Camera Shots/Angles Quiz

We were assigned a quiz in AICE Media Studies to prove our understanding of camera shots and angles. Instead of a typical multiple choice or short response test, we were asked to complete a a project. It involved us creating a story made up completely of stills. With only 15 shots, we had to create a coherent narrative. Within the project, a variety of shots must be included, like establishing shots, medium shots, close ups, and more. All of the images were then to be put together into a Powerpoint or Google Slides. Underneath each image, there must be a 1-2 line explanation included of the shot.

I worked with a girl from my class named Sofia. During class time, we managed to put together a draft of the project. We wanted a tragedy (in the lines of the iconic shower scene from the movie Psycho). A rule of the project was that we could only use inanimate objects, so we decided to add some humor to the mix. Our victim was a banana. Our murderer was a shoe. The plan was to devise a safe setting where the banana takes a dip in the school water fountain before meeting her utter demise being stepped on. We thought we would have enough time to take the pictures in class, but we didn't. The fact that the project was due the next day and the fact that Sofia was about to head on an 8 hour plane ride with no wifi all caused for some major project changes. I took the pictures at my house. I had no bananas at the time, unfortunately, so I used a granola bar as my subject. 

With the setup that Sofia and I created, it was very easy to put the rest together on my own. Some struggles that I faced were:

- Trying to balance up the granola bar. The Nature Valley bar has an un even surface at the bottom, so I needed to add a pen to help balance it during each shot.

- It was also hard to balance the granola bar on top of the shower edge. It was somewhat wet still from the last time I took a shower. It took a few tries to create a good arrangement. This involved using a tissue box during a long shot to further help keep the granola bar up.

Some highlights of our project would be:

- The first medium shot, which hints at how the granola bar is going to take a shower. Just enough of the background is seen while the main focus is still on the subject.

- The clever "over the shoulder" shot. It is not exactly an OTS shot, but it mimics the feeling with how the camera is from behind the shoe's body. It's almost as if the granola bar and the shoe are having a conversation. In this case, though, it is actually the shoe ready to pounce on his prey. In the future, I may title the shot differently, just so no one is confused.

- The high angle shot at the end. I was worried that the remains of a dead nature valley bar wouldn't be as funny as the squished banana, but the crumbs turned out to be even funnier. 

In the end, me and Sofia were able to complete the project while full marks on our shots/angles, our content, and our presentation, earning us a 50/50. I learned how to create my own examples of the shots and angles we learned in class, as well as practice creating my own story, however goofy it may be.

(pictures submitted in reverse order)