Coverage Assignment

What is Coverage?

The original storyboard

In professional filmmaking, 'coverage' is a term used to describe the shooting of a scene from various different angles and perspectives. This gives the post-production editor a variety of options when putting a film together. If a scene does not have enough coverage it becomes difficult to make a sequence work. The less footage one has, the less options there will be. Creating a scene with a broad amount of angles is far more likely to keep it's audience engaged than one with just two. In general, good coverage includes a variety of close ups, medium shots, wide angles, establishing (setting the scene) and cutaway shots.

The assignment criteria was as follows:

"Shoot a short scene of your own devising that will last for around 30 seconds. This must involve 2 characters and must involve a small narrative between them. Shoot the scene with enough coverage that you can provide 2 totally different edits of the same scene that convey different meanings."

The Idea

The basic idea for the assignment was to film a roadside incident involving two characters. It was therefore necessary to film from both perspectives so that the blame could be shifted between them.

Still from Coverage Film
https://vimeo.com/109916692

The main shots from the driver’s angle were close-ups and medium shots that were kept motionless to create a sense of calm. However, in the alternate film, the driver is seen to be detached from the situation (texting on her phone, and messing with the radio); the still shots then create a suspenseful atmosphere instead. The audience would be in a panicked state if the shots were jolty, whereas still shots keep them waiting in suspense.

When filming the runner’s point of view, the camera language varied from moving close ups (that were purposely shaky) and wide angles to give a larger sense of space. The close-ups were filmed out of focus to stimulate a rushed and pressurized feeling and also centered the character in the middle of the shot so that the audience could - literally - follow them on their journey.

A shot used in both versions was a shaky video of a flock of black birds all calling out, which is interlinked with the running girl because it gives the scene an uneasy atmosphere as if the birds are an irrational fear. Although this shot was initially completely unintentional, the fact that the scene could be interpreted in such a way that the girl is seen to be running away from her fears only enhances the suspenseful atmosphere further.

Although both versions of the film are similarly paced, each contains a broader variety of shots to enable a tenuous change in angle.The changes between both films are subtle, but on closer inspection there is a significant difference:

• Version 1 shows a driver starting her car, and, at the same time, a girl runs down a road. In this film, the driver is seen to be concentrating on where she is driving, trundling along the road quite calmly and in no rush at all. This is in stark contrast to the runner, who is bolting down the street in a hurry with only a few quick glances behind her before running across the roads. The film is broken in pace by one shot of the car's indicator, which gives a pause in which the audience should feel something is about to happen.

• Version 2 starts in the same way as Version 1, but the driver is now seen to be detached from the scene: she is texting on her phone and messing around with the radio almost carelessly. Ironically, one shot of the radio gives an audio clip of the lyrics 'I'm wide awake' from Ellie Goulding's song 'Human'. Although it is only just audible it is meant to act as a reminder for the driver to pay more attention to the road ahead. Although Version 2 is edited in a similar way to the first film, the change between the clips is only subtle.

But what is interesting is that although the driver isn't paying attention to where she is driving, the audience doesn't seem to register this information as dangerous, as (when asked) they thought both films were almost exactly the same. Whilst the first film insinuates that it could have been either characters fault, the other leans more towards the driver because of the amount of shots that convey a different perspective. 

You can watch the finished film here: https://vimeo.com/109916692