For the production of our film opening there were many aspect of the preliminary task that I was able to transfer directly across in order for the process to run as smoothly as possible.
PRE-PRODUCTION
When creating the story for our preliminary task, my group was very vague about the exact details of the narrative which we later found to be an issue for the actual filming of the clip. Keeping the prelim task in mind, my film opening group made sure this didn't happen again through the thorough planning of four pitch handouts, which presented to the class our exact intentions for the production of the film opening. We created a much more in-depth narrative, which gave the group a real knowledge of the story making it easier for the everyone to understand each other on set. We also arranged a script, which we didn't do for the prelim, which made the task of filming a much quicker and easier process.
In organising the shoot for my preliminary task, I realised how much work and preparation was needed to create the finished product, due to the amount of times that my preliminary task group came across difficulties with filming the footage and the footage itself. Using the preliminary task as an example was largely beneficial and my film opening group were able to work with the experience gained, to plan more structured and informative story and shoot boards.
For instance, we organised a full test shoot for our opening sequence, with rough costumes and props, in order to see how everything played out. In the test shoot we came across various issues such as the fact that the mask was reflective and so you could see the camera in it and also the fact that filming outside was extremely unpredictable and inconvenient. We resolved these issues by noting on our shoot board to avoid being in the relocation as not to forget and by wearing more appropriate clothing and checking weather forecasts for the days we intended to shoot on.
PRODUCTION
Looking back on the prelim and test shoot, I now feel that it helped me a lot with the filming of my opening than when I was actually doing the filming for them. We were able to gain vital experience with using the 180º rule and the match on action technique for example, and also see why they were so important in creating continuity. There were many opportunities for us to use these techniques in our film opening and we were able to use them a lot more effectively the second time round.
Another important thing we learnt from the test shoot was to take shots from more than one angle and distance; we decided to do this as it made the editing process a lot easier, as it gives us a larger choice of shots - if we thought that that one angle didn't look how we wanted it to, we could always change it and choose another to be used instead. This was particularly helpful when it came to filming the chase scenes, as it made the pace of the opening much quicker, creating the illusion the characters awere running faster than they actually were at the time and consequently making the opening sequence more thrilling.
POST-PRODUCTION
The most useful but excruciating lesson we learnt was be prepared to compromise with shots - Even with the preliminary task we had this issue, but for the test shoot of our film opening, once we had arrived at our shooting location, we realised that some of the shots we had planned wouldn't work out in the way that we had wanted them to. As a consequence, we had to get rid of some of the shots that we wanted to film in order to get a completed final product. This happened in editing as well as filming, where sometimes we had to delete shots that we liked because they didn't fit in with the scene or did not have to correct continuity.
When creating the story for our preliminary task, my group was very vague about the exact details of the narrative which we later found to be an issue for the actual filming of the clip. Keeping the prelim task in mind, my film opening group made sure this didn't happen again through the thorough planning of four pitch handouts, which presented to the class our exact intentions for the production of the film opening. We created a much more in-depth narrative, which gave the group a real knowledge of the story making it easier for the everyone to understand each other on set. We also arranged a script, which we didn't do for the prelim, which made the task of filming a much quicker and easier process.
In organising the shoot for my preliminary task, I realised how much work and preparation was needed to create the finished product, due to the amount of times that my preliminary task group came across difficulties with filming the footage and the footage itself. Using the preliminary task as an example was largely beneficial and my film opening group were able to work with the experience gained, to plan more structured and informative story and shoot boards.
For instance, we organised a full test shoot for our opening sequence, with rough costumes and props, in order to see how everything played out. In the test shoot we came across various issues such as the fact that the mask was reflective and so you could see the camera in it and also the fact that filming outside was extremely unpredictable and inconvenient. We resolved these issues by noting on our shoot board to avoid being in the relocation as not to forget and by wearing more appropriate clothing and checking weather forecasts for the days we intended to shoot on.
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| This is an example of what we had to walk through to reach our location |
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| When we reached our location the weather was windy and cold. The wind was often picked up by the microphone. |
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| Later on that day the weather was really sunny, which meant that the continuity of our shots was ruined |
Looking back on the prelim and test shoot, I now feel that it helped me a lot with the filming of my opening than when I was actually doing the filming for them. We were able to gain vital experience with using the 180º rule and the match on action technique for example, and also see why they were so important in creating continuity. There were many opportunities for us to use these techniques in our film opening and we were able to use them a lot more effectively the second time round.
Here were a few examples of how our prelim exercise compared to our finished product. As you can see we used both match on action and the 180º rule.
Another important thing we learnt from the test shoot was to take shots from more than one angle and distance; we decided to do this as it made the editing process a lot easier, as it gives us a larger choice of shots - if we thought that that one angle didn't look how we wanted it to, we could always change it and choose another to be used instead. This was particularly helpful when it came to filming the chase scenes, as it made the pace of the opening much quicker, creating the illusion the characters awere running faster than they actually were at the time and consequently making the opening sequence more thrilling.
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| This is an example of the range of shots we used. Here there are three different angles within 4 seconds of each other. |
The most useful but excruciating lesson we learnt was be prepared to compromise with shots - Even with the preliminary task we had this issue, but for the test shoot of our film opening, once we had arrived at our shooting location, we realised that some of the shots we had planned wouldn't work out in the way that we had wanted them to. As a consequence, we had to get rid of some of the shots that we wanted to film in order to get a completed final product. This happened in editing as well as filming, where sometimes we had to delete shots that we liked because they didn't fit in with the scene or did not have to correct continuity.
Here was our compromise to the failure of the programme after effects. Originally, if you can imagine it, we added a dissolve effect similar to the shot where the mask dissolves off of the henchman's face. However as after effects crashed and we lost our work we got around it by adding a filler clip of Leora running away in order to make it seem as this had happened in this time.
Learning from the prelim that we were limited for time, and with an even bigger project to complete our group decided to delegate tasks for each person to do throughout the weeks. It was integral that we each did our individual work in order for our group to meet the deadline. The work load was spread evenly amongst the group and we and completed these during times such as lessons, lunches and free periods. We worked well as a group, using social media and our time in school to communicate and work towards a product that we were all happy. We had to learn the hard way that sometimes computers crash however, and ended up losing a shot that we had spent countless of hours on, taking an entire week to edit together. This shot didn't make it into the final cut as we didn't have enough time to go through the editing process once more.
IN HINDSIGHT
- I would definitely organise to use actors who have experience on set, as I think that the atmosphere and tone of our opening could have been a lot more effective if this were the case. This would also mean I would be able to work behind the camera and direct a lot more, which is what I enjoy and am used to doing.
- Planning and delegation of jobs would be a lot stricter. On one of the shoots we almost didn't have a vital piece of the costume, which could have been avoided if we hadn't assumed other members of the group would complete certain tasks, even if they had done previously. It just lead to unneeded stress and panic which put the group in a negative mood.
- Choosing a location which was outdoors was more hassle than it was worth, with the weather and terrain being wholly unpredictable. Most days it was cold or had rained the night before and so was wet and muddy. This obviously had a negative affect on our moods, as standing still with wet feet we were even colder.
- When choosing to use special effects, I would in future try not to be too overly ambitious, as again they were more work than it was worth. Also, making sure that the raw footage we had was to the standard needed would have been helpful, such as not moving the tripod between shots we intended to mask and dissolve, as it would have saved the unnecessary work we did in order to fix the mistake.
IN HINDSIGHT
- I would definitely organise to use actors who have experience on set, as I think that the atmosphere and tone of our opening could have been a lot more effective if this were the case. This would also mean I would be able to work behind the camera and direct a lot more, which is what I enjoy and am used to doing.
- Planning and delegation of jobs would be a lot stricter. On one of the shoots we almost didn't have a vital piece of the costume, which could have been avoided if we hadn't assumed other members of the group would complete certain tasks, even if they had done previously. It just lead to unneeded stress and panic which put the group in a negative mood.
- Choosing a location which was outdoors was more hassle than it was worth, with the weather and terrain being wholly unpredictable. Most days it was cold or had rained the night before and so was wet and muddy. This obviously had a negative affect on our moods, as standing still with wet feet we were even colder.
- When choosing to use special effects, I would in future try not to be too overly ambitious, as again they were more work than it was worth. Also, making sure that the raw footage we had was to the standard needed would have been helpful, such as not moving the tripod between shots we intended to mask and dissolve, as it would have saved the unnecessary work we did in order to fix the mistake.
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