Group: Preliminary Task

For our preliminary task we were required to make a short clip with the idea of continuity editing it had to include someone opening a door and two lines of dialogue. To complete this task we used a variety of camera techniques including different shots such as mid shots and first person handicam. The 180° rule is a guideline that applies to film making it states that two characters or objects in the same scene should constantly have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over this imaginary axis it is called crossing the line and the new shot from the opposite side is known as a reverse angle.

The preliminary task taught us that planning is crucial as the simplest, but most thought out ideas work the best as filming them is easy and you are most likely to come out with the final result you desire. Our best shot is the final shot where we walk out the door and Ben moves to the side allowing the audience to see Josh shut the door. The biggest problem we faced was the amount of time we had as we all had lots of good ideas to discuss and we took our time deciding on our final idea which in the end we couldn't use because the room was unavailable.

From the editing we learnt that depending on the impression we wished to create the style of editing can change dramatically for example as we were required to do a continuity edit we had to make it flow as well as possible therefore we kept effects to a minimum and relied on the camera work and sound to make it successful. In post-production our biggest achievement was merging the different shots together in a way that made it look like continuous action.

Our production went alright and we are happy with the outcome, however there is definitely room for improvement as it is rather short and isn't particularly interesting as it doesn't grip the audience and make them want to watch the rest if it was a movie for example. For the opening sequence we need to make sure that we are slightly more creative, use more camera techniques and enigma codes so that the audience are excited and curious as to what is going to happen later on in the film.