Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary Brief:
Film and edit a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character. A couple of lines of dialogue must then exchange between characters & match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule should be demonstrated.

Main Task:
The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes (all video and audio material must be original, produced by candidates, with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source)

Since the preliminary task, I have made a huge progress as I have improved many ways in the way I work.

The main importance of the preliminary task was to use the 180 degree rule, perform a perfect shot reverse shot, and to make sure there was continuity throughout the sequence. Therefore, these three main goals were highlighted to us, and so we knew what we were doing, and how we were going to do it. However, when the main task was explained to us by our teacher, I knew straight away that this would require much more time and much more effort than the preliminary task. This task would involve many more complicated camera techniques being used, as well as camera shots, and a wider range of camera angles. To get this right, we had to attend camera classes to make sure that when taking part, we are able to do our very best and make sure that we know everything we need to know for the filming day.

Pre-Production

As part of the pre-production stage, for the preliminary task, we had to create a:
 Pitch
 Script
 Location Recce
 Casting
 Shooting schedule
Additionally, as well as these mentioned, for the main task we also had to create a:
 Treatment
 Redrafted storyboards
 Photo storyboards
 Casts list
 Props list
 Rehearsal timetable

Each of these benefit the pre-production stage vitally as they make the production stage much more easier and allow filming to be taken at a much relaxed approach.

We created a script for our preliminary task as the cast needed to know what they were saying and when they will be saying it, also giving the director an insight of what to expect when filming. However, we came across a specific problem. We had decided to change our location which changed our script slightly as the order of dialogue and certain parts of the script had to be changed, meaning that we had to redraft the whole script. This caused some inconvenience as we had limited amount of time when it came to the pre production of the preliminary task. when it came to writing the script for our main task, me and my group were fully aware of what it would involved, research before writing the script was vital, so that we knew that the changes and amendments that may need to be made after writing the script would be minor details that will not cause much inconvenience.

We had to draw up a story board for the preliminary task. We had very limited time to do so; therefore we had to meet up after school and in free lessons to do this, as drawing a storyboard is very time consuming. However, our storyboard didn’t seem to be efficient, which could have been due to the lack of time we had for our pre production stage because we found that due to our location having to change last minute due to noise problems, our story board had also not been helpful when filming and the camera person and director were not able to use this for their benefit as it included information that was no longer valid, as some camera shots and camera angles were not able to be recorded. Therefore, when we found our new location, we very quickly drew a rough sketch of our story board with very brief information of what we needed to know in order to film successfully. For that reason, when it came to drawing up the storyboard for our main task, we made sure that our location was one hundred percent definite so that all the information on the story board were valid, making it convenient and beneficial to us when filming. We also had to redraft the story board several times so that we could get it perfect making sure that there was no invalid information kept on the storyboard.

Location Recce’s were formed by us as a group in our pre production stage in our preliminary task. We listed out all the advantages and disadvantages of each location we wanted to use, making it easier to decide which location to use. After creating the location recce, we had realised that two of the locations included, were not able to be used due to reasons such as it would be very noisy and therefore hard to film. So in the end, we thought of the idea of shooting the sequence outside as the weather was warm and in a quiet place were there would be no disruptions, little did we know that there would be builders working which created a lot of industrial noise, meaning that although we had created a location recce, we didn’t do enough research to make sure of little minor details before making a firm choice on the location. Therefore, we learnt that we needed to do this next time. Later on, when it came to forming the location recce for our main task, we made sure we were able to use the location we wanted to use. In this case, we wanted to use a caretaker’s basement that hasn’t been used in a while, so we asked the caretaker, but found out for health and safety reasons that we were not allowed to use it. This meant that we did not waste time in creating a location recce on this and so we carried on looking for a location and when we found a definite location, we created a location recce.

Production

The production stage of the main task and the preliminary task involves:
 Using equipment
 Cast
 Weather
 Continuity
 Cut away shots
 Variety of shots
 Re shoots

When doing our preliminary task, we initially thought of filming in the common room, as if suited our narrative of the preliminary task and so it would also be convenient as it is opening at all times during the school day. However, when it came to the filming day, when we set up to start filming, we realised it was too noisy to film successfully in and there were too many distractions and interruptions. Consequently, we had to change the location and so we moved to the canteen, but then realising that it lacked continuity as there was faint music that played in the background by the dinner ladies and so this was played by the radio and so when we did reshoots and different shots, the music changed and so it lacked continuity. Also, it became noisy in the canteen and very busy as people used the canteen to revise in their free lessons, and so also, this meant it would be hard to film as their would be many distractions and interruptions. So therefore, as a group we learnt that location still takes a lot of time to plan to make sure that it will all be convenient on the day when filming. Therefore, when it came to filming we made sure before hand, that the location we would use would be perfect for filming, so that the place would be convenient, easy to use, and not too small so we can move in equipment and be an ideal location for our opening sequence. When we were filming our location was quiet, and under our control completely, so that any noise etc was due to us.

Continuity is an important factor in filming because when it comes to editing and you lack continuity, and it will be difficult to approach an edit and can be very time consuming as you may have to go back and re shoot all the shots again. In the preliminary task, continuity was a big part of the task as it was one of the main goals and we were told to make sure we keep to continuity. However, we did do this but we didn’t keep a firm track on it by using a continuity sheet, which meant that although we did keep to continuity as much as we could, it still could have been improved on how we kept track of it. So I remembered this for my main task, so when it came to filming on the day for the main task, we kept a continuity sheet were we all kept track of continuity. The process used for continuity, was that before starting to record each shot, the director (me) said ‘camera ready, sound ready, continuity check’. I would right down the shot number, take number and make sure everything to do with continuity was listed on the sheet so that if we were to do the shot again everything will be in the right place.

During the preliminary task we as a group didn’t know how to use the camera very well and so we had to work as a team to get past this. There were certain shots and camera angles we were not able to perform and this affected our final piece. For example, camera shots that moved unnecessarily, or the spirit level wasn’t adjusted properly and so the camera shots were not straight. Therefore, as a group we knew we had to fix these techniques and familiarise ourselves with the equipment before filming for our main task. So we attended camera classes with our practical teacher in our free lessons and after school, to learn certain camera shots, and camera techniques and knowing how to use other equipment. This meant that when it came to filming on the day, we filmed using the skills we gained from these sessions and this was a huge benefit for our opening sequence.

Post Production and Feedback

As part of the post production process we had to:
 Gain information as feedback from others and teachers
 Digitalise and edit shots
 If needed, find suitable and relevant sounds and music for the opening sequence
 Include credits

In the preliminary task, we started digitalising our shots straight away, getting them ready for editing. During our post production stage we had to make sure we managed our time well. So we started editing straight away, however, class time wasn’t enough time for editing and we had to be able to all meet up at the same time to make sure we were all able to take part in editing. However realised that we all didn’t have the same free lessons, but we resolved the situation by meeting up at lunchtimes and after school until we completed the editing. We had to then gain feedback from others and our teachers, so we played the sequence to our class and listened to their feedback noting down the improvements that needed to be made. If I had the chance to do this again, I would have spent much more time on editing, as sometimes it was not possible to all stay back after school for long as we all had other commitments that were important.
However, in the main task, post production seemed to be much more relaxed as we knew what to expect as we learnt from the preliminary task. We once again went straight into digitalising our shots as we didn’t want to waste much time, unlike the preliminary task, we had used the clapper board when filming and so when it came to digitising our shots, we knew which shots and which takes were what, making it easy to label each shot for further editing. Also, we learnt how to use Adobe Premiere CS4 properly when editing in our preliminary task and so we knew all the techniques to use when editing for the main task. Then we searched for copyright free music and sounds we could use for our opening sequence, but we didn’t want to waste too much time for this, as we wanted to receive feedback so we could make improvements if needed. When searching for the music we had to make sure it was in keeping with the opening sequence so we combined two types of music to get the correct ambience for the opening sequence. We had to find sound effects such as a baby crying which took time but we eventually found the perfect sound. After we had included this in our opening sequence, we screened our opening sequence to some students and to some teachers, and noted down any feedback we received, including criticism, good points and further improvements that could be made. We learnt we had to shorten some shots and make some shots longer in order to create a good effect on the audience, after doing so, we asked for feedback one more time and made further improvements.
Our preliminary task had no specific audience that we had to target; however, the main task meant that we had to target a specific audience, which meant that every factor of the opening sequence such as music, shots, the way it is filmed etc has to target the audience that we are aiming for which meant when receiving feedback we had to take it extremely seriously.

During these projects the key things I have learnt are:

 How to operate the equipment, sound equipment and the camera
 How to use Adobe Premiere CS4
 Using continuity sheets are very important
 Using a clapper board saves much more time in the post production stage
 The importance of continuity and editing