Evaluation of preliminary task

Here are the things we learnt about the cameras and editing software during the preliminary task:

180 rule:
We crossed the line, as the position of actors changed-left of screen to centre screen. The camera was over the right shoulder whereas it should have been over the left.

We learnt how to use Final Cut Pro to edit our film, such as marking in and marking out, and using the razor tool on the timeline (which isn’t as effective as using the mark in and mark out tool).

We learnt how to use the tripod-extending the height, attaching the shoe and removing the camera. We also learnt how to use the Canon Camcorder (such as inserting tapes)-the LCD screen needs to remain closed to extend battery life.

We experimented with lighting and found that brighter lights worked best as they illuminated the shot.

What worked well and what could have been improved in the filming and editing of our project:

We could have improved the shot angles as the over the shoulder shot we used crossed the 180degree line. We became aware of this during editing, and know now how to not make the same mistake again.
Also, we made a mistake with direction of walking as action is supposed to move the same way, whereas we used two different directions. To get past this we had to remove the first scene from the preliminary task and this improved the overall project.

The panning shots of walking up the stairs worked well as it looked effective and followed the actor accurately. The idea of an interview worked well as it gave the project dialogue and followed the criteria of the task.

Our example of how we have used a shot/ reverse shot combination in our film:

In the interview scene, the camera is focused on one person, and then in the next shot it is focused on the other person who is replying (with the use of over the shoulder shots). Once the person replying has spoken, the shot cuts back to the original speaker.

We enjoyed this task and we all found we can work well as a group. We're looking forward to doing the main task together :).