Preliminary Task Evaluation

Question 1 What planning did you do for your filming task, and how did this planning aid the filming?
In our groups we created an individual story board based on the storyline we had created as a group. We made individual storyboards because we might have all wanted to use different cuts, which in the end we did use different cuts in our groups, so this would establish the differences in ideas. We also created a shot list which re-enforces our storyboard as a reference to the specific shots we each wanted to use and to each character, it has the same purpose as the storyboard but it is in a different format. I found that the Shot list was easier, quicker and simpler to produce than the storyboards. The storyboard labels what actions the camera should be doing, (type of shot) what is happening in the scene and who should be in it. It also lists how many shots we will be shooting, no doubt the filming of our preliminary task is slightly different to the storyboard but it gives us an idea of what our shots would look like and an overview of the film as a whole. These methods of planning helped us gain an idea of how long our preliminary task would be and how it would look, we made a few amendments whilst filming. We filmed too many shots for the walking down the corridor; we were over complicating the situation by trying to film in too many places. We attempted to film in the Arc and in the science corridor. Because of this we started to go off-storyboard and digress away from our planning. We made it harder for ourselves by doing this and managed to accidently film over shots we had already completed. We filmed over the whole conversation that we had previously filmed, we became incredibly frustrated and angry at ourselves. Ultimately we decided to film the whole task again, however they turned out better than the ones before so it ended well. If we had not completed the planning then the result of us filming over what we had already filmed would have been a much longer process for trying to stay within the deadlines if we had not had the shot list and story board. It made me realise how important recording your planning really is and how much of a help it can be! For my Thriller I will definitely use the same methods of planning.

Question 2 What is the 180 degree rule, and how is this important to the filming task?

The 180 degree rule is probably one of the most important rules in filming. Breaking it could cause the audience huge confusion. I find trying to describe it proves to be very hard. The 180 degree rule is to not go past an invisible line which splits down the middle of the conversation of scene. (Look at the image on the right) A classic example of where the 180 degree rule is put into practice is football or rugby games. the camera stays on one side of the pitch as to not cause confusion as to which team is scoring at which end. The camera would stay on the same side of the pitch.

Another classic demonstration of the 180 degree rule is the opening scene in pulp fiction. The camera stays on the same side the whole time as not to cause confusion. It also performs a very clear shot reverse shot. This is almost a perfect example of the 180 degree rule. Pumpking and Honey Bunny are talking in a cafe, but the shots they use, especially the mediaum/long shot, establishing how crazy they really are. This start sets the mood and the expectations for the rest of the thriller film. The end result of this film is that Pumpkin and Honey Bunny decide to rob the diner as they realise they can make money from the tills and the customers. When they make a move to rob it, it shows a really different side to both of the characters and how ruthless they both can be.

Question 2 What shot types and camera angles did you use in your filming task and to what effect?

We used a variety of camera shots in our Preliminary task. First of all we planned which ones we would use. We planned to use, Point of view shot, Tracking shot, over the shoulder shot, birds eye view shot, medium close up, extreme close up and long shot. However we had problems with filming the birds eye view shot. We could not find anywhere to film it where we could have the camera pointing straight down. We solved this problem by finding a balcony area, which was unfortunately very busy a lot of the time. Therefore we stayed late to film when there were less people to be in the shot.We ended up filming in the science corridor. We also struggled with the over the shoulder shot, because the first time we filmed it, we didn't do the characters sat directly opposite each other, but then when we managed to accidently  film over what we already filmed, the second time we made sure we were doing it right. We positioned ourselves (the characters) to face each other opposite! We used some shots for effect, but some just because it was practical to use, like for example the over shoulder shot, we used this because it clearly showed the conversation between the two characters and where they were positioned during this conversation. By filming the shot of Lyndsey running away from behind it shows how she is in such a rush that she leaves behind the other character. The effect of having the characters sat opposite each, enables the camera angles to have the effect of someone looking over the shoulder of the character who is listening, showing the actions of the speaking character. The effect of the birdseye view is to establish where they are walking, also the surroundings and if anyone else is there. 

Question 4

I have had some previous experience of editing, but only with movie maker and another one (of which I can not remember) Adobe Elements was new to me have developed my skills in that I now know how to use a new editing programme which makes me more versatile when it comes to generally editing videos. I have also learnt the easiest way of editing on that specific programme ‘Adobe Elements’ I feel I am fairly confident using the programme, having had previous experience editing videos, it is pretty easy to understand and work out, also the programme isn’t too complicated which makes the process a lot smoother, you encounter less problems whilst carrying out the editing process. I think once you have ‘captured’ all of the footage you need, it is pretty basic, but I have done it before so that worked to my advantage. The only problem we encountered whilst editing was the cameras, some of the leads were broken and some of the cameras not charged which made the process take a lot longer than it should have done which was mildly frustrating. However it only took us about an hour to edit once all of the footage was on and saved. My partner and I had both edited before which made the experience a lot smoother than it would have been. I am pleased with the outcome of our edit and cut, hopefully it will be different to others.