Since the preliminary task, I feel my knowledge on planning and constructing a successful continuity sequence has really increased and I have especially come to know the importance of each stage in the process from pre to post production.
Planning
-Initially after reading the brief for the preliminary task, I was sure it would be quite simple, and I did not think much planning would be needed, although we did produce a rough storyboard, script and shooting script.
This planning made us organised and efficient.
-For our film production, we recognised that due to limitations of time, location, availability of actors and the weather, planning needed to be in much more detail.
-We also had to think about locations and actors very carefully and did some recces near and around our homes whilst for the preliminary task we were limited to locations within the school grounds.
Research
Our film brief like the prelim required us to construct a continuity sequence but one that specifically follows the form of a film opening sequence and the conventions of a certain genre.
-For this, we needed to research both genre and film-opening sequences, which was essential to enhance our sequence.
-Our prelim production was quite plain and boring with normal students in a classroom having a short conversation. Looking back at it and researching into real film openings, we learnt that in order to enhance our sequence, we needed to think about presenting our characters with appropriate costume and make-up, and choose a suitable location.
-We also learnt how important the mis-en-scene is in order to create the right mood and paid a lot of attention to it >>
-As well as the visuals, it would have been better if we had paid more atte
ntion to the dialogue, as audience feedback shows whilst the set, characters and music were the most liked features of our sequence; the dialogue was the least liked factor. If we were to produce our film, the script would need revising.
Production
- During the production itself however, we found the that ‘sound check, camera-check, camera rolling…action’ process we learnt during the preliminary task was extremely useful in making sure everyone and everything was ready before we took each shot. This process became natural making sure everyone was ready with whatever they were doing as we often swapped roles within the team to gain experience with different technologies.
- One aspect we definitely improved on was leaving time at the beginning and end of each shot before we said ‘cut’ so that it gave us space to cut the clip when editing, in order to create a successful match on action.
-The test shoot proved to be extremely helpful as we could see how our
idea works in our chosen location and whether we were being too ambitious or not. For example, after the test shoot we were aware that a track through the hallway would be impractical as sliding a chair with wheels on carpet was very unsteady and the dolly was too wide for the hallway. All this meant that we did not waste the actors’ time when they arrived but knew exactly what we were going to do and how. Therefore the test shoot proved to be essential.
-During the prelim task, we sometimes found we had a lack of good shots to choose from, as we had not done enough takes. Therefore, for our film production we took many takes of each shot so we had good range of shots to choose from.
-For continuity reason we also had to make sure that every time we took a shot, we put everything back in its place so that there isn’t a jump of objects between shots without ellipses. For this, we decided to mark the positions of a few things with a chalk.
Editing
I have also learnt a lot about editing as this time, not only did we have to order our shots in a continuity sequence, but we also had to add titles, effects and a soundtrack.
-I have certainly improved my skills on using the editing software Premiere Pro, and especially learnt about ways to enhance shots through audio and video effects
- I learnt how useful the storyboard was when editing, as we knew exactly which shots to drag out the box, place on the timeline and trim, according to the shot number we had given it during the capturing process.
-Initially after reading the brief for the preliminary task, I was sure it would be quite simple, and I did not think much planning would be needed, although we did produce a rough storyboard, script and shooting script.
This planning made us organised and efficient.
-For our film production, we recognised that due to limitations of time, location, availability of actors and the weather, planning needed to be in much more detail.
-We also had to think about locations and actors very carefully and did some recces near and around our homes whilst for the preliminary task we were limited to locations within the school grounds.
Research
Our film brief like the prelim required us to construct a continuity sequence but one that specifically follows the form of a film opening sequence and the conventions of a certain genre.
-For this, we needed to research both genre and film-opening sequences, which was essential to enhance our sequence.
-Our prelim production was quite plain and boring with normal students in a classroom having a short conversation. Looking back at it and researching into real film openings, we learnt that in order to enhance our sequence, we needed to think about presenting our characters with appropriate costume and make-up, and choose a suitable location.
-We also learnt how important the mis-en-scene is in order to create the right mood and paid a lot of attention to it >>
-As well as the visuals, it would have been better if we had paid more atte
ntion to the dialogue, as audience feedback shows whilst the set, characters and music were the most liked features of our sequence; the dialogue was the least liked factor. If we were to produce our film, the script would need revising.Production
- During the production itself however, we found the that ‘sound check, camera-check, camera rolling…action’ process we learnt during the preliminary task was extremely useful in making sure everyone and everything was ready before we took each shot. This process became natural making sure everyone was ready with whatever they were doing as we often swapped roles within the team to gain experience with different technologies.
- One aspect we definitely improved on was leaving time at the beginning and end of each shot before we said ‘cut’ so that it gave us space to cut the clip when editing, in order to create a successful match on action.
-The test shoot proved to be extremely helpful as we could see how our
idea works in our chosen location and whether we were being too ambitious or not. For example, after the test shoot we were aware that a track through the hallway would be impractical as sliding a chair with wheels on carpet was very unsteady and the dolly was too wide for the hallway. All this meant that we did not waste the actors’ time when they arrived but knew exactly what we were going to do and how. Therefore the test shoot proved to be essential.-During the prelim task, we sometimes found we had a lack of good shots to choose from, as we had not done enough takes. Therefore, for our film production we took many takes of each shot so we had good range of shots to choose from.
-For continuity reason we also had to make sure that every time we took a shot, we put everything back in its place so that there isn’t a jump of objects between shots without ellipses. For this, we decided to mark the positions of a few things with a chalk.
Editing
I have also learnt a lot about editing as this time, not only did we have to order our shots in a continuity sequence, but we also had to add titles, effects and a soundtrack.
-I have certainly improved my skills on using the editing software Premiere Pro, and especially learnt about ways to enhance shots through audio and video effects
- I learnt how useful the storyboard was when editing, as we knew exactly which shots to drag out the box, place on the timeline and trim, according to the shot number we had given it during the capturing process.
Sound
During our prelim, we also found that sound quality of the conversation was not so good. Therefore, for our final production we decided to:
1) Record the voice separately using a microphone
2) Synchronize it to actor’s lip movements on the editing software
3) Lower the treble on audio effects, to get rid of camera sound, a factor that stood out in our prelim production.
4) Record some atmospheric sound to replace the camera sound and make it more realistic.
Evaluation
Finally, when evaluating our preliminary task, we watched it as a class and our feedback was very much based on our media knowledge. Whilst this helped us improve our media skills, we were not able to see what a real audience would think of our product. However for the final product we got feedback from our target audience with a large number of non-media students therefore we could get a better idea of what our audience would really think about our sequence, and how we could improve it in the future. Therefore, the audience screening was very useful!
Overall, I have learnt a lot more about each stage in the process of filmmaking from planning to producing and finally evaluating. I have also learnt the importance of working as a team, sharing roles and learning new skills from each other as we spent a lot more time together unlike for the preliminary task.
During our prelim, we also found that sound quality of the conversation was not so good. Therefore, for our final production we decided to:
1) Record the voice separately using a microphone
2) Synchronize it to actor’s lip movements on the editing software
3) Lower the treble on audio effects, to get rid of camera sound, a factor that stood out in our prelim production.
4) Record some atmospheric sound to replace the camera sound and make it more realistic.
Evaluation
Finally, when evaluating our preliminary task, we watched it as a class and our feedback was very much based on our media knowledge. Whilst this helped us improve our media skills, we were not able to see what a real audience would think of our product. However for the final product we got feedback from our target audience with a large number of non-media students therefore we could get a better idea of what our audience would really think about our sequence, and how we could improve it in the future. Therefore, the audience screening was very useful!
Overall, I have learnt a lot more about each stage in the process of filmmaking from planning to producing and finally evaluating. I have also learnt the importance of working as a team, sharing roles and learning new skills from each other as we spent a lot more time together unlike for the preliminary task.
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