Evaluation of the Preliminary Exercise

From the moment I started preparing for the Preliminary Exercise I have found myself and my group, rushed off our feet trying to prepare everything in order to make the process go smoothly, and from the very start I have learnt new things and became familiar with methods and practices of filming. At first I felt flustered with all the paperwork that was put in front of us but once we got into it we found that there was not as much there as we first thought and we got it all out of the way quickly.

By doing the Preliminary Exercise I have realised that a lot of my skills have improved, especially my organisation with work which is important as you can’t lose any paperwork and have to keep to an appropriate time schedule or else you could get behind easily.

Luckily, we used Google Documents as a way of keeping all our paperwork together so that it could be accessed by all the group. The writing involved in the planning was fairly easy as I have always been better at writing than practical work and therefore I decided to take main charge of the scripts, although we all worked together and contributed ideas. The hardest part was the storyboards as it was difficult to decide on continuity patterns and the length of each shot as well as trying to fit the script in with the action but over the course of the planning we all got better at it.

I also found the research fairly difficult as it was hard to find anything similar to what we were doing although eventually I settled for something that showed someone walking into a room and the 180 degree rule taking place as well as shot reverse shots which I found on YouTube.
I learnt a lot from filming having never done anything like it in my life but luckily had help from my group who had so I didn’t struggle too much. It was mainly difficult to try and get a decent frame that contended with the rule of thirds but luckily most of our film contained only two main frames anyway so I didn’t have to move the camera very often. After this the editing was easy as, although I had never properly edited anything so serious before, I had used Windows Movie Maker and knew what I was doing so could contribute to it yet in doing so I was able to familiarise myself further with the program. Because of my lack of experience using cameras and tripods etc, I have learnt a lot from using the technologies offered. Although I had learnt how to use the equipment, I wasn’t overly sure about using it but when it came to using it I found it all came easily.
Because our film was being taken in a police interrogation room, we wanted to make sure the setting fit that description so we used the recording room. Unintentionally there was a semi-circular table which made it easier to portray the 180 degree rule and shot reverse-shot.
We wanted to use a man to be the policeman and a woman as the person waiting as firstly it brought to light the dominant ideology that men are the hegemony and if he was the powerful figure in the scene then it would highlight the fact that men are the hegemony in society but as well as this it is expected that men have the power in the media and it wouldn’t have worked so well if it had been the man waiting and the woman with the higher social position. Because of this, the verisimilitude of the diegisis within the scene was believable.
Because of the genre of our film, I think it could probably be shown on a television channel such as ITV as it is known for its crime drama and shows programmes such as Silent Witness, Crime Scene Investigation and Cold Case.
When we came to filming there were slight problems in the fact that we somehow missed half of our shots but overall everything went fine. The lighting was good and pur actors were doing A2 film studies which meant we had help. We also broke the rule of thirds which meant the 180 degree rule wasn't followed correctly all the way through as both our actors heads remained on the same side of the frame during conversation.
In conclusion, I think our film went well and despite a few mistakes we kept everything well organised and the the output reflected the input very well as due to hardwork and careful time management as well as organisation, our film was good and thanks to the lighting, everything worked well.

Filming and Editing the Preliminary Exercise

Our filming took place on tuesday February 4th in the morning and we were all fairly nervous as we didn't know what to expect or have a clue about how it was going to be but we surprised ourselves and, due to brilliant organisation on all of our parts, everything went very smoothly.

The first problem we encountered was expected anyway as one of our actors had already informed us that there was a chance she might still be ill on the day and we weren't too surprised when she was unable to perform in our production. This meant we had to search for a female to play the part which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as she was an A2 student studying Film Studies alongside the male actor who happened to be good friends with her. This meant that both were familiar to these exercises and did not require much direction.

I was in charge of the camera work which at first I found incredibly daunting and I was scared to let the group down but once I got into it, it became easy to frame the actors well especially as there were only two main frames taking place and so, considering we didn't film in a consecutive order, I didnt have to move the camera much at all.

Although we followed the 180 degree rule fluently, the continuity

was disrupted slightly as we didn't follow the rule of thirds and both Steph and Petch's heads were placed in the same part of the frame so that it

didn't look so professional, however this was a small mistake that we have made which has allowed us to build on it and now we know we won't make the same mistake in the main exercise.

The best thing about the production was the lighting which turned out to look very professional and really enhanced our film. It was neither too dark or too light which I thought would be an issue having seen previous productions from last year. We used a recording studio as it appeared like an interview room with a

window that could be passed off as a one way mirror which was important for the mise-en-scene and a semi-circular table to help further the 180 degree rule. We decided to use a male to be the police officer and a woman to be the visitor as this increases the versimilitude of the scene due to the idea of male dominance and you would rarely expect too see a male playing the more subjective role within a scene.

Our filming was over far quicker and smoother than expected which we were pleased with, but when we came to edit it, we realised we had actually missed out a few lines of dialogue probably because, not having filmed in a consecutive order, we must have got confused and missed out parts although luckily we still had the required amount of production to meet the brief. Although it was quite annoying at first we came round to it and began to understand that it was still a good film, especially as it was the first time any of us had actually produced a film production.

Overall I am proud of the way things went and it was due to our ability to work well as a team that everything ran so smoothly. We had already decided who was in charge of what beforehand and who was in charge of getting hold of the correct equipment.

Even though we made a few mistakes they were only small and I would rather have made them now than in the main exercise

First skills audit for the G321 Foundation Production

Initially, I was quite excited about the prospect of being able to produce a small film, but then realised just how much work was actually involved and it became fairly overwhelming. I am quite lucky to have someone in my group who has already studied First Diploma Media, and another person doing film studies which has been a big advantage as they have had slight experience in similar areas to this one. On top of this I am studying photography as another A level and thereforeexperience in framing and lighting.

At first we had difficulty deciding exactly what to film and we brainstormed a range of ideas. We had already decided to focus on drama as this seemed the most logical thing to do with lack of equipment quality to do a comedy for example. As well as this, it gave us a broader range of sub-genres too choose from. Eventually we focused on crime drama and my chosen roles consisted of creating the script and being in charge of the camera work.I was advantaged to be put in a group that gets on well and feels comfortable around eachother, especially as I had worked previously with Alex and share other lessons with Charley. This has made it easy to come to decisions and has meant that if we do feel unsure about doing something, we're not afraid to voice it.

Once we had got through the majority of paperwork, we began looking for a room, as well as actors to use and costumes.
Most of this required deliberation so that we could make the setting as fitting as possible. After looking at one possible room and then deciding it was far to unattractive, and there were were components of the room that we could not avoid being shown, we decided not too use it and instead focused on the radio suite in the media block which was the best we were going to find, with a semi circular table, perfect for portraying the rule of thirds, and a window that could possibly be disguised as a one way mirror as well as good lighting. After that we decided on a date and filled out the rest of the paperwork needed such as the risk assessment and camera booking forms.We also decided on actors although a back up plan was required as one of them has told us she may be ill come the day of filming which caused more careful deliberation.

Although I initially found the idea of being in charge of a production quite daunting, I found that once I got into it I began to understand that it's not as bad as it first seems and once we had got organised it became easy to move from one part of the planning to the next depending on what ideas were under developed and what was fine.
I am feeling fairly nervous about filming on tuesday having never manned a camera in such a professional manner before and being in charge of the camera work seems quite discouraging as there will be a lot on my shoulders, however I believe it will go quite well and if I follow what is planned it should be fine. As well as this there are opportunities to retake if something does go wrong and I will have my group there to support me

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