1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?
For this preliminary task, we were asked to create a short continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with who they exchange a couple of lines of dialogue, and I worked with Yssy and Chrystal. We came across quite a few difficulties because of the size of our group. The first issue we came across was the fact that we had chosen for two of use to be involved in the actual video, leaving only Chrystal to use the camera and film. This meant that we had to spend a lot of time finding ways for all of us to agree on a shot as we couldn't always see the camera feed. Secondly as there was only one person working the camera, we did not have anyone keeping track of takes or shots using the clapper board, but that wasn't too much of an issue.
2. How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?
To be honest, we didn't plan our sequence to the best of our abilities, although we did structure the it to an extent. We managed to do some general planning, for instance a group discussion took place where we covered things such as the dialogue within the sequence, the shots and their framing and also the floor plan, although we did miss out key factors of the preparation process that brought up issues later on in the task, such as the walkthrough of the shots which meant we had to alter or completely change most of the shots we had already planned, which wasting time in doing so. In the things we did do right however, namely the storyboarding, we managed to take into account various continuity techniques such as the 180º rule, match on action and Shot-reverse-shits which meant that editing the sequence later on was a lot easier.
To be honest, we didn't plan our sequence to the best of our abilities, although we did structure the it to an extent. We managed to do some general planning, for instance a group discussion took place where we covered things such as the dialogue within the sequence, the shots and their framing and also the floor plan, although we did miss out key factors of the preparation process that brought up issues later on in the task, such as the walkthrough of the shots which meant we had to alter or completely change most of the shots we had already planned, which wasting time in doing so. In the things we did do right however, namely the storyboarding, we managed to take into account various continuity techniques such as the 180º rule, match on action and Shot-reverse-shits which meant that editing the sequence later on was a lot easier.
3. What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?
There two stages to the task. Firstly the filming of the shots for the sequence and then the editing of the shots we had taken to make the sequence continuous. For the first stage, we used a mini DV sony handheld camera mounted on a tripod to film, along with a shotgun mic attached for improved sound. This was relatively easy to use as all it involved was pressing the record button to start filming and pressing it again the stop. I say relatively easy however because of the checks you had to carry out for sound and tape as they were both external components to the camera. Apart from that there was nothing different than using a phone really. For the second stage, we used the software Adobe Premiere to edit the shots for the sequence into a continuos narrative. We learnt about marking in and marking out on desired takes of film (essentially clipping them down to size) and also about the two platform editing style used to avoid gaps in the video.
There two stages to the task. Firstly the filming of the shots for the sequence and then the editing of the shots we had taken to make the sequence continuous. For the first stage, we used a mini DV sony handheld camera mounted on a tripod to film, along with a shotgun mic attached for improved sound. This was relatively easy to use as all it involved was pressing the record button to start filming and pressing it again the stop. I say relatively easy however because of the checks you had to carry out for sound and tape as they were both external components to the camera. Apart from that there was nothing different than using a phone really. For the second stage, we used the software Adobe Premiere to edit the shots for the sequence into a continuos narrative. We learnt about marking in and marking out on desired takes of film (essentially clipping them down to size) and also about the two platform editing style used to avoid gaps in the video.
4. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?
As i mentioned before, we managed to take into account various continuity techniques such as the 180º rule, match on action and shot-reverse-shots when planning our sequence initially. We also tried to use continuous takes which would make the editing process easier later on. This process involved filming the dialogue sequence from one angle only so that it could be trimmed later in Premiere. This technique meant the dialogue between the two characters would be continuous, and the shot would stay the same throughout. Match on action was important as well, which was the same concept of filming the movement of the character down a hall (for example) from different angles so later on in the editing process, you could switch between angles to make the sequence more interesting to the viewer.
As i mentioned before, we managed to take into account various continuity techniques such as the 180º rule, match on action and shot-reverse-shots when planning our sequence initially. We also tried to use continuous takes which would make the editing process easier later on. This process involved filming the dialogue sequence from one angle only so that it could be trimmed later in Premiere. This technique meant the dialogue between the two characters would be continuous, and the shot would stay the same throughout. Match on action was important as well, which was the same concept of filming the movement of the character down a hall (for example) from different angles so later on in the editing process, you could switch between angles to make the sequence more interesting to the viewer.
5. How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve or do differently?
I thought our sequence as a whole fitted the brief well, but in our eyes it wasn't really successful as the sequence we had initially planned for. The continuity of the sequence worked well and the shots were fine, the only problem is that the story doesn't make much sense. What we had intended was music to be played over the top of the video, however were then told that couldn't use anything that was not filmed ourselves and so obviously our sequence didn't work as well as we thought it would. Also i think that for a first time doing anything like this, our planning was good although in hindsight i think that i should know exactly when are where i am filming, what position the camera will be in and if i'll be able to comfortably film there, as there were some issues of filming in the cramped office with the equipment we had.
I thought our sequence as a whole fitted the brief well, but in our eyes it wasn't really successful as the sequence we had initially planned for. The continuity of the sequence worked well and the shots were fine, the only problem is that the story doesn't make much sense. What we had intended was music to be played over the top of the video, however were then told that couldn't use anything that was not filmed ourselves and so obviously our sequence didn't work as well as we thought it would. Also i think that for a first time doing anything like this, our planning was good although in hindsight i think that i should know exactly when are where i am filming, what position the camera will be in and if i'll be able to comfortably film there, as there were some issues of filming in the cramped office with the equipment we had.
6. What have you learnt from completing the task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework?
I've learnt a lot from completing this task, and i'll definitely use what i've learnt now in future projects. I think that knowing what i did wrong for this project will help me to make sure it doesn't happen again on others, so things like the organisation and preparation of the shoot in future should be better.
I've learnt a lot from completing this task, and i'll definitely use what i've learnt now in future projects. I think that knowing what i did wrong for this project will help me to make sure it doesn't happen again on others, so things like the organisation and preparation of the shoot in future should be better.
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