Evaluation!

Media!

Preliminary task evaluation;

1. Do you believe your piece of film demonstrates continuity well? If so why?

- When looking back on our piece of film I do feel as though our piece demonstrates continuity well as we have included various camera angles and shots to make it look continuous. Also our use of music helps our film show continuity in the way we carried on some parts into the next shot. For example in the ending of our piece we had music starting and carrying on throughout the title sequence. During the editing process we decided to add in transitions. I think the transition we used which was fade to black helped demonstrating continuity in the way it faded into the next part of the film. Also by including our required techniques like shot reverse shot and match on action helped to make it continuous. This is because it flowed from one part to another, especially in our match on action part as you could see how it was following through from the other side of the door. For our flashback we used a dream sequence which made that part of our film purposely discontinuous as it was going back in time, instead of being set in the same time as the rest of the film. This however was intentional as we wanted to create a flashback to give an insight of what had happened to the character.   

This is an example of match on action that we filmed for our film. This was one of the required techniques as well as a contributor to making our film continuous

2. Have you demonstrated match on action; shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule? If so why are these editing techniques helpful?

-  In our piece we have included the three required editing techniques as we were meant to. I believe we did this in a way which shows our capability in being able to produce work of a good standard. We had to be careful when doing our match on action to do it correctly to make sure the end result looked continuous. When thinking back on the reviews from the rest of the class I think it came across how we wanted and we filmed a good example of match on action by having someone enter a room through a door and come out the other side. This technique is very helpful as it makes the film look more professional and improves the quality of our film. It was also a requirement to include shot reverse shot. This technique was useful as without it our film wouldn’t be continuous. We used this throughout the exchange of dialogue to ensure what one of them was saying match with the response. With the 180 degree rule it was vital to include it as without it the scene wouldn’t make sense and could confuse the audience.

3. How do you feel your group worked together?

- I feel as though our group tried really hard to make our film a success and work together the best that we could to make sure the end result was of a good quality. We were perhaps not as organised for the filming as we could have been as we did not plan out before it came to filming, what part each of us were going to film. Once it came to filming we soon sorted out who was doing what but still could have saved time by planning it ahead. For our editing we made sure that not all four of us were there as it would not give us a fair chance of using the equipment. Instead we went in pairs and found that we benefited much more form that compared to what we would have if we were editing in a group. When planning our ideas we made sure each one of us had a say in what we was going to create, this way we each had an input.

4. If you were to film this piece again is there anything you could improve on?

If we were to film our piece again I think we would have thought about our costumes more as we didn’t really have anything planned. We should have asked the actors to bring in a set of clothing to wear when filming the flashback as we realised once we filmed it that both of them were wearing the same clothes and it was supposed to be set in the past. Other than that I don’t think there as anything else major that I would change but I just think we could have thought about mise en scene a lot more than we had as our main focus was including the requirements and the camera angles and shots. When getting feedback from the rest of the class, most of it was positive but they did comment on how we could have made the room in which we filmed in, look better and to have more props included. I would also have made slight adjustments to the editing of our film as when watching it back now I do not believe the sound effect that is used at 1:40 where we have a close up on the character. I now look back at it and feel that it didn’t fit in with the situation as we originally did when we edited it.  

5. Did you plan your video well, or could you improve on this? If so why?

- When it came to planning I think we planned out our ideas for the film well as we all had an input into what was going to be featured and by the end of the planning all had a clear idea as to what part we was going to focus on each like the script, storyboard, actors and others. I don’t believe that we planned out our mise en scene as well as we could have when it came to the filming. At the time our main focus were the required elements and we did not realise until the day of filming that we were lacking costumes for the flashback. This is something we would improve on if we could as our film could have benefited from this. We could have also been more organised when it came to filming and should have sorted out before filming who was going to film what part to make sure each of us had an equal opportunity to use the cameras. Luckily this problem was soon resolved as we had various parts in our film that could be spread out to make sure everyone filmed something.

6. Did you use transitions within your piece?

- Our group did use transitions as we thought that for some parts it would improve the quality of it by adding transitions. We only used two transitions in our piece as we only felt that they were the only ones relevant to our piece. We put in a fade to black technique so the scene would run continuously onto the flashback, and also we thought the fading made the flashback scene look more like it was revisiting the past. We also included this transition in the ending of our piece to give it a distinctive finish and a good way to run smoothly into the credits. We also used a dream affect transition to make the flashback scene look more like it was a flashback rather than set in the present with the rest of our film. With this transition we also changed the colour of that scene to black and white to add to the effect of it being a memory. We decided not to add in any other as we felt as though the others did not make sense with the type of film we were creating. We also did not want to over do it and make it look like there were too many, instead wanted to keep it simple to make it more affective.

7. Have your learnt anything about editing software and technologies whilst doing this exercise?

- I’ve learnt a lot about editing from this task as before this I was unaware of a lot of the techniques and technologies that are used in editing software. I now feel more confident that next time I edit a film that I will know the basics of what I have to do to edit it as before I wouldn’t have known. I have learnt how to upload our film onto the programme and actually edit it by deleting parts that we didn’t want and by adding transitions and effects to improve the quality of it. Before this I did not know about a lot of techniques that we included in our film. I also was unaware of how to make a film continuous and since filming I found out how vital it is to not have a discontinuous film. This task has also helped me become more aware of the technologies that we used like the cameras and other equipment. Now I have had the experience of coming to terms with it I now feel as though I will be able to operate a camera with more ease next time.  

Our filmed was produced and editied by Yasmin Young, Jessica Wilding, Kathleen Ransom and Millie Stone. We had to create this film and include the required elements of 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot and match on action.

Filming!

When filming for our preliminary task my group experienced some difficulties and problems, but found ways to resolve them. We also made some minor changes from what we originally planned to make the end result of our film as best as we could make it in the time we were given.
None of us are used to handling filming equipment as we were all new to it but still tried our best to cope and to make it as good as we could. Once the cameras were set up how we wanted, it seemed less difficult as all we had to do for the dialogue was to keep it in the same position, but this was sometimes not easy to do. I found it useful working with the cameras as it has made me much more aware of how to do it and how to film footage.
Some of the difficulties we faced when filming were mostly down to trying to make it continuous. Before we started filming I don’t think we considered how difficult it was going to be to stick to the rules we were given by changing from one shot to another to make it look continuous. We resolved this by keeping the cameras in one position, trying our best not to move it so the film will run smoothly and not make the audience confused. At times it was difficult to stick to both the storyboard and the script as when your filming you realise the shots that we planned to do, no long work and we would benefit from not including it. We also struggled with using some of the equipment like the dolly as the ground we was filming on was not smooth and we were worried it was going to show on camera. We resolved this by moving the camera slower to make it run smoother.     
We made a few changes from what we had originally planned on our storyboard. We did this as some parts we felt did not need to be included. We had planned on doing a close up on his feet when he is walking down the corridor but felt it would take up too much vital time that we needed to use to film the essential parts. We also changed how we were going to film the ending. Our original plan was to have the camera tracking backwards and having the door slam shut, but soon discovered it was a lot more difficult to do this than expected and to actually make it look sufficient.
We did not have to re-film any of our film as we all decided that there was no feed for us to. If there were concerns on parts of our film then we could have considered filming some parts again but for us this was unnecessary.
I think my group prepared ourselves well for filming as before we started we all got together and planned out who what going to be filming what part. We did this so each of us had a fair chance to get to grips with filming and so we all were assigned to a part that we could individually concentrate on. We also made sure we set up the cameras and gave ourselves an estimated time to do that in so we could get on with the filming as soon as we could.
We worked really well as a group as we all knew what we had to get on with but also came together on some parts and worked together. We made sure that not all four of us were trying to operate the camera at one time as we knew this would get us confused and not everyone would get a fair chance at filming. Instead we thought it would be better to take it in turns and each film for different sections of the film.
I enjoyed filming our film a lot more than I expected. I mostly enjoyed it when I was using the cameras as it was good to feel involved in what we were creating and felt proud of what we had filmed at the end.  

Storyboard!

Script!

Yas, Jess, Millie, Kat;

Billy is a new student in school who has been called to see his head of year. Billy is unaware of what the meeting is about but is slightly suspicious as to what it might be. He has been having troubles lately and is finding it difficult to keep in his emotions.

(Billy walks down the corridor that leads to the door he is about to enter, once he arrives at the door he reaches out for the door handle and opens it, he then walks into the room and sees his head of year looking at him with a slight comforting smile, at this point he is more at ease but still incredibly nervous but is trying to hide it. When talking to the teacher he is constantly covering a patch above his eye where he has a bruise, this makes the teacher even more suspicious)

Teacher: Take a seat Billy.

(Billy sits down in the chair in front of the teacher and gives her a slight forced grin)

Teacher: So how are you coping with being in a new school?

Billy: (quivering) Yeah I’m really starting to like it

Teacher: (smiles at his answer but is slightly curious and not fully convinced) Glad to hear, how are you getting along with the lessons?

Billy: Good I think... (Thinking this is why he has been called in)I have been trying really hard to keep up with all the work; I’m trying my hardest Miss I really am

Teacher: (comfortingly) and I’m sure you are, in fact I’ve had really got reports back from teachers telling me how well your coming along

Billy: (nerves build up) then why have you called me here?

Teacher: (pause as she does not want to be insensitive) how would you say you have been getting on socially?

Billy: (defensive) what do you mean? I’ve made loads of new friends since I’ve been here, everyone has been really welcoming

Teacher: Billy if there is something bothering you, you really should tell me.

FLASHBACK! – Blurred short scene between Billy and his father. In this clip he is being abused and thrown around but it is unclear weather this figure is his father or not as his face is not clear

(Once the flashback has ended Billy is left looking into space with a blank expression)

Teacher- Billy? Look I only want to help you; I’m doing it for your own safety

Billy: (explodes) Look you have no idea what you’re talking about okay! Don’t pretend like you care, you teachers are all the same!

(Billy goes to stand up)

Teacher – (shocked) Billy sit back down, I know it must be difficult but its not good suffering in silence, I’ve had reports back from your p.e teacher saying on numerous occasions you have had bruises on your legs and I can clearly see you trying to hide one now! (Calmly) I’m only trying to help you

Billy: (shaking with nerves and close to tears) there’s nothing you can do to help

Teacher: Billy I’m going to have to contact your parents, they have a right to know that there is something bothering you, perhaps you would prefer to talk to them about who is doing this to you?

(Billy sits there in silence slightly rocking his body and shaking his head)

Teacher: If you talk to them about it, you might find it will make the situation better

Billy: make it better?! How could it make it better? All it would do it makes everything worse (can not hold back tears)

Teacher: how could it make it worse?

(Billy stares in silence)

Teacher: Billy, how could it make it worse?!

Billy: (shouts) Because my dad is the one who is doing this to me!

Description of ideas!

The camera angles that we have to include were requested by the exam board. We have to include a 180 degree rule, match on action and shot reverse shot as well as delivering lines. It was also a requirment to have someone walking through a door and sitting down on a chair. We were told that we could create any storyline behind the information we were given. My group have decided to base in in school about a boy who is being abused. We wanted to create something that is dramatic that has a climax at the end to shock the audiance. For this type of storyline we decided to put it under the genre of drama as we feel that this was the most suitable and gave us a wide range of ideas to put into our film if we wanted to expand on it.

In the creation of the storyboard for our preliminary task we have planned to use a 180 degree rule during the exchange of lines. This is to give us a guildline of where we are not allowed to cross and to stay on one side of the character so the filming did not look discontinuous and to ensure the audiance do not get confused. The end reult will look much better if we use this rule. We are planning of using two cameras when doing this as well as using two camera on our match on action shot. We will use two cameras to film him entering and use the other to show him coming out the other side. Once it is filmed we will edit to to make it look continuous. We plan the use shot reverse shot when our actors exchange lines and put in an over the shoulder shot to show both the characters are involved but to have the main focus on who is speaking.