Open Day Film Assignment

As part of a group of 5 we had to plan a recording of an open day in O’Fiaich Institute of further education. We had to brainstorm idea of how best to approach the gathering of footage and keep in mind the output of the final edit. We listed all the courses that will be setting up displays on the open day and composed three questions to ask each individual interviewed. 

Questions:

Q1. What made you choose O Fiaich?

Q2. What do you think of facilities?

Q3. What is your future goal after you leave O Fiaich?

Questions for Teachers:

Q1. What is involved in the course?

Q2. What are the benefits of doing a PLC before going to third level college?

Q3. How would you encourage students to take part in this course?

Equipment:

DSLR Camera

Flip Cam

Batteries

Ideas:

Time-lapse of people entering college

Each Display on the day

Pan of facilities

On the morning of the shoot we composed a check-list of equipment needed and planned out our strategy to obtain the best footage possible. We carried out a test shoot and we realized we might have some problems with ambient noise.  Will decided we will have to use the editing software to adjust and clipping in the audio levels.

When it came to the real shoot we found it difficult to encourage students and people to be comfortable in front of camera. Eventually we managed to get a large number of interviews and quality shots of equipment and demonstrations of course work. We question current students about their views on facilities and their goals for the future.

For the editing process I referred to all the assignments and post I carried out during the year. LINK:

The Art of Good Public Speaking

Donald Trump - The Art of Good Speech

In 2006 – 2007 he was asked to present a 17 seminar conference. He was asked to speak for one hour at each seminar and he would receive $1 - $1.5 million per seminar. Reports claim that Donald Trump was well worth the money because he stayed longer than his required time and answered any questions the audience asked.

Donald Trump is famous for being one of the world’s richest men. He started the famous TV show The Apprentice and he has an air of confidence about him. His body language and facial expression is a symbol of power and wealth well known throughout the world.

Weakness and Strengths to delivery good public speaking

1.     Fluent and accurate speech                               1. Memorized message

2.     Appropriate body language                               2. Unnatural (‘written like’) speech

3.     Remarkable audio and video aids                   3. Frequent register errors

4.     Choice of interesting materials                        4. Reading from notes or screen

5.     Ability to deal with tricky questions              5. Spelling errors in PPP guidelines                                                                  6. Inappropriate pronunciation

Positive Body Language

Body language is considered as one of the key attributes in delivering a good public speech. There is a number ways in which a public speaker can create a positive sense of body language when delivering a speech.

1.     Empty your hands – Natural gestures show a more relaxed approach.

2.     Keep your hands free - Holding your hands together, putting them in your pockets, or hanging onto the lectern will stop you gesturing.

3.     Try to speak to one person at a time – Eye contact with one person in a crowd can ease the delivery of a speech. If the speaker can feel they are in a conversation with a direct person, the speech feels more natural to the speaker and the listener.

4.     Vary your gestures - Once you’ve opened up your body language, check that you’re not making repetitive gestures. Either ask someone to give you feedback, or video yourself.

10 Key tips for Public Speaking

1.     Know your material -  The speaker must pick a topic they are interested in. Try to understand and know more information about the topic, than you include in the speech.

2.     Practice Practice Practice! – Rehearse the speech over and over until you are familiar with each up coming section. It is important to time your breathing at key points and clearly pronounce difficult words.

3.      Know the Audience – If you know some of the audience it is a huge advantage. People tend to be more relaxed talking to friends or people they know.

4.     Know the room – Arrive early and familiarize your self with the environment. Test and ensure all the equipment is working.

5.     Relax – Pace your introduction to the speech. Address the audience and this will buy you time to relax and calm your nerves. 

6.      Visualize yourself giving your speech – Try to imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident.

7.     Realize people want you to succeed - Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining.

8.      Don’t apologize – for any nervousness or problems you may encounter.

9.      Concentrate on the message – not the medium. Concentrate on your topic and not the problems with nerves or anxieties.

10 . Gain experience – The more public speaking and practice you get, the more confident you will become.

Film Studies - My Left Foot

Film Studies  - My Left Foot

The film my left foot is a perfect example of the views from a famous Russian media theorist called Vladimir Propp. He identified 32 categories of action and over 30 character types who have a specific function within a narrative piece. Some of those function are:

1.    The Hero - who seeks something.
2.    The Villain  - who hinders or is in competition with the hero.
3.    The donor  - who provides some kind of magic or helps the hero.
4.    The helper  -  who aids the hero in his or her quest.
5.    The heroine  - princess who acts as a reward for the hero.
6.    The dispatcher  -  sends the hero on his/her way.
7.    The false hero  -  disrupts the hero’s quest and hopes to gain praise.
8.    The princess/heroine’s father  - who rewards the hero for his/her efforts.

In the film My Left Foot the characters have a number of different rolls to play and fit into the functions of Propp’s theory. Christy Brown played by Daniel Day Lewis is the main character in the piece and suffers from cerebral palsy. He could be considered as the hero in this film. He simply seeks to be accepted equally in society but the film is set in a very poor Ireland in the 1940’s – 1950’s were people with a sickness are looked upon as being inadequate or a cripple. Throughout the film Christy saves the family in a number of different ways. He helps his mother after falling down the stairs, he saves the money from burning in the tin, he helps to steal coal for the family and by the end of the film, he is making a lot of money from his work.

The villain in the film could be considered as a number of different people or the disease that Christy suffers from. Christy’s main obstacle he faces is his crippling disease (cerebral palsy). He is in constant battle from day to day to communicate with his family. At one point we learn that Christy’s father can’t even understand his own son due to his illness.  On the other hand the character Eileen played by Brenda Fricker was portrayed as having her own interest at heart more so than Christy’s. She came across as being very miss leading and at one point she tells Christy that she loves him and in doing so lets him believe it could be real love. Later on in the film we learn Eileen is engaged and due to get married to a man called peter.

The donor function can also be applied to Eileen. She may of lead Christy to believe that love could blossom but without her help and speech therapy Christy would have been unable to communicate and realize his potential as an artist and writer.



The helper function could be applied to almost every character within the film. His whole family especially his mother believed in Christy’s ability and they all chipped in to include Christy in everyday life as much as possible. His siblings included him in games of football, his father stood up for him and brought him to the pub on his shoulder and his mother always believed that Christy had something special. Eileen could be considered as the main helper due to the fact she specialized in helping people who suffer from cerebral palsy.

The heroine function could be applied mainly to Christ’s mother. She is Christy’s backbone throughout the film. Christy’s father was a typical male for that period of time in Ireland and he demanded to be respected in his house even if it was by means of violence but Christy’s mother was always on hand to defuse the situation. At one point in the film Christy’s mother refers to Christy as being her heart thus showing her strong love for her son. At various points in the film Christy suffers set backs such as depression and difficult living conditions but Christy’s mother pulls the family through and at one point she single handedly begins to build a room for Christy at the back of the house. The rest of the family comes home and they all chip in with the work. At this point of the movie the family seem to be at their happiest.

The dispatcher function could be applied to a combination of Eileen and Christy. Although a lot of people helped Christy throughout the film, he had to work extremely hard to over come a crippling disease. We could see from an early point in the film that Christy was extremely determined with great strength and drive. With Eileen’s specialist knowledge of how to help people with cerebral palsy and Christy’s hardworking attitude they both managed to over come Christy’s sickness and release Christy’s full creative potential.

The false hero function is the most difficult to apply to any character in this film. No one really benefits a great deal from Christy’s new found fame apart from Eileen but towards the end of the movie Eileen and Christy are both happily in love with their partners. It could be argued that Eileen was considered to have taken the credit for Christy’s work at the exhibition but at no point do we really see Christy or his family having any issues with this.   

The princess is Mary, we learn very little about Mary until near the end of the film. Christy asks her out on a date and she turns him down at on point but later in the film we learn she stayed to watch Christy’s exhibition of work. After the exhibition Mary joins Christy in a showfer driven car and they go to have a picnic on a mountain over looking Dublin.

Film Editing Definition

Film Editing Definition

Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling. Film editing is the only art that is unique to cinema, separating filmmaking from other art forms that preceded it (such as photography, theater, dance, writing, and directing), although there are close parallels to the editing process in other art forms like poetry or novel writing. Film editing is often referred to as the "invisible art" because when it is well practiced, the viewer can become so engaged that he or she is not even aware of the editor's work.

Film Studies - Editing Techniques

Film Studies  -  Camera Shots

As part of my film studies class I reviewed all the different techniques involved in editing from the early days of movie production to the present day. I covered all the different camera shots used in film production and how different shots can convey certain emotions and feelings.

1.     EWS (extreme wide shot) This is a wide camera shot and generally used to set the scene of the film.

2.     WS (wide shot) A wide shot takes in a lot of the environment and can include the actor/ actress.

3.     MS (mid shot) A mid shot is generally used to show the subject from the waist up while taking in some of the environment. It is often known as the cowboy shot in westerns.

4.     MCU (medium close up)  A medium close up is a shows the subject half way between a close up shot and mcu. Less of the environment is included and focuses more on the subject.

5.     CU (close up) A close up shot is used to convey expression in the face of the subject. It is a very effective way of showing emotions from the subject.

6.     ECU (extreme close up) An extreme close up generally focus on the eyes of the subject. This shot is used widely in horror movies to show extreme fear and emotion in the eyes of the subject.

7.     Cut-In. This shot is used to show something other than the main point in the film. For example a cut-in maybe used to focus on concealed murder weapon or something secretive.

8.     CA (cut away) A cut away shot is used generally to show something other than the subject within the film. It can be used to show something other than the main plot.

9.     Two-shot. A two (or more) shot can be used to show more than one specific subject in the shot.

10. OSS (over the shoulder shot) This shot is often used to convey a dialogue between two subjects.

11. Noddy shot. This shot generally contains one subject nodding to the camera to give the impression that he/she is listening.

Basic Editing Techniques

Basic Editing Techniques

The four basic ways an editor can transition from one shot or visual element into another are :

1.    Straight cut  -  An instant change from one shot to the next. The last full frame of picture for one shot is immediately followed by the next shot.

2.    Dissolve  - a gradual change from one shot into another. The end of the first shot dissolves into the beginning of the next with a slow fade.

3.    Wipe  - a line moving across the screen at some angle removing the image on screen and replacing it with the next shot as the screen unfolds.

4.    Fade  - A gradual change from a solid black screen into a fully visible image. The screen can fade in from black or fade out to black.

  

Cutting

CUTTING

The art of editing is based on how the editor cuts the pre-produced film into the scenes to tell the story. An editor may have hundreds of hours of footage to view before deciding where to cut. There are 6 general factors an editor must consider before determining when and where to cut.

1.     Information  - The editor will cut were a scene or subject presents new information.

2.     Motivation  - An editor will cut were the film present motivation to cut. For example the viewer may feel the need to learn something new in the shot.

3.     Shot composition  - The editor can only control the cuts within a film. The director determines the camera angle and where the camera points. The editor then has to get the most out of the footage he is given.

4.     Camera angle  -  Editors have strict rules to follow when cutting between shot. Camera angles can throw the viewer off if the rule of thirds isn’t followed correctly.

5.     Continuity  -  Editors must keep the scenes and cuts smooth to allow the film to flow and the edits should be unnoticed by the viewer.

6.     Sound  - As well as movie clips the editor has to work with sound clips attached to most movie clips. Keeping sound in sync with the movie is extremely important.