Evaluation
The brief was to produce a 30 second clip (though, a lot of the clips were longer than this) with the manipulation of basic film production techniques (lighting, sound, editing etc). You will need to exhibit the use of a match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. The narrative will need to involve a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he will exchange a couple of lines of dialogue.
Planning
After discussing the location, sequences of events in the clip and actors in the clip, the planning consisted of creating a short script and shot list before devising a storyboard. The most essential part of planning was the script. It is a crucial part of pre-production as it establishes narrative. Before completing a storyboard, the shot list is a key thing to do as it allows you to understand what shots you will use before drawing them. The story board fulfils the role of assisting the director to achieve a particular visual look of the film, and gives an idea of the mise-en-scene to include in filming. Both the story board and shot list, determine how you will shape the narrative and make it interesting to the audience. In terms of what I could have done better, I think I could have added more shots to the storyboard, therefore it would have been easy to edit if one shot wasn't quite right. Also, in my story board, I would write more things in the boxes, therefore I would have a better idea about what was going to go on in the shot, like sound, camera movement and pace.
The most noteworthy qualities of the production were the selection of shots. This included the over-the-shoulder shot worked well because I had angled it to make sure that there wasn't that much dead space. However, during filming the over-the-shoulder shot, I broke the 180 degree rule. A prominent issue with a number of the shots, was the lack of focus in them, making some parts seem unprofessional, which in the real production I would not allow to happen and would re-shoot it. However, during filming for the preliminary task, I didn't have time to re-shoot it due to the availability of our actors. In terms of editing, for the POV shots, I used an eye-line match effectively to convey the fact that they know each other, attempting to create a dramatic atmosphere and develop enigma codes of why the main character looks so sullen and irritated. This is a form of continuity editing, as well, allowing the narrative to piece together and the audience to understand that she is angry at her friend, developing an enigma code of why she is this way towards her friend or what her friend did to provoke this attitude from her. The range of continuity editing shown in my production is good, as it creates narrative and allows it to flow continuously. There a few continuity errors, which actually make a lot of difference if you watch the production carefully. For example, glare and the reflective image of the camera are noticeable during the POV shot into and out of the classroom through the door window. In order to over come this, I would need to change the angles when filming reflective surfaces. Another continuity error, which many students have made over the years, was the camera's bag, that was left on the staircase railing, only a appearing for a few moments, before disappearing. This will confuse the audience and, fundamentally take away the flow of the production. Quite a number of things, however, fell short in the production. Specifically, how the over use of shots, threw the pace off and therefore the pace is constantly changing, meaning it is less effective. An example of this is where the main character's hand reaches for the door and opens it. It was a match-on-action shot, and I used different angles in three different shots for the same action, however, due to the over use of shots, it changes the pace. During filming, the 180 degree rule was broken, and therefore, the positioning of the characters, confused the audience and left them engaged. In my real production, I would need to make sure that it doesn't happen by changing the angles of the two characters in conjunction with the accuracy of filming and following the rule consistently. The establishing shot extends for too long, making the pace seem slower than I would have liked, and it leaves the audience unexcited and fails to engage them. The sound was clear for most of the production, having clear dialogue which answered the enigma codes of the audience clearly, making the narrative easy to follow and understand for the audience. To add to the tension between the friends, I could have used a dramatic soundtrack to build up to the climax. However, there is the faint feedback in the background, which is worse due to the humming of the computers in the room. In some shots, the dialogue exchanged between them appears forced and unnatural, which would be more down to acting. The lighting in the scene was made to be realistic, allowing it to accurately portray school life. Next time, I will use key lighting, back lighting and most likely a filler light, in order to add more depth to characters and make it seem even more realistic and bright. Another subtle weakness that lessens the effectiveness of the piece, was the long lines of dialogue the characters exchanged in the clip, which, essentially makes the piece drone on, and lose pace, making the audience lose interest.
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