1)Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?
To create the short film I worked with Matthew and Eleanor. As a group we first had a group discussion in order to sort out basic details of the film. We decided on the story line of the short film whilst sticking closely to the brief. We had to ensure the story line included two characters with a few lines of dialogue between them. as a group we decided the short film would be about a detention and the two characters would be a teacher and student. As a group we formed a short script of what each character will say. During the production of the sequence Matthew and I were acting with Eleanor doing most of the filming however we both took turns directing and filming scenes. For the editing section of the task we were split into two groups. Matthew and I worked on one version of the sequence together whilst Eleanor made her own version by herself.
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| Our Group |
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| Our script |
2)How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?
First off we planned who would act within the sequence. As a group we decided Matthew and I would feature in the film, Matthew as the teacher and me as the student. Next we started off with a group discussion of how the story line would work on camera.Thus as a group we planned each individual shot into a storyboard. On the story board we figured out the composition of each shot and the order each shot would go in. After story-boarding we referred back to the brief to ensure we met its needs for example "a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue." Our short film met this specific need. The next process we went through was figuring out where we would shoot the sequence. We decided our sets would be room PA6 in the media department as it had a teachers desk and was quite spacious to film in, thus making it easier to film in, as well as outside the media department and the foyet as they could easily show the character walking into the classroom. After deciding on the sets a shoot schedule was made in order to be more efficient when filming. This also made our filming a lot more organised. We took many theories into account whilst planning the sequence. Our first theory we took into account was genre. Our sequence was part of the school-drama genre. We showed this through our set being a classroom and dress code. I was dressed in smart casual clothes to show I was a student and Matthew wore a suit to display he was the teacher. This automatically gave the audience a representation of our characters. Our shots were long with many awkward silences to try and imitate the drama genre. We used continuity principles in order not to break continuity such as the 180 degree rule, shot-reverse-shot, eye line matches and the 30 degree rule. we also achieved continuity within the editing stages by matching shots as close as possible.
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| Rough birds eye view of set |
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| Our Storyboard |
3)What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?
During the shooting and editing process we used a wide variety of technology such as
A Canon HFG30 Camera to shoot. It is a camcorder that has professional grade features such as amazing video quality. It is fairly easy to shoot with which made it perfect for out task as we had to shoot scenes quickly and efficiently. However it is quite big and heavy which made it hard to film scenes that needed the camcorder to be elevated such as the clock scene.
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| A Canon HFG30 |
A Libec TH65-DV tripod in order for our shots to be steady. Without the tripod our shots would be shaky. The tripod was especially useful for smooth pans and tilts when using the tipod arm to swivel the camcorder.
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| The Libec TH65-DV |
A Canon DM-100 Directional mic. We used the mic in order to record characters talking, the sounds of doors opening and the chocolate bar being unwrapped. The mic helped the audience visual things that were happening off screen such as the chocolate bar being unwrapped.
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| The Canon DM-100 Directional Mic |
A standard clapper board in order to make the editing process easier when identifying shots.
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| Generic Clapperboard |
A PC running Windows 7 operating system equipped with Adobe Premier Pro. The use of this editing software made it easy to cut clips and join them together. This was especially useful as we could edit efficiently and quickly within the time constraint.
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| Me and Matthew editing on a PC |
4)What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?
We took many factors into account during the planning, shooting and editing processes. When planning we needed to take into account we only had three members in our group. This meant that we were limited to only two actors providing that one person could work the camera by themselves. We also had to plan our set. In order to do this we set up a birds eye view of how we would set up the classroom. During the shooting process we needed to take into account where we would shoot and at what specific time. Thus we made a shoot board to ensure we would not conflict with the other group in terms of setting. We also needed to take into account the time constraint throughout shooting and editing. We were given 1 hour to shoot and 1 hour to edit. This means we needed to time efficient with everything we do and there was absolutely no time to relax/ mess around. Full concentration was needed to fit into the time constraint.
5)How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/ do differently?
I think overall our sequence was quite good. The majority of the shots worked well in terms of continuity and framing. I also really like the shot where the teachers gets the chocolate bar from the drawer. This is quite a unique shot with a smooth pan from an upward angle. In this shot we manage to also see the student in the background walking away. However there was a slight continuity error as the pencil case of the student disappears from the table in one shot and isn't seen again for the rest of the sequence. I also thought the atmosphere of the shot worked well with awkward silences to create tension between the two characters. in hindsight I would change the dialogue between the characters. Due to time constraint we used basic phrases. If possible I would change the actors especially me as it would be more efficient. For one shot we had up to 11 takes which could've been avoided.
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?
I have learnt a variety of things from this task. First of all acting is hard especially when trying to be serious. It took me 11 takes to get a straight face which is an awful lot. Also I learnt how to be more practical with some of my shots. For example something as simple as opening a chocolate bar is much harder than it looks as once opened it cannot be closed. I also learnt how to edit well. Once I got into a system I could edit with some pace and precision. This was not the case in GCSEs with editing being a long and painful process but now I find it enjoyable and will definitely be editing in my spare time. Editing as a skill will also be very useful when it comes to the actual project where editing is key in order to achieve a desired effect. One last thing I learnt was many continuity principles such as the 180 degree rule and master shots.
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