Prelim task.

Our brief was to create a continuity sequence which involved filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character with whom she then exchanges a couple of lies of dialogue. We were supposed to demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.


Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

For this prelim task I worked in a group of four with Gavin, Mahalia and Enya. Two of us were completely new to media and the other two were more experienced so we worked well in helping each other and bringing new and different ideas to the task. Gavin and Mahalia were our two actors in this sequence whilst Enya and I worked behind the camera. We all had a chance to use the camera and direct the scene, inputting different ideas for angles and movement within the shots. This was the first time I had used a camera to record a film so it was very new to me. We evenly shared out the responsibilities within the group and I feel that our group dynamics worked really well and the task ran smoothly.

How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try and take into account?

We planned our sequence by first deciding on a genre for our film and discussing a narrative which would best suit our brief that would also match our chosen genre (mock-thriller). After deciding how best to create a continuity sequence that fit our narrative we drew out a story board to help us visualise what each shot would look like, and who would feature in each shot. After we had established the order of our shots and the style and type of shooting each shot would need we had a group discussion about how well our sequence obeyed certain rules, such as the 180 degree rule, and how well our film would work as a continuity sequence once it was all filmed and put together. At this point in planning we would usually produce a shot list and a script however, we did not feel it was necessary to make either of these considering the fact that we only had two lines of dialogue and that our storyboard clearly showed what we were going to do. Before filming we went through our sequence, blocking what would happen in each scene. This helped us to visualise how we best wanted the shot to be set up.

The main theory we tried to take into account whilst filming this sequence was the method of continuity. I think that the continuity in our film was successful after the editing process. The group split into pairs to edit two versions of the film, I was paired with Gavin and I think that our edit flowed really well and there were no major jumps or glitches in the sequence.

What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?

The camera we used in this task was a Canon HV30 camera which for the most part of the sequence we mounted on to a tripod which enabled us to get steadier shots. We also used a shotgun microphone to pick up dialogue and Sennheiser headphones to help us check on the audio and see if the microphone was working properly. At some points in the task it was easier to use the camera hand held rather than on the tripod, especially in low angle shots where I had to lay on the floor to achieve the correct angled shot that we wanted.  The film was taped onto a mini DV tape and then uploaded onto a computer so we could import the footage into Cut Pro - a non linear editing programme. This is where we edited the clips so they were all the right length and there were no major jumps in the sequence and we had to arrange the clips so they were in the correct order on the timeline.
I hadn't used this software before and the film editing process was completely new to me, but after a brief tutorial it didn't take me too long to pick up the basics, with the help of my group.


4) What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

There were different factors that we had to consider when planning, shooting and editing as there was a lot to think about during each process.

The factors that we had to take into account when planning were:

• The continuity of our sequence
• The setting of our shoot
• Timing, and organising a time to use the space in which we wanted to shoot so we did not clash with another group's filming
• Who was going to appear in each shot
• Our time limit, and getting all of our shots filmed and the whole sequence edited within the short amount of time we were given
• How well our narrative fit the brief

The factors that we had to take into account when we were shooting were:

• The shot types, the angles and the movement of the camera, not breaking the 180 degree rule
• Background movement - we had to ensure that there was no one in the back of our shots that we did not want there as this could ruin the scene and/or the atmosphere of the shot
• The sound - we had to ensure that the dialogue was picked up and that there was no interference with the sound. At first we had some issues with the microphone and headphones as we couldn't hear anything, only a loud buzzing noise but this problem was quickly resolved
• The narrative - we had to constantly refer to our storyboard to make sure that we didn't miss out on any shots and that the whole narrative flowed really well through each shot

The factors we took into account when we were editing our footage were:

• Continuity was the main factor we had to consider when we edited our sequence. We had to choose the best shots and ensure that they were cut to a good length so that they didn't jump or suddenly cut. We wanted the continuity sequence to flow as best as possible so that it didn't confuse our audience and kept to our brief.

5) How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve.do differently?

I feel that our sequence was relatively successful and it flowed really well after we edited it. However, I think that our sequence didn't follow the brief particularly well as we did not include much dialogue; more of a statement and a reaction which probably doesn't qualify as a conversation. Nor did we have our actor opening a door, as it was already open when she came into shot. Also, our two characters did not sit down opposite each other. Although these are quite minor things, they were still a part of the brief and so we should have followed it more closely. I think that perhaps we got too carried away with other aspects of the sequence.

If we had more time then we could have added the sound effects that we had in mind when filming the sequence. This would make some of the scenes much more dramatic and aid us in projecting our genre which I don't think was shown amazingly well.

Having said all of this, I am overly very happy with our final product. It was the first film I have ever shot and I have lots of fun in doing so! The continuity of the film was successful and I am proud of the sequence that we created.


6) What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?

 

I have learnt very much from doing this task as it was my first ever media film task. I have learnt the basics of how to use a camera, how to plan a shoot and how to edit a film. I think that this learning will be very significant for completing the rest of my foundation coursework as without it I would not know what to do. In the next task I will most probably look at the brief more closely and put more time and thought into the planning of our sequence.