Within this footage, my partner and I tried to convey key media language skills. The first skill we attempted to demonstrate was the 180 degree rule. The 180 degree rule is when two characters within a scene should keep the same left or right relationship. The camera should not cross the 180 degree axis that connects the two characters because it then confuses the audience. If the camera does cross this axis it's called crossing the line. In our footage we tried to to stick to this rule by continuously keeping one character on the left of the camera and the other on the right. Here is an example of the 180 degree rule.
Another skill we tried to use was the match on action technique. Match on action is when the editor cuts from one shot to another to match the action from the first shot. The first shot shows the beginning of the action and the second shot shows the completion of the action. In our footage we used the match on action technique twice. The first time was a character opening a door and entering a room. The second time was, a character picking up and slamming down a cup. Here is an example of the match on action technique.
We also used the shot reverse shot technique. This is when you take a shot of the first character looking at or talking to the second character but only show the first character. Then the editor shows the second character in a separate shot looking back at the first character and then return to the original shot of the first character. We used this technique in the same way in our footage. Here is an example of the shot reverse shot technique.
The final skill my partner and I tried to demonstrate in all of our shots was the rule of thirds. This is a rule used in all visual media texts. It is when the eyes of what is being shown are a third of the way down the camera. This rule also applies if a building or landscape is being shown, because the top of the building or landscape should also be a third of the way down the camera. In each of our shots, we tried to use the rule of thirds to the best of our ability. The following video is to show a visual example of what is meant by the rule of thirds.
I worked with Kalkidan Brook to plan and film our scenario. This grouping was very successful as we both equally completed the work in harmony, we respected each others ideas and then put our ideas together to make our work suit the both of us.
To develop the scenario even further to make it more interesting, Kalkidan and I added our own creative situation, but still stuck to the brief. We twisted the encounter to make it an encounter with a girlfriend and a rival lover. Its almost like an interrogation. The girlfriend is portrayed as very aggressive and angry and the rival lover is very anxious, scared and timid because she has apparently been seeing the girls boyfriend.
Our storyboard was reasonably useful as we had drawn out what we had originally wanted to achieve and where we would use the key media language skills. We stuck to our story board quite a lot as we used the match on action technique when one of the characters was entering a room just as we had planned. However we repeated this technique when the same character slammed a cup on the table which we had not put in the storyboard, we made this decision during the filming of our scenario because we thought it would work. We also didn't use all of the shots we had drawn in the storyboard because we felt they were unnecessary and would make the scenario drag out for longer than necessary.
