Reflection on Preliminary Task

1. Reflection on Preliminary Task
What was the brief set by OCR?
Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door,
crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then
exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse
shot and the 180-degree rule.
Pre-Production:
What was the brief?
The brief for our preliminary task was to create a short film, around a minute and a half, containing a
conversation, someone walking into a room, a range of shot types and angles, a match on action,
parallel editing, tracking, panning, a shot-reverse-shot, graphic match, and consideration of the 180
degree rule, Mise en scene, lighting and framing.
How effective did you plan it?
Our initial plan was fairly detailed but could have contained more explanations for the decisions we
were making. We created a breakdown of what the audience would see and hear but could have
expanded that to say when each feature of the film would appear; for instance the forest scene mid-shot
would appear at 00:17.
Did everyone in the group contribute effectively?
Our group was made up of just two of us which ensured that we contributed in equal amounts as it
was just a matter of dividing each task into two. However, despite both of us alternating between
filming and directing, we found we had more predominant tasks; Luna had more of a role as a
director and Kenza did more of the camera work. By doing this we were able to play by our strengths
whilst experiencing all parts of the filming experience.
How did you develop your creative ideas?
We began by exploring different genres and evaluating which would be easiest to recreate, as both
of us enjoy watching rom-coms we considered creating a romantic comedy but soon dismissed this
as it would be hard to achieve consistent bright lighting which are iconic to the genre. We also found
that there are nOt as many other iconic genre signifiers of rom-com. Our ideas were influenced by
the horror genre; after we watched a scene set in the woods, we were inspired to film at least one
scene in a forest environment. We developed a storyline around this and wanted to create a surreal
atmosphere in which our audience would feel a sense of perplexity.
We were able to develop our ideas during our production stage in which we were inspired by the
Our creative ideas were limited by a number of factors including the brief, the timescale, the
equipment, our expertise, and the inclusion of continuity editing. Our preference would have been
to not include a conversation but were restricted to the specification of the brief.

2. Production:
What went well?
The production process was fairly stressful and consisted of multiple issues including impacts from
the restricted time frame; which as a result of, we were unable to return to Hampstead Heath and
re-take any shots, therefore extensive planning was fundamental for this process to run smoothly.
We had previously created a checklist, based on our plan, for the shots we had to take and what
each shot would be of; this was incredibly useful for ensuring that our footage matched our plan. It
was also beneficial for time keeping as were able to divide our time and maximise our productivity.
We were able to get footage within a forest without having to travel too far, this was extremely
convenient.
What problems did you encounter?
Most of the problems we encountered were due to inadequate planning and could have been easily
avoided. For instance, on one of the days, 21st October, we experienced incredibly bad weather
conditions to the extent where the footage was unusable. Complications like this could have been
evaded by checking the weather more frequently. Another issue we faced was that our dolly and
tripod did not fit together which meant that we were unable to take any tracking shots; this was
incredibly inconvenient and again easily avoidable.
Other problems we encountered surrounded our limited technical ability; having never previously
filmed, we were unable to figure out how to use the provided camera’s and experienced great
difficulty in attempting to play back our work on the camera. After our attempt with playback we
had managed to set the camera to photograph mode and achieved multiple stills which inspired us
to incorporate photograph stills in our preliminary task film. Unfortunately, our shots and more
specifically our range of angles were limited and we felt that we could have explored more
interesting angles. We also found that our speed of panning and tracking was extremely
inconsistent.
What have you learnt in terms of how you will run the shoots for your film opening?
In any future productions, we must ensure that we check the weather for days wish to record on and
that if we are recording on multiple days that the weather is consistent; this is rudimental for
continuity. We must also make sure we know how to use all of our equipment, that is working and
all fits together.

3. Post-Production:
What do you learn in post-production?
We used diegetic sounds in our footage; this helped to smooth the cuts by overlapping the shots and
acts as being a natural element of the narrative. This also helped us create a specific mood to
compliment what is going on which makes the audience feel more involved. While editing, we
wanted to make sure we had direct sound because it would help the audience feel as if they are
there too and it does not seem fake, allowing it to become more relatable. For example we wanted
synchronous sound such as footsteps because we learnt it contributed to the realism of the footage
and also helped create a particular atmosphere; during this we were able to learn of foliage sounds
and how they are created. We found and used loops from the Mac software ‘Garage band’; this was
extremely convenient and meant that we did not have to produce our own track, nor receive
copyright permissions. We decided to add non-diegetic sounds and music because we thought it
built an element of suspense to the video.
We joined the shots together by using the techniques cut and fade. We learnt that cut can be done
to change the scene and lead the audiences to associate the two visuals, for example we started
with a close up scene with Jess in a phone box and then cuts to Kate walking. The use of parallel
editing allowed the audience to quickly make the assumption that the two characters are connected.
We also faded to black to suggest a passing time or a change of scene.
While editing we did not want the audience to be disoriented by what was already happening in the
video so we used establishing shots to re-establish what is happening. We learnt this might be
necessary when a complex sequence of cuts can disorient the viewer. Another way of preventing
this is was following the 180 degree rule. Where we learnt the rule prevents the camera from
crossing the imaginary line to the other side of the shot. Stating that the only shots form one side of
180 degree line can be edited together without confusing the audience.
General analysis:
How effectively did you meet the brief?
We didn't manage to include a graphic match nor a large variety of angles, other than this we
completed the criteria. However, we feel we may have overcomplicated the task, and had preciously
devised entire plots with characters of whom we developed entire backstories for.
What will you improve on next time?
For our film opening we should create a more extensive plan including lists of all the shots we should
include and individually made storyboards so that we have a visual representation of our ideas and
see what the other has in mind, this will allow us to film multiple versions of the same scene, suited
to each of our preferences. We also found that the editing task is much harder to divide and thus
came to the conclusion that for our film opening we should film together, but edit separately. In
addition, we have learnt the importance of attention to detail and will conduct equipment and
weather checks before any production work. And although we did not face any problems with
deletion, we decided to have all of our work backed up on multiple devises.