Preliminary Task Evaluation - James Parkhouse

I filmed this preliminary task with Evan De Roeper, and Janith Perera. I think that considering this was our first time working together, we worked well and we coordinated everything well.

 During the filming of our preliminary test video, we encountered some problems that we had to overcome. Firstly, after filming we realised that we had not fully filmed a shot reverse shot. We noticed this couple of weeks after filming, while we looked different due to haircuts and wearing different clothes, so we had to come up with a different way of filming a shot reverse shot which would not spoil the continuity of the scene. We decided to film an interrogation style shot that would be set a few days after the events of the original filming, so that any change in appearance would be acceptable and not ruin the continuity.

Shot Reverse Shot

Another challenge we faced in the editing process concerning the continuity of the video, was syncing the close up shot of a hand opening a door, with a long shot of someone hen walking through the door, from the point of grabbing the door handle and opening the door halfway in the previous close up shot, creating match on action. 

To not ruin the continuity of the shot, we had to make sure that the shots were perfectly synchronised, so that the second shot would start perfectly on time and the same point as when the other ended. We did this Adobe Final Cut Pro and used a trial and error technique, cropping the video length until it looked right. We then had to do the same thing after the long shot of someone walking through the door way, by putting a close up shot of feet walking through the door afterwards, making sure the shots so were synced so that it looked like the shot of the feet walking started at the same point as where the feet got up to in the previous, to keep a sense of continuity.

Match On Action/Continuity

Positves:

Match On Action - We managed to successfully film and match on action shots so that they maintained continuity. We managed to do in the stair scene, and the opening of the door. Continuity is important within a film as it means everything flows fluently, and consistently, helping to add a sense of professionalism to the product.

Continuity Editing/ Match On Action

Camera Angles - We used a wide variety of camera angles in our preliminary task including close ups, over the shoulder shots, mid shots, and long shots.

Over the Shoulder Shot

Mid Shot

Long Shot

Shot Reverse Shot - We successfully incorporated shot reverse shot into our preliminary task, despite forgetting to include it during our initial filming stage. We maintained the 180 degree rule when filming our shot reverse shot so that it had continuity and would not confuse an audience.

Improvements:

180 Degree Rule - Despite following the 180 degree rule at times, we broke it a couple of times during filming, such as in the POV perspective shot from Janith. This could cause unnecessary confusion among an audience, and cause the product to look less professional.

The 180 Degree Rule

The Rule of Thirds - We did not follow the rule of thirds in certain shots, leading to them looking more unprofessional. It is important to follow the rule of thirds to make the main item the main subject point of the screen, without centralising them, unless for effect.

The Rule of Thirds Grid lines

Breaking the Rule of Thirds - Unprofessional,
 amateurish appearance 

Breaking the Rule of Thirds

Following the Rule of Thirds - Looks more professional

Overall, I think that our preliminary test video was fairly successful as we managed to use a wide variety of shots, and successfully incorporate match on action, and maintain continuity.  I feel that we managed to overcome the challenges we faced successfully, and managed to make a fair attempt of a short video that highlighted a variety of shots and camera angles. 

However, if i were to improve it, I would follow the rule of thirds and 180 degree rule more, unless breaking the rules to create effect. I would also spend more time in the planning stage, and create an in depth story board and shot list so that we did not have to make it up on the spot, and forget important aspects such as shot reverse shot.