Preliminary task and technical aspects in filmmaking

108 degree rule
In film making, the 180 degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spacial relationship between two characters or a character and an object. An imaginary line called the axis connects the characters and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in this scene, the first character will always be frame right of the second character, who is then always frame left of the first. If the camera passes over this axis, this is called 'crossing the line' or 'jumping the line'.


A 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 through creates a 'visual bridge' which draws the viewers attention away from slight cutting or continuity issues. We incorporated this into our film clip to draw the audiences attention to an important action. If we did not use this then the action would have been missed and in so ruining the effect and importance of the action to the audience.

Eye- line match
This is based on the premise that the audience will want to see what the character on- screen is seeing. The eye-line match begins with a character looking at something off- screen, followed by a cut to the object or person at which he was looking at.

Shot reverse shot
Shot reverse shot is used in conversations or just simply characters looking at each other or objects. A shot showing what the character is supposedly looking at is followed by a reverse angle shot of the character themselves looking at it, or of the other character looking back at them. We included this into our short film to show the audience both characters' reactions to the situation that they're in giving the audience a better understanding of the plot.

The film-making process
In terms of filming around the college, there were some minor issues that needed to be taken care of to achieve the maximum standard for our work. For example, as it's a college, there was many people wandering around so we either moved our scenes to somewhere quieter and where we knew that many people were not going to be around or we asked them politely to excuse themselves so we could complete the scene. On the other hand, the college surroundings were perfect to film the kind of genre that we wanted to create like the outside was great to film the introduction as it was picturesque and added to the eerie atmosphere that we were aiming for.

What we learnt
We edited our video by using Adobe Premier Pro and on this, I learnt how to basically cut and edit parts of the scenes that were not needed as well as incorporating sound effects, music and titles. Once I had been given a tutorial on how to work the basics, it was easy from then on. One of the best features is where you can look at how much your video has progressed from when you first opened it on the program meaning that you can see if you have made improvements or mistakes.