Video Preliminary Task Evaluation

I worked with Josh Stevenson, Harry Kettenis and Juliette Wileman to create our preliminary sequence. Our brief was to film a continuity sequence involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite character with whom he exchanges dialogue. Our thriller involved the storyline of a strong antagonist asking a worker if a task has been done. We shot our sequence in the foyer and classroom in the media block.

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

We planned together in a group discussion, where Juliette first pitched the idea.

·         Juliette did most of the illustrating of our shots as she did GCSE Art.

·         We cast Josh S as the worker because he does AS level Drama and is a confident actor.

·        We cast Juliette as the dark antagonist in our thriller as out of the two girls in our group, she had more experience acting in front of the camera and hence was more confident.

·         We changed roles in making the film by involving the whole group with filming, directing and doing the clapperboard. 

We did two edits in groups of two people. I edited with Josh. Therefore there are two edited versions of the edited task.

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

When we planned, we became more able to demonstrate common ideas. It became really helpful for when we were shooting and editing.

·     At first, when planning our ideas, we came up with a concept. Hence we roughly drafted dialogue.

·         Secondly we made a rough outline of the narrative order.

·         We then checked for permission to use our location.

·         In order to fulfil our brief, we took the theory of continuity rules into account,

-   Matching shots and action - We linked a shot of Josh putting his hand on the door, him pushing the door, opening it and walking into the room.

-   The 180 degree rule, Eyeline matching and Shot reverse shot – This was seen during the short conversation between Juliette and Josh.

-   The 30 degree rule and Range of Shot distances – This prevented jumps which you can see in the varied shots that we took.

-   Crosscutting – We were able to link the antagonist tapping the table to Josj walking into the room.

-  Narrative Flow – Not revealing the top part of Juliette’s face helped to build up the suspense for the audience.

-   Camera movement- The tracking shot of Josh walking towards Juliette.

·   We drew up our shots straight onto shot board (without do a prior storyboard) as our production was simpler than what would be needed on an industrial level.

·       We negotiated timings with other teams to use certain locations before writing the order on the shot list. Then we blocked locations.

We also planned the costumes and props need in advance as these would make the content of our sequence more believable. Juliette was to wear a black dress with heels and red lipstick. We wanted Josh to evoke a sense of disarray so we wanted him to wear a white shirt.

What technology did you use to complete the task and how did you use it?

We used a camera, shot gun microphone, headphones, clapper board and Adobe premiere Pro to make our sequence.

·        For lighting, we use the classroom lights, which lit the shots well. And the curtains prevented the light coming through and disrupting the set up.

·    The tripod was useful when filming the close ups. We used the camera which was model Canon HV 30.

·        We also used a shotgun microphone to capture our footage and audio.

·       The headphones we used, Sennheiser HD 201, were helpful to check the sound was working and audible.

·        The clapperboard proved very useful for editing. It allowed us to quickly identify shots and be able to reference them correctly.

·     We used Adobe Premiere Pro for non-linear editing which consisted of two video and two audio tracks so we could alternate the clips between them.

This allowed us to produce a seamless sequence that suspends the audience’s disbelief.

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

When planning, shooting and editing, we made group decisions so we could maximise the potential of our production.

·         We checked for genre iconography and continuity rules of our plans.

·         We blocked the locations before filming to limit confusion on the day of filming.

·       We had to make sure the actors performed in role. Therefore we took some extra takes as a precaution.

·      We had to make sure we didn’t breach any of our plans that we made. So our whole group was always present on set.

·        We worked on schedule to stick to timings however we didn’t create a timetable. We worked in the order of our shot list.

The decisions that we made aided us in shooting and editing to the time set for us by our teacher.

How successful was your sequence? Identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?

I thought our sequence was successful as it fulfils the brief. Our general sequencing of events worked well as the audience where able to understand the narrative of the task.

·         The camera movement involved the audience as if they were physically in the parallel world.

·        The editing looks seamless however we had to modify our shots a little. We cut out two shots as we struggled to match them with action of the other shots.

·     We had to razor and copy some of the audio from the tapping to match the audio to the video.

·    In hindsight, we could have changed the way we shot Josh coming into the room. In the tracking shot of Josh, the camera shakes which disorientates the audience. Instead we could have a pan of him walking into the room.

·      Also when Juliette’s shots come, the camera should focus lower than her eyes. The framing could be more closer and central to her lips.

Overall I think we produced this sequence well given the tight timescale we were allocated.

What have you learnt from completing this task?

I think I have improved my production and editing skills during this task.

·     When filming match on action shots, I learnt that the crew should keep a note of where a character changes actions so this can be replicated correctly in other shots of the same action.

·       I understood the significance of the 180 degree rule so I can now know where to place the camera in relation to the subject.

·     I learnt that I can use the audio level bar on the timeline in Premiere Pro to increase the match of the audio of differently framed shots.

·         I learnt to use the razor tool to split clips on the timeline.

This will help me edit the rest of my foundation coursework faster. I feel more confident with applying the continuity theories to practical productions.