EVALUATION ON OUR PRELIMINARY TASK

Our preliminary exercise was a continuity task involving filming and editing a character openening 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. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

1) Who did you work with and how did you manage the tast between you?
My group consisted of five people: Jack, Bisma, Charlotte, Mary and myself. We decided the most sufficient way of of accomplishing this task was to manage it between us. In order for each of us to benefit from this practical we took turns in the different jobs - camera work, sound work and directing. The actors were Charlotte and I, Jack was mainly in control of the sound work, Bisma in control of the camera work and Mary the personal assistant.'Camera ready, sound ready, actors ready, roll camera, ACTION.' The benefit from allocating jobs was that we wouldn't waste time in swapping equipment every fifteen minutes as we were already under a strict time limit of an hour. Although we all agreed to our allocated jobs, we still helped out with other roles in order to make our sequence successful. We gave Bisma the responsibility of the camera work because she is new to media and is not yet famliar with everythin. The rest of the team aways gave her help and advice. During editing we all took turns. We had an hour to finish editing and therefore swapped editor every fifteen minutes so that every member of the group got to be familar with the editing hardware and the different tools used.

2) How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use?
In order for any task to be successful, it is essential to have beforehand preperation. Mary was the best drawer in our group and volunteered to draw out the shots on the story board whilst the rest of the group offered ideas of shot types, camera movements and character roles.The story board portrayed visually how the sequence would look like and where the person would be in each shot . It also gave us an overview of the continuity in our sequence. All of us helped out in the dialogue script at the same time. The dialogue had to match with the storboard, therfore we all decided to work on the storyboard and shooting script together. Furthermore we discussed the order of shoots. We decided all shots containing Charlotte by herself in the classroom will be shot first, then all the shots containing just me in the classroom. Finally we saved all the shots of the corridor of Charlotte walking into the room till last as this would save precious time. In the real shooting, it would be a clever idea to shoot one protagonists shots all together as it is much easier for the actor and the rest of the cast. We had a meeting the following week where we decided what props we needed, where the sequence was going to be shot and who wanted to be in charge of what. We also had a quick run through of our sequence, making sure there weren't any problems.

3) What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?
Various equipment and technology was used to complete this task. We used a hardware, camera mics (boom microphones) - to absorb and exaggerate every sound,
headphones - to hear exactly what is being recorded,making sure it is clear and accurate enough, therefore avoiding any suprising whilst editing!
HD mini Dv cameras - to shoot the sequence. I found them very useful as they were small and easy to carry and move.
tripod - to experiment with different types of shots: planning, tracking etc. Also keeping the camera steady and making the shoot look more professional.
premier pro (non linear editing) - to edit the sequence, put the shots in the correct order, give the sequence a meaning and cut out any unwanted scenes.
Razor tool - to cut the shots into appropriate lengths
grab tool - to re-order the shots, so that the overall sequence makes sense
Titling - Giving our shot a title - adding to the narrative image
Fade - Beginning and eding fading in to make it look more smoothe.
White board - this helps us whilst editing making the process quick and efficient.

4) What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?
There were many factors we had to take into accounting whilst planning, shooting and editing. Planning:During planning, weather is one of the main factors we need to consider. Only the first bit of our sequence showed a protagonist outdoors therefore it didn't effect us. However if we were shooting outdoors we would have to make sure it wasn't raining as this would ruin all equipment and technology. We would have to make sure the continuity is correct and that the weather doesn't change noticably between shots - therfore checking the weather forecast is ideal. Time was another factor we had to consider during planning. We had an hour to shoot our sequence, therefore we had to work quickly and efficiently. We definitely benefited from preparing beforehand as this made us organised; preventing any time wasting. Location is another factor to consider; whether or not it is ideal for the scene (is it plausible? ls it logical?) and whether it will be available or not. Our group wasted a lot of time waiting for other groups to finish shooting in a certain location. To avoid this problem again, we would either avoid shooting at school and crowded places, or check whether or not the location is available before hand. Budget is obviously a major issue to take into account. We overcame this, as clothing and props were the property of either the actors, schools or other members in the group. Finally, the sequence was shot in school so we didn't have to hire or pay for locations or props.
Shooting: During shooting continuity, lighting, sounds and shot types were the most important factors to consider. A repeating error in our sequence was the continuity. Between shots we had to make sure the actor was in the same place in the frame and the clothing, hairstyle and props were the same. For example, if someone went to open the door with their left hand and the camera turned 180 degrees, he/she should still be holding onto it with their left hand. Lighting should be the same throughout the sequence (natural and artificial); part of a sequence can't be shot in daylight and the second half in the evening as this is a continuity error and is not plausible to the audience. Artificial lights should not be obvious. High key lighting is ideal as it lights up the studio but also looks realistic and doesn't create unwanted shadows. The microphone picked up every bit of noise - including unwanted background noise, which is why it was essential to shoot a shot more than once and to hold the microphone very still.
Editing: We had to make sure each individual shot was cut appropriatley and was put in the correct order. The continuity should be invisible and should not distract the audience from what is happening in the sequence itself.

5) How successful was your sequence? Please identidy what worked well and with hindsight, what would you inprove/do differently?
Overall, I thought our sequence worked very well. We achieved our brief and demonstrated match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule in the sequence.
The match on action is when


The shot reverse shot is when the two protagonists exchange dialogue. The camera moves from towards an over the shoulder shot of the teacher, to the student, and back to the teacher again.
The 180 degree rule is when the student walks in through the door of the classroom. We see her pushing the door and walking into the room from outside the room. The camera then switches to being in the classroom and watching her walk in. Although the overall sequence worked well, there were three minor contuinity errors which nobody out of the group could actually spot. The first one was when the student walks through the second door. She PUSHES it with her hand yet as she walks in she is HOLDING onto the handle.
The second continuity error is the computer screen the teacher was working on. In the first shot of the teacher, there is a file open on the screen. As the camera moves further back to the master shot the file is closed. Finally, when it closes up on the teacher again, the file is opened.
The third and final error is when the student gets up to leave. After saying 'Thanks for nothing Miss' she tucks in the chair fully under the table.However, the next panning shot shows the chair not tucked in. Although these continuity errors are not that obvious we need to be aware that the every action is the same in every shot. The location was also logical. The class being empty showed that the 'stoppy media student' came in after a lesson to complain about her group when the other group members weren't there. However, the sequence may have been more logical if it was shot in the teachers office. Overall, the continuity was invisible, the sequence made sense and flowed and there weren't any distractions.

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?
The purpose of the preliminary tast was to experiment with different equipment and practise our shooting, planning and editing techniques. We had to also identify and learn from our mistakes (if any).
I have learnt how to use the razor tool, how to title and how to fade. How to work with the microphone and that it is essential to make sure there is no unwanted background noise being absorbed. I have also learnt how to demonstrate a match on action, shot/reverse shoot and 180 degree rule. I have learnt that continuity plays a big part in shooting and that it is essential to make a sequence flow well. I have learnt that it is essential to prepare before shooting as this saves a lot of time and that you don't need to shoot in the order the sequence is going to be shown as this will only waste time. The main thing to take away from this practical is to ALWAYS shoot every shot twice or more, because there will almost always be something wrong with one of the shots. This way, you will also have a wider variety to choose from and you won't have to worry about going back and shooting the shot again. (If you did, it would ruin the continuity as the location appearance or protagonist appearance is bound to have altered). I have learnt from my mistakes and will avoid making the same ones in my real foundation coursework.