Planning - A2 FIRST EXAM PRACTICE QUESTION

Describe and evaluate your skills development over the course of your production work from Foundation Portfolio to Advanced Production in relation to creativity

Due to my history of hobbyist film making, I already knew the basics of framing and editing (establishing shot, two-person shot and shot / reverse shots) intended to be learned by the preliminary exercise. However I was able to learn from it nevertheless. During the exercise I practised the importance of subtle camera movement during dialogue scenes to subconsciously keep the viewer interested. During the shoot the idea to use such camera movements was a stroke of creativity which added t the comedy of the scene. Static shots can, whatever the topic of conversation on screen, become tedious to watch – subtle movements such as pans and pitches (left and right, and up and down movements respectively) can add tension, excitement, and comedy values. Our preliminary was comedy based – the dialogue is between two friends, a drama student and a classmate. The drama student is having difficulty trying to choose between two hats as part of a detective costume, so he goes to his friend for advice. However an argument quickly escalates in which each student prefers and argues for a different hat. After each line of dialogue, the student who spoke will move the hats (placed on a table) in order to indicate his preference. A very subtle and synchronized pan following the direction of the movement of the hat adds comedy value by highlighting the movement of the hats, which are the focus point of the scene. 

The brief of the coursework production was to produce the opening minutes of a thriller film. This allowed for huge portions of creativity - together, my classmate and I conceived the plot from inspirations found all over the world of thriller film, but the creativity did not stop there. It was needed in the creation of all the visual effects - the title sequence, the opening shot effect, and in the transition from visual effects to recorded footage. My classmate and I also needed creative filmmaking skills on location in the IMAX tunnels - as our two characters were supposed to be in a secluded space with only the dying secret agent, creative framing and even timing during the shoots were key to create the illusion that the crowds among us were not there at all.