Preliminary Task Evaluation

Do you believe your piece of film demonstrates continuity well?

I believe my film does demonstrate continuity well because our film shows the journey of the Protagonist walking to the room then what happens in the room after the match on action of her walking through the door. Also it shows what’s going on in the room while the protagonist is walking to the room, in this case the Antagonist is just sitting their tied to a chair. A good example of this is when it shows the Antagonist in the room you can hear foot steps where the other character is walking.

Have you demonstrated match on action, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule? If so, why are these editing techniques helpful?

My group have demonstrated all 3 of the editing techniques. We used shot reverse shot when The Protagonist and Antagonist are sitting at the table talking, We used Match on action when the Protagonist is walking through the door and we used the 180 degree rule during all of it. These techniques are helpful because it creates verisimilitude, it does this as walking through a door is a day to day activity everyone does. Also their helpful because it makes the film more interesting, this is because it doesn’t just show a one way conversation we can see the expressions on both characters.

How do you feel your group worked together?

I feel our group worked well, This is because we all had an input. When we came up with out initial idea we all agreed it was going to be successful. When writing the script we sat together and thought of it then separated and done different parts to get it done quicker. For example Emily done the storyboard while me and Alex improved the script and made it longer and made it better. We found a time when we could all film and everyone had a part to do when filming. When we had finished filming we booked in times to edit where we could all equally edit. When we had to film again we swapped roles where this time I filmed and Alex did a lot more. Will wasn’t here for the second filming but he had more to do during the editing. I think our group could of improved by working quicker to get it done a lot more speedy so we had more time to edit.

If you were to film this piece again , is there anything you could improve on?

I would improve on the time that it took to do this, I would make sure it was good the first time so I wouldn’t have to re-film it, as this was a major down-fall. Also I would improve on making the script longer and add more exciting pieces to it. And a last thing I would improve on is adding a variety of different shots.

Did you plan your video well or could you improve on this?

 I think we planned our video well, we knew exactly what we wanted and how we were going to do this, I think we could improve on it by getting more editing time to go over what we had and thought more about what we could add to make it even better. Also by having more editing time we could explore the MAC even more than we have to find something different to incorporate.

Did you use transitions within your piece?

We used transitions within our piece, but not as many as we could off. We used transitions at the beginning we faded to white to lead into the Protagonist walking and showing her shoes, this signifies something new, a different part to the film.

We also used different transitions during the conversation and at the end of the piece to allow the piece to run more smoothly before the credits.

Have you learnt anything about the editing software whilst doing this exercise?

I have learnt where everything is on the MAC and what it does. Also I have understood that without the editing software this film wouldn’t be achievable nor any other film.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this film (product)?

 Like I said in the question above without the technologies we have used, these being the camera, dolly, tripod etc, the film wouldn’t of happened. It is vital to have good and reliable equipment to make a successful product. Also without the editing equipment our target would not be reachable so this technology was essential.

The Film!

This is our preliminary task, in this film we included match on action, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

The Filming!

How did you find using the equipment – what was difficult/easy?

We had to film our scene twice as the first time as when we watched back our film the first time we wasn’t happy with it at all and didn’t want to settle for anything less than our best. The first time we filmed I had to act as a replacement to the person we originally had so I didn’t get to film, although I really wanted too. The second time we filmed we set up our equipment as quick as we could so we had enough time to film more than once and could pick out our favourite bits. I found setting up the camera tripod was hard at first but once I had worked out how to do it I could do the second one with no troubles. We set the cameras up in both sides of the room (making sure we stuck to the 180 degree angle!) and this time I got to film myself as we had got another actor. I found this easy as everything on the camera is simple to use but found when you had to zoom in it was difficult as it went to fast or two slow and you had to get the right pace without changing the speeds. Using the dolly was difficult too.

What problems/issues did you face when filming - why?

Like I said earlier I found the zooming a problem as I didn’t want the speeds to change but also found it worked well within the scene. I also found it difficult using the dolly as we wanted to capture the feet moving using a tracking shot, but it was hard to keep in time with the feet, both times we had troubles with this but the second time we re-filmed it was easier as we did not have to push it on carpet. Another issue was we needed the tripod to go higher than its original setting but we couldn’t. Another issue we faced was when Louise walked through the door we didn’t want to capture Joe in the shot so we had to stop recording then start re-filming but leaving Louise in the same place as it wouldn’t look as realistic.

Did you change anything whilst you were filming? If so, what and why?

While filming the first time we did not change anything, but after we watched everything we had filmed the first time we changed it a lot. First we changed the actors this is because Scott wasn’t able to film on the day we were re-filming and I wanted to use the equipment and get use to it ready for when we film next. We also changed some of the shots, we panned the camera round to Louise walking towards the door, we done this as this is another shot we could add to our evaluation. Also we made Louise walk around the room more adding more mystery to the scene. We had to camera’s film on either side of the room as well; this is so it would be easier to jump for shot reverse shot behind each character and so we have a variety of different shots to choose from when we edit.

Did you have to re-film anything? If so, what and why?

Like I’ve mentioned already we had to re-film our whole film, this is because there wasn’t enough varied shots and the camera was shaky, we also wasn’t happy with the environment we filmed it in as we didn’t think it matched our genre. We found re-filming a positive as this made up improve how we are going to film next time, also it made us realise we will not settle for anything than our best. I found re-filming good as I got a chance to use the camera and equipment and it will help broaden my knowledge.

Did you feel your group fully prepared for filming? How did you do this?

i feel the second time we filmed was much better than the first, this is because the first time we had to try and find our actors, also because it was the first time we have used the equipment and needed to get our head around it. The second time we filmed was better because the group knew how to set up the equipment also it was better as we had showed the actors the script before had so they had a chance to think about characterisation. Also we was more prepared as we had spoken about what we were going to film first i.e Louise and Joes dialogue scene then do Louise’s match on action followed by shuffling through the paper to find a sign saying “TOP SECRET” I think we could of improved by all knowing the script of by heart and writing on a sheet of paper different ideas we could incorporate to make it better.

How did your group work together when filming?

The first time we filmed it was hard for everyone to have a part as there were 4 of us in one room and one camera, I was acting and Emily was on the camera so Will and Alex would do parts like watching over shoulder or moving set around. But the second time everyone had something to do Emily was on one camera, Alex was on another camera and I would move from camera to camera suggesting ideas, then we would swap and I’d have ago. Will wasn’t here for the filming as he was ill so there was enough for everyone to do; having a bigger space to film in was especially easier. Our group worked well together, we got the filming done while adding in some good ideas at the same time and having fun.

What did you enjoy most when filming?

I enjoyed the whole experience of filming as i like creative arts, but a highlight for me was experimenting with putting cameras in different positions and seeing what they looked like. Also I enjoyed putting the dolly on the floor and tracking Louise’s feet as she was walking, I liked this as me and Emily had to use teamwork to get it to the correct speed and also we had fun doing it.

Description of Ideas

For our Prelimary task we were asked to create a short piece of continuous media that includes a shot reverse shot, a match on action, a short conversation between two people and making sure we used the 180 degree rule. Our initial idea was to do a mystery genre as we thought this would keep the audience interested. We decided to incorporate a spy theme as it would be something different. We then realised that wouldn’t work as well and kept the same idea but changed it to detective. We thought we would use match on action when Louise walked through the door and came out the other side. We are going to use shot reverse shot when she is sitting at the table opposite Joe saying "are you willing to cooperate Mr Gregg’s?" The shots we are going to use in this film are Close ups, mid shots, tracking, Dutch shot. We decided we would keep our cameras on the left side at all times to stick to the 180 degree rule.    

Storyboard

Script

(Hands sorting through pieces of paper and comes across one saying top secret. Jumps to a shot of the Woman’s feet walking across the ground then a shot to the man trapped tied in the room followed by feet walking on the floor again. Jumps to a mid shot of the woman walking towards the door then jumps to showing the man tied up again then show’s her opening the door and walking through the other side, she then walks around the man and sits down opposite him)

Woman: Are you willing to Cooperate Mr Gregg’s?

Man: (Mumbling)

Woman: (Stands up and walks towards the man and pulls his head back) I said are you willing to cooperate Mr Gregg’s?     

Man: (Mumbling)

Woman: (slides onto the desk opposite him and rips the tape off of his mouth) Tell Me Greggs!

Man: NO! I’ll never break the 210 code!

Woman: (slaps him) Tell me!

Man: you’ll have to kill me first

Woman: (walks round him and whispers in his ear) well if that’s the way you want to play it…. (starts to put tape back on)

Man: Ok!Ok! I’ll talk!

(Woman walks over to the chair opposite and sits there smiling)

(Fades Out)