Preliminary Task Review

By Ethan Wall

1.) How many mistakes did you make?

• My group made three mistakes; The first mistake me made was using a faulty camera. We did not know we had done this until we started editing when we learnt the quality of the video and sound were not usable so we had to record

• The second mistake we made was braking the 180 degree rule. We realised we had made this mistake when looking at the footage right after we had taken it. We had to reshoot this section as it looked as though both subjects were facing the same way, confusing us and any potential audience

• The third mistake we made was using the faulty camera… again. We didn’t realise that we had made the same mistake until we watched all the clips on the editing software. We made sure we didn’t make the same mistake a third time by using a newer model camera.

2.) How did you manage the group dynamics and collaborative nature of film-making?

• At the beginning there was some conflict over who was acting and who was behind the camera. We sorted this out in the fairest way possible…rock paper scissors. As we had to reshoot all the footage due to the faulty camera we all swapped roles so everyone had a chance doing all the roles.

• During filming we all tried to stay as calm as possible especially when we had made a mistake or come to a disagreement on what the scene should look like. We realised it was all better to get along then to constantly argue and be stressed.

3.) How did you manage the equipment?

• The equipment we used was; the video camera, a tape and a dolly.

• We safely joint the dolly and the camera together so the camera would be stable and not shaky, as the dolly has wheels we were able to move the camera around smoothly.

• After connecting the dolly and camera we inserted the tape into camera so we would be able to record our footage.

• We handled all the equipment with care as we did not want to damage or loose anything as everything we used was expensive and not ours.

4.) How did you manage the deadline?

• As we were allowed a couple of weeks to finish the preliminary task we had two options; either do everything at the beginning in a couple of hours and then spend time to plan the opening sequence to our thriller. The other option was to spread everything out in the couple of weeks we had.

• We chose to the first option we spent about three hours editing and recording. The rest of the time we had we spent brainstorming ideas for the opening sequence to our thriller.

5.) Were there any health and safety logistical problems?

• There were no health or safety issues, this was partly because we did not leave the school to record our preliminary task. This meant we would have no issues due to the conditions of the school. We also did not have any problems as we were using very basic, safe props e.g. a table.

• As we did not plan to have any health or safety issues it made everyone a bit calmer as we know when we film our opening sequences there could be several possible health and safety risks.

6.) How did you organise your human recourses- people involved in your production?

• Actors- the actors in my preliminary task were student from my group (meaning they were 100% committed and trust worthy), not professional actors. As this was the case we told them where to go, what to do and to act naturally.

• Costumes- Everyone in our group were instructed to dress in everyday clothes as we did not decide who was acting until the day of filming

• Props- all the props in our preliminary task were organised by our teacher, the props we used were; a table and two chairs. The room we recorded in was also organised by our teacher.

7.) How did you manage your camera?

• For our preliminary task, we only used one camera. The camera we used was attached to a dolly so we were able to move the camera about smoothly.

• Whilst we were shooting we recoded many different shots to see what would work best and whether we could edit the shots together.

• While we were recording we had to take several shots so we could use match on action.

• We also had to make sure that we kept the 180 degree rule.

8.) How did you manage your lighting?

• For our preliminary task we used the lights from the rooms we shot it. We did this because we had not learnt about what effects the lights could make and how they can change the whole atmosphere.

9.) How did your storyboarding and shooting script work in practice?

• For the preliminary task we did not make a storyboard or script as we all knew exactly what we were doing for the task. If our video was longer we would have made a storyboard and script. Because it was so short we were able to just discuss what we were doing.

10.) How successful were you in managing your time?

• I think we were very successful in managing our time as we kept to the time scale we gave to ourselves for each part of the preliminary task.

• For example we gave our self an hour to record the footage. We kept to this time scale, unfortunately due to the fault camera we had to reshoot so we gave ourselves another hour which we also kept to.

11.)How did digital technology enable you to develop creatively?

• Due to the digital technology we were able to edit all our shots together creating match on action shots and developing a conversation with over the shoulder shots.

• We were also able to use features on the camera e.g. white balance to improve the quality of the task.

12.)In filming and editing, how did you ensure that the meaning would be apparent to the audience?

• We picked a dialogue that everyone could relate to, a job interview. Due to this we hoped the meaning would be apparent to the audience.

13.)What type of people have been presented in your piece?

• We have tried to create “real” people• The boss- you can see that the interviewer is

more outgoing and straight to the point, showing where he stands compared to the interviewee.

• The interviewee- you can see that the person applying for the job is reasonable emotionless, this is due to his nerves making him shy.

14.)What sort of realism have you presented in your piece?

• We have tried to create an interview between a employer and a possible employee who is late to the interview.

• Although the situation is realistic the idea that the boss (interviewer) is 16 is a bit unrealistic. Unfortunately this could not be changed as we did not have actors or anyone older who would be able to help.

15.) What role do the mise en scene, acting, dialogue and style of camera work play in construction of verisimilitude?

• The mise en scene has played a big part in the construction of verisimilitude as it is props matching the time and setting. As the actors where young it takes away some of the realism. As the actors where wearing casual clothes we suggested the job interview could be somewhere like a clothes store so formal attire would not be needed.

• As the acting and dialogue were professional it helped construct verisimilitude.