement we should have.  

 Today we shot our film at school. We managed to cast a teacher to play the role of teacher and got about 15 people to play a role of background characters. During our break period we went to the teacher's classroom to begin shooting. We let the cast know what was expected of them and gave out the script for everybody that needed it. Shooting was done in about 2 hours when we got enough shots to satisfy the 2 minute requirement. It was a fun and teaching experience and helped in my abilities in acting and directing. Attached is a clip that happened during the shooting.

Today we began seriously talking about our final production. A storyboard was made, we came to an agreement on what the story should consist of and we began shooting later in the day. Our final production is going to be a horror film with the first shot being included below. To begin our shooting phase, I gathered a few friends and group members to come to my house in order to get the first shots out of the way. We were able to set up pretty quickly and got the shot down later. In order to film the rest of the movie we need to be in school, so it will be done another day.

 Attached below is the movie script. Everyone worked on this and effort was put into making it seem as legitimate as possible. Movie Script

 

Ideas for the final production: - Horror movie - Movie will be about a killer, who is unknown and has been killing more recently. - Killer is a high school student. Rough plot: Scene 1: Killer is watching news, news are speaking about a killer. Scene 2: Killer goes to school and sits down next to girl who is crying. Scene 3: Killer goes to the bathroom. Scene 4: While killer goes to the bathroom the class is dismissed and crying girl stays back. Scene 5: Killer goes back to the room and kills girl.

Definition: Camera does not move, or zoom in. It does this while capturing the whole subject(s) and keeping them in the shot. Purpose: Can be used to create a dramatic effect, also effective when portraying conversations.

Bengal Production Company completed an analysis on 2 films focused on lighting. This case study includes examples of:  1. 3-point lighting: The key light, fill light and backlight. 2. Hard Lighting: When one of the sources of light is significantly harsher than the other. 3. Soft Lighting: The difference in the three light sources is not as apparent.  

 

Definition: Camera stays still, however the focal length changes in order to create a "zoom-out" effect. Purpose: To reveal the scene around the subject, reveal important plot points. Example:

  30 important definitions in film.

 Today in class, we had a pop quiz. The pop quiz quizzed us on pretty much everything we've learned this year. For example, different types of shots like close-ups, extreme close-ups, medium shots, establishing shots and more. We were quizzed on camera movement: dolly-in. zoom-in, tracking. Because I've spent most of this year in class paying attention, I was able to easily get an A.

 The Bengal Production Company and another student in the class came together to work on an assignment about composition in film. Each of us was assigned with two styles / techniques of composition in film. For example, I was assigned to work with Deep and Shallow focus. We had to find examples of when the techniques were used in actual films and write a paragraph on it. Later, we were asked to teach those in our group about the techniques.

Definition: The camera is physically moved towards the subject. Purpose: The dolly-in shot can be used to transition from a wider shot to a close-up, which can create intimacy with the subject.

Definition: Camera stays in the same location but tilts  either up or down. Purpose: Tilt shots are most often used in establishing shots. They can be used to establish setting and scenes by slowly bringing the tilt down from a previously upwards facing angle. Creating more dramatic effect than a regular shot, they are used to reveal a key event or object in the film. Example:

Bengal Production Company watched a video relating to camera movements in class today. We were all tasked with taking notes on the purpose, definition, and possible examples of 4 camera movement techniques. We will later recreate some of these techniques and document the examples. The 4 camera movement techniques I chose were: tilt, zoom-in, random movement, and arc. I personally like random movement the most.

Part 2 of the lighting in film case study. This section focuses on  1. Lighting direction 2. Light quality 3. Light color  

What is the purpose of Lighting in Film? Lighting in film is an important part of mise en scene which it is essential to consider whenever a scene is being created. For one, lighting creates a visual mood or atmosphere in a scene. If a scene is shot at night, in a room with little to no lighting, the audience can automatically infer that there might be a mysterious or scary. The purpose of lighting is to contribute to the mise en scene of the film.

  Winter Break Over winter break, which is a 2 week holiday period in America, I watched many films as I was stuck at home for the most time. This was a good time for me to reflect on what I've learned in media studies at the halfway mark in the year. Media Consumed - Invincible Season 1 - Spiderman: No Way Home - Disney's Encanto What I learned Media studies has made me seriously analytical when consuming media. I am able to notice specific aspects of a production and understand why the director decided to implement these. For example, why the director decided to include a master shot or insert shot.  Media studies has also helped me with my concentration in film and my ability to follow the plot. Some media texts, which have an intricate plot, I often found that I was unable to understand what was going on at any given time. The amount of media I've had to consume, has helped me improve my ability to do this.

 Camerawork Storyboard Analysis Section 5 is about different camerawork techniques. Some of these include shot size, shot angling and camera framing. We were to pick 8 frames from the film and are to determine what shot size, shot framing, and camera angling techniques were used. 

 How do you create meaning in film using technical codes? Section 4 primarily focuses on camerawork.