Ok, so for today's Media Lesson, we were studying the mark scheme which would be used on our 2 minute film openings and using them to mark previous pieces of work from previous years.
We watched 6 film openings in total. We each gave our marks out of 60 for each piece of work, having examined the piece of work, marking out their strong points and areas to be improved.

Having watched these example works, I have noticed a few techniques and ideas I wish to include in my own work, and also errors that I wish to avoid copying.

To begin with, the techniques I wish to copy:

• The use of smooth panning shot
• Create a story plot which is not too clique, but also engages the viewer and sets up the film to continue
• Use correct lighting for the scene
• Use of appropriate Non-Diagetic sounds/music

Errors I've noticed I wish not to copy:

• Lips out of sync with dialogue
• Incorrect use of Dollies, creating "shaky" shots
• Props, Lighting or setting is incorrect/has inconsistencies.
• Titles on screen incorrectly placed/spelled/font used
• Ensure camera quality is set up correctly
• Final product does not give the impression of a tailor.

Before this exercise, I did not have many ideas for what my 2 minute film beginning would be. Following this however, I now have a vague idea of what I wish to do. I envisage a clock hanging on the wall. The camera pans down to see a almost bedroom scene. It is night, the walls are flickering with light suggesting a fire is burning in the room. Looking round the room, we come to see a man hurriedly burning documents. Stacks of papers surround him. We cut to read one pile before he grabs them too and throws them onto the fire. He is dressed for winter wear, think black coat, cloves etc. His features flicker in the fire light. We hear footsteps outside of someone coming to the door. The man looks round to the door in the corner of the room in surprise, his face blacked out. We hear 4 loud knocks on the door, each one the man reacts to with a jump. He eventually stands up. From the floor, we seem him walk towards, and open the door, where by we do not see who it is who has knocked. Rather, the man stands there in shock looking out at the visitor before (from this point I am undecided but this is my most preferable ending) the picture blacks out and there are a few moments of dialogue from the man before we hear a gun shot (or similar) and the film ends. This I imagine would set the rest of the film up to continue to explain either how this man came to be in this predicament, and why he had to die and who murdered him.

The main strength carried through each example is the casting. Each character seemed to fit their role in the camera. It was either their voice, age, height or gender which suited them for the role. Another is the setting. Each example seemed to be choreographed for a specific location, making it suited to that environment. A particular example of this which I particularly enjoyed, was the video dubbed "The Promise" (Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbBuIIooWgc ). It made good use of the lighting, the setting and the casting of the characters e.g. the way they looked, dressed etc.

A main weakness which showed up in many of the videos was poor or incomplete editing. Where lips where not in sync with dialogue which had been placed over the top of the video. Continuity errors,  where a person or object suddenly jumps from one space to another either between transitions or through cutting of material.

The 5 most important pieces of "Technical skills" I consider to be are:

• Good camera work e.g. quality, zoom, direction etc. As the camera is how the story will be captured and so must therefore be set up correctly for the best emphasis
• Correct setting and Mise-En-Scene, without it, the story seems misplaced or dull. It is not received its full potential.
• Correct recording of sound/capturing of sound e.g. dialogue, music etc. These help communicate the story being told and tells the viewer the mood of the scene and are vital to keeping the viewer interested.
• Editing must be continuous without stopping/breaking fluency. This can break the viewers concentration and bring them out of the film. Editing must be completed successfully without breaking the viewers connection with the video
• Special effects/titles must be correctly used. I myself am uncertain about Special effects as nothing beats the real thing. However, if they are used, they must be correctly placed, look realistic to maintain viewers belief in the film and be of relevance to the scene e.g. a random explosion occurring without plausible cause is not suitable.