Preliminary Task Evaluation

I believe our preliminary task, short film does demonstrate continuity to a high standard. This is because there is a smooth transition between each frame, and all the shots are in the correct order for what we intended. We enhanced the continuity in our film by using post production continuity editing, all this was done with the intention of making it easier for our audience to follow and therefore understand the storyline.

Right at the start we placed a 'dissapear' transition between our last introductory slide and the actual film, we thought this was a good idea as it allows the viewer to fully establish when the film begins.

We have included the match on action which we were asked to have in the movie. We decided to use it when the mummy enters the room. We filmed a shot from outside the room, of the door being opened, and we then filmed a shot from inside the room, where the mummy starts on the other side and enters the room. When while editing our work, we spent some time matching these two shots together, until they matched perfectly, and the transition was as smooth as any other shots in the film.

We also included the recommended 180 degree rule in our film, once again, another technique used to help the audience understand our movie. We ensured that we used it throughout the film because without it, it may not make sense to watch at all. We mainly focused on this during the production of the film, before we went ahead and started filming any piece, we would make sure we were following the rule.

We used the shot reverse shot in our short movie, this is a good technique to use during dialogue as it shows what the characters are feeling by having close up for their faces, and it allows the audience to follow the conversation, and feel part of the action. It can also make the scene seem more tense, which i believe is the effect it has on our film. We use it when the cowboy first realises the other person she is sat opposite is a mummy.

If we were to film our piece again, i think we would reconsider where to film our movie, as parts of our film came out with strange lighting that we are not too happy with. Apart from this i think our movie turned out quite well, and  believe everyone in the group is happy with it. All the camera angles we used and the editing we added, all turned out how we wanted it to.



Part of our film where the lighting was not correct.

All these techniques we have used are helpful as they all contribute to the audience understanding and following the storyline of our short movie. They also make it look as best as possible, and give it that expert finish we were looking for.

I think we did very well working as a team to plan our preliminary task. We spent a lot of time planning, this was  of course ensure we get the best result possible for the final piece. As part of our planning we thought a storyboard and script would be necessary, to get these finished as soon as we can, we split into pairs from our group. My pair worked on the storyboard, whereas the other pair started work on the script. We soon found out while filming, that these were really important, as without them, the filming would have taken much longer and we would have found it harder. If we wanted to know what angle to film at, we just had to look at our storyboard, instead of thinking it up on the spot.

I feel my group worked well together throughout the task. Every ones opinion was taken into consideration at each stage of the production. We each took turns to use the camera and editing software, so we all got used to how everything works, this will of course help us in the future. I think communication was key to our group working well together.

I found it interesting to learn how to use the editing software as i had not used anything like it before. When i started i thought it was going to be very hard to use, i soon found out that it was quite simple. I was impressed at how this software can completely transform a clip of film.

I learnt that anybody can make a short film, spend a bit of time editing on a computer, and technology can give it a professional finish. I have also learnt how to use what we have been taught in class about camera angles, and put it to use with the cameras we were provided with, to do this we had to learnt how to use these cameras, but this wasn't too hard.

I found doing this preliminary task very rewarding.