The preliminary task

Knowing that we had to incorporate 5 specific techniques (180 degree rule, match on action shot, shot reverse shot, a door shot and conversational shots) into our short films, I came up with the idea of an interrogation. Being a fan of 'C.S.I.,' I was familiar with the structure of this type of scene, and therefore I knew how to address the themes and display them in the film subtly. Luckily, myself and Christina took Drama for G.C.S.E., so we had previous experience in acting, which would help improve the quality of the film. I also chose an interrogation because it was a good opportunity to incorporate a wide variety of shot types, including the 5 techniques that were essential. I say a good opportunity because this type of scene is always about power and authority, that is usually displayed by the main protagonists, and a way to physically demonstrate this dominance is through levels. For example in one section of the film I'm standing over Christina, while she's sitting down, to show the empowering persona of my character.

Once we agreed on the scene, we discussed the plot, to give reasoning for the interrogation and thereby giving the film more substance. I knew that conspiracies were an element that's often explored with the thriller genre, so, when I began to write the script for our group, (after confirmation from my two partners), I decided to have a twist at the end, involving a conspiracy. Because the films were intended to be very short, the script reflected that sense of pacing, which, in this context, was a good thing, due to pacing always being quick in thrillers.

Once the script was approved by Connie and Christina, we proceeded to do the storyboard, while our teacher, Miss Peacock, read the script through. As a film fan, on several occasions I've noticed mid shots of main characters from behind, and I've always viewed that as a very powerful shot because it indicates a sense of suspicion and lack of identity, which would particularly work  to our advantage, in context with our plot. I therefore suggested to my group that it would be a good shot to begin our film with, to quickly establish the themes and convey a strong introduction for my character. To make sure we had the match on action shot, we went from the mid shot and continued the same shot to show me walking to a door. The camera then cuts to a close up of my hand on the door handle and then instantly viewing me walking through the other side of the door. This was all displayed on our storyboard in depth, with additional information such as lighting conditions, the symbolism behind the shot and the length of it. For the 180 degree rule application, we only ever placed the camera on 1 side of the room throughout, helping to aid in the continuity editing. The conversational and shot reverse shots came easy to a scene that's main focus was the dialogue, with my idea of Christina and I, for most of the scene, sitting across the table from one another to display aggression.

The following photos are of our storyboard:

You'll note if you watch the film that we made sure we stuck to the storyboard and Incorporated every shot that we originally intended. This displayed our good functioning and accuracy as a team by constantly discussing how we conveyed meaning in our film through mise-en-scene as well as the shot types and dialogue.

This is our shot list:

1. Mid-shot
2. Close up
3. Long shot
4. Establishing shot
5. Mid-shot
6. Mid-shot
7. Mid-shot
8. Long shot
9. Mid-shot
10. Mid-shot
11. Over the shoulder shot
12. Mid-shot
13. Mid-shot
14. Mid-shot
15. Long shot
16. Mid-shot
17. Mid-shot
18. Close up

A majority of our shots were mid-shots because this scene contained a lot of dialogue, and in order capture the actors facial expression and body language with clarity we thought this shot type fulfilled it's purpose. In relation, the establishing, close up and over the shoulder shots created a sense of diversity and variation to make the scene appear less repetitive.

This is our script, consisting of a conversation between mine and Christina's characters:

Media Studies Preliminary Task Script

Characters:

·         Matt – an experienced cop who’s known for doing whatever’s necessary to get results.

·         Alicia – a successful criminal who’s currently suspected of murder.

   

Scene starts with a mid-shot of Matt from behind walking to a door. He then opens the door in the same shot. Once he’s in the doorway, it then cuts to the other side of the door and he walks the rest of the way through. There is then an establishing shot of the room, showing Alicia sitting at the table.

 

Matt: The camera is at table height and follows. Matt paces in the room. So… you know why you’re here, don’t you? (Alicia pays no attention)

 Alicia: Same shot. I want a lawyer. (Still not looking at Matt)

 Matt: Low angle shot of him. He’s on his way. But until then, we’re going to have a little chat. Cuts to a mid-shot of Matt sitting down.  

 Alicia: Long shot of both of them at the table. I haven’t even been charged with anything.

 Matt: Not yet. Mid-shot of Matt. But as soon as your lawyer gets here, you’re going to be charged with first degree murder. (Looking smug and confident)

 Alicia: Side on mid-shot of her. (Suddenly alerted) What?! That’s ridiculous! Where’s the proof?!

 Matt: Over the shoulder shot from Alicia’s perspective. We found your fingerprints on the murder weapon and we have several eyewitnesses that can put you at the scene.

 Alicia: Panning mid-shot of her. I didn’t kill anybody!

 Matt: Mid-shot of Matt. (whacks his hands on the table, and Alicia jumps in fear) Don’t lie to me!

 Alicia: Mid-shot of Alicia. Okay! Okay, I did it! I killed that man. But it’s not what you think!

 Matt: Long shot of both of them at the table. (sarcastically) Is that right?

 Alicia: Same shot. I was just following orders!

 Matt: Mid-shot of Matt. Who ordered the hit?

 Alicia: Mid-shot of Alicia. (Hesitation) The Prime Minister.

 

Close up of Matt shocked of this news. The screen then goes to black, quickly followed by the phrase: ‘to be continued.’


I found filming to be quite easy because we thoroughly planned ahead of time, however I didn't expect it would take 2 hours to shoot, considering it resulted in only a minute or so worth of footage. The only taxing thing about it was multitasking between directing myself and Christina (in terms of the delivery of our lines) and guiding Connie with the camera, because I could only do one thing at a time and it resulted in a compromise of overall quality. I believe, if we had a bigger group, each person would have less responsibility and could therefore focus all their energy on one particular element of the film. The only equipment we used was the hand-held camera which, because of it's size, was easily manoeuvrable, and the tripod that it accompanied, aiding in less shaky camera detection. My personal favourite part about filming was acting, because it's a passion of mine and I like to think I portrayed a realistic interpretation of a rebellious police officer.

The video below is the finished product of our film. It's called 'The Conspiracy,' because the name is short, it's memorable and it mirrors the main theme of the film. The simplicity of it, I thought, also created a dark undertone that establishes the tension that's seen throughout. The plot consists of my character, Detective Matt, interrogating suspect Alicia, with the evidence telling him she did it, with her soon revealing that there's a much bigger game in play...