Preliminary Task Evaluation

What did you learn from the experience of filming the footage required for your preliminary task? What went well and what could have been done better?
From filming the preliminary task footage, there were several examples of satisfactory filing, and also several examples of unsatisfactory filming. 
One incident where the filming didn't go according to plan was when we were taking an establishing shot of the door in the room we were filming. When we got to the stage of editing, we realised that we had filmed the section in portrait instead of landscape. This was incorrect as all of the footage should be filmed in landscape so it fills the whole screen. 
From filming, we also learned the importance of those who aren't involved on-screen making sure they are well out of shot. We had one incident where Jake was walking into a shot, and I was in the background of the shot. When we realised our mistake, we re-shot the scene. 
In addition, when we were filming the shot/ reverse shot scene, the actors needed to slow down their dialogue as it proved in the editing process to cut the clip at the correct time so you could receive the actor's reply. Now we have discovered our mistake, next time we film a task which has lines of dialogue in we can ensure those starring in the film leave a slight pause after each sentence before carrying on with the next line. 
This also links to the audio; the dialogue is very hard to distinguish as the sound is muffled. In future when we film a task, we know to include little or no dialogue. 
However, there were also many positives about our filming experience. Despite the one incident, we filmed the rest of our preliminary task in landscape. When filming the shot/ reverse shot, we positioned the camera correctly over each actor's shoulder; in doing this, it didn't look like those starring in the task were on the same side of the room as each other.

What is the difference between pre-production, production and post-production?
Pre- production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, television shot etc. An aspect of the planning includes making a storyboard which details a scene by scene plan of how we will shoot the film. A script will have been devised, the cast, location, props and costumes will have all been identified. Production is the process of actually filming and capturing the footage; this then leads onto post production. Post production is a term for all stages of production occurring after the actual end of shooting and/or recording the completed work. This includes editing, foley and possibly re-shoots.


How easy did you find editing in iMovie? Explain at least 4 different skills or techniques that 
you learnt during this process. 
I found editing in iMove easier than I anticipated. One skill I gained during this process is how to insert sound effects into the film, and how to place it in the correct place. I also learnt how to put music into the film and how to adjust the length, so it started or finished at the perfect time. Another skill I learnt during this process was how to edit and cut the selected shots to the appropriate place. This is a very valuable skill as without it, i would find it almost impossible to edit the footage together. In addition, I also learnt how to fade music in or out of the footage, mainly to create effect or make when the music stops less sharp and abrupt, as it does not look or sound very professional. Another skill and technique I learnt is how to add titles or end credits into the project. This gives the project a more professional feel and also informs the audience of the name of the piece and who created it.
What is continuity editing?
Continuity editing occurs in the post-production process of filmmaking. When all of the footage has been shot, you need to ensure that the scenes/ shots have a coherence. An example of bad continuity editing would be a long shot of a character walking to a door and turning the handle, and then the next shot shows an extreme close up of the character once again turning the door handle. This looks like the character has opened the door twice. The purpose of continuity editing is to smooth over the discontinuity of the editing process and to establish a logical coherence between shots.
What do the following terms mean; a) match on action, and b) shot / reverse shot
Match on action is a simple but necessary technique, where the perspective of the camera changes during a scene and the scene continues to flow. Shot/ reverse shot is a film technique where once charcter is shown looking at another character and then the other character is show looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.
Analyse your preliminary task as a piece of continuity editing. What are its strengths and what are its weaknesses. You may find it useful to include targetted screen shots (cmd+shift+4)to illustrate the points that you make.
As this task was our first attempt at any kind of filming, editing, creating a storyboard etc, the overall finish was not perfect. However, as a first attempt, I am very happy with the outcome of our preliminary task. One of the film's main strengths was the continuity; each shot flowed smoothly from one to the other, and there was no movement being repeated twice in two consecutive shots. Also, the over the shoulder shots were positioned suitably, as demonstrated in this screen shot: 

One of the preliminary task's weaknesses was the tracking shot of Jake's feet. The camera was shaky, so was therefore quite distracting to watch and it looked unprofessional. In future if we want to use a tracking shot, we should check the standard of the shot before taking it to editing or learn a more effective way to shoot it.