Filming of the Preliminary Task

The filming of our preliminary task was successful in the respect that we managed to film the complete clip and include all three of the required media elements. However, there was a lot of room for improvement left by by our clip, improvement which can hopefully be made when we make our final piece later in the year.

Equipment

We used two main pieces of equipment whilst filming: a camera and a tripod. Whilst both pieces of equipment were fairly simple to use, we could have used them in a much more effective in order to make the piece more professional. For instance, we used the tripod throughout the piece to get the camera stable. However, for half of the shots the tripod had to be handheld as we couldn't find an appropriate place to put it whilst filming. Whilst this was necessary as we needed shots with motion in them to follow our storyboard, if we had got a more expensive tripod which allowed us to pan the camera without having to touch it then we could have got a much better result.

Additionally, whilst the camera we used was a proper camcorder, it was not recording in HD. It is essential that our final video is recorded on a different camera or using different settings on this camera, as otherwise the quality of the clips will not be high enough and it will mean that no matter how much editing and post production we do, we will not be able to get the clip to look the way we want it too. 

Problems/Issues

We didn't encounter as many issues as I thought we would whilst filming our piece (neither me nor Jack had much experience as cameramen or directors) but we still ran into a few problems.

The first of these was problems finding actors. As the piece had to be filmed during certain hours of school time due to restrictions on when we could use the canteen to film in, we found that the range of actors we could include in our piece wasn't very big, and so we had to use who we could find. Whilst they all gave a good performance which helped our piece massively, for our final video we need to organise way in advance who we want to appear in it, and need to sort them appropriate costumes as it was only the gunman who was in costume for our piece. 

A second problem we encountered was the background noise of people walking past in the shots. However, this was easily fixed by filming shots again and again until we had them at a point where only the voice(s) of the actor(s) could be heard. 

A final problem which we encountered was having no props. This problem occurred due to a lack of preparation, as ideally we would have needed a fake pistol for the gunman to use (we had to use his fingers). Additionally, I would have liked to get some props to make the canteen look more like a saloon as this would have made the piece infinitely better, but hopefully the acting made up for these shortcomings in the piece.

Things which we changed 

 

The main thing on our storyboard and script which we had to change during filming was the line said by the woman who was sitting in the bar. We could not include this as we were not satisfied by the performance of the line, so had to replace it with a different line said by a male character. Additionally, we added in the part where water is splashed in the gunman's face whilst filming, as we decided that the clip was not long enough and needed something else in it to properly showcase the things which we know about producing a media text,  and to include another camera angle.

Things which were re-filmed

The only part of our piece which we had to film again after was the part where the gunman falls over backwards after being hit by the bottle. We had to re-film this because he fell over too slowly and dramatically in the original piece, bad acting which would have made the clip seem unrealistic and unprofessional. However, as this single shot had to be filmed on a different day to the rest of the clip, it meant that the costume which had been worn by the gunman was not available to us, so upon close inspection you can realise that he is wearing a different outfit in the final shot. However, as this is only our preliminary task, this was not a huge issue, but for our final task we need to ensure that we have costumes for every single character, as this is a big part of Mise-en-scene which we need to ensure we control in our piece to create meaning.

Did we feel prepared?

We felt very prepared going to film, because we had spent a long time planning out camera angles and the script through the use of the storyboard. We also prepared ourselves by practising using the equipment in the classroom before, such as ensuring we knew how to use the camera and tripod properly, as the time we had available to film in was quite limited. For our actual task, we won't have this limit, so will be able to prepare ourselves even more and ensure that we know exactly what we are doing so that we are more efficient whilst shooting, and being more efficient will mean that we have a better end product once we have edited the piece.

The only thing which I feel we could have been more prepared about was with our choice of actors. As it was filmed quickly in a free period at school, we did not have the time to properly chose which actors to use, which is an important part of Mise-en-scene as each different actor would perform a role in a completely different way. Whilst an appropriate use of Mise-en-scene was not essential for this piece, we need to ensure we properly prepare which actors we are going to use before filming the final piece.

How did the group work together?

I think that the group worked very well together, and this is because we split the work evenly between the two of us, meaning that we could both do the things which we were more skilled in. The feel of teamwork is evidenced in our piece, as the viewer can tell that despite our limitations, it has been planned carefully between two people.

Preliminary Task Evaluation

The jump cut which messed it up

 I believe that our film demonstrates continuity editing at a basic level, but had we spent more time filming then we would have been able to show our understanding of continuity in a much better way, and the flow of the clip would have been much more smooth. An example of where we used continuity editing well is the match on action between the gunman opening the door and walking into the bar. This worked well because we trimmed the clips to  the exact length they needed to be in order for the clip to flow. However, this good piece of continuity editing was then ruined by the jump cut immediately after he walks in. This jump cut had to be placed in because he had moved about a foot to the left for the only decent shot of him saying the line, so it interrupted the flow of continuity editing. Had we ensured we had good clips whilst we were still filming, this wouldn't have been a problem. This means that we could not use continuity editing throughout the clip, as the editing has been clearly shown up by the use of a jump cut. The lesson that this has taught us for making our final piece is that we need to ensure we have more than enough shots of each scene before editing if we want it to flow properly with no use of unrealistic jump cuts.

The first shot of the effective match on action

The shot which immediately followed it

We have demonstrated match on action very well in the clip with the shot of the man walking through the door. This is a use of match on action because we see him start to open the door on one side of it, and then a quick cut shows him walking in on the other side of the door. By using match on action we were able to put these two shots together and make them flow from the first shot into the second in a way which is almost unnoticeable. It is effective when used here because it shows the viewer exactly where he is and where he has come from, which would not be clear if we had just used a single shot of him walking into the room.

Shot-reverse-shot has been used in our film during the conversation between the two different people. It has been used quite well, although had we scripted a longer conversation and given the actors predefined facial expressions to pull then we could have shown it in a much better way. It works by filming one characters lines, then immediately cutting back to the other character to show their reaction to what has just been said. Whilst we did include an over the shoulder shot of each character, we should have done it multiple times in order to properly demonstrate our understanding of it's effectiveness. Additionally, we could have cut the clips slightly shorter to make it less noticeable, as some of the clips are left hanging a tiny bit too long.

The 180 Degree Rule was broken here as the camera
went on the other side of the actor

The 180 degree rule has been followed almost completely throughout our piece, although there is one small part where we have broken it and thus disorientated the viewer. The idea of the rule is to always keep the viewer in one place so that they do not become disorientated about where each character is in relation to the camera.  Had we not broken it in the place shown in the screenshot, then it would have been used well throughout meaning that the viewer stays orientated.

I feel that our group worked very well together. This is probably down to the fact that there was only two of us, so we could decide what needed doing quickly without having to debate it with lots of people as we would have had to if we had been part of a larger group. Whilst being in a group of two meant that there was a larger workload for each of us, we knew that we were getting the work done properly and shared a common aim, as it becomes harder to ensure that everybody is working towards the same thing with the more people you have in your group. Finally, I believe whilst we did work well together, the only problem we encountered by having just two members was a lack of ideas and creativity, if we were to incorporate more people then we would have been able to include many more ideas in our piece.

If we were to film this piece again, there are many things which I think we could improve on. Firstly, we could spend longer choosing the cast for our piece, as we didn't put much thought into this and just used who we could find as actors, which is evident whilst watching the film. Additionally to this, I think we should have put much more thought into designing the mise-en-scene of the piece, as we didn't include many props and only one character had a costume. We also didn't consider using different types of lighting, which would have changed the mood of our piece dramatically. Another thing which could have been improved is the editing, which I think was rushed slightly as we didn't spend much time considering different titles, credits, transitions and reviewing each different shot. We should have spent much more time editing the piece, as this would have made it look more professional rather than something which was rushed. A final thing I would improve upon had we filmed it again would be the number of times we filmed each different shot. It is recommended that you film each different shot three different times, and had we done this then we would have had many more shots to chose from and wouldn't have just had to rely on the one shot we took of everything.

This part of the film was not planned out
on our storyboard

I believe our film was planned very well, as a good plan is one which can be adapted whilst the filming is taking place in order to make it even better. We had our storyboard on set with us, which meant we could ensure that we filmed every shot which we had planned out on it. Despite this, we could have planned the film better, as one shot of it (the part where water is splashed as shown in the screenshot) was only thought of whilst we were filming, so we had not planned for it on our storyboard. This wasn't a huge issue, but it did make editing a bit more difficult as we weren't sure where to put the clip in in relation to the other clips while looking at the storyboard. Because of this, we did plan our film well, but I believe if we spent even longer planning and thinking of ideas whilst making our storyboard, then we will be able to plan out the different things which we could include in our film, and so won't suddenly think of them whilst filming and then have to find a place to put them in, as we did with this film.

The "blur" transition we used to connect the opening
shot of the piece to the next shot

We did not use many transitions in our piece as I believe it interrupts the flow of continuity editing, and an overuse of transitions can make the clip look very unprofessional. However, there was one place in our clip where we used a transition, as it was effective to use one here. We used a blur transition to show that the shot is moving from inside the bar to outside of it. Had we just used a straight cut, this would not have been clear, and the viewer would have been left wondering where it is that the video has cut too. Even though this transition was only a fraction of a second long, it makes this part of the video work much better than it would have without it. We also used a small transition between the opening title and the first shot, as this helps the two clips flow into each other much better. Transitions are only needed to connect two clips which are completely different, for example two different rooms with different lighting levels, or a title clip and a video clip, and this is the sparing way which we have used them in our piece.

I have already used iMovie quite a lot in other projects, so did not learn very much about the editing software, but there were a couple of points which I had not picked up on before. I found the zoom feature very useful when cutting the clips, as for some of the editing techniques such as match on action the clips have to be cut in a very precise way in order for it to flow properly. Additionally to this, I found video and sound effects in the software which I had not used before, so when editing we were able to recolour the clips, a very useful feature, and change the way which the sound in the clip came out, using effects which greatly reduced the hiss and hum of background noise. Whilst we will probably use Final Cut to make our main video for the coursework, I think that iMovie was a good software package to use for the editing of this clip as it did everything that we needed it too.

The main thing which we have learnt about media technologies from constructing this film is how much technology is really needed on the shoot of a film. We only used a camera and a tripod in the way of technology, but making this has opened our eyes up too the amount of technology which is used when making a film, technology such as lights, microphones and advanced camera rigs such as cranes, not to mention all of the technology which is used during the editing of the film. We have also learnt about how using a no-frills camera effectively in the way that we did can still produce a good result, even without the help of a lighting rig or proper microphones to pick up what the actors are saying. The final thing which we learnt about the technology used is that when the media product is finished, its construction only looks effortless if the maximum amount of effort has been put into constructing it using technology.

Our Preliminary Task

Below is an embedded copy of our preliminary task. We filmed it in school in September 2013. The film is supposed to be in a western vein, as shown by the costume of the antagonist. Whilst making the film, I acted in it, editted it, and was co-director of it, with Jack being the cameraman and co-director as well.

The film is a short clip about a man walking into a bar and holding the bartender hostage trying to get her to empty the till, but ultimately failing when his plan is foiled by the other people in the bar. Additionally, to make the clip seem more true to genre with the theme of being a Western, we have used a sepia filter on the clips as this is a common feature of films in this genre.

Finally, I believe the clip was suitable for use as a preliminary task, but it has highlighted many areas which we need to improve upon before making our final video.

Script for Preliminary Task

Here is the script which I wrote for our preliminary task. It is not very long, but the clip is going to be mainly made up of acting and shots where there is no talking, so the script need not contain much detail. Whilst the script may be changed slightly during the filming of the actual video, it is better to have a script which we can get the actors to base their lines off of, and then improvise them so that they sound the best they can for that actor.

Script

Begin with a long shot of the inside of the saloon with people drinking and laughing (3 seconds)
Cuts to the gunman outside of the bar, loading his gun

Gunman: Keep calm and don’t do anything stupid! You, behind the bar, empty the till NOW!

Barman: Why should I do that?

Gunman: Don’t make me give you a reason! (Aims the gun at him)

Barman: Please, don’t do it, you can have anything you want!

Gunman: Empty the till then!

Barman reaches behind the counter, pulls out a bottle and smashes it over the gunman’s head. Fade to black after a slow-motion shot of the gunman falling to the ground. 

Preliminary Task Ideas

The main idea for the Preliminary Task was to make a clip in the Western vein. For this to be possible, we plan to film it in the school canteen, as with its tills and seats its the closest that we can get to a Western saloon for  We chose to make the video in this genre because it is such a wide genre which can incorporate elements of many other genres, so we would not be restricting ourselves in what we could do in terms of meeting the three necesssary critera in order for the piece to include what is required: Shot-Reverse-Shot, Match on Action and ensuring that we stick to the 180 degree rule. All three of these are commonly used features in continuity editing, as they are subtle devices which make the video flow much more realistically.

Shot Reverse Shot

On our storyboard, we have planned out to use shot-reverse-shot in the part of the clip where the gunman is threatening the bartender. This was the best place to use it in the clip as it is the longest conversation which we have planned out in our script, which means that we can fully demonstrate our understanding of how a shot-reverse-shot works and how one is used effectively to capture a conversation whilst showing the facial expressions of each character. We have also planned to use shot-reverse-shot during the gunmans conversation with a person who is in the "saloon", although we also plan to use a side angle between the two characters for the action scene between the two of them.

Match on Action

We plan to use Match on Action for the part of the video where the gunman walks into the saloon through the door. In order to do this we will have to film him outside, then film his approach and his opening of the door into it, and then cut to a video filmed from inside the saloon of him opening the door. This is the most effective way to film a door being opened, as it allows the viewer to see the facial expressions of the character as they walk into the room, but also shows the character approaching the door, which puts into perspective where it is that they are going too. It may take quite a lot of attempts to get the shot in a way which will flow properly, but once we have a shot we are happy with this will be a very effective way of showing the door opening.

180 Degree Rule


A diagram showing how the 180 degree rule works

The final criteria which has to be met whilst filming our preliminary task was to stick to the 180 degree rule. This rule states that there is an invisible line when filming a moving image media text, which cannot be crossed by the camera as this will make it difficult for the audience to work out where each character is within the shot compared to the last shot. For our piece, the invisible line will be where the bartender is standing, as providing the camera does not pass this line the audience can still tell where each character is within the shot as it is distinctive where each character is in relation to the camera, although if the camera was to pass this line then it would be difficult to tell which character is in front of and which is behind the bar.

To finish, I believe that in our preliminary task we will meet all three of these criteria as we have thought carefully to plan how all of them will be incorporated into the piece, and thus it will be a successful task.



 

Storyboard for Preliminary Task

This is a picture of the storyboard which Jack and I designed to aid us during the filming and editing of our preliminary task. It will be very useful because it will give us focus whilst filming, as without it we wouldn't know what shots to film, and would end up filming either the wrong thing, or would miss out a crucial shot which would mean we have to film again. It will also be useful whilst editing as with many shots being filmed it would be difficult to remember exactly which order they need to be put into in order to tell the story properly, with a storyboard we have got a representation of the clips in front of us so we can be sure to get them in the right order.

First Post!

George Martin
Candidate Number 8220