PRELIMINARY TASK: EVALUATION - Aidan

PRELIMINARY TASK: EVALUATION - Aidan

Our Preliminary Task was to create a short video, portraying our continuity editing and filming skills. We were told we need to include certain actions filming and editing techniques  for the task. The certain actions were to have a conversation consisting of two or more lines, a character passing through a door and finally a shot of a character walking. In addition to this continuity editing is something that creates action which flows smoothly across shots and scenes without jarring visuals and also establishes a sense of story for the viewer which makes them feel that they are invisible observers.



Example of a storyboard



Firstly for the pre-production it consisted of research and planning. Overall we roughly 5/10 minute for this. This meant we did not have any time for research however we did  to come up with a fundamental plan. Firstly on the camera we decided that Tawanda was the man for the job, however we all gave input for each camera shot and worked well as a team. Also for the cast it was decided I was the main character alongside with Vianca and also with Holly making a short appearance. We spoke briefly about the storyboard of our clip and the settings we would use as we were given limitations to stay on the school site. This started in the boys toilets running through the outside car park and finally ending in the sixth form block. Also the plot was decided that we would try re-create a reality moment in a typical school also trying to tints of humour. I came up with the idea It could somebody forgetting their homework and having to copy their friends, we all then agreed to create this.

After the pre-production stage of our preliminary task we then started the production. This included us starting to record using our digital video camera, a Canon DLSR 650D, to shoot the footage we would later need to edit. Difficulties we found which may have affected our footage is that firstly we had to rush certain scenes due to other groups using the same location, secondly the ambient sound (the background sounds which are present in a scene or location) for example the wind and aeroplanes played a problem in which you could hear dialogue. This led to me and Tawanda trying to edit the clip to make sure it wasn't heard. The editing software we used was 'Final Cut pro'

In addition to this we had to use the three principles of continuity editing. These were

•  Match on Action: which is a technique used in film editing  that connects two different views of the same action at the same moment in the movement. By carefully matching the movement across the two shots, It seems that the motion continues uninterrupted.
• E.G. We did this by myself going through the study room door.

Our example of Match on Action

• Shot-reverse-Shot  which is a film technique used to show two characters looking at one another. It is, in effect a double eyeline match. In a given shot-reverse shot sequence of two characters having a conversation, the first shot is a character looking offscreen. The second shot would be a shot taken from the reverse angle (hence the name reverse shot) of the second character
• E.G. We did this by me and Vianca having the conversation



Our example of Shot-reverse-shot



• 

  Exanple of 180 degree rule

  180 Degree Rule: The rule states that the camera/cameras should remain the same side of an imaginary line. The line is drawn perpendicular the camera’s viewpoint in the establishing shot of the scene. Breaking the rule will confuse the audience, especially in scenes of chase, conversation or sport.



The post production is when the product is shaped for audience consumption. In my case it  involved not only these editing types (mentioned above)  but also me and Tawanda including an introduction text (titles and credits) and also two different sound tracks. One being nice and slow and the second being quiet fast paced. This was to cover the ambient sound and also to make the clip seem to have a action feel to it.



Our introduction text (titles and credits)



Overall to conclude I feel that I learned a lot of new skills in terms of editing and using a camera which I did not know before. However I also under estimated the time and detail needed in making a task like this and overall it has been a learning curve. In the future I will try make sure my composition is as fluid as possilble