Blog Post: Camera Shots/Angles Quiz –
“The Written Frustration”
Description of the Activity
We were given the task to tell a story not with words, but with visuals. We used a series of 15 different camera shots and angles each with their own sense of depth and meaning. The directions given to us mandated that we used the specific types of shots and that we learned in class in this project. The goal was to practice visual storytelling and to show that a powerful message can still be delivered without the use of words.
Summary of our Approach
For this project, titled “The Written Frustration”, we chose to make sheet paper and a pen the main characters. Me and my partner used ourselves to move the plot along, but we made sure that our presence never made the significance of the paper and the messages being sent back and forth lose its significance. We set the stage with an establishing shot of the paper to clearly introduce it as the focal point. After that we used a mix long shots and medium shots to show the interaction between the characters and the paper. On top of that, close ups and an extreme close ups were used to reveal the tension building as information was being written and erased.
As the project progresses, a conflict is developed becoming more and more clear the deeper one explores the project. The female character reacts with strong emotion to what she reads, she expresses strong frustration by scratching out words and eventually crumpling the paper. Low angle and high angle shots were included to exemplify emotion and perspective; making the viewer feel the ever growing frustration and intensity. The story closes with a close up shot that reveals the written messages, this provides a sense of closure, while still leaving the viewer curious for more.
Reflection
We think we did pretty well in presenting the paper as the focal point of the story, even though it is an inanimate object that most people would overlook in any normal situation. We believe our careful use and planing of the different shot types we utilized ultimately helped us make the story more engaging and visually clear. We are especially proud of how the extreme close up built suspense while looking very visually appealing, and how the low-angle shots gave power to the emotions of the characters, especially the female character.
If I were to pinpoint something to improve, I would work on improving the variety of my shots and descriptions as some shots and descriptions felt repetitive at times, and we feel that if we stretched out our variety a little, it could have made the story significantly stronger. We would also spend more time making sure transitions between shots feel smoother in terms of storytelling, as some of them felt a little forces at times.
(Here is my project)
