Analysis and Planning Of Preliminary Task

Planning

Analysis

The brief was as follows: To create a short video showing someone walking across a room, sitting down and taking part in a short conversation. It should show continuity, the 180 degree rule, a match-on-action shot and reverse shot.

Below is the analysis of our final outcome:

• When making our preliminary task, I was originally in a group with three people. I had to go on a geography field trip so missed the actual filming of the preliminary. This meant that when I returned, I hadn't had as much input as the others and so I joined a group with other people who went on the field trip. We had to come up with a new storyboard and filmed our preliminary task again.
• As we were already behind, and had limited time left to complete and edit our filming, we decided to base our preliminary in a school environment as this meant we could film during lesson time.
• The idea behind our preliminary was a teacher - parent consultation at a school parents evening. As we could not gain access to a real teacher, we had to use members of our media class. This is less realistic, therefore less effective, but we had no option.
• Again due to lack of time and preparation, we could not plan the costumes we used, so the 'teacher' is not in the smart attire she may well have been in at a real parents evening. This also applies to the parent. She is in a smart business suit which may or may not be what the parent would wear.
• We only had access to a classroom, that was quite messy. We had to move around tables and we only used two desks next to each other for the teachers desk which made it look less professional. Also, we could not choose how we used lighting in the clip, as we could not block out the natural lighting from the window behind where we set up the desk. This meant that the 180 degree rule shot we used appeared darker than the shot reverse shot in the same clip. This means that we did not maintain continuity, which is something we would have to change were we to do this again.
• Overall, I think our prelimary task was moderately successful as we stuck to the breif. There are a few things which could be improved upon, which I have outlined above. I think it was a good idea to do the prelimary task, as we have learnt alot from it, including how to use the camera and the editing software, how important it is to maintain continuity and how different settings, costumes and props can make a big difference in how realistic and professional the filming looks.