Preliminary Task: Editing and Evaluation

Below is the final edit of my group's preliminary task, and an evaluation of the final product.

Our task was to create a short film consisting of at least twelve shots, showing technical skill through the use of camera shots, angles and movements, as well as match on action, shot/reverse shot and awareness of the 180-degree rule. It had to involve a character walking through a door, entering a room, sitting down and exchanging dialogue with another character.

To prepare for this, we mindmapped ideas for a basic narrative, and eventually settled on the idea of a secret agent informing a colleague that a mission had failed. We then created a basic storyboard for each shot, planning out what each one would look like, and how/where it would be filmed, ensuring that we had a pre-prepared reference to get the filming done as efficiently as possible on the day. Then we planned everything relating to mise-en-scène, including a cast, a filming schedule, location planning and a shot list; this gave us a definite plan when it came to filming, and ensured that we had everything we needed in advance.

Generally, filming went well, and most of the shots we needed were effectively filmed. We had to improvise with some of the props that we couldn't get our hands on (for instance, we were looking for a brown folder, but had to use blue when we couldn't find one fitting the description before the day of filming). Although we almost ran out of time to use our location, we managed to film everything within our time limit. Because the person we cast for Agent A did not attend on the day of filming, we had Ashley step in to play Agent A, and called in a friend, Josh, to fill in for Agent B. We also had to leave out the establishing shot we planned as our first shot, as illness and other commitments meant that none of our group were free to film at the designated time, or at any point before our given deadline.

Post-production editing was important because it allowed us to put the filmed scenes in the correct order, and blend them together into one piece. For instance, we filmed Agent A entering the room, we had a match-on-action of his feet walking through the door; editing allowed us to seamlessly have the long shot transition into the close-up without suspending the audience's disbelief. However, we had to cut some of the shots to a shorter length than we would have liked due to continuity errors in the actors and props.

I think our film's strengths lie in the variety of camera shots and angles that we used, and our awareness of the 180 degree rule. The shots we chose are all appropriate for what is happening in the scene, making sure all of the action happens on screen, and the angles suitably set the tone of the piece - for instance, the close up on Agent A's eyes as he starts to get angry is effective in building suspense. Our use of the 180 degree rule means that the perspective is never broken, and the audience always believe what they see. A weakness in our piece would be a lack of continuity, both in the lighting (which, as it was natural light, was beyond our control) and prop/actor positioning. When we film our main task, an area of development would be to make sure all of our shots are consistent. Editing helped us to cover most of them, but we were unable to fix some, such as when the folder would close and open between shots, or when the actors' positions were not exactly the same as they had been previously. We also need to make sure we leave plenty of time to reschedule filming, as we were too close to the deadline to find more time when our schedules didn't go to plan, and make sure everyone in our cast is clear on when the filming will take place. Additionally, we should be aware of how long we have to use a certain location whilst filming, so that we can properly structure a time frame for recording each shot and don't have to rush anything.