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180 Degree Rule
The 180 degree rule is the basic guideline which demonstrates where the camera can be during a conversation between two people. The rule highlights that the camera cannot cross an imaginary line which connects the two people at the middle. The rule is in place because if the rule is broken it can lead to confusion within the shot as the characters perspective will be jumbled up. The only way to cross this line is by having the camera physically pass through the line so that the audience can see it has been crossed.
The rule can be broken, this is rarely done but when used it helps boost the confusion within a scene.







To demonstrate the 180 Degree Rule not being broke a small group of us created a short sequence
which highlights how it should be done.





This sequence also demonstrates the shot-reverse-shot technique, this is when two or more characters are cut between when they are talking to make it look like they are looking at each other when talking.  The shot-reverse-shot must also follow the 180 degree rule to make sure the sequence makes sense.

Although the characters are not talking to each other the audience can clearly see they are interacting off camera because of the previous shot. This is still an example of shot-reverse-shot as the two characters are facing towards each other and reacting to the result of the rock, paper, scissors game. The 180 degree rule is also visible here as there are no shots from the left of the character wearing black and no shots from the right of the character wearing red. The 180 degree rule is also physically represented by the wall which is on the other side of the camera.

We also demonstrated the use of 'match on action' during the shoot, match on action is when one shot cuts to another portraying the action of subject in the first shot. The creates the illusion of continuity and creates a 'visual bridge'. It is not a graphic match or cut, it portrays a continues sense of the same action rather than matching two separate things. In our sequence we used the red character walking

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The main character in my film is an elderly man, this is a social group which often goes under-represented within the media. Main characters from other films are often young, male characters instead of being old.My main character can be compared to the character 'Walt Kolwalski' from Gran Torino, both characters are strong, elderly figures within the narrative. The elderly social group are often underrepresented or not represented at all in most films, they are represented as being in-capable and a drag on society.

Put side by side we can see visual similarities between both characters, they both look old and have what can be considered an 'intimidating stare'. They both hold a key part in their films which is not often seen for an elderly character. They also both have a similar costume, they are wearing casual, day-to-day clothes.

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The film which I have helped develop can be equally compared and contrasted to other film openings of the same genre. The first example of a comparison is the placement of titles and similar lighting between my own film opening and The Man in the High Castle opening. The title placement is similar as each have not been placed onto a key part of the shot but are still prevalent within the shot. The lighting is also similar as you can sort of see that we have tried to focus the lighting on key parts within the shot with some degree of success, this is also done in the MitHC opening.

Both openings do have some major differences however, TMitHC's opening uses black and white and relies on computer generated imagery of symbolic objects, our opening uses actual shots which we filmed and is also coloured.

The shots I have chosen from my film opening demonstrate the use of titles during key frames to advertise famous actors we would use. The shots we have taken also tell the audience that it is set in a rural home and the actor is an ordernary looking old bloke with a dark past. By using a male as the main actor within the film we are following the media tradition that men are often the main a character within the film. Our film does however conform to media norm as the main character is in limbo between antagonist and protagonist because he may have been a Nazi but he considers himself innocent now. Regular films have a protagonist which is in conflict with the antagonist, instead of one actor who can be considered both.

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The production company we have used in our film is film4, this is because Film4's remit is to create unique British film which the British public can relate to and our film fits within this remit, Film4 productions started in 1982 and focused on backing British films. It is owned by the Film4 broadcasting company which broadcast their own films, blockbusters and smaller British films to UK  audiences. The company hold regular themes to their films which they advertise the week before, this attracts more of an audience. Film4 productions focuses backing towards specialized British films rather than Hollywood blockbusters, this means our film would qualify as being a possible film for them to help produce as it is for a specialized audience rather than the masses.

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These are some examples of the target audience we plan on using, young-adults/adults and elderly people. To suit this target audience we have opened up the film to contain more adult themes such as WW2 and drama. This sort of film would appeal to these ages as it would contain complex story line and in depth character development.The  film would also allow for the older audiences to relate to the main character as he would face similar problems as they might face. The target gender would be both as we feature a female character who helps drive the narrative. The female and (To an extent) male audience would also enjoy the sad tone which the film has.

Almost finished footage analysis-

This is the almost finished opening, the title font and placement has been inspired from my analysis of the Eichmann film opening. I have placed the actors names in locations which could give an indication on the characters role in the film. The visuals of the opening and general production quality is much higher than the last attempt, the only problem I have is the sound, due to my lack of experience with sound I did not know how to create appropriate transitions between the sounds.

This is our opening visual, it introduces the director and editor. We are using the type writer font as it helps establish the storyline as being WW2, or that era, related.

 

This is our opening shot, we did not want to introduce too much of the character but the visuals we have provided would tell the audience that this is a teenage girl.

The next shot is an over-the-shoulder shot of Emily pressing the door bell.

The camera then cuts back to the leg shot, this time Emily walks out of frame and into the house.

And then during a close up of the door handle she closes the door.

The next shot is another close up of feet, she is taking one shoe off to reveal her pink, fluffy sock. This tells the audience that this character is innocent and does not have a negative back ground, unlike the elderly man.

 This close up of the inside of a boot is where the first actor is introduced, this actor plays the role of the elderly man who has a dark past, this is visually represented by the actors name being inside the boot.

This shot is of the elderly man putting two cups of tea down onto a table, this shows that the two characters are connecting or already have some sort of friendly relationship. This might suggest that the characters are some how related to each other (Grand Daughter, Grandad)

This next shot further backs up how the characters are related as she accepts the cup of tea.

The next two shots are a graphic match of both of them drinking the tea, the camera shot is an extreme close up of their mouth and nose. Both of the shots together tell the audience that these two characters might be close friends and can relate to each other. The graphic match starts with Emily lifting her cup and ends with Ken lowering his cup, the lifting of the cup shows that Emily is young and at the start of her life which is then contrasted by Ken pulling the cup away from his face, suggesting that he has reached the end of his life.

This montage of shots is of the two characters going through a photo album, this shows connection between the two characters. The shots suddenly ends with a blur out and the book being put down over Emily's name title, this suggests that something has came over Ken which he considers more important than his grand daughter.

This is further reinforced as we have placed the female actors name on top of the book which is then covered up by the book they are looking at, this shows that what ever happened during the photo album scene is more important to the male character than Emily.

This next shot is directly inspired from a shot we had during the draft shoot, we have used it because of compliments on the YouTube video we put up. The lighting from the torch which covers the box makes it look mysterious and would draw the audience in as they wonder what the box means and what is inside of it. The mysterious lighting also helps tell the audience what the character is like, he has a mysterious and secret past which is lying to his family (Emily) about.