For the preliminary exercise we worked in a group of three. I worked with Dianne Hamilton and Kirsten Day. In order to be sure there were enough people to act and film we teamed up with another group, who acted for us. In return, we did acting for their exercise.
Before we could even begin filming we had to create a storyboard and a script. We all created individual storyboards and then compared them. As a group we planned a final storyboard which detailed what each shot would be and the camera angles. We then drew up a rough script which consisted of a simple conversation relating to what the characters were doing that evening. This meant that it did not take away from the filming techniques we were trying to show. Once this had all been sorted we had to collect our equipment and set it up correctly. We were using a camera, tripod and microphone in order to capture the sound of our actors talking. There were a lot of wires involved so we carried the equipment together to avoid anyone tripping over anything. Once everything was set up we began filming. In order to make sure everyone had a fair shot at filming we each did two shots and then swapped over. Whilst one person was filming, the other would hold the microphone and the other would note down the shot timings. This was really helpful when it came to editing because we knew exactly where the shots were on the tape and which ones we wanted to use. When it came down to editing we took turns and each had input. This meant that by the time it comes to editing our final piece we will all know how to do everything involved and can identify out strengths and weaknesses in order to work more productively as a group. As a whole I think we did really well, and each helped each other to succeed. I feel I learnt a lot and so did the others in my group. In terms of skills, I learnt how to use an external microphone which I'd never used before. I also learnt how to edit in Final Cut Pro I think I did quite well with the new skills, and didn't really struggle.
Focusing more on the actual exercise, the technical quality is quite good. However, there are a few mistakes. During the first part we were shooting in a corridor and because of the amount of equipment and people we were quite restricted with space. This meant that when the actor reaches the door their head gets cut off. This was somewhat unavoidable, so it would have been nicer to have used a wider corridor or different setting. Once we were inside the room we had a lot more space so the shots in the room are much better. However, as the actor sits down he lets out a little laugh. The exercise would have looked a lot better if we had re-shot that, as it looks somewhat unprofessional. The sound is good and even throughout, however there is a small blip around 24 seconds where we clearly left the shot too long. This was something that went wrong in the editing process and we clearly missed when reviewing the final exercise. In future, I would want to pay much more attention to the sound to be sure things like this don't happen. I also think it is a little jumpy during the conversation, there seem to be a lot of shots for such a short amount of time. I think we were trying to show all the shots we could do, but in future should probably stretch them over more time. The conversation was quite fast, and we should have probably asked the actors to talk a little slower. However, I feel the composition is quite good and the actors are framed well in the shots. The mise-en-scene was good as the actors look like college students and it is clear they are in a college environment. The narrative works well as it is clear they are friends talking about their plans for later on. We didn't really have a genre for this as it was just a simple exercise. Also, it was not screened to an audience so we do not have any audience feed back. Due to the fact it was essentially a warm up exercise the point of it was more to practice and enhance our skills, not to please others. I feel our ideas came across well and we followed our original storyboard. We also showed examples of the 180 degree line rule and made sure the actors eye contact lined up to make it look like a realistic conversation.
Overall, I am quite pleased with out preliminary exercise and think we did really well for a first try. There are obviously mistakes and things we could have fixed, but some of these we only found after completing the exercise. The only different thing I think we could have done would have been to use less shots, and slow things down a little to make it look calmer and less sudden. I think the text at the beginning is a little long too, especially since the exercise is quite short. Apart from that, I am quite proud of what we achieved and think our group worked really well.
Before we could even begin filming we had to create a storyboard and a script. We all created individual storyboards and then compared them. As a group we planned a final storyboard which detailed what each shot would be and the camera angles. We then drew up a rough script which consisted of a simple conversation relating to what the characters were doing that evening. This meant that it did not take away from the filming techniques we were trying to show. Once this had all been sorted we had to collect our equipment and set it up correctly. We were using a camera, tripod and microphone in order to capture the sound of our actors talking. There were a lot of wires involved so we carried the equipment together to avoid anyone tripping over anything. Once everything was set up we began filming. In order to make sure everyone had a fair shot at filming we each did two shots and then swapped over. Whilst one person was filming, the other would hold the microphone and the other would note down the shot timings. This was really helpful when it came to editing because we knew exactly where the shots were on the tape and which ones we wanted to use. When it came down to editing we took turns and each had input. This meant that by the time it comes to editing our final piece we will all know how to do everything involved and can identify out strengths and weaknesses in order to work more productively as a group. As a whole I think we did really well, and each helped each other to succeed. I feel I learnt a lot and so did the others in my group. In terms of skills, I learnt how to use an external microphone which I'd never used before. I also learnt how to edit in Final Cut Pro I think I did quite well with the new skills, and didn't really struggle.
Focusing more on the actual exercise, the technical quality is quite good. However, there are a few mistakes. During the first part we were shooting in a corridor and because of the amount of equipment and people we were quite restricted with space. This meant that when the actor reaches the door their head gets cut off. This was somewhat unavoidable, so it would have been nicer to have used a wider corridor or different setting. Once we were inside the room we had a lot more space so the shots in the room are much better. However, as the actor sits down he lets out a little laugh. The exercise would have looked a lot better if we had re-shot that, as it looks somewhat unprofessional. The sound is good and even throughout, however there is a small blip around 24 seconds where we clearly left the shot too long. This was something that went wrong in the editing process and we clearly missed when reviewing the final exercise. In future, I would want to pay much more attention to the sound to be sure things like this don't happen. I also think it is a little jumpy during the conversation, there seem to be a lot of shots for such a short amount of time. I think we were trying to show all the shots we could do, but in future should probably stretch them over more time. The conversation was quite fast, and we should have probably asked the actors to talk a little slower. However, I feel the composition is quite good and the actors are framed well in the shots. The mise-en-scene was good as the actors look like college students and it is clear they are in a college environment. The narrative works well as it is clear they are friends talking about their plans for later on. We didn't really have a genre for this as it was just a simple exercise. Also, it was not screened to an audience so we do not have any audience feed back. Due to the fact it was essentially a warm up exercise the point of it was more to practice and enhance our skills, not to please others. I feel our ideas came across well and we followed our original storyboard. We also showed examples of the 180 degree line rule and made sure the actors eye contact lined up to make it look like a realistic conversation.
Overall, I am quite pleased with out preliminary exercise and think we did really well for a first try. There are obviously mistakes and things we could have fixed, but some of these we only found after completing the exercise. The only different thing I think we could have done would have been to use less shots, and slow things down a little to make it look calmer and less sudden. I think the text at the beginning is a little long too, especially since the exercise is quite short. Apart from that, I am quite proud of what we achieved and think our group worked really well.
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