Preliminary Exercise

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

For the preliminary activity, I worked with Ciara, Spencer and Catharrin. Once our groups had been decided, we got together and arranged a meeting time to discuss ideas and after discussion, we went for the idea that we thought would work best. We decided Ciara and I would have the main conversation and Spencer would be an extra who joined in later on. This left Catharrin to do most of the shooting however we made sure that everyone got involved and filmed a couple of shots each so that everyone contributed. We didn’t have a group leader as we all worked well together and shared tasks such as the editing and we also each did a part of the storyboard and shooting schedule. Overall, I think my group worked well together and I enjoyed working with them.

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

We planned our sequence during our meeting. Once we had our idea, we discussed how it would all work and produced the script. We then walked it through in our location so we knew exactly what we were going to do and how it was going to work. We could also tell if there were going to be any problems with any of the shots so this provided a good opportunity to change anything that was too difficult/complicated and so saved time when we actually had to shoot the real thing. We then all completed one page of the storyboard and from this worked out a list of shots and made a shooting schedule. The theory we took into account was the continuity theory. We had to make sure our sequence followed all the rules and our sequence had to include match on action and shot reverse shot whilst following the 180degree rule. We had to make sure our sequence flowed so we didnt jump form shot types and took into account the 30 degree rule so our sequence didn't look as if it had a glitch. Overall our seqeuence contained many shots, such as the establishing shot and master shot also including close ups, mid shots and long shots so we had a variety.
3)What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?
To film all our footage we were given a Canon Digital HDV camera with miniDV format tape. This was a simple camera to use so it was easy for us to take the footage and then look back over it to make sure it all looked as it was supposed to. We were also given a shotgun mic so sound could be picked up well. We used a shotgun mic instead of a boom mic as all the filming was in a close range to the camera. We also had a headset to ensure good sound quality. We also had a board that we held up before each shot with technical information so when later editing, it would be easy for us to know where one shot ends and where another begins and also abled us to see the difference between each shot and however many takes we took of it.
After all the filming had been completed, we then moved onto editing using Adobe Premier Pro. We had a dual screen computer so we could see our footage that we had edited on one and everything else on the other. This made things clearer and more simple. The program was fairly easy to use. We used the razor tool to seperate our shots and then we placed them in order on alternate timelines so we could see each shot individualy. We were also able to adjust sound and light. Once everything was in place, we added titles to the start and a fade at the end.
4) What factors did you take into account when planning, shooting and editing?
When planning we had to make sure our location was suitable. Once we had a script written out, we decided to do a run through in our location to make sure everything would work. We had to move a few things around in order to make sure everything would be in frame but the room we had chosen was suitable to the task.
When shooting, there was many things to take into consideration. We had to keep the lighting constant so it looked the same and we also had to make sure the room looked the same in each shot. We had to check that actors were in the same positions from shot to shot and that they were in frame. When shooting the framing was very important and we had to make sure we were following the rules of continuity. We also had to be aware of sound and that it was all clear and could be heard. We also kept a check on the time so we didn't run out and that we were going to schedule.
When editing, we had to think about continiuty the most especially the match on action as this continuity technique is all produced from the editing. We also had to consider sound and lighting and that it was constant throughout and also kept a check on time so we didn't run out and managed to get everything completed.
5) How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what you would you improve/ do differently?
Our sequence started with one girl sitting in a chair at a computer desk typing. Another girl enters from the corridor into the room and also sits down. The two then have a conversation which turns awkward. A boy then enters the room and asks the girls a question which makes things even more awkward. Exchanges and glaces are made between the girls and the boy and it ends with the boy looking down.
Overall i think our sequence worked quite well. We managed to incorporate the continuity techniques and i think our match on action was good and looked very realistic. The conversation between the girls worked well as when we edited we made sure our cuts were accurate. However, there were things that went wrong. Firstly we made a mistake when filming and had to miss out a shot. When the second girl enters the room she places her left hand on the door. When we filmed the close up however, she had her right hand opening the door. Because of this we had to miss out the extreme close up shot which decreased the variety of shots we would of had. Also when she enters the room, I was already supposed to be sitting in the chair typing. However when we filmed the shot, I wasn't in the chair so the shots wouldn't have flowed together. To get round this, we had to cut the previous shot of Ciara walking into the room so she only opened the door a small amount. It would have looked better if she had opened it more as the match on action would then have been more apparent.
If doing this exercise again, i would look over my footage a number of times in order to spot any mistakes that might have occured. Despite the mistakes we made, i think our final piece of footage worked well.
6) What have you learnt from completing this task?
By completing this task, I've learnt that there are many factors and things to consider for example in the planning , there is the location and storyboard and shooting schedule to take into account and to make sure everything will all work. I've also learnt the rules and techniques of continuity and how they are incorporated into a sequence.