For this task, I worked in a group of 3 to create a montage to improve my filming and evaluating skills in media. We chose a brief that was our source of inspiration to create the 40 second montage, and convey the ideas, issues, themes, moods, emotions that are suggested within our brief.

My first step to create this montage was to design a storyboard that included images of the shots we wished to complete, the type of shot such as long shot, pan, tilt, and a description of the models facial expression, action or object. In order to fill the 40 seconds, we needed to plan 15-20 shots that we could create using different angles of these shots. We used post-it-notes so we could move around the different shots easily to produce the perfect story.

Here is my storyboard that I created with my group:

 

When filming the shots for a montage there was a lot of components that my group had to keep in mind. To make our shoot as successful as possible we used a tripod to keep the shots still and steady and filmed everything at least twice so that there were no issues of loosing footage. We started the camera before the actors perform and don’t stop before they finish  by saying “3,2,1 Action” and making sure the actors wouldn’t continually stop in shots.  I experimented with moving the camera and re-framed as we took the shot from various different angles, distances to create visual interest and variety. I also kept in mind about depth of field, rule of thirds and lead space (in front of where the actor is looking / walking) and recorded close-ups of each shot to show reactions, important objects and significant events.

 

 

 

 

In my opinion I believe my group portrayed the narrative of our chosen brief. This is because we chose different stories that convey that “the best things in life are free” by showing that small things people do and experience everyday are better than people think. This has an impact as it allows individuals to reflect and consider that the small, free things in life can uplift their day and change their mood entirely. Between the clips you can sense some feeling and have a brief understanding of the relationship between the characters, however I feel that there should of been more facial expression in order to portray their feelings and relationship clearly. This is because their facial expressions were exaggerated and emphasized then it would be more clear to the audience and would highlight the brief vividly. The shot which portrayed the most meaning was the shots showing the handshake between two friends. I believe that this showed the cheerful friendship between the actors and how the handshake is a clear representation of this friendship. We used long shots and close ups to represent the reactions of the actors and the action of the handshake. This portrayed that the action of the handshake is a symbol of their friendship and they use this action to remind each other of this, which can uplift their day. There is no progression shown through the montage, however it shows many experiences that can happen throughout a person’s day which is free that can result in them feeling happy and fortunate. We used a repetition of close ups to convey how the person is feeling and how the actions can result in changing their mood which communicates the idea from the brief. I would of liked to personally experience trying out panning shots and tilt to portray the scene, because it would help develop my filming skills.

Strengths of my montage:

• Successful use of repetition of close ups to show the feelings and reactions of the actors.
• We kept in mind the narrative throughout the shoot and considered ways we could of portrayed it effectively.
• We took many shots to ensure each one was in focus and the lighting complemented the vibe of the scene.

Weaknesses of my montage:

• The actors didn’t portray the reaction and facial expression effectively as it should of been a lot more exaggerated.
• We couldn’t film a lot of the shots we had planned because it was bad weather so we had to compromise with the shots to fit around this problem.
• We didn’t experiment with different types of shots such as panning and tilt.

From creating this montage, I have learnt many new skills that will benefit when I am in the production of my own music video. For example, this task taught me the importance of narrative through film and how essential it is to convey this through the characters facial expression to create a successful story to a video. I have also developed my filming skills from this task, as I’ve had to achieve many different shots which will means I will be more confident when recording for my music video. It has also allowed me to begin experimenting with my editing skills as I hadn’t had a lot of experience before this task and I now have learnt the basics. This included adding transitions between my shots, adding music to the background to help achieve my narrative, and learning to cut clips to focus on the part of the video I needed. This has helped me discover the basic skills of Premiere Pro as I will need lots of skills on this software when creating my own music video.