Preliminary Evaluation

First of all, we discussed ideas as a group- after we had an idea we wrote up a script and storyboarded it. After having done this, we scouted locations and in the end we decided on the science room. This was because we needed a window to easily get in and out of. We then discussed and agreed on when we should film each part, and then eventually started to do so.


Before scouting locations, we already had one in mind. We thought about using the Common Room, because it looks alot more homely than other rooms in the school. We didn't end up using this however, because the wall colours and windows were different, and we didn't want serious continuity errors. We also discussed and decided on which techniques and camera angles to use. We decided to shoot stacey from a slight low angle to make her seem like she has a higher status and I would be filmed flat/high to make me seem in the wrong. This also solved problems we had with height differences between the two of us. We tried using the tripod, but we decided steadycam gave us better free movement, and was easier to use. One problem with this is that the camera operator would have to have a steady hand or something to lean on. Also the editing software gave us further inspiration and creative ideas; Our script and title gave us the idea to use sound effects (for example, bars slamming on title 'grounded' and bleeping over swear words for a bit of comedic effect)


In our preliminary there were a few errors. There was one point where I had to climb through the window and where we tried the match-on-action, there is a jump cut. This makes the film messy, and also is quite noticable to the viewer, and unnatural to the eye. The same thing happened during the conversation scene. These problems however were easily solved using editing software.
Our preliminary overall was quite pleasing for our first ever piece of footage. We did not break the 180 degree rule, showed match-on-action, and got shot/reverse shot quite well. Overall the prelim was good. It could have been better ofcourse, but there is always room for improvement considering it was our first ever try at filming.


If I were to film the Preliminary again, I think I would have scouted locations better, to find a more suitable location. Alternatively we could have rearranged furnature to make it look more like a bedroom/house than a classroom. Also I would have learnt lines better and I think we would have practiced a bit more. But under the tight schedule we had due to having to film in lesson time, we had to get what we could. We could have been much more precise, to avoid jump cuts etc. Also we could have gotten actors in to help, so there were more hands on set to look out for things like continuity errors etc.

During the making of the preliminary we learnt a few things. We learnt how to use a video camera, a tripod, and how to scout locations well, for example taking pictures or even short video clips using a camera phone during scouting to see how the set and character in relation to the set will look on camera. We learnt how to function well as a team also. Personally I think the biggest lesson I learnt was that both filming and editing are harder than they seem, by quite alot. The editing program makes it seem easy; simply drag and drop footage? I don't think so. It is surprisingly stressful when you realise you have continuity errors, jump cuts, unnecessary sounds, or have broken an important rule of filming. The problem is that during filming, you may be too busy to even realise these things will come up. This can be solved with having extra heads on set to look out for errors. During our final piece we will try as hard as possible to eliminate these errors and learn from our mistakes.


Our prelim is uploaded onto our camera operators blog here