Preliminary Evaluation

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

For this task I was working with Kerry and Jay. We did not have an assigned group leader but mainly worked to each others strengths. In the pre-production meeting we were all keen to put forward our ideas and were quick to come up with conclusions and solutions to problems. As the most confident artist, I sketched the storyboard whilst Kerry did the script and Jay did the shot schedule. We worked very efficiently in the meeting and all had a very clear idea of the plan.

After learning about all the different roles taken during the production of film we decided to assign ourselves these rolls. Again we solved this problem by working to our strengths and I ended up working the camera and sound, whilst Kerry and Jay acted. Sometimes, when Jay was not in shot, for example when Kerry was entering the building, Jay switched roles to the production assistant. We were very organised during the shoot and even had time to reflect and shoot some extra shots.

During the editing process we all took turns to edit the scene however, I took control more at this stage of the production as the most confident user of the software. We all voiced our opinions clearly and collaborated to produce the finial sequence. We worked very efficiently as a group.

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

We felt that it would be essential to have a meeting to begin the pre-production planning. Firstly, we established the jobs that had to be done and got to work. After brainstroming ideas and finalising the script started to think about location and lighting. We wanted our sequence to be simple but different; and the difference came in our choice of as our only light source was from a projected film. We knew this would be challenging and potentially disasterous but decided to press on with 'plan B' being just to turn the lights back on.

After casting our roles and getting permission to use one of our media classrooms we had a walk through of our sequence where we focussed on character actions and camera positions. This was really helpful as I as the cameraman got to test out which shots would work and which would not. From this walkthrough we devised a shot list and then finalised this by drawing out a rough storyboard.

We used a number of theories when planning our sequence starting with the narrative theory for our script. Although short and simple, there was a clear plot and sense of charater. When drawing our storyboard we took into account the use of different distances, angles, and levels to give different connotations to the images and also followed the principles of continuity to help make our sequence flow and make sense.

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

Hardware:

- Cannon Digital Mini-DV tape

- Tripod

- Marker board

- Shotgun Mic

- PC (non-linear editing)

Software:

- Adobe Premiere Pro

For our sequence we were using video and audio, with the shotgun mic attatched to the top of the camera. The camera operator (i.e myself) used headphones to listen to the captured sound. The footage off the tape was captured into Adobe Premiere Pro and we began the editing process. We edited between multiple tracks and used tools such as the razor for basic clip editing. We also used envelopes for the opacity and volume to create a fade out at the end of the sequence. At the beginning of our sequence we used the 'create title' function to add in the name of our sequence and our names. We used two screens whilst editing, one for the source monitor and timeline, and one dedicated to the main output.

What factors did you take into account when planning shooting and editing?

There were many factors to consider throughout the task. The main factor was probably how much time we had to plan, shoot, and edit, as this gave us a clear idea of how long the sequence would have to be and how fast we would have to work in order to achieve this. From here, once we had a shot list we could work out how much time we would have to spend in each set up on the day of the shoot. We also had to consider the location and the issues surrounding it such as noise, lighting, and other groups needing to use the same space. Luckily for us, we did not have to fight over locations as our teacher gave us different rooms within the building, however there was a high demand for the lobby area which we resolved by filming our opening shots last and after the other groups had finished. We solved the problem of noise by simply closing the windows in our location room and we used the red 'on-air' light to stop people from wandering into the scene. We had a clear idea of our lighting wants from the planning meetings and we achieved the film effect by having a film played on a computer and projected onto a screen, however we did have to go to the lighter shots in the film to stop the footage from looking completly dark. When editing we had to consider carefully the actions of the actors to achieve matches on action. For example, we had done a rough edit where we realised that Kerry's hand were on the table, and in the next shot, underneath the table. We did not appreciate it whilst filming but it is so important that the actors play the scene the same way every time.

How successful was your sequence?

Our sequence is about a boy (Jay) who is watching 'The Island' (a great film) when a girl (Kerry) enters and asks Jay numerous questions about the film, distracting him and annoying him. The conversation ends when Jay has had enough and tells Kerry to "sshhhhh".

The beginning of our sequence works well thanks to the great matches on action; when Kerry opens the door, and sits down in the chair. It is also good how the room that she enters is dark and has the film playing. However, the box visible in the lobby area looks messy ruining the 'mise en scene' and there could have been a cutaway to Kerry's hand on the door handle. The master shot is a good establishing one clearly showing the positions of the two characters however the reflection created by the film on the glass behind looks strange but unfortunately we had not taken this into account when planning it. It would have looked better if the projector was at the back of the room so the master shot was showing the film being projected however we did not have the luxury of moving objects like the projector or the window!

The cuts between the two over-the-shoulder perspectives worked brilliantly to create the shot-reverse-shot that was required and again we included more seemless match-cuts during actions and even dialogue. When editing I really tried not to just cut between dialogue and action but during as this is what happens in real films. The ending to the sequence also works well as the cut from the master shot after the long pause to the close-up of Kerry's final interruption really involves the audience and immerses them in how annoyed Jay is feeling towards these unwanted interruptions.

The main problem with our sequence is the darkness which resulted in flat lighting throughout the scene in the room where the film is on. Although the film sometimes does enough to light up the characters and the flickering effect works perfectly, and extra light source is needed to give the lighting an extra boost. If we were to redo the sequence we would probably try it with one of the curtains out of shot open or maybe even experimenting with different artificial lights and posistions.

Overall I think our sequence worked extremely well to demonstrate the principles of continuity. Matches on action were almost perfect and we had a clear sense of story and character. There were issuses to do with the lighting which could be improved if tackled again and there could have been a cut away when Kerry opened the door, but I am very happy with our groups final result.

What have you learnt from completing this task?

From doing this task I have experienced factors to consider when doing a film project and also mistakes that can be made. I have identified key areas which need particular attention such as lighting and the action of actors. We did not put much thought to it at the time, and luckily it just happened, but I now realise the importance of the actors acting the scene the same way every time. This is important if you are trying to achieve matches on action as your actor has to be doing the same thing from different angles.