Evaluation of skills learnt-preliminary task.

Planning

Before we even started to thin about filming the task we first had to plan every detail of the film, we had to create a shot by shout story board of the first 1.14 seconds of the busted ‘what I got o school for’ clip. The details we had to include on this plan were what type of camera shot it was e.g. close up, other details were how long each shot lasted and a drawing of what was in the actual shot, followed by if there were any lyrics during the shot. I found this process really helpful because it allowed me to have a complete guide to which shots I needed and all the details I would need when it came to editing.

Once this process was complete we moved on to deciding who would play what roles in the actual music video, we were assigned roles but it was up to the person playing the role to get the clothes that would work for there character when the filming began.

So in the Tuesday we used grids to plan what was needed for both of the filming days, it was decided to make things easier that all the inside shots of the film would be shot on the Tuesday, this also involved shooting all the teacher shots because some of the cast would not be there on the Thursday so we had to plan around that, all the outside shots would then be shot on the Thursday so the heavier props like the guitars and the boom box would only be needed to be brought in for one day. This planning helped a lot because it meant that we could work our way round cast absences and also make the whole filming process a lot more efficient.

Tuesday’s filming went pretty well because of the plans we had made everyone was sure of what shots we were doing that day and also what we would need to wear on the day. The class decided that coming partially dressed in the school clothes would allow people to class get quicker for the lessons filming, giving us more time to do more.

The shots were done efficiently and well but the placement of the camera could have a bit better planned as lots of time was wasted working out were to set up the camera.

Lip-syncing didn’t prove too much of a problem because we had a boom box playing the music when we needed to film a singing shot so the syncing would fit perfectly when it came to editing.

When it came down to bringing all the planning together for the filming I found that the more detailed your storyboard was the easier it was to film all the shots exactly how you wanted them, it also allowed you to have more concise shots that fitted together better in the editing process.

Filming/Production.

One of the main things I learned when doing the filming was you needed to keep the continuity really tight, because after we filmed all the shots we later realised that a vital shot that involved a pencil later changed into a pen when the teacher picked it up, this makes the shot look not very professional and didn’t match the shots in the actual music video. Another thing I found was that just one take of a shot wouldn’t do, because when it came to editing I found that the solitary shot that had been filmed wasn’t right or long enough, I felt that filming the shot more that once would allow you to have a wider selection when it came to editing.

I also thought that more planning could have been put into wear the camera would be set up, we had planned the shots, what would be in the shots, but not were the camera was going to go, this wasted time and made us have to rush some of the end shots so we could finish on time.          

Appointing one director and one cameraman would also be another thing I have learned from the preliminary task, as when the filming started debates between multiple directors and cameramen slowed down the whole project, also creating confusion when the shot was taken as other camera men and directors wouldn’t be happy with it.

I have learned that when it comes to the real task I will have a intricate shot and camera position plan, also appointing one director who knows exactly what he is doing will help the project immensely.

Editing

I found the editing was a lot easier with a clear storyboard and a large amount of shots that could be used in the process, I also found that when the storyboard was done all the length of the shots were not exactly seconds longs, some were half a second long and other not whole values so much cutting down clips had to be done so the lip syncing would work in the clip. I found the editing quite easy because I use video editing software quite a lot and own an Imac myself, the main problems encountered were the video we had wasn’t perfect and for some shots we had to make do with not very well shot clips, this affected the overall quality of the clip once the editing had been done.

I have learned overall that a clear concise plan is needed for good filming and editing, also a clear plan for both the cameraman and the director so there is no confusion between the two. Were the camera goes needs to be planned better, and close attention to props is needed to keep the level of continuity high, I think if all these skills are implemented my video task in a2 will be a lot easier.