Preliminary task evaluation

Preliminary task evaluation:

The filming aspect of our preliminary task was encouraging. It allowed me to demonstrate and experiment with different camera angles and movements. I filmed the criminal entering using a still, medium shot and maintaining the stationary position while the door closed slowly, in order to build the atmosphere around the character, connoting the criminal had another side to him which is expressed towards the end of the prelim. I incorporated the use of a panning shot when the detectives and the criminal’s lawyer were talking about the case. I did this because we had the idea to implement a panning shot in our real opening sequence and therefore we decided to try it out. Also, I filmed some over-the-shoulder shots as I thought it would suit the idea regarding an interview. A birds-eye-view shot was filmed because the whole point of the prelim task is to enable us to experiment with different camera shots in order to prepare us for the filming of our actual opening sequence. In addition, I managed to film a two shot of both the criminal and his lawyer and then there is another two shot of myself and my college – this was done in order to connote the bond between the ‘detectives’ and the criminal and his lawyer. Overall, we as a group had a clear understanding of how to use the camera and how to execute a good range of angles into our prelim task in order to give the audience a sense of emotion. The emotion is not only connoted through various camera angles but also through the criminal’s actions, for example: he explodes with frustration as he flips then table and knocks the chair. Therefore, the active audience should feel empathetic towards the criminal because he is extremely disorientated with the over-whelming emotion passing through him.

Furthermore, I and my group purposely broke the 180 degree rule because we thought it was necessary in order to connote the disruption and disorientation that the criminal is experiencing. Although, we didn’t break the 180 degree rule because of that, we broke it because in our real opening sequence there is a possibility whereby the 180 - degree rule is broken. The rule may not be broken under the same circumstances in our opening sequence but it was good to experiment with it.

Also the tripod was an essential piece of equipment while shooting the preliminary task because it allowed us to use a wide range of shots and also represents the overall filming task as a clear, precise and good quality piece of work.

The editing process during the preliminary task was a lot easier then what my group thought because as it happens, I know how to edit. We used the editing software called ‘Final Cut Express’ that is very simple, easy and efficient to use; especially when the timeline and tools were so easy to navigate and understand. While editing I thought it would be a good idea to incorporate some transitions and dissolves in order to gain an idea of what it may look like in our real opening sequence. An example of a transition I used would be the fade in and fade out transition between certain shots in order to build an element of engagement between the audience and the characters. I also used a shot, reverse shot editing technique in order to contrast the detectives and criminals views on what actually happened; and to connote conflict between the characters and to allow the audience to see the characters reactions using a close up shot. In addition, the hardest part of the editing process to execute was the action match. Although it is very short, it still had the same effect than any other action match would.

Also, when editing I used a backing track in order to build, again, a sense of atmosphere for the audience. The non – diegetic sound really added an element of tension to the preliminary task and I will include a music track in our opening sequence. Therefore, it was good to experiment with the sound levels of the music and it is crucial that you get it just right so that the volume of the music doesn’t affect the clarity of the dialogue.

Considering that it was only a prelim I feel confident entering the editing stage surrounding our opening sequence because ultimately, the editing stage was helpful for the group into understanding the concept on how to edit our opening sequence and has definitely taught me a thing or two. Accordingly, I and my group feel happy now when it comes to editing our real opening sequence!

There were a few problems we encountered along the way. The location of the preliminary task did affect the time we had left to film it. In actual fact, we got kicked out of one place because we didn’t have permission to use it and that forced us to contact the location we want to film at for our opening sequence and set a time and day. Therefore, this has helped us in our preparation. Another problem that we faced was the back ground noise while filming, I used the expressions “quiet in the house” and “quiet on set please” to try and cut out some of this noise. To a certain extent it did work but there is still a small amount of background noise which isn’t noticeable due to the backing track but this will help us prepare when filming our opening sequence. Also, the mis-en-scene was an issue because we didn’t have any lighting to set an atmosphere on the set and most importantly on the characters. This has bought me to the realisation that lighting is key when filming and will be used when filming our opening sequence.

The strengths of this preliminary task was the fact that we gained a better conceptual understanding of filming and editing. The different camera angles are vital when shooting a good quality film and using various editing techniques are crucial when representing a particular character or mis-en-scene in a specific way.

However, there are some weaknesses that the prelim demonstrates. There is one noticeable continuity error when the table on ground doesn’t match the same position when filming the birds-eye-view shot. Although this is a minor error that not many audiences will take account for, it cannot be allowed to happen. Therefore, we have taken it on board on how easy it is to make a small mistake or error like that and it won’t happen in our opening sequence.

The moments that I will remember to take with me when producing our opening sequence would be the camera and editing techniques. The camera work and angles demonstrated and used connoted many in-depth meanings and this will be incredibly helpful when shooting our opening sequence.  Also, when editing our final opening sequence, I will remember and use the different transitions and editing techniques, for example: the fade transition and the cuts.

Furthermore, when we broke the 180 degree rule, I must remember the aspects surrounding that and how we broke it because it is essential for the execution of our opening sequence that we get it right. Although the breaking of the rule isn’t under the same circumstances as in our opening sequence, it is still very useful to remember when practising it.

The things that I will do differently next time and not repeat would be foremost, the continuity errors in the prelim. This will not happen again and we will take extra care when shooting our footage to ensure we don’t get marked down for a silly mistake.  In addition, the lighting is incredibly important when filming because it really saturates the mis-en-scene, resulting in a high quality film. Also, my group and I need to dress the mis-en-scene with generic conventional objects suited to the genre of our opening sequence. This will enhance the audience’s perception of the narrative and will appear to be more ‘realistic’ and ‘professional’. Therefore, this must be achieved so that I can receive the highest possible marks for our opening sequence as possible.