Preliminary Task and evaluation

What have I learnt?
In this task I learnt a lot about different camera angles and the effect they have on the audience. We used an over the shoulder shot in the beginning which I felt made the footage seem more professional and would make the content more eye catching. I also learnt about camera angles such as match on action and shot reverse shot. The camera techniques made for a smoother feel to the final product.

Am I happy with my final piece?
I am reasonably happy with the final piece as we met the criteria which we were presented with. This included footage of  one character crossing a room and sitting opposite another character to engage in conversation. I also feel we took it to the next level by involving a story line that made for it to be more interesting that what we had been asked to do. We had though about the audience of our media product and had a clear vision as to what we wanted the final piece to look like.

What would I do differently next time?
If I was to do this task again I would probably keep the same storyline but perhaps work more on the different camera shots. For example we could have used more close up shots to connote how the individual characters were feeling. I would have perhaps used more editing techniques as we had kept it quite simplistic, I may have changed the colour treatment to seem more dark and dingy like a secret spy film would have. We could have also added credits throughout the footage to show off our editing skills.

preliminary task plan

Our preliminary test was a continuity task involving filming and editing 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. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. 

Roles

Plot/Director - Zoe

Actor 1/Editor - Mary

Camera/Location Scout - Sinead

Actor 2 - Chloe

Mise-en-Scene - iPad, mobile phones, table and chairs

Location -BG08 (classroom within the college) and corridors within the same building. There will also be use of a staircase.

Ideas

1. Spy Mission - the video begins with the camera following Actor 1 down the stairs and through corridors until she enters a room. They will then take a seat in front on Actor 2, where they will exchange dialogue about the mission and Actor 1 is handed the iPad. Whilst the scene where Actor 1 is walking downstairs and running through a corridor will be shot from different angles, the whole scene in the room will be shot from the left.

2. Interrogation - the scene will start in a room, where the camera is facing a door. After two seconds, the door will be pushed open and a police officer (Actor 1) will be bringing in a suspect (Actor 2). They will place them in a chair and then sit in the one opposite. The camera will switch between a forward shot and over-the-shoulder shots but will always remain on the left of the actors in order to maintain 180 degree rule.

3. An exchange - Actor 1 will walk through a corridor, constantly looking over their shoulder and around as if paranoid. It will then show them opening a door and walking into a room where there is a person wearing a mask (Actor 2). They will sit in front of them and slide over a stack of money. They will exchange a few lines of dialogue before Actor 2 passes them a briefcase. Without another word, Actor 1 will walk out of the room and the camera shows Actor 2 taking off their mask before it ends.

Final Decision

My group have decided to go with idea one (Spy Mission) as we wanted to make our video have a slight comical theme to it and felt that it would be best to do it with this premise. We made this decision as we felt it make our video seem quite unique and we could be more creative with our script and with the editing of the clip. Below is the final script that we have created for this task.

Script

Chloe - Agent004

Mary - Agent003

The scene starts with Mary/Agent 003 receiving a text. The camera zooms up on the phone from over her shoulder so that the viewer can clearly see what the text is.

Mary/Agent 003 looks around, before running down a flight of stairs, shown at two different angles. We then see her running down a corridor, first at a mid shot and then at a long shot as the camera zooms out to follow her as she runs.

The scene then cuts to a room as Mary/Agent 003 attempts to cartwheel through the door, but fails. She glances around and spots Chloe before standing up straight and dusting herself off.


Mary/Agent 003

(singsong voice)

 "I'm hereeeeee" 

(Raises her arms in the air before rolling across a table and sitting in a chair across from Chloe/Agent 004)


Chloe/Agent 004

(Shushes Mary) 

“Quiet, you'll blow our cover” 

(Speaking in an annoyed tone)

Mary/Agent 003

"Ahhh" 

(Taps nose and winks)

Chloe/Agent 004

(Rolls her eyes before leaning across the table)

 “Well you're hear now so listen. Everything about us and this mission is on this device. Guard it with your life 003.” 

(Serious tone)


(Agent 004 slips iPad across the table to Agent 003 who clutches it to her chest)

Mary/Agent 003

“Don't worry you can trust me”

 (winks, stands and goes to walk away but stumbles and falls, dropping the device in the process. Looks up with a sheepish smile)


Chloe/Agent 004 

(sighs, shaking her head whilst looking down at Mary/Agent 003)

 “It's going to be long mission”