Preliminary Task: Analysis and Self-Reflection

Techniques:

• shot/reverse shot
• match on action
• the 180 degree rule
• zoom
• tilt
• panning shot

Shot/reverse shot
We used this technique many times during the first scene of our preliminary task, whilst Ella and Marco are having a conversation on the bench. This was used in order to show the viewer both of the characters' facial expressions as they are talking or reacting to what is being said. I think that we achieved a successful result with this technique as the film appears more carefully planned and looks more professional. Most of the shot/reverse shots are mid to close up shots so the viewer is close enough to the characters that they feel connected to them and really involved in the action and dialogue. This encourages the viewer to listen more to what is being said therefore connecting with the emotion of Ella in particular. We also used shot/reverse shot near the end of scene two, when Marco sees Ella on the floor of the hallway. This means that we see Ella from Marco's point of view (high angle, making her look vulnerable) and Marco from Ella's point of view (low angle, making him appear more in control of the situation and his own emotions). This is effective in encouraging the viewer to understand more about the characters' personalities, therefore sympathising with Ella whilst liking Marco more for being the strong, almost hero-like character.

Match on action:
We use the match on action technique throughout both scenes of our preliminary task. The first use of match on action is when Marco opens the door at the very beginning of the scene. We see him walking towards the door and then it cuts to a close-up of the door opening. This is followed by when Ella is walking towards Marco and we cut to a closer shot of her feet, before returning to a long shot of her walking again. Another example is when Ella is walking down the stairs and out of the door, near the start of the second scene, where her movement flows continuously from one shot to the next. I have given us a mark of 10/10 for this technique as I feel that we have fully understood how to use it effectively within a scene in order to ensure continuity. This is a technique that, when used well, makes a scene look more advanced; something I think we achieved.

The 180 degree rule:
This was something that I really wanted to ensure we stuck to during the making of our preliminary task as I had watched a few examples of shot/reverse shot online, where the 180 rule was not used and I found myself feeling extremely disorientated. You cannot feel involved in the scene when your position is constantly changing without any warning or explanation. I think that we were successful in using this rule, especially during the sections of dialogue. I have given us 9/10 as I think we may have not kept to it in some sections however it is not noticeable.

Zoom:
We decided that the use of zoom did not really fit in with any of the shots we wanted to use as it creates an atmosphere that was not necessary for our theme or storyline. I think that if we had used zoom it would have made the whole video appear less advanced and slightly childish. Therefore I have given this technique a n/a as we cannot grade it.

Tilt:
We use tilt twice in our preliminary task, the first time being at the end of scene one where we tilt upwards to the sky, with the second tracking Ella's movement as she walks down the stairs with a downward tilt, near the beginning of the second scene. The use of this technique was to show the audience that the scene is ending (e.g. first use) or to introduce a character back in (e.g second use). I think that we achieved what we aimed to with the final result, however we could have used it more within the scenes as it was so visually appealing, which is why I have given us 8/10.



Panning shot:
Panning shots have been used several times in our piece. For example, we use it to smoothly track Ella's movement as she walks from the bottom of the stairs to the door in the second scene. I think that this technique is extremely useful to follow what a character is doing and show the transition from one place to another without having to cut the shot too many times. It also makes the viewer feel as if they are looking around the surroundings, making them feel more involved in the scene. Like tilt, as this technique was so successful I think we could have used it a few more times in the scenes in order to make the visuals seem more advanced and carefully thought out.



Handheld filming:
We used handheld filming for the whole of the first scene in order to make the viewer feel like they are a friend of the characters, following them through their days at school. However I think that this was not made clear enough, and watching back the first scene after the development of adding a second scene I felt that it was our weakest technique. Because of this we decided to use a tripod to film the second scene for smoother shots, making the filming appear more advanced. We used handheld filming once again during the second scene when we see Marco walking down a sloped hallway and through an empty room towards Ella. This was to make the viewer feel as if they are watching him walking, whilst following him with a panning shot that is not as smooth as the others. I think this use of handheld filming had a much clearer intention behind it compared to the previous use, and has shown that we have developed in skill during the making of the second scene.

The thing I most regret doing during the filming of our preliminary task is using handheld filming for the first scene as I think the filming just looks messy and unprofessional. When filming our final task I will ensure to use a good quality tripod for smoother shots. Another thing I would like to do when creating the final piece is to focus more on the planning of the scenes. I want to plan a much better storyline with more interesting content as when I look back at our preliminary task I can see that the topic is cliche to the point of the first scene being almost boring. I can achieve this by writing a script and possibly using students who are studying Drama A level to act in the piece to achieve a more believable performance. Finally, another thing is that I was unable to do a final check over the editing before the video was uploaded by other members of the group, this meant that the video was uploaded without the final stages of editing that I was planning to do (for example, mute the talking in the background of some shots which were meant to be only accompanied by music). When creating the final piece I will make sure that every element of the video is checked over and finalised completely before it is uploaded to YouTube.

When editing the preliminary task I developed my skills by experimenting with iMovie more extensively than in the past. Before the editing workshop I had worked with iMovie a lot, creating home videos, vlogs and video projects to add to my productions in BTEC Drama.

A short filmed introduction to a drama performance that I filmed and edited.

During the editing process of the preliminary task I developed my continuity editing skills by ensuring that the match on action shots where as seamless as possible, something I had not needed to practise in so much detail in the past due to the genres of my previous projects. When working with iMovie before I had experimented with lowering the volume of music when there was dialogue and increasing it again when the visuals where simply long shots of surroundings etc. and I feel this was a skill I was good at. In the editing workshop I was lead to explore detaching audio and placing it over different visuals to the original (e.g during shot/reverse shots of dialogue), also using a recording of simply the background noise of the scene to hide the cuts between audio.