Evaluating the Preliminary Task

1. Explain what you were asked to do and how you prepared for the task.

Our Preliminary task was to film and edit a character opening a door, crossing a room, and then sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. We had to effectively demonstrate match on action, shot-reverse-shot and the 180 degree rule.

We prepared for the task by storyboarding each shot and writing the shot types, shot angles, dialogue and actions. We also made sure that we included the three rules (match on action, shot-reverse-shot, and the 180 degree rule. We also watched some opening sequence examples to understand how they were constructed, we watched Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Reservoir Dogs.

Filming

2. Explain how you filmed each part of the task (match on action and shot-reverse-shot while maintaining the 180 degree rule) commenting on:

Your Role:

My role was to film Character one. (I am Character two). I filmed Character one walking down a corridor towards a door, opening a door and then walking through the library (our setting) and sitting down in a chair. I then filmed character one and her dialogue (she had lost her phone which was on the seat next to character two) with character two (out of shot). Finally I filmed character one walking out of the library, and putting her phone in her pocket and then out of the main entrance. I filmed the match on action part of our film, showing character one opening the door and walking through the other side before going on to do a low angle shot of character one's legs walking past a bookcase, to show which direction she was walking in.

What kind of shot you used and why:

I used a variety of different shots such as long shots to show that character one's whole body could be seen and were she was walking from and to. I also used a close-up to show the character hand over the the door handle and pulling it back before I went to a mid-shot of Character one fully opening the door and walking through.

What was your framing like:

We made sure we got the best possible outcome from our framing by carefully selecting which characters we wanted out of frame and in frame and what background or props needed to be in frame for the sequence to make sense.For example I filmed A high shot of character one sitting down at a chair, but keeping character two (me) out of frame so we could effectively begin from that shot to show shot-reverse-shot.

The positioning of the actors on screen:

I positioned character one in a variety of different ways so that  a range of movements and interesting angles could be shown, and add interest to the film. We also made sure we complied with the 180 degree rule by filming character one and two sharing some dialogue over a table from one side of them , as not to reverse the places where they  were sitting, and confuse the viewer/audience.

Editing

Were you happy with the final result?

Our group were happy with the final result, although we did need to go back and film one shot we missed, after the main filming. We were most happy with our effective shot-reverse-shot part in the film as it was appropriate with the dialogue and flowed well.

What could your group have done to improve the sequence?

As a group I think we could have improved the fluidity of our match on action, as we missed a shot where character one came through the other side of the door, so we went back to film this. We could have added more dialogue to make the situation of 'The Lost Phone' (our title) more realistic.

How did you think you worked as a group?

I thought we worked well together as a group as we discussed over any ideas each other had, and worked to combine these ideas to make an effective shot for example.

We also helped and supported each other if we were having any difficulties, for example helping the other person by showing them a tip to holding the camera (hand-held) straight and having a good grip so that the camera did not wobble. We worked well together on the storyboard and about discussing what the theme of dialogue the two characters in our film should talk about.

How confident do you feel using the camera and using imovie HD ?

I am now confident with the camera and can effectively use the camera hand-held keeping it still without it wobbling.I understand how to insert the tape,what all the functions of the buttons on the camera are and how it is important to rewind to the start of the tape each time we want to film.I can also effectively use a tripod, which our group have used for example, for establishing shots of settings. I am also more confident now using imovie.I understand how to drag down clips to create the film and how to edit, using titles, sound effects, etc. I am also aware of which wire must be used to connect the camera to the Mac and how it is important to import and save any work our group do.

Close-up of Hand on door handle

Low angle shot of character ones feet
carrying on Match on Action

Displaying the 180 degree rule