Preliminary task questions

What planning did you do? How was this useful, and how did you change from your plans?

To plan for the preliminary task we first did a recce. This is when there is a pre visit to the location which we chose to shoot in. This was useful because we could decide on the location, making sure that it is appropriate for filming. We did a floor plan This meant we knew exactly where the actors were walking and it allowed us to decide whether we had enough room to film. We also did a rehearsal to double check this. We then drew a story board which allowed us to film quicker because we knew the order of shots and what shot type we needed for the particular scene. This made it easier when we were filming because we all knew what we doing. The rehearsal allowed us to make sure we knew exactly what we were saying and could practise. It meant that we didn't waste time whilst filming the final shots, it also allowed us to know where we were walking. After the rehearsal we changed the route we were going to take in the canteen because the tables and chairs made it awkward to get to the location the actors were going to sit at for the conversation.


What camera skills have you developed? How confident are you with using the cameras, and has this confidence changed during the project? Give details of specific camera skills/ techniques you have developed/ improved, and include areas where you lack confidence/ need to improve?

Through filming the preliminary task I have developed many new skills. I now know the basics of filming and how to use a camera, during the task I became more confident with using a camera. Although I didn't film any of the task because I was in it, I still used the camera before we filmed for the final scene. I think I could become even more confident if I had more experience using the camera to film. I now know techniques such as the 180 degree rule, through the preliminary task I know that when shooting a conversation the 180 degree rule happens so that the audience knows what character is speaking and when. Whilst filming we used tripods and dollies, before the preliminary task I didn't know what a dollie was, and I had never used a tripod before. I know what they are now and can set up the equipment safely so that filming was quick.


What editing skills have you developed? How confident are you with using the editing program? Give details of specific editing skills/ techniques you have developed/ improved, and include areas where you lack confidence/ need to improve?

Before the preliminary task I didn't know how to edit or how to use the editing program. I am now confident at most things on the editing programme. With a little more experiance I think I could gain more confidence with the editing program and be able to use it on my own to edit my thriller once I have filmed it.

Preliminary Task

Shooting techniques

There are many ways in which you can shoot a conversation. This includes the 180 degree rule, this is where the cameras are shooting from one side of a line. This is good because the audience don't get confused about who is sat or stood where and who the person is talking at the time. Another shot used whilst shooting a conversation is the over the shoulder shot. This is where we see over the shoulder of the person being spoke to looking at the person speaking. This gives the effect that we are involved in the conversation making it engage the audience more. Other shots used when shooting a conversation consist of Wide, close up and extreme close up which seem as though the person speaking is actually speaking to the audience making them engage into the conversation more. All these are ways of shooting conversations and there are more such as a cutaway, eyeline match, noddy, two shot and action match/ match on action. These make the conversation effective and engage the audience making the conversations through the films more interesting and less boring.

When shooting someone walking there is usually a variety of shot types and a variety of shot angles. The most common shot to use when filming someone walking is an extreme close up of their feet. This builds tension as we want to know who the feet belong to and where they are walking to. The pace of the persons walking and also the times they place their feet on the floor are often edited to be in sync with music if there is some. The camera speed matches the speed at which the person is walking making it seem as though the audience is either following them or infront of them.

The variety of shot types used in both these everyday things in films makes it a lot more interesting to watch and engages the audience more instead of if it was just one shot all the time.