Prelim Evaluation

Tom Trouble

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

I worked with Rakhi, Ella and Alice. We worked together to brainstorm and discuss ideas, create the shoot schedule, script and finally to storyboard our specific shots. Alice and Ella were acting, I was working the camera, with help from Rakhi who was also the producer. Everyone got a chance to be behind the camera as when it was Alice’s scenes, Ella shot them and when it was Ella’s scenes, Alice shot them. The shots of them together were filmed by me and Rakhi. We also brought lots of props to use in the sequence.

 

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

The Storyboard

We planned our sequence in our initial meeting when we decided on a chick flick as our genre in the process of brainstorming. We had other ideas but this seemed the most suiting to the area we were using, what characters we could play and what props we could provide. Next, we created the script that we made sure conveyed the genre through characterising our characters. We specifically decided on what each shot would contain and what type of shot it was in our shotlist and transferred this visually to a storyboard. At this point, we took into account continuity principles and rules we had to abide by. We agreed not to include too many close ups in a row and to not jump across too much space between shots, as this could disorientate the audience. We decided to include a total of 15 shots as this was enough so the audience could understand what was happening and we could include those shots mentioned in the brief, yet it was a manageable amount that wasn’t too much to handle. While choosing the actors, we thought Alice would fit the role as the cool blonde and Ella would suit the innocent girl crushing on Alice’s boyfriend. Lastly, we made a schedule to ensure that everything was planned and in order on the day of shooting.

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

To complete the task, we used a camera and a tripod to film the actual sequence. We used this in a way that made the most of the space and also gave convincing angles that fit continuity principles. We also used adobe premiere pro to edit the sequence after shooting.

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

Me editing

As we weren’t filming outside, unreliable weather wasn’t a problem – yet it didn’t come without its difficulties. We had to alternate between the groups who would film in the hallway at each time and assigned ourselves particular rooms to try and film in. While planning, we chose the media block to film in because disruptions such as other students were kept to a minimum and were much more controllable. However, at one point the bell rung when we were filming in the hallway which was unexpected, so many students walked past the door. This was easily edited out though. While editing, we had to make sure there was no background noise and could only use the shots in which it was completely audible what the characters were saying. We also had to make sure everything flowed convincingly.

 

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

Our sequence was successful as it conveyed the genre and overall followed the continuety principles such as the 180 degree rule. We also included everything that was in the brief: shot reverse shot, match on action and a character coming into a room followed by an exchange of dialogue. I would say that all of these worked well although there was one crucial mistake that we notcied towards the end of the editing process that disrupted the continuity flow. When Ella was hiding the diary, in the corner of the shot you could see a door opening when Alice had already come in. Therefore, this didn't all fit together. To tackle this we just edited out the entire shot, as it wasn't of great importance to the storyline as a whole - and the audience would still be able to understand what was going on.

 

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 a lot from this task such as how to work a camera and a tripod and how to apply the techniques that we have learnt in the lessons. I also used Adobe Premiere Pro for the second time and learnt how to use it to edit and add titles. This will be significant because now, in the foundation coursework I will take notice of minor details that could disrupt continuity. Also, because I know how to use Adobe Premiere Pro, this will save time that I would've spent learning it later so we can make the most of our future time. Doing the preliminary exercise also made it more clear why there was a rule against 180 degree filming as I could see for myself how it doesn't work. Overall, it was a good learning process and was very beneficial.