Preliminary Task-Miss Miller

Preliminary Task 

The are three members in my group; myself, Bettie Cooper and Kane Faulkner-Wild.  The purpose of the preliminary task was to get use and adapt to the equipment that we will be using in the final production. Furthermore, this would also give us a better understanding of how the process works and gives us the opportunity to experiment with different camera shots and angles. In this research, we had to film a very short sequence of two regular people having a typical conversation. In this sequence, it must consist of one of the people entering the room, sitting down and talking, then exiting the room so that we could have a range of multiple shots. In this sequence as it was only a short, basic conversation the filming had to be around 30 seconds. After we had filmed the sequence, we watched it back to see how the filming had gone and to identify our strengths and weaknesses in the sequence. We only had a short space of time to edit our sequence so we could not import everything that we wanted to such as sound effects and filters.

We used a number of camera techniques including a range of different shots such as; long shot, over the shoulder shot, panning, shot reverse shot and close up.  

There was a slight problem with our equipment as our tripod wasn't functioning properly and wasn't being stable so we had to use hold the camera in our hands, therefore this caused a lot of inconvenience when we attempted to display our range of shots because the frame of the camera was very unstable and consistently was being shaken which lowered the impact on the audience which made our film not as successful as it could of been. Due to this, our filming took longer than we planned therefore resulting us to have less time to edit. We were very short on time therefore could not edit the sequence to our best potential. Next time, we will ensure that the tri-pod is working perfectly before we start the filming so that this problem does not occur again. Furthermore, next time if our tri-pod is working properly then this will provide us with more time to edit our sequence therefore resulting the sequence to be more successful. 

We used the long shot combined with the panning both where Kane walks into the room and Malu and Kane leaves the room. We decided to produce this particular technique at this point within the sequence as we find that it is more effective as the audience can see a wide range within the frame and would then give them a better understanding. We created this shot by Bettie holding the camera in her hands as we were unable to use the tripod. Bettie stood at a fairly long distance in order to provide a clear display that this was a long shot being shown. We created this by filming the characters exiting the room by following them from one side of the room to the other so that it was a horizontal motion. I believe this was a good shot as the frame was only slightly unstable due to the absence of the tri-pod. However, I do believe that there is room for improvement therefore I find next time we will need to ensure that the tri-pod is functioning properly so that it will be more effective. Also I find that the general atmosphere at this point was quite dull, so I believe next time the character's could still be continuing their conversation to prevent the audience from losing interest. 

The shot reverse shot was being used between the conversation between Malu and Kane as the camera showed Malu's face, then Kane's face then back to Malu's face. We decided to insert this technique at this particular point so that there is a clear display that the two characters are having a conversation. We created this by one character talking straight in front of the camera, then doing the same for the other character then repeating this for the first character. This would then help the audience engage more within the sequence and give them the ability to start building relationships with each of the characters. I believe the 'shot reverse shot' is a technique that is more convenient and ideal for a conversation. I find that this shot was successful considering that we didn't have a tri-pod the camera managed to stay very stable. Also, there was a clear display that a conversation was going on and that the shot reverse shot was being created and displayed clearly. If we were to do this shot again, then we would shorten the pause that's in between each shot as I find the pause could be shortened in order to be more effective. Also, I find that if we were to do this differently then maybe when one shot changes on to the other character, the other character could still continue talking so that there's a better perspective. 

The close up was being used where they show each characters face so that the audience had the ability to see the expression that was being shown on the characters face. We decided to insert this technique at this particular point so that the audience can have a clear display of the characters expression. This will then enable the audience to start building relationships with the characters therefore would help them to engage more within the sequence. Also it would help the audience engage more as they are seeing this character express her feelings as if they are sitting with her. I find that this was the weakest shot that is contained within the sequence. This was because the camera was very unstable and was being shaken making the focus come off the character within the frame. Furthermore, this made the audience become less engaged within the sequence which meant that they wasn't as impacted resulting this sequence in being less successful. Next time if we were to do this shot again, we would make the character come a little more closer towards the camera so that the focus is bigger on the character which would then help the audience engage more and help them to build a better relationship with the character. Furthermore, we would ensure that our tri-pod is working so that the camera is completely still therefore resulting more focus and engagement on the character which would then determine what relationship is being built with this character. 

The over the shoulder was displayed when Kane tells Malu to leave the room with him where the camera hovers over Malu shoulder. We decided to insert this particular technique at this point as this was during the conversation between the two characters therefore would give the ability for the audience to a view a different perspective of what the character is saying. This would help keep the audience more engage as a wider range of views would make the sequence more interesting so that they do not lose interest. I find that this was a successful shot as the audience had a clear display of the shot and could clearly see what the character was saying. Furthermore, it was evident that this was over the shoulder shot as the characters were aligned perfectly within the frame. The camera was still which made our shot more successful as the focus was 100% on the character that was speaking. If we was to do this shot again, I would move the camera so that the characters were closer and would fill the frame more. Also, I would move it to the side slightly so that the camera is directly over her shoulder therefore resulting the characters face directly in the center facing the camera so that it would be a better viewpoint.  

 In our filming, the use of a range of different camera angles went well but not as well as it good of. This was well contributed to our final production as it give us an idea of how the audience can be impacted as we could see this after we had filmed and reviewed our short clip. Furthermore, I also think that we managed to link the different shots and angles together so the the clip flowed easily throughout. This was achieved by us creating different shots and angles at different points in the clip. We struggled slightly with the filming techniques because that our tri-pod wasn't working so that meant we couldn't have a steady shot and the shots and the general filming was quite unsteady. We was to do this again, we would make sure that the tri-pod was working so that the shots was steady so would have a bigger impact on the audience. Furthermore if was to do this, we would use the extra time given to add effects so that we could practice these techniques and uses before the final production is created so that we could find our flaws and improve them before the final production is created. To ensure we don't have this tri-pod issue in our opening sequence we will test the tri-pod to see whether it is steady and functioning properly before we leave to go to the setting that we are filming in so that this issue does not occur as this would have a bad impact on the audience and will affect the viewing of our sequence. I feel being more aware of the surroundings around us would helped as the space around us was tight so the camera positioning was limited. Furthermore, I feel as a group being more knowledgeable and having a better understanding of the equipment we are using would mean that we who have more creative ideas that would then impact on the audience and the genre of our sequence. Also, if we have a good understanding of how to edit our scenes and creative effects on the software then we could have created impacts that would have benefited us as well as the audience. When we was reviewing the sequence it made us more aware of the mistakes we was making that at the time we was not aware off as we noticed the unsteadiness of the camera and the lack of space that was having a bad effect of the audience but now that we are aware of this we know where we have to correct ourselves when it comes to filming our final production.

To conclude, this task helped prepare for our final sequence because it gave us to be in the audience position and review what we created so this gave the ability for us to correct ourselves and find the key points where we done well and the places it went wrong. This generally makes us more aware of what we need to work on to make us improve so that we could have a good impact on the audience. For example we learned we that the lack of space impacts the audience and it makes the setting smaller so that we can't have a variety of camera positioning and also the steadiness of the camera is negative towards the audience as it makes us look like amateurs so this would not seem serious towards the audience which is not what we intend. In the opening sequence we will ensure we do the same camera shots and techniques as that had a positive impact on the audience as it gives them a better understanding of the clip. We will obviously use a different setting which will be bigger so gives us the opportunity to use a wider range of camera positioning so that we can show the full setting and characters views and emphasize the general image of the clip to the audience which would hopefully impact them as they would have a better understanding.