Planning for the Preliminary Task

In order for a production to be successful- planning must take place to ensure it to be so. In order to ensure that the task is a success it must fit the parameters and requirements of the Preliminary exercise assignment brief: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

To ensure that the task was a success we, as a group, needed to ensure that we included all of the elements of the preliminary task required by the examination board. To ensure that our task was a success, thereby incorporating the above elements into a scene; we then set about storyboarding a suitable scene and planning out the storyline we wished the preliminary task to adopt. For this aspect of the preliminary task we considered many ideas on a mindmap, originally the task involved a chase sequence. At first, we chose to set our storyline for the scene in this particular way because we thought that it would provide high tension, drama and excitement and these feelings would be evoked from audience members whilst viewing our scene.  However, upon considering the logistical and technical challenges that a sequence of this nature would undoubtedly and inevitably bring, we considered exploring the tension in our scene in another more subtle, less challenging way. With this in mind, we considered various other options that the storyline could take and after deliberating we all concluded to set our scene in a gambling type environment revolving our scene around the contextual situation of a card game. I personally considered this option to be a successful one as after due consideration we realised that the nature of the scene that we planned to do leant itself incredibly well to the more technical elements required of the task.  From this point, we came up with a scene whereby the camera followed the card players taking part in the game to the desired location/ setting of the card game, in this way the technical elements and requirements of the task were able to be fulfilled such as the match on action shot of a character opening a door and then proceeding to walk through it. We also included a shot reverse shot which involved a character walking down a corridor first of all into the camera and then performing a quick cut to a shot of the character continuing his course of direction, but shot from a reverse angle.

For the costumes in our preliminary task, I tried to consider carefully what the two actors/characters would wear for the duration of the short clip.  As part of this decision making process, using my knowledge from the GCSE Media Studies course and study of Semiotic Analysis, I considered the character’s separate personalities and their character archetypes that I wanted to try and communicate to the audience within the short clip. For the first character that is shown in the clip (the man in the black leather jacket) I wished to convey a darker tone to his character, hence the reason for his wearing the black leather coat in an attempt to communicate his  arrogance along with his darker tone and ambition. For the second character in the clip, (the one shown to be wearing the grey hoodie), as this character has a more comical role to play and a lighter personality than that of the first character shown onscreen, I dressed him in slightly lighter apparel in an attempt to communicate this fact to the audience.

Having planned the Preliminary Task in sufficient detail I feel confident that filming went smoothly and efficiently.

Below I have attached a copy of the script that was used for our filming to give guidance, direction and support as to how to best fulfil the aims and requirements of the task.

 

 

Luck of the Draw

(First man shown to be the Challenger walks down staircase)

 (Shot reverse shot of Challenger opening a door and then walking down corridor to where dealer is seated)

 (The two men then proceed to walk towards a room, wherein there is a table and some chairs set up, to show this the two men walk towards the camera, shot reverse shot and then show a match on action shot of the lead man opening the door to the room)

(Show wide shot of one man walking into the room. In the same shot this one man then crosses the room)

(Cut to: wide shot of challenger sitting down at the table and drawing cards. Close up shot of cards being drawn, like lethal and tactical weapons, from concealment holsters.)

1^st Man (nodding to the other two in a menacing and hard stare): You in?

2^nd Man (nodding in agreement): I’m in. I was born ready.

(Two men lock eyes in extreme close up, placing cards and money onto the table.)

(Close up of money being put down on the table and cards being thrown on top of the cash pile)

(Extreme close up of the remaining two men locking eyes, staring each other out. Cut between the two men. Wide shot of a game of cards being played. When challenger loses, close up of his outrage and upset at the result as the dealer collects the money.)

(Show shot reverse shot of dealer leaving the den. Show separate shot of challenger leaving the room in anger, although one wide shot to retain camera smoothness.)

(Fade to black.)