Prelim evaluation

Synopsis:  Geek vs Chic-two girls battle it out to decide who gets to wear the t-shirt that they both love so much.

1) Who did you work with and how did you manage the task?

I worked with Godgift and Amber to produce this prelim.
As both myself and Gift were acting, most of the shooting was done by Amber although if the shot was of just one of us we would aid Amber and help direct. We came up with the synopsis together but for the editing Amber worked separately and I worked with Gift. We each did some planning over the weekend, I produced the shoot board, Gift drew it out and Amber wrote the script.

2) How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?
We planned our sequence by firstly brainstorming ideas for a synopsis and then creating a storyboard and shooting schedule. We focused on three main theories; continuity, genre and narrative theory. Our storyboard helped us in creating a logical order of shots when editing even though when shooting we did not stick to it completely.
We also took into account:
- the 180 degree rule to help the viewer make sense of the scene although this was quite tricky to do and we had to retake a few shots because we would sometimes cross this line
- Jump cuts were not included and we tried to use a variety of frames.
- The eye line match helped vary the frames as one of our characters was standing up and the other sitting down so we got to film from different angles.
- We used a shot/reverse/shot which was not as difficult as I thought it would be to edit but we could have got a more clear master shot that would have shown both characters.
- Match on action was quite tricky to achieve but I think we did quite well and included quite a lot in our prelim.
We connoted the drama/comedy genre quite well I think as the characters are clearly disputing and juxtapose each other via the narrative. We left the audience wondering what will happen next after starting with an equilibrium of the girl talking about a party she's attending but then being disrupted by a geek copying her style.

3) What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?
 We used the Canon Legria HFG30 to film our shots and placed it on our tripod and used a microphone to capture the sound more clearly. This was a really good camera to use as it's very good quality and it was easy to pan with and zoom in or out.

To edit we used software called Adobe Premiere Pro which we have used before so it was quite easy for us to edit although we had to be a lot more careful and consider where to cut the shots so that continuity was achieved.


4) What factors did did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

We had to consider props, lighting and placement of camera in particular as these were all limitations. When filming we forgot to consider what could be seen in the reflection of the glass and so we got some shots with Amber filming in the background by mistake. The 180 degree rule was one of our biggest concerns as it was really difficult to not want to move the camera across the room and shoot from different angles.We did not have time to set up any lighting but I don't think this was a massive issue as we shot on bright days. We didn't use many props but we did have to bring:
- The same t-shirts
-Folder for the geek to carry
- A phone which the chic used
- A hoodie for the chic
Timing was also very important as we had to limit our time for each section of the prelim and shoot and edit within our lesson time. When editing we also made sure to alternate equally between myself and Gift so that neither of us was putting in more effort than the other.

5) How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?
We achieved our task to get someone into a room, walk across it and have a discussion with another person. We tried to stick to all the rules that would achieve continuity and I think our sequence was quite successful, we used a range of theory we had learnt about and we kept in character well. We used a range of shots and different angles including a master shot to set the scene. For the geek vs. chic we tried to use mise-en-scene to create juxtaposition between the two characters, the chic was in a hoodie and biker boots on the phone to her friend where as the geek was carrying a bright pink folder and doing her maths homework alone. We also conformed to the 180 degree rule very well but at first we did not follow this so in hindsight I would have prepared for this so as not to waste time re-shooting. I would have also chosen to follow it from a different angle so as not to have Amber's reflection in the mirror. I think our shot/reverse/shot worked very well and the match on action when both chic and geek entered/exited the classroom. The beginning of our sequence was not as well edited as I had thought and in hindsight we could have tried to work with lighting and we should have brought the same props for both days as we had to change some of our shots because they did not have continuity. We also could have chosen our setting more carefully so no reflection was seen in the glass.

6) What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?
 I have learnt that transitions between shots are very important and jump cuts are an easy mistake to make. I have also learnt that it takes time to get the right shot and it is best to take as many shots as possible from different angles to give myself more footage than needed rather than less. In the future this will be helpful as I can learn from these mistakes and make sure to use all these continuity features that I have learnt about. This has been good practice and I have developed my skills greatly. Next time I would also like to do some of the filming but I did enjoy acting and directing. We can also plan our time more efficiently next time and include more master shots. We also didn't use the clapper board very much or check the lighting and sound so next time we would make sure we did this which will also make editing shots a lot easier. We also could stick to the storyboard to make our lives more easier and editing would be more ordered and logical.