Preliminary Exercise Analysis

1) Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?
I worked in a group with Natasha and Francis. We all planned and came up with the idea for the task as a group, and I finalised our plans by writing the shot list. Francis and Natasha were our two actors, and we each took turns at filming and directing the shots that each actor wasn't in, to try and spread the filming/directing jobs as equally as possible.

2) How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?
We planned the sequence by drawing up a storyboard and a shot list. We then did a few walkthroughs of our idea to make sure that the setting we chose was suitable for what we wanted to film. We then adapted our script slightly to suit the movement during the scene. We took into account the theories of continuity and narrative flow, and also thought about our variety of shots.
Anna Francis Natasha Script
Anna Francis Natasha Shot List

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

• Camera (Canon Legria HV40) - both tripod and handheld to film our shots, using zoom and playback features.
• Tripod - we adjusted the height of the tripod in order to get high and low angled shots, and removed and reattached the camera when doing handheld shots.
• Shot gun mic - a boom mic would have been impractical, seeing as most shots could only be filmed by one person, as we had 2 actors in many of our shots.
• Editing suites - Adobe Premier Pro CS3 for non-linear digital editing. I also used the razor and eraser tools when editing to move around my shots and to achieve continuity, and captured my footage (making sure to leave room for editing)

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

Planning:
Variation of shots, scheduling, assigning tasks to each group member, narrative flow, lighting, setting.

Shooting:
Framing, acting, time management, leaving run-on time to edit.

Editing:
Continuity, narrative flow, match-on action, audio volume.

5) How successful was your sequence? What worked well,and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?

I think that my sequence was fairly successful, though there was plenty to be improved.

I think that the match-on action (the pen grab) worked well, along with the cutting away to the master shot to make the setting/space clear and the cut away to the clock. We also managed to stick to the 30 degree and 180 degree rules.

With hindsight, I would have paid more attention to the audio that we were recording, as when it came to editing, it was tricky to match up. I would also have made sure that each run through of the sequence was done as similarly to the others as the one before in order to retain narrative flow and continuity. I also would have simplified the narrative and made my edit shorter, as I tried to pack in too much footage when I should have focused on editing a shorter clip.

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?

From completing this task, I have learnt that paying attention to the audio is just as important as the visual content, and that it is more important to focus on creating something simple that completes the specifications well rather than trying to include too much where it is not neccesary. I have also learnt a great deal about continuity theory and how to put it into practise, using techniques such as cross-cutting, the 30 degree rule and the shot-reverse-shot. I think that this learning will be significant when it comes to the rest of my work as it has shown me how important the planning really is. I have also learnt that in order to create a good edit, you cannot just rely on editing footage that may have a problem with it - the footage must be right. The continuity techniques that I have learnt about will be incredibly useful when filming my opening sequence, as it will really help to make it seem like a real, believable opening.