Our preliminary task: (Ela, Serena)
PRELIMINARY TASK
The preliminary task required us to film an actor walking into the classroom and exchanging dialogue with another actor. We edited our shots afterwards, making sure that we had followed continuity principles. This was useful as it taught us about the importance of the 180-degree rule, 30-degree rule and shot/reverse shots in filming.
An example of shot/reverse shot during a conversation:
An effective example of a match-on-action shot as the actor enters the room:
However our plan for the prelim was only brief, as we did not allocate specific weekends to shoot our footage, and the scene was set in school. We also did not have a time limit to adhere to, which made editing much easier.
PRE-PRODUCTION
For the production of our opening sequence, however, we created a storyboard, shoot-board and animatic prior to filming which helped us to achieve a better outcome. Approaching the film brief, we knew more about how we would plan the shooting and editing of our sequence, as we had already done this for the prelim.
Our timeline of shots:
Our research into audience, setting and the conventions of the genre was much more detailed for our film, as our opening had to have a clear narrative. Whereas, the prelim was less detailed and did not have a specific genre.
We also had to sign permission forms before our shooting days in order to take the camera equipment from school property.
We were able to be more creative in planning our actual sequence as the narrative of the shots and iconography were all our own ideas.
PRODUCTION
As we had to manage a large group of actors, each of us were designated roles in the filming process, to make the shoot more efficient. This was not necessary for the prelim as we only required 2 actors. I had to take into account master shots and how much to shoot in order to achieve a seamless narrative.
As our corridor scene was on school property we had to notify other members of staff of our shooting times.
The production of the prelim task impacted our production of the film as we had to consider taking shots from several different angles in case there were continuity errors. Additionally, there were several issues with actor continuity in our prelim (Serena picks up items on the table and is holding a different item in the next shot of her). We had not realised our mistake until after having completed the preliminary task. This affected the production of our film, as we were constantly making sure that the background actors were doing the same thing in each shot.
Organising actors' movements:
Our actor continuity is incorrect in this gif (that I made from our preliminary task). Serena is performing a different action in the second shot (wider shot) as she is writing and no longer holding the stapler. This is confusing and interferes with the flow of the scene.
We made sure none of our shots in the opening sequence had these errors.
Principal challenges to consider when filming the real opening:
1. Setting (convenience and appropriateness of the shooting location)
2. Character representations
3. Camera angles and framing
4. Costume and props
5. Continuity (of shots and actor movements)
These shots matched the 30-degree rule:
This over-the-shoulder shot shows the audience Arthur's map of the school, connoting that it is his first day:
We also produced master shots, although these were used more in our prelim than our actual opening sequence:
During the production of morning routine scene, we had to consider space in the shooting location, as filming in a confined room affected the camera angles. I made sure that obstructions in the room had been moved to maximise space for our camera equipment.
I made a floor plan of Arthur's bedroom to show where the camera would be placed (and the direction it would be facing) as well as Arthur's movements:
The test shoot had previously taught us the importance of several takes of the same shot in case we were to notice any mistakes after uploading the footage.
POST-PRODUCTION
The post-production process required for each task was as follows:
Editing the film was much more time-consuming and difficult than editing the prelim, which was only a 46 second sequence. We spent most of our editing sessions grading (using ProcAmp and the three-way colour corrector), designing and adding titles, recording voiceovers, and adding soundtrack and transitions. This was not necessary for the prelim as the editing process only demonstrated continuity (cutting down the shots).
Our feedback video assisted us in altering a few errors in acting (for example, the phone showing 11 o'clock and the jump cut at the start of the corridor scene). For our prelim, we were only able to receive feedback from our teachers, whereas our surveys were aimed at the target audience (aged 15-24) so that their suggestions would allow us to adapt the film to a teenage audience.
Post-production developed our teamwork skills in both the prelim and the actual opening. We managed to share the workload evenly between us and make sure each member of the group agreed with the decisions made (for example, in deciding how much to grade or which soundtrack was more effective)
EVALUATION
When evaluating our finished work, we required several examples of audience feedback to support our conclusions, although this was not necessarily for the prelim as it was a basic scene with no complex narrative.
Conclusion -
I am pleased with the final outcome, excepting a few errors, (the jump cut in the corridor scene and the wrong time on the Arthur's alarm). I think we worked well during the audition and casting process as our actors suited their characters, making the film more realistic. Given more time, I would focus more on making sure that continuity between shots is accurate. I would also re-record the voiceovers to make the mother's voice appear as diegetic sound, rather than non-diegetic.
My knowledge of filming and editing processes and equipment has developed, and I am much more confident in incorporating film theories (such as match-on-action, binary opposites and Todorov's theory of equilibrium). This project has demonstrated the time and effort needed to produce opening sequences, the importance of pre-production stages, and how to match shots in order to follow continuity principles.
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