Preliminary Filming Task Evaluation

Preliminary Filming Task Evaluation

How filming went:

Initially, when we were told that we had to make a preliminary filming task, we came up with a main subject and plot very quickly. We immediately brainstormed various situations where two people would have to talk face to face, and we came up with the plot of an interview for a job vacancy. 

Overall, our group worked very well. We cooperated efficiently with each other and demonstrated excellent teamwork. Additionally, considering that this was our first experience of filming, we feel it went very well and our filming can only improve as we learn more skills.

How editing went:

Some members of the group had more experience with the ding software Final Cut Express than others. This worked as both an advantage and a disadvantage for the group. This was good because it allowed those who didn't know how to use it to learn firsthand and would help in the future. However this meant that there was limited number of people who actually knew what they were doing, which meant that half the group found themselves with nothing to do. However all group members contributed relevant idea on what would make it look the best it could possibly look.

Due tot the fact that tis was just practice, we did not add any unnecessary edits to the footage, and we used various editing techniques such as action match cuts and shot reverse shots. This helped to communicate the relationships and positioning of the two characters in our scene.

Problems we encountered:

The only element of filming that we found difficult is the various issues with tripod. The tripod we received did not turn 360 degrees, which made panning very difficult. This caused us to keep moving the tripod back and fourth around the room. This was very inconvenient due to the fact it made it very hard to keep the same position for the camera, which meant that some shots may have looked different compared to the other one.

Strength of our prelim:

In terms of various camera shots, that is another thing that we feel went well. We were able to experiment with a variety of camera shots, such as wide shot (to include all characters within one shot),  a close up shot (to emphasise the importance of a specific action) and medium shots (to isolate the characters from the rest of the scene but still to be able to see their body language). This helped us because it helped us to practice a wide range of shots, in preparation for our real opening sequence. 

Weaknesses of the prelim: 

The only weakness I think our preliminary filming task demonstrated is the basic plot and dialogue. We feel this is because we were mainly focus on getting the filming done and experimenting different  filming/editing techniques, and did not spend enough time developing a good plot and a good script to accompany the filming. For our actual opening sequence, we will try our best develop a much better script.   

What we will remember to do the same next time:

Our main priority throughout was to not break the 180 degree rule. We did this by ensuring that we had one main designated area for the camera  to be. The 180 degree rule is a theoretical  line that is drawn across a room the two people are face to face with each other. Ensuring that you keep to the 180 degree helps the audience understand that the two characters face to face and are talking to each other. It also helps the audience to establish positions of characters within a room. As a whole, the group and I did not find the this rule hard to understand and we successfully adhered to it. In our future filming task, we will ensure that we won’t break this rule. 

Another element we will remember to use next time is action match shot editing technique. This will help in the future because it'll allow our scenes and shots to flow nice and smoothly, rather than looking very quickly and unclear, which may disorientate the audience.

Although we didn't experience any during this preliminary filming task, for the next time we filming, we will ensure that we not have any continuity errors. This will ensure that our filming looks accurate and realistic , and will make it look professional, rather than cheap and unexperienced. 

What you will remember to do different next time:

One problem we faced during the editing process is losing unsaved work. Although we were unprepared for our computer to crash, it is our fault for not saving our work frequently enough. The computer’s system then went onto fail, which resulted in us losing a small portion of our work. We had to reedit it t a later date, however that was very time consuming. In the future, we must make sure that we sae all work every 5 minutes to stop situations like that occurring again.