Preliminary Task Evaluation

Preliminary Task Evaluation

For this task, we had to organise ourselves into a group of 4 (max.) and shoot a short sequence to show we understand the basics of recording, editing and keeping continuity. This film had to include a character opening a door, crossing the room, sitting down in a chair opposite another character and have those two characters exchange dialogue. Continuity was key for this task.

I was in a group with Matt, George and Nat, and at the beginning of this task we struggled for ideas. However, we came up with a solution of a student getting in trouble at school for painting on some of the walls. Filming the actual scenario was probably the most accurate part of this task, since we knew what we had to do. Challenges our group had to overcome were the continuity errors, because the two actors – George and Matt were not wearing the same clothes as the day before, so we had to re-film some of it.

All of the footage we got was of a good quality. This is because we were able to use George’s Nikon camera, which we mounted to a dolly so we could maintain a steady shot. The lighting was rather light, which doesn’t fit in exceptionally well when it comes to thriller films, so that would be something to change for next time.

We edited these shots by using IMovie. This was quite a difficult task since most of us have never used the software before. However, we had a look on YouTube to find tutorials on how to develop our film. Our entire scene was then edited in black and white. This is because we wanted it to fit in with stereotypes of thriller movies and typical conventions. We also edited in non-diegetic and diegetic sounds. The non-diegetic sound was a classical piece to create a sense of tension amongst the audience, and we wanted the shots to be in time with music. The diegetic sound was the slap on the table, which was echoed and turned up to show anger from the actor.

I personally thought this task went successfully, however could’ve be improved with more time. Our continuity kept thorough throughout and we did not go beyond the 180-degree rule. Furthermore, our planning was consistent and we kept to our original idea without changing anything.

Throughout this task, I have learnt that if the continuity is not correct, then the whole of the scene will not make sense. Additionally, to ensure that the shots are processed well, the editing process needs to have quite a lot of time. I enjoyed this preliminary task too, since it has created a sense of teamwork and has taught me how to shoot shots well.