Elements of low budget film-making

What elements of low budget film-making are evident in Clerks (Kevin Smith, 1994)?

• Low amount of locations
• All in black and white
• Limited actors (Actors play several roles)
• Not many props
• Long cuts
• No popular/copyrighted songs
• Ambient lighting

Continuity Sequence Review/Analysis

Le Package

As a induction task we were given a brief that meant we could only use 20 shots to create a short production, where we could only use one camera movement, and many other restrictions. When we were given the list of restrictions i doubted that we would be able to pull it off. However, after quite a long section of planning we managed to pull of the short with under 20 shots.

Throughout the short we used natural lighting due to the availability and also we felt that if we used artificial lighting, then we would maybe loose the "naturalistic" feel throughout the film. Using the natural light also allowed us to connote a more sinister feel as it made the environment darker.

However, for a few of the shots we used the "Three Way Color Corrector" to make the overall look of the shot slightly darker as the natural light made parts of the shot over exposed. As well as this, the darker colours in the shot connote a darker, more dangerous atmosphere.

In this shot we used our camera movement to show Faye hiding from Luke in the tree to a over the shoulder shot of her looking down at Luke searching for her. This helps the audience  understand that she can see who is chasing her and that she is hiding from him.

An establishing shot is the first shot of the scene showing the audience where the scene is set so they don't get confused when the characters change location. Conventionally the establishing shot has a camera movements such as a pan or a zoom, so we followed this convention with a pan at the beginning of the film.

A close up shot is when the camera is very close to the subject/object the audience need to focus on. We used close ups several times throughout the film, but in this case we used it to connote the significance of the "Package".

This is a extreme close up. An extreme close up is when you position the camera uncomfortably close to the subject in the shot.We used it to show Faye's face when she looked behind her to see Luke chasing her.

 We used a fade to show time passing and from when the field was largely empty, to when the subject dropping off the package was on the bench and then the impressionist comes to pick up the package.
The mise-en-scene in this scene is the male character in the hoodie on the graffiti-ed bench  with the litter on the floor connoting a slightly run down area.

A match on action is when you show the audience a character looking out of frame/shot then you cut to a shot of what they are looking at. We used this technique when Luke looked at Faye walking away and looking back. We cut from a mid-shot of look looking out of shot to a wide / POV shot  of Faye walking and putting her mask on. In this sequence of shots, we tried to create a shot-reverse shot sequence from the wide angle shot of Luke taping my shoulder to a over the shoulder shot of  me looking up at him then a POV shot of us Luke looking at Faye. We accidentally broke the 180 degree rule because we shot the over the shoulder shot over the wrong shoulder, yet we got away with this because of the wide shot of Luke walking towards me on the bench, showing the audience where we were in comparison to each other.

In conclusion i have not learnt that much during this task, as i had already been taught these filming techniques in GCSE Media Studies, though i found it helpful to recap the techniques. On the editing side of the task, i learnt how to adapt the levels of the ambient sound to make it work with the Non-diagetic sound (The music that the audience can here but the subjects in the "Movie World" can not). I prefer to do the editing of a film but i also enjoyed doing the cinematography side of this project.

Photo Connotation Exercise

Strength

This image denotes a teenager doing pull ups on a bar. To me, this  image connotes strength and power because we took the shot from lower down from the subject, giving him the connotation of power. We used a mid/close up to show only his upper body/ arms to show the strength/power he has to lift his body weight over the bar. The dark coloured shirt could also connote danger/ death suggesting that he may be training for some kind of fight. his facial expression connotes that he is struggling to pull himself up. This connotation is strengthened by the slight gleam on his face where the sun reflects off of his skin connoting that he is sweating. The shot is slightly underexposed to make the sky a slightly darker blue, connoting that the mood of the subject is dark and angry.

Friendship:

We used a close up P.O.V shot to connote friendship. There is a very subtle dutch tilt in this shot, giving the overall image a slight qwerty unconventional feel as you are used to seeing shots as horizontal or vertical, The colours and materials of the subjects's clothes and shoes connote a informal gathering, and the position of the way the subjects are sitting connotes a relaxing mood.

Purity:

The contrast of the white against the dark green/black foliage behind connotes that their is always purity and life in every situation, you just have to search for it. White is stereotypically used to represent emotions such as peacefulness and life/lightheartedness or a character. in this case, we used a close up shot to draw the audience's eyes towards the whiteness of the flower to connote life.

Love:

In this image we depicted love using a couple holding hands to connote their feelings towards each other. the pale blue/turquoise is stereotypical of a feminine character, as well as connoting softness and kindness, as well as safety. the dark colours of the male subjects watch and jeans connotes danger and violence, which are both stereotypical representations of men in images and movies. Dark colours also connote  depression and sadness.

Poverty:

This image connotes poverty as it is a high angle shot looking down on the wallet and hands, connoting that the subject is week, which is stereotypically the way that people struggling with poverty are represented. This shot also connotes poverty due to the dull colours of the wallet and the floor which suggests that he is in a urban area/homeless.