Preliminary Task Evaluation

Our short film demonstrates continuity editing with consecutive shots that flow smoothly between one another with cuts to make it easier for the audience to follow- an example of this would be the match-on-action shot, seen when the Mummy walks through the door. Other types of shot that full under continuity editing are the shot reverse shot and 180 degree rule, which we also used in this preliminary task.

Here the shot reverse shot we used is illustrated, which took place when the characters were exchanging dialogue- this is when the shot reverse shot is most commonly used. For this section we chose to use over the shoulder shots as they clearly show character's emotions and make things clear for the viewers. In these particular shots the shocked, disgusted expression on the cowboy's face is obvious, being an important part in the plot which has been made easy to follow.

Our short film follows the 180 degree rule throughout, used to avoid confusing the audience. An example of this being used can be seen here-

Here it is clear that the mummy is on the left side of the frame and that the cowboy is on the right- this is the rule we had to stick to whilst filming our piece. By following the 180 degree rule, the viewers stay orientated and do not get confused by the positioning of the characters. The 180 degree rule means the audience's viewpoint is fixed along an angle, which we abided by throughout the film.

The match-on-action shot we used is demonstrated when the mummy walks through the door to enter the room. This involved taking two shots from different sides- one when the mummy opens the door and is about to enter and the other when they enter on the other side. Filming this shot took quite a bit of thought as we had to think about which hand was being used to open the door, if the mummy was still holding onto the handle when entering and how they entered. The match-on-action shot is used to smoothly show the action of a character through more than one shot which has been matched up, being an example of continuity editing.

I feel our group worked together effectively as we used two cameras- we used this to our advantage by saving time and filming separate things on each camera, making sure what we were filming wouldn't interfere with each other. There were times, however, when some of us didn't have much to do and found it difficult to give in our own opinions on what was happening due to the time limit we had given ourselves.

If we had a chance to film our preliminary task again, something I think we'd change is the setting in which we filmed. The lighting in the room we filmed was awkward, which we came to notice when editing- there were points at which the lighting was too bright and it overexposed particular things in the frame, making them difficult to see.

Planning is something we dealt with well when preparing for filming- we wrote the script and made a detailed storyboard early on so that we had clearly laid out what we were going to do. Despite this, however, we did not plan who we were going to have as the characters as early as we should have, meaning that we had to pick random people who were willing to help. This meant that more time was used as we had to explain to them what we wanted them to do.

The editing software we used was iMovie and despite having used various video editing software before, I learnt more about things such as transitions and sound effects, which we used within our piece.

We used transitions in our piece at the beginning and the end- a dissolve in at the beginning and a fade out at the end. These were used to make the start and finish clear but smooth, also making it obvious to the viewers when the piece has started and finished.

Overall I have learnt more about how to use cameras and equipment such as tripods and dollys, which we used when filming.

The Preliminary Task Film

This is the final edited version of our pleminary task film.

Filming

I worked in a group of four people with 2 cameras for filming. We had 2 actors who we had to dress up appropriately so that they fit their roles, and as we filmed we referred back to our storyboard and script to make sure we were doing what we had planned.

For shots that didn't involve tracking, we used the tripod in order to make sure the camera stayed still and was not shakey.

Here is a photo of one of the cameras we used (both of the cameras we used were the same to ensure that the quality stays continuous throughout)

Most of the time whilst filming, two of us would work on filming one part whilst the other two people filmed another part that didn't interfere with what was already being filmed. This was in order to make sure that our usage of time was dealt with efficiently in order to get the most filmed possible. We also made sure we refilmed shots to make sure we'd have a wide selection of the same shot to choose from when in post production.

Some issues we faced whilst filming was having to change the shots from how we had originally planned on the storyboard. This was so the shots fit the surroundings and still abided by the 180 degree rule. Another issue we had was lighting- due to the lights in the room sometimes the characters were too bright due to being directly under the lights. This is something we only realised after having filmed, but we did not have time to refilm it as getting the same people would've been difficult.

Overall we found the filming part of the pleminary task a good experience as it made us think more about how filming requires a lot of thought with various camera angles and shot types. We had to remember to make sure to include the required shots whilst filming- these being the 180 degree rule, match-on-action shot with someone walking through a door, shot reverse shot, a character sitting down at a table and two characters exchanging dialogue.

The Script

FADE IN

INSIDE THE FANCY DRESS PARTY

MUSIC IS PLAYING and there are PEOPLE DANCING. The COWBODY goes to get his BEEPING PHONE from the table and then SITS DOWN TO LOOK AT IT.

The MUMMY enters and SITS DOWN OPPOSITE the COWBOY.

The COWBOY looks up from his phone.

COWBOY

Oh, are you alrigh-

The COWBOY notices the MUMMY, who smiles at him.

They both STAND UP and face each other. The COWBOY begins to DRAW HIS GUN.

COWBOY

A mummy.

MUMMY

A cowboy…?

The COWBOY looks at him disgustedly, whilst the MUMMY is confused. The COWBOY SHOOTS and the MUMMY collapses.

The COWBOY celebrates and DANCES TO HAPPY MUSIC.

A HAND appears on THE COWBOY’S SHOULDER and TENSE MUSIC begins. THE MUMMY is revealed behind THE COWBOY’S SHOULDER.

MUMMY

Hello, I’m already dead- you hat wearing fool!

THE MUMMY walks out, pulling tissue off himself and flicking it.

MUMMY

I’m a mummy, silly.

FADE OUT

The Storyboard

This is the storyboard we made in order to help us with the camera angles and setup that we may use when we film.  

Preliminary Task Idea

For our preliminary task, we have been asked to film a short movie introduction that is roughly 2 minutes long. The task has requirements which includes it needing to have the 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot and a match on action shot. It also needs to have a person walking through a door, sitting down at a table and a short dialogue scene with two characters.

The group in which we are working in consists of four people and we have come up with the idea of it being set at a halloween party and involving a cowboy and a mummy. In the introduction the cowboy is seen dancing alone until their phone beeps. They go to sit down and look at their phone. It is then that a mummy enters the halloween party and sits opposite the cowboy, who hasn't noticed them come in. They have something of a 'showdown' once the cowboy notices the mummy, facing eachother with disgusted expressions and the cowboy shoots the mummy with his real gun. The mummy then falls to the floor, dead, and the cowboy rejoices by dancing. It then ends when the mummy then shocks the cowboy by appearing over the his shoulder, saying that they are already dead.

My name is Sian Hayler Magenis and I am a media studies student. This is the start of my AS media studies coursework blog.