G321 - Preliminary Task Idea

My idea for the preliminary task is to construct a clip which represents a TV drama set in a school. The basic concept is that the male protagonist, Kieren, is going to be running late for school. The underlying tone of the clip is that this is a regular occurrence and therefore could end Kieren in a lot of trouble if he does not show up on time, providing a sense of panic and sincerity.

The clip starts with Kieren's friend, Anna, ringing him to discover his whereabouts. The incoming call will wake Kieren up. I aim to use my first shot/reverse here. It will start on the phone, reverse to Kieren and return to the phone. This is to symbolise the way in which the incoming call, and therefore the phone, have power over Kieren. The clip then goes back to the classroom with Anna on the phone attempting to ring Kieren.

The clip then reverts back to Kieren, this time a close up of him tying his shoes and walking off towards school. Again, the clip switches to the classroom and to Anna, ringing Kieren. This repetition of the scene changing cements the urgency of the piece. Again, the clip goes back to focus on Kieren. In this scene, Kieren is cycling towards the camera followed by the next shot in which he skids the bike to a stop in. This symbolises his rushed arrival at school.

The clip then returns to the classroom. This time, it is a long shot of the teacher who asks Anna about Kieren's whereabouts. This creates a sense of panic as the audience are still unaware of where Kieren is in relation to the classroom. However, this is soon explained as the camera cuts to the exterior of the classroom and Kieren walking at the door. He then fumbles with the handle and as he walks through the door there is a match on action from the other side of the door. As he walks towards the edge of the frame there is another match on action of Kieren walking. He walks around the desk and sits down next to Anna.

The camera then cuts to the teacher standing at the front of room who exchanges dialogue with Kieren. During the dialogue, the camera switches between the teacher and Kieren. The final shot will be a close of the school bell as it rings. This shows how Kieren was not actually late for school and brings with it a sense of calm.

The use of the 180 degree rule will be strictly followed so as not to confuse or disorientate the viewer. I will achieve this by ensuring that characters movements around the set and each other are followed so as to allow the audience to easily make the connections between the positioning of the characters in relation to each other. This will also create a sense of reality within the piece and will therefore make it easily accessible to the audience.