Preliminary Task - Self-Assessment

Preliminary Task Evaluation

     · Does your film use continuity editing so that the sequence of events are clear and easily understood by the viewer?

I would say that our film does use continuity editing because the majority of it is a conversation which means it would all have to flow to make sense to the audience. This important because if there is no continuity in your film then it would be hard for your audience to understand and if they don’t understand what’s happened then they probably won’t like your film.

·         Have you followed the directions in the brief? (A character opens a door, crosses a room and sits down in a chair opposite another character. An exchange of dialogue occurs.)

For the main part of our preliminary task I did stick to the script. However we did veer off the script in some places because we could not fade out to black.

·         Have you used match-on-action?

     Yes, we have used match-on-action in our preliminary task. We used this when a folder is passed across the table and then it is taken from the person sitting opposite.

·         Can you explain what a match-on action involves?

This is when a shot goes from one to another to portray in action. Both shots have to be perfectly timed to fit in with each other.

·         Have you used shot/reverse shot?

      We have used the shot/reverse shot several times in our preliminary due to the amount of dialogue in our short film.

·         Can you explain what shot/reverse shot involves?

This is when one shot is filmed and then it cuts to another shot and then it cuts back to the first shot again. This is normally best achieved by filming the first and last shots together so that the camera stays in the correct place.

·         Did you observe the 180-degree rule?

We observed the 180-degree rule by staying on one side of the conversation at all times.

·         Can you explain the 180-degree rule?

This is when you stay on one side of a scene all the way through so that the audience have a greater sense of location.

What role did you play in the making of the preliminary task? (e.g. filming, acting, editing, equipment organisation etc.)

       In our task I did the camera work and organised any equipment and put it in the necessary place for filming. Furthermore, I also did a bit of editing and pitched my views on how I thought we should put the clips together so that they followed the script as closely as possible.

·         How would you assess your contribution to the group?

I would say that I had quite a large role in the preliminary because without me we wouldn’t have been able to do some of the shots because there wouldn’t be enough people to do it.

·         What have you learned from the process of making your preliminary film? 

     

      I would say I learnt that it takes a lot of time to make even a short film and also that sound is very import to a film as you have to get the balance right. Also, learnt how important teamwork is because I would say that it would be much more difficult to do a film with one person whereas with a team you can all have different ideas which they can contribute to better your film. I've also learnt that time management is a key factor in film making because if you don’t manage your time effectively then you could end up too much time filming and then you wouldn't have enough time editing so in the end your film wouldn’t be quite so good as your shots could be really good but not put together well creating bad continuity.

    By Luke Payne