Unit G321 Preliminary Task AS Media Studies Preliminary Task Evaluation:

Do you believe that your piece of film demonstrates continuity well? Our group did and didn’t demonstrate continuity well. We kept the actors the same, and all of the actors remained in the same costume. No new actors were introduced, and no actors randomly disappeared. It is good to ensure that the actors and their clothing all remains the same so that the audience doesn’t get confused and does not understand what is going on. However we didn’t demonstrate a good use of continuity when we were filming, the actual scenes. There is one scene in particular when an actor is walking onto the set, however there is one character that is meant to be sitting down but is in fact standing up near the door. This is a demonstrating a bad use of continuity as the character is meant to be sitting down, yet they are standing up. This will confuse the audience as they will not know whether the character is meant to be sitting down or not. None of the characters have changed place so the continuity was continuous. Overall the continuity was mainly demonstrated well however there were several areas, where if I was able to go back and do it again, I would ensure that this was more even and it flowed much better and more effectively.

Have you demonstrated match on action; shot reverse shot and the 180-degree rule? If so, why are these editing techniques useful? Our group demonstrated and made good use of match on action, shot reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. These are all good and useful editing techniques to ensure that there is good use of continuity and ensure that the film runs smoothly and does not confuse the audience. The match on action is use widely as it is putting all of the different shots together to make sure that the film tells a story clearly and makes much more sense than just random shots would. I think that our film flows well and the story is easy to follow along with the setting and the plot makes sense because of the good use of match on action. My group has also made good use of shot reverse shot. We did this because you can really see the real facial expressions and emotions that the characters are portraying and gives the audience a greater depth of understanding the actual storyline. My group also made very good use of the 180-degree rule as it ensured that the film flowed a lot smoother. We ensured that the filming with the camera was very accurate to be sure that we didn’t cross the imaginary 180-degree straight line. If I was able to go back and was able to change things I would ensure that the 180-degree rule was used even more effectively and make sure that the match on action showed even more facial expressions.

How do you feel your group worked together? I feel that our group worked really well together, we all shared our views on what we felt was right. We also worked well as a team when filming and all ensured that everyone was happy and sure of what they needed to do. When we were editing we had a few disagreements as to how to edit the film. However we all compromised and in the end we came up with a successful film even if we did feel we could have improved it further. If I was to start the project again I feel that if we had worked in a smaller group then it would be easier to edit the film, with less disagreements as there were lots of people with different ideas and opinions as there was so many of us.

If you were to film this piece again, is there anything you could improve on?
The film was overall a success however there were many things that could have been improved to ensure that it was even better. I would have made sure that the use of continuity was much better and it didn’t confuse the audience. I would also think more about the mise-en-scene to bring more meaning and understanding to the film. I would have also edited the film differently by adding in more transitions and working on the sounds much more to make sure that it wasn’t loud when it needed to be quiet as people were speaking.

Did you plan your video well, or could you improve on this? I created a storyboard and had a basic script, which helped greatly in both the editing and filming of the piece. However I could have improved on this by thinking more about the mise-en-scene and how things were to be placed. I would have also thought and researched more about the types of music and editing that was effective. I probably would have developed the script further with more stage directions so that it was very clear what I wanted from the actors when filming then. However I feel that I made plans that were ok, as they managed to help me film my piece effectively and edit it well to a certain extent however there was many things I could have done to make sure that the planning of the video was a lot better.

Did you use transitions within your piece? We did not use transitions in our piece. I feel that this was a big mistake as the transitions would have made to film flow a lot smoother and more effectively. The transitions would have made the film a lot more effective and more understandable for the audience. I feel that this reduced the quality and effectiveness of the film greatly. However I will learn from this mistake and use transitions effectively in the future.

Have you learnt anything about the editing software whilst doing this exercise?
I have learnt from this exercise that when using this type of editing software you need to be patient and ensure that everything is done properly to make sure that the time it takes to edit the film is as little as possible. I have also learnt that I need to make sure that I save my work after doing anything significant so that I do not lose my work. Again to ensure that I do not lose my work I also found that I needed to back all of the work I did up in different areas on my computer to ensure that if something did happen to the original copy of my film, I still had a backup copy so all was not lost. If I was to use Adobe Premiere Elements to edit my film again I would make sure that I was fully aware of how to use everything to my best ability to ensure that the final product was as effective and successful as possible.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this film? When creating this film, a lot of different forms of technology were used. But from this I have learnt that you need to be very patient and make sure that everything is done properly to ensure that the film is as successful as possible. I have also learnt that you need to understand and know how to work the different technology so to use it to its best ability. By being able to use the technology to its best ability, the film can be produced to my best ability and the end result being a successful and effective piece.