Prelim Evaluation

Prelim Task Evaluation

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

We were given the task of working in groups to film and edit a sequence which includes a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. The sequence must also include match on action, shot reverse shot and use of the 180 degree rule.

I was put in a group with Aidan, Ellie and Matt. We found that Ellie and Matt were keen to work behind the camera whereas Aidan and I wanted to test our skills at acting! Due to me and Aidan spending most of the time in front of the camera, we had to carefully decide on each shot as a group before shooting it to ensure we all knew exactly what shots we were getting. This format of two behind the camera and two in front of the camera worked well because we all had an input into each decision that was made. Although I was mostly being filmed, I did have the chance to film a few shots such as the POV shot of the gun at the end however I would have liked to have taken a few more shots.

2. How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account? 

We decided to have a group discussion where we wrote the script for our sequence and then we had a walk through to ensure that the space was right for the action which we wanted to film. We all had a strong idea of the sequence which we wanted to create so we felt it unnecessary to use our time creating story boards and lists of shots and set ups. Despite having a clear idea of what we wanted to do, a little more time spent planning would have saved time when it came to the actual filming as we found ourselves spending a lot of time during the shoot discussing what shot to film next. I think we should have at least made a story board to ensure we included all the shots which we needed. 

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

For the filming of the sequence we were given a tripod, a small DV sony hand held camera, a shot mic and headphones. We didn't encounter any issues with the camera as it was fairly straight forward to use as the same button was used to start recording and to stop recording. The shot mic proved to be a slight problem for my group as it picked up a lot of background noise which resulted in us having to film the same shot several times. For the editing we used Adobe Premiere Pro which is an editing software I have never used before. Due to my lack of experience in editing and having never used Premiere Pro before, I was rather daunted by the challenge of editing however I found that I got the hang of it quite quickly and actually ended up enjoying the editing process. Through using Premiere Pro I learnt techniques such as how to cut down clips and ensure there are no gaps between each clip.

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

Our main cause for concern was space as the brief stated that we must include shot reverse shot and use of the 180 degree rule which meant that the camera had to be moved around a lot. Our first choice of location was the dressing rooms behind the Seward Studio, however, unfortunately it had already been booked so we were unable to use this space. We ended up using the editing suite however we didn't anticipate the number of chairs that we would have to move out of the suite and into other rooms. This proved to be a slight problem as, directly outside our location, another group was filming so we had to be careful not to interrupt their shoot. We should have thought about this issue before hand to give us more time to do productive work rather than waste time moving chairs.

Another issue which we encountered was background noise. Because we were filming in school and over quite a long time frame, end of lesson bells were going off and there was a lot of disruption from passing school children which meant that we had to have breaks in between filming until the noise passed. Fortunately, we were filming inside which meant there was little noise from wind or birds and overall the edit suite was quite a quiet space to film in. 

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

Overall I think our sequence was successful as we fulfilled the brief and made good use of our time. The continuity of our sequence, in my opinion, is good and we stuck to the 180 degree rule and included match on action and shot reverse shot. I think our match on action with Aidan opening the door worked particularly well as we managed to edit it almost to perfection! We included a range of different shots such as ECUs, mid shots and over the shoulder shots which add variety to the sequence. I think that the ending of our sequence is extremely effective as we don't show the actual gun shot but, by showing the gun as an ECU from the point of view of the girl, it is clear what will happen next. The cut to black is also a strong point as it could represent the death of the girl in the sequence. 

What I think didn't work that well is the dialogue when the interrogator is addressing the girl who is seated on the floor. This didn't work that well as you can hardly hear what the interrogator is saying as he is faced away from the camera which meant that his voice wasn't picked up very well by the shot mic. We could improve this by filming the shot from in front of the interrogator to ensure that all of the dialogue is clearly picked up.

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?

Due to the fact that I did not take media as a GCSE, I feel that I have learnt a huge amount about filming and editing from completing this task. On the filming side of things, I have learnt that planning is very important as it saves time in the long run and helps create a more organised shoot. I have also learnt a lot about how to film different continuity techniques. For example, when filming a conversation using shot reverse shot you should film the whole thing from one side then move the camera to the other side to film the whole conversation from that point of view to save time and create good continuity. On the editing side of things, I have learnt a significant amount seeing as I had never actually edited a film sequence before this task. In the future, if I was asked to edit a sequence on my own using Premiere Pro, I feel that I would now have the confidence and skills to do so.