Prelim task evaluation

This is the video outcome of the task.

1) I did plenty of planning for my short film, including storyboard, floor plan/map, a shot-list, and recce. The storyboard helped to develop my ideas by giving the visual, and helped string the individual parts together to make one body of story. Drawing what I imagined for the scene helped to make sense of it overall. The floor plan helped, like the storyboard, by making sense of my ideas. It helped me understand what was and wasn’t possible to do in the place of shooting. The shot-list helped develop my general ideas further into specific shots. I came up with different possible shots for each cut, and wrote them out in order. This helped when shooting, as I could follow my shot-list like instructions. By doing a recce, I could work out the location’s suitability for shooting, including checking for any potential lighting or sound issues. I varied from my initial plans whilst shooting by adding several unplanned shots into the film. I did this as they made sense to the storyline, fitted well into the film, helped to portray the connotations I wanted the film to portray, as well as ensuring a variety of shot types. An issue that I had during filming that I had not accounted for in my planning was the amount of other students using the room in which I was filming. I therefore found it difficult to control the sound levels, which affected the outcome of the film.

2) The camera skills that I have developed are using the dolly and the tripod to achieve the best shots in terms of composition and movement. I had little previous experience with video cameras, and so naturally my confidence with the cameras has grown by using them. I have learnt to keep the camera steadier whilst filming, especially when manually holding the camera, to keep the movements smooth. Using the zoom effectively and smoothly whilst shooting is another skill I can improve on to achieve better panning shots.

3) The editing skills I have developed during my project are using the software, using in & out points, creating smooth transactions, controlling the sound levels, and creating titles. I had no previous experience with the editing software, but I found it very easy to use. Using the in & out points was simple. Because of the simplicity of the editing software and the ability to use in & out points, I developed my skills in creating smooth transactions between cuts. I also found the sound controls useful, because of my issues with the sound levels whilst shooting. The sound controls were useful for making different shots quieter or louder, but I could improve this skill further to develop the effects of the sound I can achieve in my films. I could also improve my skills with other effects, such as lighting and colour. Another skill I developed in my project was creating and using title screens at the beginning and end of the film.