Prelim Evaluation

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


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

We were a group of 3: Me, Shani and Kayvon. Shani and Kayvon were the two main actors. Shani because of her experience and enjoyment of acting, and Kayvon, even though he was not as confident about acting as Shani was, we needed a male protagonist. I directed the video, also working on camera and sound.

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

Firstly we agreed on the genre of spy-thriller, influenced by the James Bond films. We then constructed a storyboard around the prelim brief of a character walking in, making dialogue and sitting down. This was done shot by shot while walking it through, which was very useful as when it came to filming we would know exactly what and where to film and not waste any of our short time period. Once we had finished that, we planned out our costumes around the genre, Kayvon wearing a suit and Shani wearing a black dress and sunglasses.

We tried to include multiple theories and techniques:

• A range of shot types, from long shots and master shots to close ups
• The 180˚ and 30˚ rule, but we think it may have been broken due to problems within editing (last two shots)
• Zooms (shot 3)
• Panning and crabbing (shot 4)
• Arcing around (shot 6)
• Shot/reverse shot (shots 9 and 10)
• Eyeline match shot (shot 3)
• Narrative flow
• Match on action

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

To film the video, we used a Canon HV30 camera, a shotgun microphone, Mini DV Tape, Sennheiser HD 201 headphones and Adobe Premiere Pro to edit.
Using the Canon HV30 Camera, we used the Mini DV Tape to record the footage. The shotgun microphone was used to record audio within the range and the Sennheiser HD 201 headphones were used by the mastersound to check for the sound being recorded onto the camera.
Using Adobe Premiere Pro was quite simple to use. We viewed all of our clips and decided as a group which shots we would keep by placing them in a different bin. We cut each of the clips by making 'in and out points', then dragging them to the timeline, using two separate tracks, alternating shots between the two. The video had to be watched several times on the timeline to look out for points in the sequence which could be edited more closely, to make sure we didn't break the narrative flow.

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

While planning we had to take into account props, location, actors and storyboard within the set hour we had. We readily decided to shoot within the Media Block, as we would be guaranteed permission. The storyboard took up most of the hour, however actor positions were quickly allocated and props and costumes were organised to bring in.
When shooting, we had to keep within the time constraint, while making sure shots were lit correctly, abiding by the 180˚ and 30˚ rules, were focused, and had audio etc. Some of these aspects we realised we disobeyed by the time we were editing.
When editing the group had to make sure there was narrative flow, continuity and match on action.

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

I think our sequence was successful, as we fulfilled the demands of the brief. We matched the action of Kayvon opening the door and crossing the room. Kayvon didn't sit down, but he lay across the table, which we believed to be similar to sitting down. We did that mainly because we hadn't set out the chair to be smoothly taken out and sat down, so we we thought it would be smoother to do it the way we did. It also added a comic essence to our piece.
If I were to improve the sequence, I would take into account backlighting, which made some shots darker than others as they were shot in front of the window (shot 8). I would also be more careful when it comes to the 180˚ and 30˚ rules, as we broke by the end of our sequence.

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

From this task, I have learnt how to plan, film and edit a shoot effectively without too many aspects going wrong, such as managing time. I have also learnt to film more shots of the same actions to avoid unfocused shots and keep within the 180˚ and 30˚ rules. I have also learnt about using more techniques in sequences like this such as shot/reverse shot, panning, arcing and the use of a master shot, which i can use for future projects.