Media: 25th January

For our production task we had to plan and film a two minute opening sequence for our preliminary task. We were put into groups of four. For the preliminary task we had to focus on continuity, which is when the scene flows, for this task we had to include someone opening a door, crossing a room or a space, sitting on a chair opposite another character and then engaging in conversation with the other character. By doing this we would be showing that we understand the three main rules we've learnt.

These rules are: 180 degree rule, which is when the actors being filmed are always in the same position while they're being filmed and the camera never moves to show the actors in a new position. This is done because if the camera is changing, the scene that is being filmed will constantly be shown in a different way and this can then be disorientating for the audience.
An example of this rule is shown in the picture below.
 
Match on action is the second rule, this is when the camera follows the action going on in the scene, this can involve someone running down the stairs, following a hand turning a door handle or bringing up a gun.
An example of this rule is shown in the picture below.

Shot/reverse shot is the third rule that we had to demonstrate in the preliminary task, this is usually used in dialogue scenes and is when the camera focuses on the speaker and will keep switching to focus on a different actor every time the speaker changes.

Below is a picture showing this rule.

Continuity was a very big part of our preliminary task as it was that we had to focus on. Continuity is when the scene flows properly and there is nothing out of place in any of the scenes and none on the props or costumes change unless the change is filmed.

Below is a example of continuity.

Opening Sequence

The opening sequence of the film ‘Signs’ is a very simple one, the writing is all in the same font and colour and the background is a plain blue which never changes or shifts in any way.  The first thing that comes up is the production company, in this case ‘Touchstone Pictures’. The opening sequence of a film will always list the production company first and use the word ‘presents’. next title to come up would be the other companies that worked on the film, such as the distribution company. For this particular film the main actor/actors names will appear before the director’s name however in other products the directors name will come up first.
The film title then comes up followed by more of the main actors who worked on the film and them the director.
The above are seen as the most important names that need to be included in the opening sequence and the next thing to be put in would be the casting directors, the music producers for the film, the visual effects supervisors if there are any in the product. After this the costume director, and editor of the film, will be shown as well as the production designer, and the director of photography, if there was one, and the executive producers. And the last thing to be included in the opening sequence would be producer, writer and additional directors. These could often be the same people.