Tuesday, 11 October 2016

Evaluation

Evaluation of Preliminary Task:

 
The task we were asked to do for our preliminary task was a continuity task. Our aim was to ensure that all the shots were edited in a way that meant the movements flow despite a change of camera angle or camera shot. We had to film a conversation between two people, this involved one character opening a door, both characters walk towards the table and thy both start dialogue once they are sat opposite each other. There we many skills that we needed to use within the Preliminary task, we needed to show skills such as continuity, match on action, shot reverse-shot and the 180° rule.

Overall our filming process was successful however we did have some issues that we had to overcome. One of the challenges we had to overcome was ensuring we had no continuity errors in any of our shots. In some of our shots we had issues with the placement of hair, movements with hands and other motions. This is all caused some issues when we viewed the shots back. We saw that some of the shots would cut and then in the next shot the character would be in a different position and thus the shots weren’t continuous. However we did also have a lot of successes when filming the task. One success that we had during our filming process was successfully using the 180 rule. This was a success because we were able to keep on the correct sides of the characters while filming them. Thus this meant that we did not break the rule and so when it came to editing the task we did not have any issues with what side the character was on, meaning the audience would not be confused as to which sides the different characters were sat on. Another struggle that we had to overcome was the steadiness of the camera while panning, this was an issue because it was difficult to walk with the camera without the film being unsteady. To overcome this we had to change the type of pan we included within the task. Instead of a long panning shot we did a pan of the camera slightly following one of the characters as she walks towards the table. This allowed us to still use pan however we could pan without needed to walk in order to do so. Therefore we got a steadier shot but we were still able to include this shot within the task. 

 

Once we had finished the filming process of the task we then had to evaluate the footage that we had taken. In terms of the quality of our shots, they were overall a very good quality. When evaluating our footage we had completed our goal to include a various and a variety of different shot types. Overall the shots that we took were done in the way we set out to do the, they also we successful as the made the task easy to understand. Another thing we needed to evaluate when looking at our footage was the framing, this was difficult as we had to film in surroundings that were moving and so therefore due to having people moving in the background, continuity in the framing was difficult to achieve. However when looking at this footage sue to the different shots we got, we were able to edit in a way in which the focus was not on the background and also there were shots between in which the background had time to move and it was explained when they changes positions. The composition of our footage also had to be analysed, we had to ensure that if we used a prop or there was a display in the background that when we filmed it was in the same position. Due to filming on different days we had to ensure that because there was a display in the back on one day, we had to move it so that it was also in the same place on the second da. Also due to filming on different days we had to ensure that the character were wearing the same clothing as they had I the shots we had already taken. This made the shots seem continuous and so the composition in our footage of our task was successful in terms of composition. Lastly when evaluating our footage before the editing process we saw that we had no issues with lighting, due to our setting being inside we did not have the issues with the weather of lighting changes, thus making our footage of a good quality.

 

Once we had evaluated the quality of our footage, we then had to edit it in order to complete our task. When editing it was difficult to use at first as we had no experience of editing the footage. However once the footage was imported it was easy to cut and edited the different shots and make them into a flowing piece of film. There were many skills that needed to be used when editing the task, therefore there were many skills that I have learnt form the editing process. One of these skills is how to cut the footage and also overlapping a soundtrack and subtitles onto the footage being shown in the video. Once we had used the program in which we were editing on for a while, we soon understood how it can be used effectively and so the editing process soon became quite easy to complete. When editing the footage is was extremely important that we achieved continuity within the finished video. It was difficult to achieve this at first due to cutting pieces of footage together and allowing it to flow smoothly with the audience seeing a jump or slight change in positions of an object or character. However once we had developed our editing skills it was then quite easy to cut the different clips together. So therefore continuity had been achieved within the clip ad we did not have any continuity errors within the task.

 

When we had finished the task there are many things I need to evaluate our task on to see whether we had achieved the skills that needed to be shown in the task. One of the skills that we needed to show was continuity, overall I believe that after watching and reviewing our task there were very little if not no continuity errors. In the finished piece the shots flow without any pauses or jumpy cuts, one way in which the continuity was successful was when one of the characters walks through a door. The shot shows the character walking toward the door, the next shot shows her holding the door handle and the next is from the opposite side of the door, the door opens and she walks through. This was continuous as there were no pauses and all the movements being shown in the scene flowed despite the change of camera angle.
 
 
Another thing that I had to ensure was successful when evaluating the edited and finished video, was the match on action. After watching our video back I can conclude that this is also a success, this can be seen throughout the footage shown. For example at one point in the video one of the characters rests her head in her hand, when doing the she rests her elbow onto the table. Match on action was achieved here as in the next shot the characters arm is in the same position as it was last seen in. therefore match on action was a success as despite the cut of the shot, the action is the same as it is in the previous shot shown. In terms of shot reverse-shot, this was also used well however it could’ve been used more frequently. In the video shot reverse-shot is used however it could’ve been used more. There are many points in which we used a longshot of the conversation where we could’ve used more shot reverse-shot instead which would’ve been more effective.  However when we did use shot reverse-shot it was effective, it was used at appropriate times and matched the dialogue nicely. Lastly a skill that we had to ensure was effective was the use of the 180° rule. This was used effective throughout and we didn’t face any errors in the task for this. In the video the camera stays on one side of each character for example it stayed on the right side of one of the characters and the left side of the others. This therefore ensured that during the video the audience had no confusion of which side each character is sat on and also made sure that they do not look like they have changed positions without it being shown to the audience.

 

There were many successes in our preliminary task these included the used of the 180° rule without making any errors and ensuring that the audience has no confusion as to where the characters are positioned throughout the video. Another success we had was the match on action and the end result of our continuity despite our struggle to achieve this during the filming process. Another success we had in the preliminary task was the use of sound, we managed to use sound effectively within the piece at the beginning and at the end while leaving the dialogue without a soundtrack in the background. However we could’ve improved on the way the music was edited in and out of the scene in order to make it more discrete and not so sudden or abrupt. Despite the many successes of our preliminary task there are also many things that we could improve in order to achieve a more developed and effective task. One of the things we could improve was the dialogues sound in the footage. Due to lack of a good quality microphone we had to use the microphone attached to the camera being used. Due to this the sound quality of the spoken dialogue was not of a good quality, this is because the camera sometimes had to do longshots or pans where the microphone was not close to the characters mouth, making it difficult for the dialogue to be heard in the finished piece. If I could reshoot it then I would also consider the use of shot reverse-shot, I would ensure that this is included more in order to make it clear to the audience that this is used many times throughout. I would also make it more interesting by instead of having a long shot for a long period of time which can be boring for the audiences viewing, I would cut into a shot reverse-shot.

 

There are many things that I have learnt from filming and editing my preliminary task, many of these things that I have learnt will help me with my thriller. I think one of the things that I have learnt that has helped is learning the editing skills. This will help me with the thriller as I now know how to use the editing software and so I will be more able to edit the thriller successfully and in an effective way. Another thing I have learnt is how to use the 180° rule successfully. This is going to be useful for my thriller as I am able to ensure that the audience will not get confused in the way the characters are positioned and therefore they can pay attention to the other things being shown and so it will not take their attention away from the thriller itself. Lastly one thing that I have learnt that will help me with my thriller is the issues with using dialogue. This will help me as I have learnt that if dialogue is used in the piece it can be unsuccessful as it may be too quiet for the audience to hear and often it is not a good enough quality to be effective enough. Therefore in my thriller I don’t think dialogue will be used as I have learnt that it is difficult to achieve an effective piece of sound when recording the dialogue. Therefore to make my thriller as effective as possible I have learnt that dialogue does not have to be used.

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