The camera work element of the production stage is significant with regards to the development of our camera skill to film the best trailer. At this stage we will use many different types of camera equipment, exercising different shots as well as applying different camera angles to a particular setting. A camera diary will also be kept to show our progress and experience with using the camera, this will contribute to the day of filming.
These trailers have been chosen as inspiration to make our trailer. They were chosen based on the stock situations, background, setting and the way they have used and combined different camera techniques to shoot a professional trailer.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITYThe viewing of the film is used at the start of the trailer where an establishing shot is used to show how many people have come to see the film. This an interesting approach for a trailer. Mostly hand-held movements are used in this trailer. Close up shots are used to present the reaction of the audience. This will persuade the audience to watch the film as they can see closely how scared the viewers look when watching the film. Wide shots as well as establishing shots are used so that the audience can clearly see the activity caused by the antagonist. The use of quick cuts compliment the close ups shots of the antagonist.
UNFRIENDEDThe unique selling point of this trailer is the fact that it starts with a video of peoples memories showing that memories can be saved online. A lot of point of view shots were used to present a sense of realism and make the trailer relate to the audience. Zoom in and close ups are used to focus on particular words. An establishing shot shown by the camera on Skype can be described as a point of view shot. This makes the trailer believable because Skype is a popular social network that involves you looking at a webcam for others to see you.
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SELFIE FROM HELLThe trailer begins with a mid shot and steadi-cam camera movement of the protagonist taking a selfie of herself. Tracking is then used to follow the movement of the characters hand as she takes the photo. Immediately after an establishing shot is shown of the antagonist behind the character; where the disequilibrium begins. This acts as a mini jump scare and prepares the audience for more scares to come. The phone is the main prop used in this trailer, the camera focuses on this prop using a series of shots; extreme close up, mid shot and camera angles like low angle.
the conjuring 2Birds eye view immediately grabs are attention. Eventually the camera zooms in to the cassette player which works well with camera shots as it builds anticipation for the audience. Two shot is used to show the comparison of the demon specialist and the priest. This is a technique that we could incorporate in our trailer; it would be interesting to show a comparison between the antagonist and the protagonist as not many horror trailers show this. Tracking is used to follow the running movement of the characters. This is effective because it makes the audience feel as if they are apart of the scene.
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paranormal activity 2Surprisingly, this trailer is completely different compared to paranormal activity. The trailer begins with a jump scare. The recording camera is thrown and lands in a canted angle. The only element that this trailer shares with the first movie is showing the audience reaction to jump scares and other scary clips of the movie. High angle shots around the house are shown after this. This shows the audience how enclosed the area is which makes them feel concerned for the protagonists.
ouijaImmediately an establishing shot is use to introduce the audience to the subject matter. At the same time, zooming is used to intensify the scene of the female entering the house. An extreme close up of the characters point of view is used to show how significant this shot is because shortly after another establishing shot is shown of the character hanging her self. The purpose for this sequence of shots is to shows the audience the characters cause of death. Wide shots, High angles and long shots are used in different ways to show the stock characters using the board. Also birds eye view is used to show the transition between the disequilibrium and attempt .
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These are the camera we may work with to shoot are horror trailer. 4/5 are DSLR cameras used for professional shootings due their high quality and resolution.
so what cameras are we working with?
canon 550D
The canon 550D is good for capturing detail whilst recording a subject moving. This will be beneficial for tracking shots because the camera will allow us to shoot running scenes in good quality. It also has the full HD movie feature . Recording in HD will make our trailer look professional and look like real media trailers. ISO can be controlled to make a shot extremely bright or dark, which is useful for shooting the bedroom scene in our trailer. According to professional photographers and the reviews, this camera is very easy to use due to its grip and manageability; its light weight and small in size which is perfect for hand-held movements. This camera is also good for beginners as all the settings are clearly displayed on top of the camera, providing convenience when shooting our trailer.
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Main Features:
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CANON 7D
Wireless flash control, high resolution and a 3.5 max aperture are the main features that this camera has.They are all helpful for shooting our trailer. In the darkness, flash will be used to focus on the antagonist or the protagonist. Again, high resolution is also needed to record our trailer so all detail is clear to see. This camera has 18 mega pixel which work well with close ups and extreme close up of the antagonist. 8 frames per second make the shutter speed of this camera fast enough for use to record sharp movements. Manual recording control are placed around the LCD screen which is very helpful when it comes to changing the white balance or pausing the recording. Movie crop is a feature good for cropping unwanted space.
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Main Features:
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canon 750d
With 24.2 mega pixels the camera resolution is better compared to 7D and 750D. However, this camera has a smaller ISO range which mean the brightness and darkness of a recording is limited. Having a big LCD screen meaning that it will be easier for us to record and look at what is within the frame simultaneously. It has less frames per second compared to the 7D. Establishing shots and camera frames are the camera techniques that suit this cameras features.
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Main Features:
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canon 600D
Overall this camera has the same features as the other DSLRs. The resolution will allow us to record a high quality trailer. This module is nine point autofocus and 63-zone metering system and is very similar to the 55OD . The maximum continuous shooting rate is 3.7fps. Filters are another usually feature. This camera has many filters like colour tint that could be used in our to show how the protagonist emotions changed and the transition between the the equilibrium and attempt. Effects include soft focus, toy camera, fish eye, miniature and grainy black.
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gopro hero 4
Gopro hero 4 is good for capturing wide shots and bird eye view shots. It very convenient, easy to use and less time consuming compared to DLSR cameras. Its also good for shooting outside due to it advance wind noise reduction. It has the ability to focus on the sound of your voice and block out any unnecessary background noise. We will have several shots out side, running scenes, establishing shots and long shot this we will be very beneficial to use outdoors.
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Main Features:
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DOLLYAllowing low angle footage to be recorded in a stable motion, this piece of equipment is used as a shooting platform.
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TRACKINGThis piece of equipment makes the camera stable whilst following a moving subject or object. It is also good for long takes and straight cuts. It works by connecting the camera and pushing it alone the apparater so the camera can track the subject smoothly.
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TRIPODThe tripod acts as a 'rest' for the camera. its makes the camera steady when shooting a video. Its good for camera movements like tracking and panning.
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shoulder rigThis piece of equipment sits the shoulder allowing the camera operator to movie easily. It also captures steady footage at the same time.
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stedicamStedicam keeps the camera in a fix position. It has a similar purpose as the shoulder rig, to keep the camera in a fixed angle whilst moving .
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gorillla gripThis grips onto any material. The camera is placed at the top where different angles are created due to the position of the legs.
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exploring different camera settings and techniques:
aperture
Aperture is measured using the letter f e.g F/3.5. The smaller the unit the wider the aperture. f/1.4 - 5.6 is examples or wide aperture and f/8.0 - 22 is examples of small aperture.
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Aperture is mostly used to focus on one particular subject whilst the other part of the shot or the background is blurry. This is very useful for horror trailers because it will allow the camera operator to focus on the antagonist for an extreme close up. Wide aperture has a stronger focal point were as small aperture allows all elements within a shot to be seen, it also allows more detail to be seen. Depth of field and aperture essential work together to
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open hole, gap, space, perforation,
eye, gap, opening, vent, chink, f. stop., pinhole, crack, slot, slit, rift, puncture, blur, focus, effect, surroundings, background. |
SHUTTER SPEED
Examples or slow and fast shutter speed. Fast shutter speed allows you to see more detail. Slow shutter speed looks like someone trying to capture every action.
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Shutter speed is the time is takes for the shutter to open at a given setting. In other words when the shutter is open whilst it captures all movement within a frame. It is also know as exposure time, which is the amount of time the digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light. The amount of light is proportional to exposure time. It is hard to make a focal point when using slow shutter speed because the camera is trying to focus on capturing everything that moves within the frame.
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Fast, slow, focal length, exposure, seconds, capture, slow= blurry appearance, fast = more detailed, light,
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focal point
This helps the audience to establish the subject matter within the frame. It can be used to demonstrate isolation, concentration and the will to purse.
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(Focusing on one spot within a shot). This technique is used to focus on a particular subject or object within the frame. It help makes the image or video too professional and contributes to the quality of the shot. If a shot is unfocussed then it minimises the amount of detail in a frame. Auto focus is when the camera automatically focus on a subject but you can manually focus the camera using the focus ring.
It also works well with aperture to create a strong depth of field. |
Focus, blurry background, establishing point, point of interest, aperture, depth of field, negative space,
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iso setting
High ISO; brighter photos/videos, over exposed, strong negative space, 800, 1600, 3200, Presents emotions of paranoia and mental health.
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The ISO (or exposure triangle) setting on a camera determines the bright and overall contrast of the shot and it is sensitive to light. It is also used to change the amount of exposure in a shot. The higher the ISO the brighting the shot. In most cases the highest ISO is 3200 and the lowest 100. This setting is very useful for shooting a horror film because a low ISO setting could be used to shot low key lighting; darken subjects, create shadows and intensify jump scares.The ISO setting for mid key lighting could be 200-600.
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Low ISO; darker photos/videos, negative moods, 100, 200, 400, sometime 800 depending on the natural / lighting of the photo or shot, good for antagonist scenes.
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CAMERA LOG 1: Camera shots
An introduction video explaining the purpose of these logs and what each log consist of.
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A video showing different camera shots that we may use in our video.
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EXAMPLES OF camera shot photos
CAMERA LOG 2: CAMERA ANGLES
EXAMPLES OF CAMERA ANGLE PHOTOS
CAMERA LOG 3: CAMERA MOVEMENTS
software
Abobe premiere is the software i used to edit my camera log videos. This software will also used to editing our horror trailer.
I explored different features on this software such as adding titles:
Different fonts can be used to title a slide, video or photo. You can also add effects on the titles to make the text move whilst the video is playing. This makes the video more engaging for the audience. This visual effect will potentially be used within our trailer.
Different filters can be added to change the appearance of the photo or video.
The filters create different moods. You can use premiere to make colour filters change whilst the video continues to play. Although i didn't use this effect in my camera log videos, there is a possibility that i will used this for the horror trailer.
Overall, Premiere pro is a usually software that can manipulate any video by making selections, cutting , moving and merging clips together.