Preliminary task

For this task we had to film three different camera shots which were:

• Match on action
• Shot reverse shot
• The 180' rule 

A match on action shot is an editing technique for continuity editing in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. When we filmed this type of shot we filmed Viki and I walking away from the camera but only from our knees down, so the camera was zoomed in. We then cut to another shot which showed the same thing, however the camera was then zoomed out to show a whole body shot of Viki and I walking away. I feel that we filmed this camera shot technique very well as we showed a basic definition of the shot and what it would look like if in a film, however if we were to film this shot again I would make a more complex situation to include the shot in.

A shot reverse shot is a technique used in conversations or simply characters looking at each other or objects when being filmed. When filming this shot Nicole and I were shown having a normal conversation with the camera first focusing on me when I started the conversation, we then cut to Nicole as she answered my question as the camera would focus on the person who is talking. The camera then reversed back to me as I began to speak, this showed a simple shot reverse shot technique. I think that this shot technique will help us a lot when we are creating our film opening as it will be frequently used if we show conversations within our opening.

The 180 degree rule is shown in the diagram below:

You only use one side of the circle when filming, you don't cross the action line. When filming this shot Viki and I were shown having a conversation and Nicole was standing to one side of us whilst using the 180 degree rule to film us. The shot taken was ok, however the camera was a bit shaky and we were looking away from the camera and that is something we will have to avoid if we use this shot in our film opening.