Omama’s Blog

Codes refer to the signs present in a film that convey meaning. Conventions refer to the behaviours in a film that are considered norm. Every genre has its codes and conventions ; whether it be symbolic or technical. I will be listing the conventions of our film genre i.e horror.  Symbolic conventions secluded area young children large houses stormy weather weapons dolls religious symbols Technical conventions suspenseful music low key lighting jump scares flashbacks long takes juxtaposition silence

  We took a few auditions to find the most suitable person for our film. We had the actors introduce themselves in different emotions. Here is a link to the some of the auditions : https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nebedwmAj4SdRsBnqgWOiKxpusY0UwnS

  We had our first official meeting as a team to discuss our project. We discussed the genre we would opt for, the type of story we could go for, the characters we would need and some ideas for the setting.  Here is a picture of our first team meeting taken by Hashir, one of our team members.

  Overall, this task taught all of us a lot as first-timers. As a director myself, I learned a few key techniques while working with a team. Firstly, I learned to plan a project before even starting it. This proved to be very useful for the future while working on our final task (film opening). Secondly, I learned to work in a team which again was very useful for our future project and I know for sure will be very useful in the further future. Thirdly, I learned the role of a director which is really important for me since I will be the director of our future project. Moreover, I learned how to take a continuous shot with a phone, specifically the tracking shot. In addition to this, we learned a few more valuable lessons like having to start the filming a few seconds before the actor starts acting and ending it a few seconds after the actor is done acting. This helps the editor edit with ease. 

My team and I gathered in the school alley and after Azwa approved the actor, he was ready and present at the setting. We had to move the bench in that alley closer to the door and also had to ask the extra students at the location to clear it for us for some time. After explaining the narrative to the actor, I made him act the scene out to see if he really understood his assignment and to make sure Hashir, the cameraman, knew how to take the tracking shot. Hashir used his iPhone 12 pro for filming. Then, we made the actor sit in different positions to confirm where the lighting did not darken his face so we could clearly capture his emotions. After that, we took a few attempts before we had the final product that we took to our teacher who approved it. For the final step, Hannan, the editor, colour-graded the clip at home to make it look more cinematic.

We were given this task in class and had to complete it within the next forty minutes or so. Due to the short time period, we quickly divided our roles and decided that the best setting would be the school alley close to our school cafeteria which already has a locked door in between along with a bench close to it. We also had the benefit of the dim light in that alley as the trees there blocked most of the sunlight. The roles of our team members were as follows : Omama Basit :  Director Hashir Zeeshan : Cameraman Abdul Hannan : Editor (colour graded the clip) Azwa Ameer : Took audition of the main character 

During one of our media classes, we were assigned to film a continuous take of a character and our teacher had told us the narrative to make our first time working as a team easier.  We were to mainly focus on the character's expressions as he/she got up from a chair/bench looking miserable. The character would then walk towards a door and try to push it open only to fail at their attempts as the door has to be locked. After a few attempts, the character gives up, throws her/his back at a wall discouragingly, and slides down against the wall.  This is when we have to cut the clip which is why we hear our cameraman, Hashir, saying "and cut."

This is our first attempt as a group at taking a continuous shot.