Match on Action

 

Match on action (or match cutting) is an editing technique that makes shots seem more fluid and realistic to the audience. A shot may end with a character reaching for a door handle and the next shot will begin with that character reaching for or grabbing that door handle. Another example would be a shot ending with a character jumping in midair and the next shot beginning with that character starting to fall back down to the ground. Without match cutting a scene can look wonky and disjointed with viewers missing certain moments and may find the scene more confusing. A few examples from an episode of Friends can be found above.

Shot Reverse Shot

 

Shot reverse shot is a filming technique where a shot of a character speaking is followed by a shot of another characters reaction and response to the 1st character. The following shot then shows the 1st character again and this continues throughout the scene. Quite often a scene using this technique will have to be shot twice if the film is being shot using only 1 camera. This is so the first time round they can record the 1st characters speech and reactions and the second time round record the 2nd characters speech and reactions. These clips can then be edited together in post-production into 1 fluid conversation. An example of shot reverse shot being used in a scene would be from The Hunger Games, found above.

180 Rule

 

The 180 rule is a rule filmmakers mostly abide by in order to avoid disorientating and confusing the audience. It states that the camera cannot cut to show the same person or object from the opposite side from which they were first shown, as this messes up the direction of action and can confuse the viewer. The imaginary line of action is between a character and whatever object or person they are interacting with. Crossing this line through a straight cut can be confusing for the viewer. However, the 180 rule can be broken without confusing the viewer if the camera pans from one side of the line of action to the other in the same shot, as viewers know where they are. This is explained in more depth in the above tutorial video.

Media Clips

 

This is our first piece of filming, demonstrating different shot types and how we can alter the atmosphere of a shot by the way dialogue is delivered. We're most happy with the location of the third shot which also demonstrated our use of lighting. We got a basic understanding of how the editing software works, also exploring different transitions and use of titles. We'd like to make our shots more stable in following shoots to make it look less amateurish and more professional. As a first shoot without a tripod though, we're still quite happy with our shots. I think the most effective part of this first film would be the varied shot types we use, from close-up in the first shot, mid-shot in the second shot and a long-shot in the final shot. To improve we need to make the shots more stable and realistic, also need to find a way to improve sound as sound quality could be improved.

This was an enjoyable task for us and we're already looking forward to filming and editing more tasks.

Hot Fuzz Opening Scene Analysis

 

Hot Fuzz is a 2007 action-comedy directed by Edgar Wright and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It centers around lead character Nicholas Angel, a by the books determined police officer who is transferred from London to Gloucestershire after making his colleagues look bad.

The film opens with a long shot of a corridor in a modern building. Automatic doors open to reveal a man walking straight down the corridor towards the camera confidently. The sound the doors make as they open is asynchronous as their sound is amplified. This highlights the lack of noise in the shot and makes the character stand out as his footsteps are the only other sound. The audience can connote this character is an integral part of the story as the length of the shot is very long and focuses entirely on this character. The length of the corridor itself and the time it takes for the character to come close enough to the camera so his face can be made out also highlights his importance as the length of the opening shot acts as a sort of build up until the reveal. It is clear the man is a police officer by his uniform and this lets the audience know that police work will be involved in this story. The character is identified as "police constable Nicholas Angel" by a voice-over and by his I.D, which he shows directly to the camera. This works to immerse the audience in the action of the film.

A series of fast-paced shots begin, with a close-up of the characters shoes as he walks down a busy office corridor and a medium shot of the character from a side-perspective that matches his pace. The pace of editing suggests that the protagonist is a energetic man of action. The transitions between each shot are a wipe masked by someone walking past very close to the camera lens. This gives the scene a feeling of high tension as the audience are being shown things from many different perspectives in a short space of time. The costume-work suggests to the audience that this man is very professional and tidy, as his uniform is immaculate. This idea is reinforced by the ongoing voice-over that accompanies this opening scene, which lists all the achievements of, and gives us a brief history of , the lead character. This shows the audience that Nicholas is good at his job.

As the voice-over gives us the backstory of the character we see these events described played out. When Nicholas' time in riot training are mentioned, the pace of the shots increases dramatically. The audience only has brief glimpses of the characters as well as the fire that takes prevalence of these shots as it connotes danger and action. The shots in this segment are deliberately shaky to show the chaos of the situation. This action is sharply juxtaposed with the following shots, which show Nicholas completing a written examination. The film chooses to make out these shots to be carrying on with the action-packed feeling of the preceding shots for comedic effect. The film achieves this by zooming in on the leads face as he completes his test to show him with a serious expression as if in a dangerous situation. Also an extreme close-up shot of the pen as he clicks the end of it is shown, which is jokingly made out to be of importance. This lets the audience know of the comedy aspect of the film as well as the action aspect which is shown in the shots featuring the fire and rioting.

We get some low angle shots of the character back in the present, striding through the police station. This makes the character seem more powerful and confident. Action match is used in the editing to highlight the characters routine and the mundane nature of his job. We get a medium shot of the lead talking to 2 old ladies standing either side of him, then the following shot is set-up exactly the same, except in a different location and with a Chinese couple rather than the 2 old ladies. The action and comedy aspect of the film is reinforced again when we see the lead in an advance driving course. This features lots of high-speed driving and drifting, which contrast heavily to the advanced cycling course seen in the following shot. The driving would show the action of the film and the cycling would represent the comedy. What links the 2 genres in these 2 shots is the main character looking directly at the camera with a serious expression, drawing comparisons between the different shots.

The Bourne Supremacy Opening Scene Analysis

 

The Bourne Supremacy is a 2004 action film directed by Paul Greengrass, a sequel to 2002's The Bourne Identity. It stars Matt Damon and follows the story of Jason Bourne, a CIA agent suffering from amnesia.

The first shot of the film is an over-the-shoulder shot of a man driving down a road at night with terrential rain outside. This stormy weather connotes there is a purpose to this trip. The shots are slowed down and blurred to give the impression that these events take in a time before the events of the film, as if it is a memory someone is struggling to remember fully. As audiences have seen the preceding installment they know the main character suffers from amnesia and that these are more than likely flashbacks from that character. A voice-over begins that says "this is not a drill soldier," intercut with more fast paced shots of the road, the windows of the car and a hotel room door number. This voiceover tells us the character remembering these events is someone who is following orders from an authorative figure. The short fast paced shots of different locations give the audience a small glimpse of what is happening but nothing that can explain these events.

As the short shots begin to speed up and build pace the low, ominous tones that have accompanied the opening up until then begin to take a higher and higher pitch, showing the escalating darkness and violence of the shots. We see a silhoutte of a man lurking in what looks like a hotel room. This tells the audience that the man we see lurking is the same one who is remembering these evnts as we had the point of view shot of the hotel room door. We can also piece together that this man is in this hotel room to carry out orders from the voiceover. The audience then hears non-digetic sound of a woman pleading and crying and getting louder and louder until a gunshot is heard and we cut instantly to a close-up of the main protagonist laying in bed.

This opening montage works to make the audience piece together the different non-chronological events into their own sort of narrative, which takes the form of a man being given orders from someone that he needs to carry out in a hotel room, that involves a woman pleading before getting shot. After the audience pieces together this information they then wait throughout the remainder of the film to have their suspicions of what happened either confirmed or denied. This builds intrigue and tension as the audience do not know the big picture of what happened. The shot of the main character lying in bed is focused and a longer shot than the rest, showing that this is back in the present of the film and what we just saw was a dream the main character was having. The main character, Jason, is never shown in full light for these shots, always in darkness like he was in the montage. This connotes spy work as the characters are sticking to the shadows as if they're hiding, which also suggests what they are doing is underhand or deceptive.

Jason gets out of bed  in the middle of the night and goes to the bathroom. Text appears at the bottom of the screen revealing the location as Goa, India. The text it self is all-capitals and very official looking, and each letter appears in succession as if being typed. This also works the idea of governmental presence in the film. The audience is then introudced to a female character through multiple medium shots. She watches Jason in the bathroom with a concerned look on her face to which he says "it's ok, I'm fine, it's just a headache" This suggests that the nightmare we just saw him having and him waking up in cold sweats is a recurring event as the female character would not be as concerned if this had never happened before. The audience knows this woman is a romantic interest to the lead, as she slept in the same bed as him and throughout the scene shows great care over Jason, noting that he is burning up and attempting to cool him down. This also works to make the audience sympathise for her character. The characters connection is also shown by the amount of two-shots with both characters in.

The opening of the film works to make the audience sympathise for the lead and his romantic interest and highlights the mystery surrounding the characters past which can then be explored further throughout the film.

Saw Opening Scene Analysis

Saw is a 2004 horror film directed by James Wan, who more recently directed the Insidious films and is set to direct the upcoming Fast and Furious 7. The film is not a conventional horror film, instead slotting into a sub-genre of horror called torture-porn. The film follows the case of the Jigsaw killer, who captures seemingly innocent people and puts them into traps that force them to cause great harm to themselves in order to escape death. The film stars Danny Glover as the main detective following the case and Cary Elwes who plays one of the Jigsaw victims.

The film opens with slow, mysterious titles that make the film see more sophisticated than other horrors that would start with quite prominent titles featuring dripping blood and screams. The first shot of the film is a close up of a man submerged underwater with his eyes closed, his face only illuminated in some areas by a small blue light that shows parts of his face. The man suddenly opens his eyes and sits up out of the water coughing and spluttering. There are a few close up shots of the plughole of the bath as the bath starts to drain, with the mysterious blue light also being flushed down the drain. This tells the audience that there is some importance to that prop and raises questions as to its significance. We then have a medium shot of the man getting out of the bath, and we see the scene is played out in almost complete darkness. The fact the location of the scene is kept a secret for the time being builds tension as the audience waits for the big reveal of the situation the character is in. 

The character realises as he tries to get up from the floor that his ankle is chained to a nearby pipe, and he is trapped. Upon this realisation the man starts to cry out "Help! Someone help me!" The writers use dialogue to make the audience sympathise with this character and root for him, as he is clearly disorientated and scared. The reason most fans of this genre pay to see these films are so they can see these awful situations and visualise themselves being part of the film. This also helps the audience to sympathise with the character as once you imagine being in that situation yourself you can see just how terrifying it would be. A loud clanging sound is heard and the audience knows the sound is digetic when the man reacts to it. His confused and scared state is reinforced when he says "is someone there? Hey!" An unknown second voice is heard that seems controlled and attempts to calm the man down. The 2nd man manages to find a light switch and flicks them on.

The sound of the lights turning on is asynchronous as it is greatly amplified to make the reveal of the location more of a shock. The sound the lights make as they turn on also sounds more like an electric shock, which also works to make the scene more scary. We have a high angle shot of the 1st character blinded by the sudden strong light which makes him seem small and vulnerable. This is comparable to the low angle shot of the room itself which makes the location seem more intimidating as well as showing the audience the characters view of the room from his fixed position. The room itself takes he form of an abandoned bathroom, with the floor and pipes rusting away and the tiles filled with dirt. The use of the location is an example of this film conforming to horror conventions as abandoned areas are a staple-point of most of these films. A possible reason for the use of abandoned areas in these types of films are that these locations have been left by civilization and any events that take place inside these types of places are sure to never reach the outside world. This heightens the sense of being trapped and far from safety and therefore also heightens the fear factor of the events. 

The audience are then shown a medium shot of the 2nd man who is older than the 1st, explaining his more controlled approach to the situation. The costumes also give the audience a clue as to the nature of these 2 characters, with the 1st, younger man wearing an open shirt with a t-shirt underneath suggesting a more laid back fashion style. The 2nd, older man on the other hand is wearing a buttoned up shirt, suggesting his is more mature and professional. The next shot begins by giving us a shot of the scene from the 2nd mans perspective, showing the 1st in a long shot. This same shot then pans down on the centre of the floor where a dead body is shown with a bullet wound to his head and a gun in his hand, with a lot of blood surrounding the body. This introduces the gore element to the audience and gives the cinema-goers a small taste of what to expect from the rest of the film. The shot is also accompanied by the non-digetic sounds of a scream, a gunshot and a tense high-pitched sound that amplifies the shock of the revelation. We then get a close up the mans hands, one of which is holding the gun, whilst the other clutches a tape recorder. This shows the audience that these props, like the blue light at the beginning, must hold some significance to the story.

The opening scene concludes with the younger man desperately pulling at his chains which shows his desperateness and maybe lack of comprehension at the finality of his situation. He is yet to accept the fact that he is trapped and instead convinces himself that pulling at the chains may offer some sort of escape from these nightmarish events. The opening scene of the film works well as it establishes the 2 main protagonists without the audience knowing a single thing about them, only the situation they are in. The scene also raises a lot of questions, such as who these people are? Who has done this to them? Where are they exactly? Why is that man dead? What was that blue light at the beginning that went down the drain? All of these questions definitely cause intrigue and make the audience want to continue watching to find the answers. However it could be argued that the amount of questions raised could make the audience feel a little alienated from the film, as they have been introduced to so many plot threads at once without knowing any information.