Evaluation Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

The screen grabs included below show the progression of skills and techniques I have learnt and from my preliminary task and final film opening.

Frames from my preliminary task                                       Frames from my film opening

At first glance you can immediately tell that our preliminary task was shot on a different camera to out final film opening, as the quality in the preliminary task is nowhere near as good as the film opening. Both the frames above are filmed using the over shoulder shot. In my preliminary task this technique is used to portray conversation between the two characters, I also used the technique eyeline match to make the conversation more engaging. Eyeline match is based on the idea that the audience wants to view what the character in the scene is viewing, this makes the audience feel as if they are part of the scene. However for the shots above in the preliminary task we used a tripod as we wanted the shot to be still and keep the same angle. But in our film opening we didn't used the tripod and filmed the footage hand held, we did this because we felt that if the camera was more shaky it might make the footage more raw and make the audience feel as if they are there behind Chrissy.

Looking back at these two frames from my preliminary task and film opening I feel that the lighting, costume and location are all more professional in the film opening. I think I learnt from our mistakes in the preliminary task, for example the background is one of the school mobiles and it doesn't fit with the tone of the film, whereas Chrissy in the bathroom fits perfectly with the tone of the film opening.

Match on action:

Match on action (or cutting on action) is an editing technique for continuity editing in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot.

Preliminary Task

This shot used the filming technique match on action, These frames show a close up shot of George opening the door, then the next shot cuts to the door opening from inside the classroom, the wide angle shot focuses on George walking through the door.

These are a couple from frames from our preliminary task that demonstrate match on action. a over the shoulder shot shows George walking around the table, this then cuts to a high angle shot of George continuing his walking to release Luke from his handcuffs.

These frames above also contain the technique match on action, however the action that is taking place is dialogue. As the character in white shouts "i'm innocent!" the shot changes but the speech continues. For this I had to film the same scene twice and then carefully edit the two shots together.
Our film opening features no dialogue as we thought it would make it more effective, looking back I think this was the right choice as it built more tension, set the mood and made the audience more emotionally engaged. Also feedback from our target audience have commented on how effective they think the use of no dialogue is in our opening. However this did mean we weren't able to show off any match on action editing techniques using speech, such as the one in the preliminary task demonstrated in the frames above. But hopefully we demonstrated our technical and camerawork knowledge else where.

Film Opening

The shot shown in the first two frames shows the dancers moving toward their position on stage. The action of the dancers continues fluidly through the change of shot types.

The second series of frames are another example of match on action. The first shot shows the ballet dancers running on stage to take up their positions, and the next shot shows the dancers on stage in position.

Shot reverse shot:

Shot reverse shot (or shot/countershot) is a film technique 

where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.

Here is a diagram that illustrates the technique, shot reverse shot:

Preliminary Task

                             

These series of frames are filmed using the technique shot reverse shot.

This technique engages the audience in the conversation that is taking place between the two characters.
Something that is very noticeable here is the background of the location, I think this a weakness in my preliminary task as it doesn't set the tone of the scene very well. As you can see from the frames below and above you can see I have tackled this problem in my film opening as we have made sure when location shooting that the set/background is applicable and fits with the tone of the film.

Film Opening

As our film opening was generally only focused on one character it was hard to use the shot reverse shot technique, however we did use a cut away shot instead. The frame above shows the cutaway shot. This shot was used to show what two different things happening all at one time, and it was also used to show the audience how Chrissy perceived things.

180 degree rule:

The 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. An imaginary line called the axis connects the characters, and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene, the first character is always frame right of the second character, who is then always frame left of the first.

Preliminary Task

The sequence of frames above show the 180- degree rule. Throughout the conversation between the two characters the camera has stayed on the same side of both characters. We have carried out what is demonstrated in the diagram below.

Film Opening

In these series of frames we have demonstrated the 180- degree rule. The camera has stayed in the same position through out the series of shots and has not crossed the imaginary line/axis. This creates a fluid sequence. If we had broken the rule the audience may have been left disorientated and confused which may have put them off.

These frames from my film opening also show how successful we have been in lighting the set in comparison to the preliminary task where we only used natural light.

 In our film opening we used the stage spotlights and a soft light to highlight the main protagonist and give the impression that the scene is a actual ballet performance, all the equipment and camera techniques we used in our film opening make it look more professional and realistic, and some of these techniques were learnt through the experience of creating the preliminary task.

Looking Back

 In my preliminary task i worked with Etty (whom I also worked with on the film opening) We worked well as a team however i felt that we were particularly unorganised. We didn't have a filming schedule so it was all filmed in a rush when we had free time. However we worked very well to find a location and we had to write a series of emails to ask permission to use one of the school mobiles. I think this helped us to be more prepared when we had to find a location for our film opening and as we filmed in the school once again we had all the right people to talk to as easy access as we had already built a relationship with them through the course of our preliminary task.

In the film opening I worked in a group of three with Etty and Mollie. I think we worked very well as a team we were extremely organised we planned shooting schedules and booked out the appropriate locations for filming. I think the opening shows many camera techniques and conventions of the social media genre, some of these techniques and conventions I have learned from research and creating a preliminary task. However one aspect of our film opening we could improve on is our variety of shot types. Even though we did have different shot types I think if I was to do this task again I would include a wider variety such as using some high angle and birds eye view shots (demonstrated in my preliminary task).