My First Attempts At Filming Camera Shots

    Our first assignment was to create five "sample films" using the camera on our phones. Basically, I needed to use my friends as props in my videos while I struggled to hold my phone still enough to not make someone nauseous, while ALSO making sure I was recording at the correct angle. 

The first sample film that I did was an extreme close up of someone (that someone being my mother) lighting a candle. I thought shooting this in an extreme close up format would be cool, in order to vividly see the lighter light each wick on the candle. Especially since it is close enough to take note of the wax beginning to melt (and also my mother not being able to light one of the wicks). An extreme close up is meant to show extreme detail, and I tried to do that through the lighting of the candle. I believe that this shot was decent, as it did show the detail in the candle, but could've maybe been a bit closer. 

The next film that I created was an overhead shot. The overhead shot features someone walking down a sidewalk. An overhead shot is supposed to be 90 degrees above any character, showing the top of their head. I tried my best to get the most accurate overhead shot possible. I believe that this is my best shot out of all of them. Even though it may seem the most basic, as all the scene shows is a still shot of someone walking, considering the shot's definition, I believe that I truly depicted the purpose of an overhead shot.

Afterwards, I filmed a canted shot, also known as a dutch angle shot. This shot is mainly for showing emotions like uneasiness, suspense, intoxication, and more emotions similar to that. I tried to emphasize a confused/uneasy feeling, through moving the camera from an angle on the left to an angle on the right. This shot is also decent, as it does get the point across and the audience will be able to detect some emotion. However, I feel that I could've dramatized the film of the scene more, to enhance the level of emotion felt. 

The next sample film is an example of a low angle shot. Normally, a low angle shot is used to make a character look powerful, or "larger" aka more important than others. In my video, you see my friend walking down the stairs and the camera is placed at a low angle to have her appear bigger than the surrounding area. I believe that this one was good, as it shows the ideal video of a low angle, but it is slightly missing that powerful, dramatic affect to it.  

Lastly, I recorded a point of view (POV) shot. I recorded myself walking on the sidewalk, and as you can see from the video, a POV shot is made for the audience to feel like they are in the film, as they see what the character sees. In this case, I am looking down at my feet as I walk. This sample film is okay, however, I think it is the worse out of all the sample films I created for this assignment. Although I did create a point of view shot, as you see what I would, in theory, see, while walking. But altogether, I feel that I could've created a better POV, maybe by using a different angle to show what I see, so that the scene isn't as boring to watch.