Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The brief of our preliminary tast was to shoot a basic continuity sequence given 1 hour of planning, 1 hour of shooting and 1 hour of editing. The purpose in this task was to learn the processes involved and discover potential problems, so we could pre-empt them in the coursework production.

Pre-Production

Or preliminary task required the processes of storyboarding, producing a shot list and script, since the time restrictions called for us to work intensively and efficiently.

Production Schedule

We carried this mentality of planning into our coursework project, although there was a larger time frame (11 weeks), however continuity in our project was a key issue due to the mess created by the blood, so we new precise planning was necessary to capture the footage in one shoot.

The planning process:

Shot list

Shot List
Acting contract

Acting Contract Concerning Media AS Project

Location reccies



This video clip shows us considering all aspects of working with the location.

Our planning and efficient work on location allowed us to capture everything we wanted. We did, however need a reshoot but our initial planning meant we could capture the remaining footage in just three hours.

I have learnt that planning is essential since it decides whether you meet professional standards in terms of time management, activity on set and quality of footage.

Production


Similarly in production, we carried forward the attitude to work efficiently and gel well as a unit, in order for our shoot to be successful.

Like the preliminary task we had to consider continuity techniques:

• Shot / reverse shot
• Match on action
• The 180 degree rule
• The 30 degree rule

• Eyeline match

To avoid potential reshoots we considered:

Time Management

• We heavily used a shot list and shooting schedule and we kept working to timed targets.
• We shot master shots from several different angles to ensure there was plenty of footage for editing. A reshoot would be problematic due to the position of the dead body and all the blood on him.

Thinking ahead...

We took several takes of each shot to ensure we had the variety and flexibility in editing.

It is important to recognise and learn from the continuity errors...

The errors made were subtle enough to pass the screening; no one commented on it.

I have learnt that production can only be completed successfully if the cast and crew remain well

disciplined and you ensure the continuity is kept at the forefront of your mind.

Post Production

We had only 1 hour to capture and edit in the preliminary task and although we kept to using a shot list and capture log we had technical issues which wasted much time.

In this task we avoided this issue but still took a long time because we didn't use a capture list. We should have learnt this from the preliminary task, however the message has definitely sunk in now.

Exhibition

The preliminary task didn't include time to exhibit the edited sequence, which meant we had to use this more to our advantage this time to ensure we use it to the best of our ability.

We screened our film on the projector when we decided it was ready to be criticised by our media savvy peers and also to see how it would look and sound using more sophisticated exhibiting software than the edit suite.

I have learnt that exhibition is by far the most effective way to get audience feedback of a technical nature and ensuring the storyline is clearly presented.