My Prelim Evaluation

Continuity Preliminary Task- An Evaluation

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

My group consisted of Meera Hugh and Laith, three other students in my media studies class. Meera and I worked together during the editing process, whilst also directing and filming, whereas Laith and Hugh mainly took part in the acting and pre-production process.

Hugh as 'The Teacher' and Laith as 'the Student'

(Insert picture of Meera Hugh and I editing/filming e.g clipper boards with our names on)

Meera, and I directed most of the shots, roughly sharing an equal amount between us with Hugh directing all of the shots that did not include his character however as Laith had to appear in every take he did not have a chance to direct. This meant that he had a stronger role during the pre-production process. Overall out group dynamic worked extremely well with everyone attempting to experience all the aspects of producing a piece of film. 

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

Firstly, our group devised a rough plan through discussion and note taking- this included deciding a rough narrative and assigning characters and roles such as who would direct or film.

 Then, to visualize the project whilst determining what shot types would be used and the amount of shots etc. we created a storyboard with each colour representing a different shot type;

The storyboard 

After this we worked on our script which was the dialogue between the teacher and student characters;

Script

Due to some improvisation during filming the script  and storyboard was not followed specifically meaning that we were unsure of what shots included dialogue. Therefore we had to cut a reverse shot and a two shot due to a miss-match of dialogue and the fact that the shots would have been two quick to fill all of the shots planned. However we did this well in our group and our project was not majorly disrupted at all.

During the pre production process we took some narrative theories into account, one being Todorov's theory. This was roughly followed with the Equilibrium being 'The Student' walking to class, the disequilibrium being 'The Teacher' ripping up his homework and the re-equilibrium being 'The Students' excuse and 'The Teachers' facial expression. 

Whilst filming our group took the 180  ˚   rule into account, the 30 ˚    rule, the shot/ reverse shot rule the match on action rule, these were the demands of the brief. When editing we focused on the continuity of the shots.

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What technology did you use and how did you use it?

The technology used;

1. Camera 
2. Tripod
3. Computers
4. Microphone
5. Headphones 

Whilst filming we used a camera that our group was familiar with from previous projects with a microphone attached to it that was adjustable and lightweight ,which meant that we could keep an eye on the dialogue and the clarity of the sound through our headphones at the time. This was very useful as it saved us time. The tripod helped in terms of practicality and the mobility of the shoot and the computers were used to edit. We used a clapperboard and shoot script which helped us in the editing process in terms of organizing and renaming shots. 

clapperboard

To edit we used DOB premier located on the computers in the edit suite, firstly after uploading all of the shots, we renamed the shots that were successful to us  (e.g shot 3 take 5) and that were to be included in the final edit. Then, we cut the files into the desired shot length using the razor tool and ordered them according to the storyboard. We 'snapped' them to make sure that there were no jump cuts whilst making sure that the shots were placed on alternate tracks, again an aim to create continuity. Once the edit was as finished visually, we focused on doing the same with the sound- Meera and I cut the sound in shot 3 as it did not match the action in the shot, this is done by 'separating' the sound from the shot and cutting it. 

DOB Premier 

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

There were some limitations on our group during this project including; Time, Budget, Costumes, Location, and Schedule. As the task had a time limit this meant that our group had to be very organised, this resulted in lunch time meetings and a strict schedule to make sure that every character had the corrects props and costumes in order to make shooting as swift as possible. As well as this, our group negotiated with the other group filming so that we had the same location at different times without disruption.

To make sure that we had enough space in our location ( a classroom ) in order to get the desired shots, our group created a 'top down plan' which included moving tables and chairs;

Top down plan

The fact that we were shooting in a school meant that we had to be aware of sound and other disruptions, for example the school bell could ruin our dialogue and surrounding noise of commuting students and teachers could have also ruined our sound.

The costume for the teacher was made available to us by the Media department and the homework prop was photocopied before hand with spares available for extra takes.

Costume

Both Meera and i had never used Dob Premier before, this meant that a short amount of time was used to become familiar with the software before editing. Overall all of the planning and thought put into every aspect of pre-production, shooting and editing meant that all of the time limits were met and we finished our prelim. 

How Successful was your sequence and in hindsight, what would you improve/ do differently?

I feel as if our prelim task has met all of the demands of the brief, including the three principles of continuity required by the brief and is therefore quite

successful...

The 180  ˚   rule: This was not once broken due to the fact that the positioning of the camera was previously decided. This was important as if this was broken the audience may become confused in terms of the location.

The 30  ˚   rule: We met this through the establishing shot showing 'The Student' walking across the room to meet 'The Teacher', the was a good way in meeting this rule as the camera panned to follow the character and the shot did not seem 'forced' simply to meet the brief. 

Match on action: An example of this is in the shot showing 'The Teacher' receiving the homework after 'The Student' character has passed it in the previous shot. This is also done after 'The Teacher' rips the homework and then in the next shot lowers is arms.

Shot reverse shots: Shots 8,9,10 and 11 are OTS shot/ reverse shots showing the conversation between both characters. These shots were filmed as one and then cut into shot/reverse shots during the editing period by Meera and I.

In hindsight, there were some aspects of the final edit that did not seem to flow, and some simple mistakes were made...

For example in the opening shot it is as if Laith appears out of 'no where' due to the fact that he does not enter from the door behind him. In hindsight, we would have had his character walk through the door;

Opening shot

As well as this, during the first shot he is shown to reach for the door handle with his left hand, yet in the next shot he opens it with his right which is not a match on action transition and would not happen in hindsight.

 

Some simple mistakes that we made included forgetting to write the take number on the clapperboard, and the moving of objects in certain shots such as the shot after 'The Teacher' rips up the homework where a pen that was not there before 'appears' in his hand. In hindsight i believe paying attention to the minute details would have just improved the prestige on the shot clip.

What have you learnt/How will this learning be significant when completing the rest of the foundation coursework?