This week, we began to study a new unit of the Evolution of Cinema. We started to watch some examples of the first ever films that were made in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. After watching these short example films, we were challenged to question the common elements used in the films made in this era. We also looked at how films of this period compared to modern-day films; what elements were similar and what elements seemed unnatural. Furthermore, there were some elements to the film that were absent; these being the use of sound and variety of shot types. After analysing some more short, early cinema films, we were challenged to create our own film that related to this era in small groups. We were challenged to capture some of the common elements that were used in Early Cinema in our own 30 second films. Some of these elements included using a static camera with one single wide shot and refraining from using any form of sound in our film. This meant that we had to rely solely on action to portray a narrative within our film. After some trial and error, we were successfully able to create a 30 second film that told a simple, yet clear story through the use of body movements, gestures and facial expressions. I have analysed this task in more depth in my 30 second short film evaluation.
In addition to beginning to learn about how cinema has evolved, we also started another new unit which focusses on Writing for Television. Firstly, we learnt about the key components that are needed when forming a story. It is important for every story structure to have a clear beginning, middle and end. Also, every story needs to have characters that have a clear meaning and background, a strong narrative outline, and snappy dialogue that matches with each characters personalities. After learning about the basics to script writing, we watched some examples of good, natural dialogue between two characters. This helped us to understand the importance of creating dialogue that flows smoothly between characters. To help us gain a further understanding of this, we took part in some improv activities which challenged us to create our own dialogue on the spot, and then reflect what we said and how natural it felt. Finally, we then began to create some of our own character profiles in which we had to form a backstory for our characters. This allowed us to better understand the characters that we were creating.
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