Pre-Production
From using the storyboards, it really helped us as a group to plan ahead instead of going into filming straight away and not knowing what or where to film. The storyboards helped us think about what angles we wanted to film from that would make our preliminary work as successful as possible. Without the storyboards, I think our preliminary work would not have been as good as we would have had if we just filmed it without thinking about what angles would look best afterwards and give the right affect that we are looking for. As a guide we saw a storyboard from an actual thriller film to help advise us on how to draw and write up a proper storyboard. On our storyboard we drew the shot that we wanted, wrote up a brief description of action, shot size, camera angle, lighting, colour in frame, setting, props, costume and sound. As we were filming this in school and only had an hour to film the lighting had to be natural, the costume we used had to be what we were wearing at the time for sixth form which means the costumes were quite formal and natural which didn’t really make a difference to our preliminary. By writing all this down we found that when we were filming it was a lot easier as we could get straight on with filming what we wanted to and not waste time thinking about what shot we want to film and argue about the shot type within the group.
From using the storyboards, it really helped us as a group to plan ahead instead of going into filming straight away and not knowing what or where to film. The storyboards helped us think about what angles we wanted to film from that would make our preliminary work as successful as possible. Without the storyboards, I think our preliminary work would not have been as good as we would have had if we just filmed it without thinking about what angles would look best afterwards and give the right affect that we are looking for. As a guide we saw a storyboard from an actual thriller film to help advise us on how to draw and write up a proper storyboard. On our storyboard we drew the shot that we wanted, wrote up a brief description of action, shot size, camera angle, lighting, colour in frame, setting, props, costume and sound. As we were filming this in school and only had an hour to film the lighting had to be natural, the costume we used had to be what we were wearing at the time for sixth form which means the costumes were quite formal and natural which didn’t really make a difference to our preliminary. By writing all this down we found that when we were filming it was a lot easier as we could get straight on with filming what we wanted to and not waste time thinking about what shot we want to film and argue about the shot type within the group.
The year 13 students gave us a lot of helpful advice. They taught us how to use the camera and tripod. We were taught how to make the tripod bigger and smaller and how to make sure the camera is straight instead of pointing up or down by accident. The cameras were easier to use than we first thought as it is just a record and stop button. You can also edit on the cameras but it isn’t very good as you can only go back and record over what you have already done so we are going to edit our preliminary and thriller film on the computer to make it look better and more effective. The cameras we have are touch screen which makes it easier to use as it reduces the amount of buttons.
From watching other groups’ preliminary tasks, they have made lots of errors. The main error most of them made was that they didn’t have the camera high or low enough so the shot cut off the actors head or didn’t have enough of the thing being filmed in the scene. Another error a few groups did was that the camera shots were not quite right as they were too close or not close enough on some of the shots. We took lots of advice from watching these preliminaries. One of the main things that we learnt from the errors other groups did was to make sure the camera is on the tripod securely as another group didn’t make sure it was on securely and the camera was wobbly, this made the film look very unprofessional. Another lesson we learnt from them was to plan ahead as one group didn’t and the viewer could see that the group did not know what they were doing next.
-Alex FrescoProduction
When filming the preliminary work, it was a successful filming; however there were some difficulties our group came across. We had a few problems when we went to go and film, first off our group had trouble connecting the camera to the tripod this happened due to a lack of experience with camera technology. Therefore our group had to be advised on how to connect it properly so the camera would be stable. Also, when filming we had to do a couple of takes so they would look better once the final filming had been edited; this was because a handshake got cut out as the camera angle was too low. When doing a second take, we realised that the camera battery was very low, and almost died. Because of this we had to produce the second take quickly, therefore we had less time to concentrate on what we would like to change. The camera wouldn’t let us rewind the footage to see if anything needed to be change because there was not significant battery left in the camera. We also had interrupted filming near the beginning where background noise of voices and someone walking at the side of the camera in view could be seen therefore we had to do a second take. When completing the preliminary task, we learnt how to use the tripod appropriately and how it can be adjusted to suit different camera angles within the preliminary task. This can be carried forward to the main thriller because we will adjust the tripods height when using different scenes and camera angles to create an effect on the audience.
Shooting took longer than expected because of interruptions when filming, such as a loud noise or people walking within the camera shot this involved us having to complete a second take. Also, the people involved in the filming laughed at certain point which involved a retake afterwards. Another thing we had to consider was finding a suitable location that wasn’t already taken by other groups filming there preliminary work and making sure the location would not get interrupted if it was in a busy place. This is why we chose the stairs in the T block, as they are not used regularly, however it was halfway across the school, which involved a five minute walk, this time could have been used filming. Luckily empty stairs involved no interruptions so we could complete our preliminary work quickly, asking permission to use the empty classroom next door and this got granted straight away.
If we were doing the preliminary task again we would make some changes in order to make sure our filming ran successfully. These would be going to view the camera and tripods in break before the lesson in order to make sure the camera is fully charged and to pick a tripod suitable to our filming. Our group would also make sure the classroom next door to where we are going to film was empty beforehand, therefore to avoid any confusion and to make sure we could get permission to use the classroom available. Luckily, for our group this wasn’t a problem however it could have been a potential problem.
-Mary SullivanPost-Production:
What problems did you have editing the Prelim task?
There were problems with the computers when we went to edit, this involved us changing computers several times which was time consuming. Therefore, because of this we had less time to edit our prelim work. The first problem we had was we didn’t know how to edit, the programme was knew to us so we resolved that by having a Year 13 student come in to the lesson and to explain how we do it. We had to get familiar with editing different shots and on one instance we accidently cut out one of the shots. We asked a Year 13 student to correct and to get back the shot that we deleted. We also had to view the shots where we completed more than one take, and decide on the best one to put within the sequence because they were very similar we had to watch the clips twice which was time consuming. Also, when uploading the finished sequence onto the final tape we had problems as it would not upload, and we could not find the finished sequence on the computer as it had been stored under a different file.
What did you learn about editing which would be useful when it comes to the main task? Was doing the Prelim a useful exercise?
I learnt that when we done a few different takes, we had to pick the best one that went well with the sequence of shots and we edited out the others (cut them out). In order to do this we needed to take more footage to have a wider selection of takes to decide which one works best with the rest of the filming. I learnt how to put all the shots together to make one entire sequence.
The prelim task was useful because it enabled our group to get used to and adapt to the camera equipment, and how to adjust and use the tripod in order to make different shots and make them effective. We also knew what problems might occur when filming, and therefore gave our group an idea of what to expect from when filming our actual thriller. It also gave us the opportunity to have fun with creating and planning different shots and for us to relax when doing it, we didn’t have to worry about it being the main thriller sequence.
What evidence have you got from people who have watched the task, in the form of feedback? We asked other people in our media class to look over our footage and final sequence, we asked them to evaluate our footage, with questions such as whether they thought the camera angles where right and if it flowed well as a sequence. The feedback was positive and they said it was good for our first attempt of a short film. However, we have to always make sure that when we do a pan shot, the tripod needs to be steady otherwise the camera will look jolted in the final sequence.
There were problems with the computers when we went to edit, this involved us changing computers several times which was time consuming. Therefore, because of this we had less time to edit our prelim work. The first problem we had was we didn’t know how to edit, the programme was knew to us so we resolved that by having a Year 13 student come in to the lesson and to explain how we do it. We had to get familiar with editing different shots and on one instance we accidently cut out one of the shots. We asked a Year 13 student to correct and to get back the shot that we deleted. We also had to view the shots where we completed more than one take, and decide on the best one to put within the sequence because they were very similar we had to watch the clips twice which was time consuming. Also, when uploading the finished sequence onto the final tape we had problems as it would not upload, and we could not find the finished sequence on the computer as it had been stored under a different file.
What did you learn about editing which would be useful when it comes to the main task? Was doing the Prelim a useful exercise?
I learnt that when we done a few different takes, we had to pick the best one that went well with the sequence of shots and we edited out the others (cut them out). In order to do this we needed to take more footage to have a wider selection of takes to decide which one works best with the rest of the filming. I learnt how to put all the shots together to make one entire sequence.
The prelim task was useful because it enabled our group to get used to and adapt to the camera equipment, and how to adjust and use the tripod in order to make different shots and make them effective. We also knew what problems might occur when filming, and therefore gave our group an idea of what to expect from when filming our actual thriller. It also gave us the opportunity to have fun with creating and planning different shots and for us to relax when doing it, we didn’t have to worry about it being the main thriller sequence.
What evidence have you got from people who have watched the task, in the form of feedback? We asked other people in our media class to look over our footage and final sequence, we asked them to evaluate our footage, with questions such as whether they thought the camera angles where right and if it flowed well as a sequence. The feedback was positive and they said it was good for our first attempt of a short film. However, we have to always make sure that when we do a pan shot, the tripod needs to be steady otherwise the camera will look jolted in the final sequence.
When you watch the prelim task does the finished product match your first visualisation? Why/Why not?Yes it does because it was a simple task with simple filming so our expectations were not high. They did reach our expectations and the whole group was happy with the result of the footage.
It wasn’t because we all thought we would have more of a challenge for our first production that it actually was, we were disappointed that we couldn’t do more filming with experienced shots including different sound techniques but it is only the Prelim task.
By: Rachel Wardley
It wasn’t because we all thought we would have more of a challenge for our first production that it actually was, we were disappointed that we couldn’t do more filming with experienced shots including different sound techniques but it is only the Prelim task.
By: Rachel Wardley
