For our first quiz, we were given very different instructions than a regular one. We were instructed to use 15 shots/angles to convey the tone and meaning of a short story.
This assignment was to test our knowledge in Camera shots and angles and how they help develop a story's purpose. We were to use 2 inanimate objects and could use humans as well. My partner and I began with brainstorming some ideas, but we knew we didn't want to use humans in our quiz because we wanted to challenge ourselves and use an object that doesn't have emotions and see if we could convey the right message through our camera shots/angles. When approaching this assignment, I knew I wanted to tell a wholesome story. It was the few weeks of school and I wanted to capture the feeling of starting fresh somewhere new, as I did my freshman year here at Cypress. Me and my partner ultimately landed on a story tackling themes of equality, unity, and the importance of friendships in times of need.
Our story follows a Purple Pen starting their first day at their new high school. Upon arriving to the school, Purple Pen realizes they are the only colorful pen, being surrounded by only Black and White Pens who bully Purple all day. At their lowest point, Purple meets Pink Pen- and together, they pull through the adversities because they know they are not going through them alone. While we did leave most pens faceless, we gave Purple a little cartoon face just to make our close ups on Purple have more meaning/emphasis. But by keeping most pens faceless, we were challenged to show character in different ways. For example, to make the Black and White Pens look intimidating, we used a low angle shot to highlight their dominance over purple (who, in contrast, we used a high angle shot for to show vulnerability). Pens are also obviously tall and straight so playing around with the shots and angles gave them more movement and made them seem less inanimate...like when we used an extreme close up to show a Black pen "shoving" Purple, despite Black having no real hands.
What I think I did well was use the shots and angles effectively to convey feelings and make tone/message clear. I believe the story was well adapted and had a clear narrative that the shots and angles enhanced. What I could improve is familiarizing myself with what exactly differentiates similar shots and when to use one or the other. Also, making sure to define the shot/angles I use correctly. Knowing exactly how and when to use each type of shot and angle will take some practice, but careful consideration for that will show more intention over my different projects/quizzes and strengthen my future pieces tremendously.
Link for quiz: Camera Shots Quiz
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