1) Who did you work with and how did you manage the tasks between you? Explain how you organised your time and schedules. What issues came up with time management? What problems did you come up against? How did you deal with these? What were your strengths and weaknesses in this area? What would you do differently next time?
Our group consisted of me, Wayne and Kevin. Kevin, as the director because he was the one that came up with the main idea, allocated the role of cameraperson to me and Wayne to be an actor. Initially, I too was meant to partake in the scene as the character appearing alongside Wayne
A shooting schedule was created in order to manage our time, where we ensured that all the scenes set in the studio would be shot collectively first, and then the few remaining that take place in the corridor outside. One of the most significant problems we faced was that when it came to the day of filming, we made the crucial mistake of not finishing shooting the entire scenes before we left. As well as damaging our time management, it also posed a potential problem in disrupting the continuity of our sequence. We dealt with this problem by having to re-shoot the scenes on a different day, as the lighting was different in the corridor compared to the first time we had shot them, so in order to maintain continuity we decided to film the corridor shots again.
I think my strengths were that I was confident with using the camera and encouraging the group on reminding them that we had to manage time efficiently. I think one of my prime weaknesses was that whilst I was confident with operating the camera, setting the tripod up was a factor I was still unsure about, so setting it up took more time than necessary. Next time, I will ensure that we have finished filming entirely rather than leaving it to a different day, as it can create problems with continuity.
2) How did you plan your sequence? What process did you use?
At first we attempted to brainstorm ideas for the narrative, but then decided to go with Kevin’s first idea as it was the one that was most well thought out. All three of us worked on the storyboard together, equally sharing our input on what types of camera angles and shots should be used as well as how the story ought to move along throughout the sequence. The storyboard and script were constructing alongside each other, so that we could ensure that the script worked well with the storyline and that it fit. During this process we had to bear in mind that the 180 degree rule wasn’t breached, as well as the fact that we included match on action and shot reverse shot, and kept continuity consistent.
A location recce guaranteed that we chose appropriate places in which to shoot our scenes. For this we discussed the pros and cons of the locations, weighing up whether they were suitable for our sequence. The pros and cons discussed consisted of highlighting that the corridor was a good place to shoot in after school as there would be less of a chance of someone walking in and disrupting our filming. However, we had not anticipated re-shooting, and when we had to, the corridor had unnaturally high noise levels that we could not avoid as it was during school hours. In comparison, the studio was the best location as we were guaranteed complete silence and no interruptions.
3) What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it? What did you learn about using the cameras? Here you can also refer to the discussions we have had in class recently about digital cameras.
A Canon camera with a Libec tripod was used during the production of the sequence. The tripod was advantageous as it allowed us to alter the height of the camera in order to film the high angle shots. Whilst using the camera, I learnt that there were several factors that had to be taken into consideration to ensure that it was used effectively. For example, the spirit level was something that had to be altered when setting it all up. Disregarding this would have meant that the shots would come out noticeably uneven. When first beginning to use the camera, I felt that the features were quite unfamiliar but after filming a few takes of the first scene it was easy to become accustomed to it. I have also learnt that recently, technology concerning digital cameras has become more advanced, as analogue televisions have been switched over to digital in order to provide a larger number of channels. For the editing, we used Adobe Premier Pro to digitise the chosen shots, as well as put them all together to create the final clip.
4) What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?
During the shooting process time management was even more crucial as our actress was a volunteer who only had a limited amount of time that she could stay for the filming of the scenes. To combat this problem, we shot the scenes that included her first so that she wouldn’t have to wait longer than necessary. I don’t think this hindered the performance or the outcome of the clip, as we managed to film the necessary shots in a timely manner. Editing was something that we were incapable of completing during lesson time, so we also had to take into account that work had to be done after school or during free lessons. We arranged times where we were meant to meet up to finish editing to meet the deadline.
5) How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?
I think, overall, the product we finished with was satisfactory. I believe we met the targets of the brief successfully and managed to maintain continuity to a good standard, which had been one of the main concerns throughout the process. I think that the fact that we all contributed our ideas worked well, as it helped in making everyone more enthusiastic about the project and putting more effort into it. I also think one of the main factors that gave us an advantage was that during the production, we were very focused on filming and managed to achieve two good takes quickly. This saved us time as we didn’t have to do many retakes after the good shots. I think the main issue that disrupted the process was that the times at which we arranged to meet up weren’t remembered by the other two group members. This left me to do the digitising as well as some of the editing otherwise we wouldn’t have met the deadline. I think the sequence could have been better if the group had been together during the whole process so that it wouldn’t have been as rushed when we were implementing the finishing touches together.
6) What have you learnt from completing the task? Discuss time management skills, group work skills, organisational skills and technical skills of production.
Group work skills are those of which I have taken away from this task, however I have also learnt that whilst we did work together well, the completion of tasks is also dependant on the reliability of the group, as they can be absent during group meetings that have been scheduled. As a consequence of this, time management can be ruined which can have an overall effect on the final sequence as the work ends up being rushed hurriedly in efforts to meet deadlines. I think being the cameraperson meant that I was able to develop my technical ability when it came to handling the camera.
7) Post production - What did you learn about the editing process? How did you make decisions while editing? How did you plan your time to complete the editing task? What were your strengths and weaknesses in this area? What would you do differently next time?
One of the first things about the editing process I learnt was that the shots had to first be digitised before we could begin editing them. This meant that during the transfer of the shots from the camera to the computer, we had to pick and choose precisely what shots we wanted to use and disregard the takes that were unsuitable or not as good. This consumed almost an hour of our time, and whilst it was meant to be done as a group during a free lesson, I decided to do it by myself in order to manage our time despite the absence of the rest of the group.
Whilst editing we had to put the scenes in the correct order, and decide on where they ought to ‘cut in’ and ‘cut out’ so that continuity could be preserved. These were easy decisions as we all agreed easily and chose shots that flowed effectively. Any mistakes that we countered were mostly easily corrected. For example, during the beginning of the sequence there was sound audible during the fade in, which ruined the effect of the transition. Using the software, it was easy to alter the levels of sound from where the scene was placed on the timeline. Editing wasn’t finished during lesson time, and there were no more opportunities for us to get together during school hours as none of us had free lessons, so Kevin decided to do some during his free lesson. However, he failed to turn up so the rest of editing was rushed after school. This was a severe weakness, as had we spent more time I think we could have ended up with a better product.
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