Rough Cut

Evaluation:
In this lesson we were told to edit our rough cut from our preliminary exercise. So far, its going really well. We've made some progress on the editing and cutting. However it's still incomplete and needs some more editing on. We also need to do a few more shots again and try shooting some in different angles.

We have nearly completed our preliminary exercise. We've used as many shots as possible such as the 180 degree rule, extreme close-ups, panning, point of view shot and etc. Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to re-shoot or try some of our shots in different angles. We've made our whole clip run smoothly. We detached our sounds to make it continuous. Our lighting is perfect for the scene. We've made some clip adjustments such as slow down the speed of some of our shots. We crossed the 180 degree rule although it worked.

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Preliminary Exercise

(A girl walks down a corridor and comes to a door; establishing shot. She opens the door and walks inside. She has pieces of paper in her hand; extreme close up. She closes the door behind her and walks over to a desk. Teacher is sat on chair asleep on a desk; medium shot. The student taps the desk; he wakes up abruptly).

Teacher: I’m not an alcoholic! (He shouts and stands up)   
(Extreme close-up of teacher)  (180 degree rule; right side of the teacher)
Girl: I’ve got the essay you wanted me to hand in. I told you I did it.
(She hands him the pieces of paper, happy with herself).
Teacher: Is that it? Jesus Christ!! (Camera flips to the girls left shoulder) 
(She puts the paper on the desk)
Girl: So, how did I do sir? 
Teacher: Wonderful. (Sarcastically)
Girl: Alright then, bye sir! (She walks out the room).
(Teacher picks up the paper, scrunches it up and throws it in the bin; close up of the bin)
Teacher: Stupid girl. Why am I teacher again?

Media Workshops

Session 1: Personally, I thought that the first media workshop was the best. I really enjoyed exploring representations of teens and creating a DVD cover. The lesson was really fun and fascinating. I learnt how to use photoshop and the green screen. I also learnt some new dvd conventions from the hand-outs they gave us (institutional logos, rating, special features, technical specifications and etc).Overall, it was fantastic and I'd love to do it again.

Session 2: The second media work shop was more complex. It was interesting. I learnt some new shots like the establishing shot; often used to give the audience an overview of the setting and the 30 degree rule which is used with the purpose of creating continuity between different shots within a larger sequence of shots. My understanding on editing for continuity, the 30% and 180% rules and the importance of action cuts has enhaced.I also learnt how to edit a video in a small amount of time without any impressive editing. All in all, it was satisfactory.

How is the chicken used as a metaphor in the opening sequence of City of God?

In the opening sequence of City Of God, the genre is established very quickly as the audience can clearly see that the film is an action movie. The opening sequence starts off with an extreme close up of a blade being sharpened on a rock which signifies danger; whilst this is happening the camera cuts to the knife being sharpened then back to a blank screen continuously. The audience hardly see the blade being sharpened but they hear the sound of the blade being sharpened which is a diegetic sound and that gives the audience suspense and makes them puzzled as they don’t know what the blade is being sharpened for.

Everything in the opening is very quick paced. The editing is very quick and flashy which makes viewers confused. After the blade sharpening, viewers hear a diegetic sound of people drumming however it’s not on the screen. The drumming is in a brazilian style which makes viewers think that the film is set in Brazil. The audience then see an extreme close-up of carrots being pealed and several close-ups of chickens feathers being plucked and being slaughtered. At this point of the opening sequence, the audience discover that the blade was being sharpened to slaughter chickens. In one of the shots of the chicken, it displays how the chicken is truly feeling. The chicken looks very panicky and tense as it can see its fellow chickens being slaughtered. A close up of a chicken escaping into an alleyway is then revealed. The chicken chase can be seen as a metaphor signifying how hard life in the brazilian slums can be. As the chicken is escaping, a close of a black man is presented. The man says speaking in Portuguese “f*** the chicken got away, get it!”.

Then there is a long shot of a gang shown with guns; this perhaps shows that the man is a group leader of a gang who is armed. As the chicken is still escaping, numerous of extreme close ups of the man laughing is shown; he's potrayed as crazy in these shots. Then a crosscutting shot appears of a young boy who talks about wanting to be photographer to his friend and how risky the shot he has to take to become a photographer is. He then comes across the man and his gang chasing the chicken eventually to the middle of the road. As the man and his gang is chasing the chicken, a person comes in his way and he pushes the person down, pulls out his gun and threatens to kill them. This shows the audience how dominant the man.

The man tells the photographer to grab the chicken who is in the middle of the road. As photographer is trying to get the chicken police pull up behind him. One of the gang members say “oh s*** the police”. A long shot of people running is shown. The man orders his gang to not run off and they all point their guns out, ready to use at the police officers who is behind the photographer. There are several close-ups of the gang members and the photographer and a panning shot giving viewers an overview of the setting.  The young photographer is in the middle of all this and doesn’t know what to do; he says “if I run I die and if I stay I die. At that point, the audience know that this young boy is the protagonist.

My Target

My Target for the term:

This term, I shall be focusing on using media terminology, specific shots and mise en scene as they would help enhance the overall effects of my analysis's. I should also avoid talking in terms of zooms as they aren't used in cinema very often. 
I think that I'm currently at a grade C.  Overall, I am aiming to get an A in media AS but thats highly unlikely.