Continuity Task: Group Task

Our group has been assigned a task that focuses upon the aspects of camera angles and editing, this task requires us to adhere to a set of criteria and must be completed within the next few weeks. We have been instructed to produce a 60 second film clip that will bolster our knowledge in film techniques which will assist us in creating our thriller extract.

Task Criteria:

We must NOT break the 180 degree rule
The clip must include a 'shot reverse shot'
The clip must be filmed in more than one location
Characters must interact
Non-Diegetic sounds must be apparent
Continuity must be evident

Shot Reverse Shot

A shot reverse shot is the use of camera angles that show one character interacting with another (excluded from the frame of the shot), before the other character is shown at that character. To use this shot successfully, it is vitaly important that the group member responsible for operating the camera abides by principles of the 180 degree rule to avoid disorientation. The following is an example of a shot reverse shot:

The extract manifests a shot reverse shot that adheres to the 180 degree rule.

Non-Diegetic Sounds

Non-Diegetic sounds refer to sounds that exist outside of the ficticious world, for example, music and narrations that the audience are able to hear, but no thoes who reside in the diegetic world. Non-Diegetic sounds prompt certain suggestions about the scene and are able to provoke certain reactions from the audience in conjunction with the media text - fast intense music creates suspense, slow emotional music evokes a sense of romance etc. Below is a demonstration as to how non-diegetic sounds reinforce the content of the media text. The following is an extract from Steven Spielburg's "Jaws" (1975), the same clip is played twice, only the first time the extract features no music and the second screening utilises the original non-diegetic sounds that exist in the feature.

By analysing the shots/sounds used in these two extracts we should be able to create a convincing first draft in preparation for our thriller. We must understand that the Mise en Scene, Camera, Editing and Sounds in our clip must all be adequate and recorded to a good standard.