Preliminary task

Preliminary Task: Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my blog. My name is Lucy Oniyide and I am an AS Media student at Rainham School for Girls. For my preliminary task  I and my group where assigned the project of creating a 15-30 second clip of a conversation, which had to include a person going through a door, shot reverse shot, match on action and do this while maintaining the 180 degree rule. The 180 degree rule would actually turn out to be the hardest to follow because it is extremely difficult to maintain it while  trying to achieve some shots. Which would result in the actor swapping sides; this would lead to lack of continuity. As a group we came up with multiple ideas such as being offered illegal substances at a party which entails a girl being encouraged by her friends to take them.  Also, we came up with a girl and a boy in a relationship trying to break up with each other using 'cheesy lines' commonly seen in movies; for example "its not you, its me". However, we ended up going with the idea that a boy who kills  his girlfriend and is now having a  physiological break down which leads to a battle between his good and bad side(conscience).

Story Board

The first frame presents our actor (Brenya Thomas) in a remorseful state in which he contacts the bad un-remorseful side of his conscience, that they need to have a discussion. This frame contains a mid shot of the actor, we did this so we would be able to see the actors body language as well as his the emotion on his face. The second frame contains an extreme close up on the hand of the actor from the point of view of the actor as he walks through the door. We did this because it is a stereotypical shot to show the viewer that either something is either wrong or the villain is approaching; which I believed added suspicion to the frame. The third frame is of the actor coming through the door in a quite obnoxious way, behaving as if their is nothing wrong. We did this as a long shot because we believed it would emphasis on what he was wearing, and a suit is seen as formal and pretentious( usually warn by there 'bad' guy).

 The first frame here shows the actor in an oblivious state, not acknowledging why he was there and also not acknowledging the emotions of the good conscience. We did this as a close up to eliminate any distractions in the background and distinguish what the actor is saying. The second frame shows the actor feeling angry, annoyed and patronised by the other conscience. I believed he felt this way because in that scenario I myself would feel angry if someone asked me that question despite me showing you that I'm obviously not. We did this as a close up to emphasise on the actors emotions and also so the viewer is able to acknowledge the emotional shift in his tone and facial expression. The third frame the bad conscience demands not to be shouted at. we used a mid shot to show his body expression which helped make the scene more climactic.

The first frame displays the good conscience actually being quite the opposite because he starts to blame his mistake on the bad; which is often done by the bad person who is being selfish and denying  any responsibility for his actions. The second frame shows the bad side defending himself against the accusation made. He does this by ignoring the accusation but he then goes onto  points the blame at his deceased girlfriend. The third frame then goes onto the good conscience wallowing in the guilt, sadness and misery he has brought onto himself.

The first frame features the bad side leaving and saying that he should just move on theta the girl is dead. The second, and last frame shows the good conscience crying because he is filled with regret of her death. Also, we had the last 2 frames like this so that the good is reminded that no matter what he does he can't change the fact that she is dead which is why he is crying.

Mise-en Scene

Setting/Location: We set the short film in our schools sixth form common room (Derwent Way, Gillingham, Kent ME8 0BX) because of the booths. We did this because we wanted to create a form of isolation to so that he is alone in his predicament. Also in a lot of movies when something  suspicious is going on it is set in a booth.
Lighting: we used artificial lighting because we where filming in an enclosed space which meant that the clip would appear extremely dark and blurry.
Costumes: we choose a white shirt for the good conscience because we wanted to reflect his persona through his costume. For example in various films such as Evan almighty(2007 Morgan Freeman) God is seen to be dressed  in white reference to God being seen as good and pure. Where as we dressed the Bad conscience in a suit because a lot of times in movies the bad guy is either ironically in a suit or just the 'bad' business man.  For example in the movie the Dark Knight Rise(2008) The Joker (Heath Andrew Ledger) is seen in a purple suit which is ironic because it is the opposite of what a clown would wear.
Music: Ellie Goulding - Joy
            The Furgees  - Ready or Not
              Dot Rotten  - Overload


The Bad conscience

The Joker



The Good Conscience

"God"