On the first day of filming, we started to use the program iStopMotion to capture images for our animation which were captured by a camera connected to the computers. We started off animating the opening titles by capturing clouds moving across the sky with the production information and having a bird fly past to set the genre of an animated adventure. We were all delegated jobs and with in half an hour we had accomplished a quarter of our filming.
We then went on to the first scene of the opening, in which two birds, Phil and Honey, are staring over their eggs in a happy manner. This was an establishing shot as it showed the whole set and the sun in the sky. A high angle is used to show that the birds are not as strong as other characters such as the moose. There was then a close up of the two birds, showing their characteristics at being happy because of their eggs, thus giving off an image of a good family which the target audience, children, can relate to. The colours of the set are bright so that children do not get bored and the birds are abstract colours so that children can find this amusing. The pace of editing was slow because it shows a natural style and gives the audience a false sense of hope for what is yet to come.
The next shot we did was of the Moose, in a darker setting to show they are the 'bad guys' and that the target audience should see these characters as trouble. There is a mid shot instead of a high angle to shot that the moose are stronger than the birds, emphasising that they are stronger. Their body language is dull to show that they are lazy characters and they are eating the grass on the hill to show they are simple characters. Then there is an extreme close up on the eggs to show that they are an important part of the storyline. Children can associate with eggs as they have many encounters with eggs such as Easter. The camera then goes back to the moose who look over there shoulders and see the eggs. This is a close up on the main moose as his eyes change which is a shock for the audience as the moose have shown no emotion so far. This is a hint to the audience that something is about to happen. This is a good use of shot reverse shot between the eggs and the moose which shows a naturalistic style of editing.
After the shot reverse shot, the camera goes to the happy birds again, who are still in control of the eggs, this prop proving to be a key factor in the sequence. In the shot with the birds there is a low angle of a fly, flying down towards the eggs. There is a reaction shot of the birds, the female bird crying, showing that she is a protective mother and the male bird is angry, showing that he wants to prove he is a proper man. The pace of editing speeds up as the scene is becoming more intense and character development is apparent. There is then another close up of the eggs, with the fly reaching them, showing their vulnerability in the scene, compared to the other characters. As the fly is sitting on the eggs, there is a zoom out into a mid shot, showing a reaction shot of the birds. The pace of editing slows down to show that something is about to happen.
The first day was very successful as we managed to do half of all the filming and become more used to the technology and techniques which will be useful for later projects.
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