2. How many mistakes did you make?
We made a few mistakes the first time we filmed the
preliminary task as it was the first time we had been
given the opportunity to use the cameras in the field and
have access to the editing software. The mistakes we
made included not keeping 180 degree rule, not white
balancing correctly and making mistakes filming match
on action. To correct these mistakes we simply re filmed
the necessary shots
3. How did you manage the group
dynamic and collaborative nature of
film making?
When filming the preliminary task our first group decision was to ensure that we
picked two actors and two camera workers. As a group none of us really minded
what role we took so we simply flipped a coin to decide. ( I was a cameraman
with Ethan)
As a whole when ever we made a decision while filming we made sure to ask
every member of our group for their opinions. All though this may have took up
a lot of time, it is the only fair way for everyone in the group to be happy with our
end result. Examples of this include checking over the angles of shots after
most takes. This meant that that if one person didn’t like it they could voice their
opinions and change it.
4. How did you manage the equipment?
Managing the equipment was much easier than expected. During
our allocated filming period we made our way down the Media
technician Mr Yadgar and asked his permission to take out and use
the camera equipment. As a group we were very careful while
setting up the camera and tripod etc as we realise that they are
expensive items and we would not want them to break. For this
reason, every time the camera was not on the tripod it was held with
both hands to ensure safety. Secondly there are small parts that we
were careful not to misplace such as the lens cap and video tape
cover. One group member was given the responsibility to look after
one item
5. How did you manage the deadline?
Managing the deadline was quite tricky due to an unfortunate
number of illnesses and school trips during our allocated
period of filming. This meant that when one of our actors,
Daniel was ill one day it meant we couldn’t finish off the
filming as he had already appeared on camera so we couldn’t
use a different actor.
However due to our ability to bond and collaborate well as a
group/team we were able to overcome all off these setbacks
– finish the editing quickly and still be one of the first groups
to produce a finished project.
6. Were there any health and safety
logistical problems
Regarding health and safety, we made sure there were no
loose cables or wires for people to trip over. If anyone walked
by during filming we signalled this as a safety hazard to
anyone that passed us during filming.
Secondly the lights in the media suite become very hot as
they are made from filaments. So after use we made extreme
care when switching on/off and moving around to not touch
any of the hot parts. Looking back it would have been
beneficial to use gloves to protect our hands and fingers from
burns
7. How did you organise your human
resources – people involved in your
production
Actors – as all of us are in the same class there
was no issue in all of us being in the same place
to film. Two of our group filmed while the other
two acted.
As this was only the preliminary task our use of
props and costumes was very limited. The only
prop we used was a table which was already
located in the media suite. We simply asked
permission to use it and set it out in the way we
required.
8. How did your story boarding and
shooting script work in practice?
The story board we made was very simple
because the plot is very basic. Because we
planned out each shot before and knew exactly
how we wanted it to look it was very easy to go
straight from the storyboard to filming with a high
degree of accuracy.
This also applies to our shooting script as well
because it was very basic due to the nature of the
task
9. Did you make creative decisions to
depart from the original plan?
The creative decisions that I made didn’t depart
from the original plan but were creative none the
less. On a couple of the shot I was unhappy with
the playback of the angles and how zoomed in
the camera was. So I suggested to my group that
we re film the relevant parts with more
aesthetically pleasing results. The results that we
gained had better angles and the issue with the
zoom had been fixed.
10. How successful were you with
managing your time
On the whole I feel that on both a personal level and as a group we were
very effective with managing our time. They were few wasted moments on
shoots with all our efforts projected into making the best production
possible.
During the beginning of filming we encountered numerous setbacks
involving the camera picture and sound quality. The problems we
encountered was the picture being grainy and the sound being muffled and
barely audible. This meant that we had to start again from scratch several
times. Initially we thought the problem was with the tape we had, when we
re-filmed with a new tape the problems were still not fixed. From here we
deduced that the problem lied with the camera itself. There was an internal
fault with the camera that we could not fix ourselves. However once we
found out the root of the problem we worked quickly and efficiently to
resolve it by filming with a new camera and tape.
11. How did digital technology enable you
develop creatively?
The editing software Adobe Premiere pro
was particularly useful in developing
creatively as it allowed us to
cut/merge/layer shots however we wanted.
Although it wasn’t appropriate in this task it
gave valuable experience to use again in
the future
12. What sort of realism have you created?
The realism we created was one of an office meeting where
one worker was getting reprimanded for being late. For this
reason we kept the language formal and kept stern facial
expressions at all time. If I were to do it again I would dress
the actors in more formal attire such as a suit for the sole
purpose of adding to the realism of the piece. However I
realise that as this is only the preliminary task, such efforts
may not be as necessary as they will be for my main task. As I
have learnt from this task, realism is very important and I will
endeavour to make my final thriller as realistic as possible
through the use of props, costumes, make up, set and
dialogue
