Preliminary Exercise Evaluation.

 The brief to the preliminary exercise was to: Film and edit 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. However, in order to get a good final piece everybody had to demonstrate three important features which were: match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. Anita, Gagan and I worked together to complete this preliminary exercise in a week, which was beneficial for all of us. This is because, the exercise allowed us recognise our mistakes therefore we would not make the same mistakes when we begin the MEST2 coursework. 

Firstly, the narrative of our film is short as it is a preliminary exercise however; we tried to create tension for the audience, in order to make them more intrigued in watching it. Also, the location for our film is set in the school canteen as no other rooms were available during the time we wanted to film. All three of us contributed in producing this film by taking on different roles which was helpful. Gagan played the role of the teenage girl, (also known as the protagonist) who we see right at the beginning of the film looking stressed and upset. She meets with her best friend, who is played by Anita and reveals to her that she has murdered somebody; however the audience do not know who it is. The narrative clearly links to name of the film which is called 'Murder' and the transition used towards the end was a  fade out ending with a cliff-hanger. As a group we thought the transition of a fade out would be effective because it leaves the audience in suspense; wanting to know what she has done. Moreover, the role I played was filming the scenes and making sure the camera shots/movement was correct. However, even though it was my first time filming I did make a few mistakes with some of the camera framing and we all took it in turns filming as well; making it fairer. 

Secondly, I completed a detail draft of the storyboard for our film which was very useful as it helped me to know what I will be filming in each scene. Additionally, the storyboard was helpful for all three of us because, we felt confident as we knew what was going to happen in each scene therefore, we did not waste any time and started to film straight away. (Picture of the storyboard below)

 

Furthermore, Anita wrote out the shot list which was beneficial before we started to film. This is because; it helped us to keep track of all the necessary camera shots we were going to use for each scene. Some of the key camera shots/movement added to our shot list was: long shot, medium shot, close up, match on action shot, 180-degree rule, high/low angel, point of view shot ect.   The storyboard is significant and helped to create our final product because it gave us a clear overall picture of what the film would be like and how long we should spend filming each shot.  Whereas, the shot list was valuable to create our final product as well. This is because, it was a check list for which helped us organise what needs to be shot and the type of camera framing/movement we were going to use. Personally, the thing I would do differently next time in terms of pre-production would be to find a better location as the canteen was not good due to the noise in the background and maybe to write out a script in terms of what each person was going to say in the scenes. However, as a group we worked well because we planned the storyboard and shot list together which are both very important for pre-production, therefore I would not change anything. 

Thirdly, once everybody final product was completed we watched each group's film with the whole class and discussed what was good and what was bad. Once everybody watched 'Murder' and discussed it as a class, we did have some strengths and weaknesses for our film. 

Strengths

The acting from Gagan and Anita was good because it made the film more realistic therefore the audience would feel the same emotions as them. Also, we used a variety of different camera framings throughout the film such as, long shot, medium shot, close up and a match on action shot ect, to make it look more appealing and interesting. I think the most effective camera framing was the medium shot of Anita towards the end when she drops her pen suddenly. This is because, the medium shot of Anita in that specific scene highlights something drastic has happened due to her facial expressions looking shocked; therefore it makes the audience wanting to know what has happened to Gagan. Also, the pen drop is effective as well because it conveys, Anita reaction to the news she has heard and it almost sets the mood and atmosphere to the audience in leaving them in suspense. Furthermore, the continuity editing for the match on action shot was really well to demonstrate the character opening a door (follows the brief)  . This is because, it fitted perfectly to the previous long shot of her working toward the door and then a close up of Gagan hand opening the door; simple editing improved the continuity for our film. Additionally, another strength for our film was through demonstrating the shot reverse shot which I filmed. A shot reverse shot, is also known as the over the shoulder shot and in our film, it was shown through Gagan and Anita having a conversation with one another. Followed by a shot reverse shot, was the 180-degree rule which was clearly shown from their conversation. Whilst I was filming the conversation I had to keep in mind of the 180-degree rule because it is very important, therefore I had to aim/place the camera on the same line when I was filming the conversation. Moreover, our film followed the key three important features which was required from the brief: match on action shot, shot reverse shot, and the 180-degree rule.

Weaknesses

One of the main weaknesses for our film was the audio, which let us down. This is because, the location we filmed was in the canteen therefore, and whilst I was filming I did not take in count of the sound in the background people were making. Once we finished our production, as the sound was bad throughout the film, it made it really hard for people to hear what Gagan and Anita was saying to each other during their conversation because of the noisy background. Whilst editing, we tried decreasing some of the noise in the scene when both of them were talking, however as the sound was not recorded separately and we did not film in a quieter location, we could not do anything about the sound. Also, even though we demonstrated a shot reverse shot, it could have been better. This is because, as I was filming the over the shoulder shot especially for Gagan part, in the background there were coats, bags, items on the chair and people working ect which makes it hard for the audience to focus on Gagan; instead they would be looking at what is happening in the background. Editing the timing of some shots could of been improved, especially at 0:19 of the door closing once Gagan walks in. This is because, it took 4 minutes for the door to close which was long therefore it did not look right when we watched it back with the whole class. 

 Overall, as a group I think we worked well together because we followed the brief and added some of our own ideas as well. We demonstrated the match on action shot, shot reverse shot, and the 180-degree rule which was good. Also, Completing a preliminary exercise before beginning the MEST2 coursework is really useful, because it helped me to recognise my mistakes when I was filming the scenes therefore I would not make the same mistakes again. Lastly, it is a good exercise in preparation for filming the actual TV programme, because it made me realise how significant camera movement/shot, editing, sound and especially location is when you start to film.