Preliminary task

As part of the coursework our group had to complete a preliminary task. The brief we were given for the task was: "A continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule."
"Match on action" is when different shots are edited together so it appears to be one continuous action.
We used this technique for editing the character walking through the door, so we filmed her pushing the door from one side and entering the room from the other side but it appeared to all be one action because we matched the timing and pace of the different shots. It is difficult to edit it to have perfect timing so our match on action in this preliminary task was not flawless but it is not so bad that it disorientates the audience.
"Shot reverse shot" is usually used during conversations between characters as it films  one character facing one way then the next shot of a different character facing the opposite way before revisiting the previous shot of the first character. This allows the audience to see the two characters are facing each other and exchanging dialogue. We use three different shots for this, but two of them are from the same angle to show the protagonist talking. Although we didn't move the camera more than 30 degrees for the two shots of the protagonist speaking it doesn't matter because there is a shot in between them of the other character so it doesn't appear as though the character has moved unnaturally.
"The 180 degree rule" is to help orientate the audience. As the audience can only see what the camera films, it is important that characters stay in position. By following the 180 degree rule the camera cannot cross an imaginary axis (of 180 degrees) because the characters will appear to have switched positions which will confuse the audience. The 180 degree rule ensures that if John is on the left, he remains on the left, and if Tim is on the right, he remains on the right.

To plan our preliminary task we did a storyboard of all the shots we would  film, showing the angles and what type of shot it is e.g. medium close up or long shot. Storyboarding makes filming easier because we already know what we want to do so we can just get on with it. For example we had already planned to include an overhead shot of the characters so we didn't have to waste time deciding where to film it from. It was especially useful for the match on action because we knew where to position the camera and what angles we wanted of the different shots. This enabled us to make sure the shots flow smoothly so it looks like a continuous action. The storyboard was also a helpful guideline of how many seconds each shot would be, although our final product was only about 30 seconds long. By planning the filming on the storyboard it makes it easier to avoid breaking the 180 degree rule because we would see in the drawings if the rule appeared to be broken. Our final product is not an exact replica of the storyboard because the characters are different, the location is slightly different and the sounds are different. Instead of filming a boy and a girl we filmed two girls but this is not important to the task as we still followed the brief. The location is in the theatre rather than a classroom  so we were not able to use a table and chairs as props however we improvised and still used the same shots that we planned. The sounds we planned in the storyboard we ambient sounds from a classroom, however because we weren't in a classroom these sounds were not present. As there were other groups filming their preliminary tasks in the surrounding areas the camera recorded some ambient noise from them but it does not affect our final product.

The filming process had its challenges when there were several groups wanting to film in the corridor but we sorted it out and each got the necessary shots we desired. The camera was easy to use and we were able to review our footage so we could decide if we were satisfied or if we wanted to do another take. We used a tripod to keep the camera steady and make the final piece look more professional. The tripod allowed us to tilt and pan the camera as required. Although the dialogue didn't record very well it is clear a conversation is taking place so I think our task was successful.
To edit our footage we used i-movie, a software programme available on an apple mac book. Although we weren't familiar with the programme we found it quite straight forward. We imported all our shots and then split and deleted them until we had the final product. The most difficult part of editing was getting the timing perfect for the match on action. If it was a fraction of a second out of time the character appeared to jump in time and it did not look realistic. The timing is not 100% accurate but it is good enough for the action to look continuous. We added in some transitions but did not think a score would make a massive difference to the clip. Our final product is about 30 seconds. It could do with being a bit longer however we met the criteria and showed that we have the skills to film and edit so it is sufficient for the task.