Use of camera in Marmalady

 How did you plan and storyboard the dynamic moments in your trailer. What moments are you particularly proud of in your trailer and were they planned or improvised on location?

Prior to creating and filming Marmalady, we only had a rough idea to what we were going to pursue. Although camera work is extremely vital to a successful production, we thought best to improvise, depending on the location. We used an array of long and mid shots, which enabled the audience to pick up on body language, increasing their knowledge of the characters emotions. Our most significant shot was in fact the "Dream-like sequence" at the start of the trailer, in our case, I was attempting to Focus on the characters, however this subsequently came to use for us, making it our dream sequence, an important part of the trailer. We did ultimately use a majority of the camera angles, in attempt to focus on a larger aspect of the trailer, whereas we mainly progressed with close ups and mid shots, as the dialogue was a big part of the trailer.

Our first opening shot involving characters shows two faded out figures by the ocean as the sun ripples over the waves. This runs as the dialogue of the protagonist narrating plays, "...When you feel like you belong, and the concept of love..." thus suggesting the film is primarily about a girl and a love interest.

We had the idea of having a dream-like sequence prior to filming but we had no intention of having a blurry scene, it happened to just come out that way and made the dream sequence more dream-like without having to use effects.





For our first shot of the protagonist, we wanted to use a close up shot, so the audience create that connection and intimacy with the character. This shot is overlayed with the diegetic sound of narration from the protagonist. This gave an intimate feel to the scene. Close up shots are important in portraying the characters emotion, we see the protagonist wake up from a dream, with a blunt expression, suggesting she is unhappy and isolated from society. This also depicts her sense of unusual-ness as she looks straight into the camera, creating that connection with the audience, also creating a strange feel to her character.

 We previously had the idea of a close up shot on the protagonists as she narrates whilst waking up from a dream, suggesting that she sees the world in a different light, thus enhancing her quirkiness and difference from her peers.

The close up shot of Lola's feet suggest the characters persona. The use of the one sock is significant in portraying her character, by focusing on this as opposed to an establishing shot of her waking up in her bedroom, it sets the attention and focus on her individuality by subtly picking up small features such as the sock. Additionally this links to Barthe's enigma code making the audience think and question to what is the importance of the one sock? or just simply thinking how weird is this shot.

 The mid shot of Ricky is progressed in slow-motion, at about 50% to enhance his features, and the protagonists infatuation with the character. We see Ricky run his fingers through his hair suggesting his vanity and also how the protagonist Lola obsesses over the small things he does, such as running his fingers through his hair, which is usually an unnoticeable gesture, however we are put into Lola's shoes and focus on the small things. We wanted Ricky to be on the phone in this scene as it suggests his popularity, and his constant smile suggests he is happy and content with his life.

 Here we have a mid-shot and a close up of both Lola and Sam. During the phone conversation, we cut to a close up of each character as Sam tells Lola that Ricky will be at the party she's attending. We are then forced to see the characters emotions and feelings by getting a larger insight to their facial expressions. We see the contrast in the midshot where Lola is reluctant to going to the party with her bestfriend Sam as she is unpopular and an outcast, however this changes as it cuts to a close up and we see her face light up once finding out about Ricky. This shot is also progressed to create that connection with the audience, as they also feel empathy towards the character. The use of Lola having her hair in space buns tells the audience a lot about her character, and the fact that she is in childish pyjamas contrasts between her bestfriend who is wearing a bandana.

 This over the shoulder shot is a key shot in our Trailer, as we are seeing it through the bestfriends point of view. Thus then leading to our comic turn in the trailer as we are shown a mid shot of Sam on her phone as she looks up to Lola, it cuts to a close up shot of Sam saying "Are you fucking serious" at this point the music is cut off, aiming to replicate a laugh out loud moment in the trailer. This over the shoulder and close up concept is commonly used in comedies, as we see the scene through both perspectives. Subverting the restricted narration and showing a subtle portrayal of omniscient. We decided to have the characters smiling in these two scenes to brighten up the mood and suggest a comic feel.

 Omniscient narration is also progressed in this extreme close up of Sam texting what appears to be Ricky about the party. For the most part, we see the story through the protagonist by her narration, however this shot suggests otherwise, as this is through the eyes of bestfriend Sam, Lola is completely oblivious. This shot was completely improvised as we were going to progress this text scene with a mid shot of Sam texting Ricky, and then cutting to a midshot of Ricky texting Sam. Whereas, we thought to keep it quick, but still of importance, we used an extreme close up of the phone and Sams hands where we see the individual texts pop up on the screen, creating a more in depth and intimate feel.

 This is an establishing shot, where we are aware that they are now at the party, evident in the bright lights, famous red cups, and several characters we haven't been introduced to. This is important to the trailer as the use of a party scene conforms to that of a teen coming of age genre.

 The montage of Ricky and Lola successfully portrayed an up beat and fun atmosphere to the trailer. Body language was a key aspect to these two corresponding shots. We had the two characters sit on a bench as I captured their intimacy and body language. This helped to portray their love for each other, evident in the way their legs are turned to one another and the placement of their hands are an important feature of these shots. We cut between an establishing shot and a close up to exaggerate their passion and closeness, the audience are brought into their intimacy through the change of distance in the shots.

This is where we are introduced to a Match-Action shot, in which we filmed both long shots and mid shots multiple times before finding which ones suit best and were able to flow together. We progressed with a long shot of the two characters walking down a road, this then cuts as Sam reaches out for Lola, this fit perfectly and is unnoticeable to the viewer, it looks as if it were just one shot, however cropped to a midshot. We were most proud of this shot as it was purely improvised and came out clean and professional.

Another use of over the shoulder shots was shown in the second to last shot where we see a boy at the door of Lola's house, it's obvious that this is Ricky, attempting to apologise for what had happened. The quick pace of this and cutting short left the audience in awe as they wonder what happens next, but are unable to find out unless they watch the movie. This is a clever aspect in trailers, making the audience come back for more.

The Last scene is a birds eye view mid shot of the protagonist lying on the grass, this is overlayed with significant narration "Growing up is finding out who you are and what you want, and I guess I know that now." this was a perfect way to end the trailer as it created an intimate feel between the protagonist and the audience. This type of shot is progressed in many coming of age movies as it is a chance for the protagonist to reflect on the events throughout the movie.