BLK: Prelim Task Evaluation (Group 3C)

The Task: To create a continuity sequence involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom he/she exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

I worked as Group 1C with Robbie, Eva, Odelia (left to right) and we managed the task between us by allocating jobs to each person. We all planned the story/shots together and then selected Robbie and Eva as the actors, with Odelia and myself filming and checking the sound. We all helped with the editing on the computer to share the work and to get it done in the fastest time possible.

Here is a photo of my group:

2. How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try and take into account?

We planned our sequence by focusing on continuity. We were trying to include a match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. We tried to incorporate these rules into our story/scene. We used over the shoulder shots, master shots and a reaction shot. We filmed the whole sequence from each shots point of view so that it would make our editing easier, and so that the scene would flow more seamlessly. To produce this we created storyboards, showing each shot with a description of distance and angle.

                                                Here are the three pages of our storyboard:

We then used this storyboard when filming to speed up the process. We also used Barthes theory of Enigma as we didn't let the viewer know what was being dealt between the two characters (a banana!). We used Levi-Strausses theory of Binary Opposites as we had:

1. Girl vs. Boy
2. Seller vs. Buyer
3. Sides of the table
4. Certain vs. Uncertain         

(Script & Shooting Schedule)

3. What technology did you use to complete the task and how did you use it?

We used a videocamera, tripod and  microphone (and headphones) for the actual filming section. We used the microphone so that the actors could be heard properly and we listened to the speaking through headphones. We had the microphone on the 'shotgun' setting so that e only got the speaking close to us, no extra noise was picked up. For editing we used Adobe Premiere where we captured clips from the video camera tape onto the computer. We then used the programme to 'razor' and re-arrange the clips so that the sequence flowed and had good continuity.

4. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

When planning our shoot we had to think about the actors available, e.g. the people in our group. We were only able to use actors from within our group so we needed to see who could/couldn't act (we decided on Robbie and Eva). We also needed to think about the time available. We had to make our sequence quite simple so that we would have time to properly plan/film/edit it all. Another thing was location. We needed somewhere inside so that we could have the actors sat at a table. This eliminated filming outside, so we chose a classroom. Another problem was noise. We had to find somewhere which didn't have lots of background noise so our actors could be clearly heard. Within our room we had to move the computer because it was distracting to the shot.

5. How successful was your sequence? Please identify what went well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?

I feel like our sequence was very successful as I think it flowed well and there weren't any obvious jumps. The clips seemed to join together well and the actors played their characters well. I feel like the shots, e.g. master shot, shot/reverse shot and match on action were filmed well and the framing is good. However the 180 degree rule was slightly out as we filmed the OTS shots from the other side of the actors, to the original master shot. If we were to do it again, I would zoom in on the OTS shots slightly as they seem too far away. I would also zoom out on the CU's on the eyes as the jump is too big in distance between the shot of Robbie's eyes and the shot before of him sitting down.



6. What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?


The most important thins I have learnt are:

• You need to be really careful and selective when picking what to shoot, so that you don't waste any time. Planning using storyboards greatly reduces the time used.
•  I have also learnt about how precise you have to be when editing the sequence so that there aren't any jumps to make it lose the smooth transitions. 
• You also need to film the entire sequence from each shot position so that you definitely have all the footage needed to make the continuity as good as possible. 
• Communication within your group is really important so that the task is completed as successfully as possible.

This will help when completing the rest of my foundation coursework, as I now know about the organisation and techniques I can use. It has also shown me how important continuity is to make a sequence believable.