Preliminary Task Storyboard, Reverse Shot, Over the Shoulder & Match on Action

 This is the storyboard for my preliminary task, entitled 'Bag Combat', in which we were required to create a short film that utilised the 180 degree rule, match on action, over shoulder and reverse shots.

Before filming, we had to create a storyboard to draw out the rough outline for each shot. We were required to explain in detail what each panel involved, specify the shot type and illustrate the action.

In the sixth panel I have illustrated a plan to use a reverse shot. A reverse shot is a filming technique in which two separate shots of conversing actors are edited together so that they appear to be talking to one-another off screen (an example of this is Holly and Major Calloway's conversation at the bar in The Third Man). We arranged for our two characters to confront eachother in a reverse shot.

Eyeline matching is used to show the contents of a shot through the eyes of a certain character. The camera takes a shot of the face of a character as they look at something off screen. This shot cuts to one from their point of view, looking at the intended item. An example of this can be seen in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, in which the film's star James Stewart looks out across the block to various other homes, as shown in the film's cinematic trailer. We planned to use this within our preliminary task to highlight what the protagonist is looking at, specifically the culprit character. Using eyeline matching presented some technical difficulties, so we opted for over the shoulder shots instead. Over the shoulder shots, as the name suggests, are shots taken from a third person view over the shoulder of a character, taking a shot of what they are facing toward as well as part of their body.