An Introduction To Filming (Camera and Tripod)

We were introduced to the cameras that we would be using, and were taught how to properly use the camera and the tripod co-operatively.

The camera we were using was a HD Sony camera .

We then practiced with the camera, filming a few seconds of action of people in the group. We then got into groups of three. Along with me in my group was Shanice and James. We were given a short task to complete, and the brief was to film a journey within the limits of the school.

Our group had difficulty deciding exactly what journey to choose, so filmed two or three different journeys.

1) We went to the top of the stairs in reception, and filmed me walking down the stairs, though reception and underneath the balcony towards the canteen. We started with an over-the-shoulder shot before I walked down the stairs, and then panned, following me through the reception. As i was walking through reception, James walked into me, to create a two-shot. I carried on walking under the balcony and out of shot.

2) We then went to the stairs which are by the workshop and set the camera up at the top of stairs. We began with another over-the-shoulder shot before I walked down the stairs. When I got to the bottom James walked up them and I ran round the school so that I could get to the top of the stairs again. I then walked back down the stairs, whilst James ran round to get to the bottom. We did this to create a 'broken record' effect, so that I carried on walking from the top down, and James from the bottom up.

We then filmed a low angle, on the floor, of me walking out of the door to the stairs at the bottom and into the work shop. Then set the camera up inside the work shop, looking down toward the dock. I was hidden inside the cupboard, and we saw Shanice walking into the room. I then jumped out of the cupboard scaring her, and she screamed, and then carried on walking out of the room.

3) The last scene we filmed was a journey of Shanice going up in the elevator in the new building. We did a POV shot of her walking into the lift, and then a low angle of Shanice whilst she was in the lift. As a finishing shot, James filmed the ceiling walking down the corridor towards us, and then tilted the camera down so that me and Shanice came into shot. There were then a few lines of dialogue:

Me - "Where the hell have you been?!"

Shanice - "Don't ask!"

The last scene related back to the 2nd one as an end of the journey, but was still a journey in its own right.

I found this quite a difficult task because the film wasn't very long, so it was hard to initially think of an effective idea to use as journey.