Production Tips

G321 Preliminary Task

Diegesis: The sound heard in a moving image can be split up into two categories. (Digetic and Non Digetic). Digetic material is that which exists in the world of the texts itself, so the characters are aware of it as well. E.g. background music and thunder.

Non Digetic music its purely used for the effect of the audience. E.g. voice over’s or atmosphere music. There can be some type of sounds which are both. E.g. the characters thoughts, they are aware to the audience but not heard to the other characters.

Micro and macro origination: To shoot the appropriate material we need to use the micro-macro stagey. To create the appropriate genre or style of film for a fictional film you need to consider the type of camera shots, music, style of titles, dialogue, and the setting. Instead of diving straight into filming it’s important to plan what you’re going to shoot and storyboarding.

Camera work and framing: Holding a steady shot should be used with a tripod unless your making a realist documentary where hand held camera is used for effect. Zooming is very rare and best to avoid unless you want the appearance of amateur footage. The rule of thirds is useful for framing shots. Combining the shot types and distances is essential to the ‘language to the film’. E.g. is long shots to mid shots. As far as camera angles are concerned is depends of the power and neutrality of the character.

Mise en scène : Mise en scène is all about the atmosphere and continuity. So its very important to chose the type of lighting, props and location to create verisimilitude (believable word of the text) Simple mistakes made are costume, make up, and haircuts which can have effects on the film.

Lighting: These are some tip which can make your film more professional, with a very low budget film.

1) Use natural light- sunlight, shadows, in mist, through rain.

2) Use cheap and artificial light- as long as we have carried out risk assessments, use candles firelights, torches.

3) Create colour filters- you can easily shine light through coloured liquids, vases, ornaments.

4) Position the light source for effect- lighting a scene from above, below or an obscure way.

5) Ultimately lighting a scene is a scientific purpose. Massey describes the equation in helpful clear terms.

Once you have explored what your light sources can provide, experiment with interaction of light with the objects in your frame.