Hey Blog, you’d never guess what I’ve done these past few weeks in AICE Media Studies! Although I am new to the class, I already started applying knowledge into creating videos.
Camera Movements and Angles
To start this process I obviously had to learn first. My teacher began by giving us centers learning about the multiple camera movements. She then showed us one movie clip from the movie Star Wars about 3 times to figure out which of the camera movements were included. It was definitely hard to remember all the camera movements while also analyzing the movie, but I think I did pretty good if I say so myself.
After we practiced the camera movements, we began working on a project. Our project consisted of composing multiple videos with different camera movements and angles. Before starting this project, we had to create a project plan that described each scene and what movement we will be using for the scene. I really enjoyed filming our scenes and learning how to act.
During the project we didn’t encounter a pivotal challenge, but we did struggle to come up with multiple movements that we could apply to each scene. We encountered a problem that we kept repeating the same camera movement multiple times, so we lost some time trying to think of other movements that could be done. On the bright side, something that could be considered a “success” is the fact that we all collaborated together and all gave input on ideas for the scenes.
Through the process of filming, I realized that the camera should be held horizontally. I never knew that when filming it is unprofessional to hold it vertically. Overall, the process of filming my project went smoothly and any challenges faced, were resolved quickly.
In my future projects, instead of solely being an actor, I would ask my grout to take turned on who films and who acts. For most of the scenes it was the same person recording, which made it hard to learn how to actually apply each camera movement. Better communication could definitely be a way to help this minor setback.
Camera Shots
For this process, like the camera movements and angles project, we began by going around the classroom and taking notes on each type of camera shot. After taking notes we did an assignment to practice the skill we learned. We watched a clip of FARGO and then took multiple scenes, explaining what type of shot was used in the scene.
For this project we had to create movie clips based on an object being the main character. Like the other project, we had to create a project plan explaining what shot we will use in each picture, and what the story is trying to tell. Although this was a more difficult project, I had fun creating the story line on an object being the main character, rather than a person.
During this project I encountered multiple challenges that were able to be resolved. The main challenge I encountered multiple times, was focusing on taking camera shots of the object and not of the human holding the object. Besides this, the shots itself that were taken were well executed and done successfully.
Throughout the process of this project one of the primary things I learned was the difference between long-shot, mid-shot, and close-up shot. After doing the notes, I didn’t have a clear understanding of what these three shots differed, but by working and collaborating with others, I was able to understand these differences.
When time comes for a future project, I would definitely take more time for planning each shot with its scene. I believe that I was too worried about not having time to finish taking pictures and I lacked a lot in the project plan that helps create a rough draft of the pictures. A better time management would be something I would focus on in my next upcoming projects.
