Evaluation Activity 7

Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

I am going to compare the techniques I used for the first time in my preliminary task with the ones in the final media project.

Match-On-Action :

For my first try with this technique, I found really hard to do the match-on-action without using many camcorder. For example, wih this shot, there was one camcorder outside, filming the shot we can see on the second picture and another one inside filming will coming to the door and opening it. Making this scene was easy because I had two camcorder at the time and two cameraman. I thought that this scene was a success because, after editing, it was quite smooth.

Shot-Reverse Shot :

In my preliminary task, I had to show that I knew and understood the 180 degree rule by filming a conversation between two persons. When I did the filming, I decided to benefit the fact that I had two camcorder again and I filmed the whole conversation in one try. For the editing, I decided to do like in almost every film : show the person talking then switching to the other one when he talks. I was also quite happy about it at the time I edited it.

Tracking Shot :

This is an example of a tracking shot I did in my preliminary task. For this tracking shot, Will gets up, walks to the door, opens it and leaves the room. This shoot was hard to execute because I wanted the filming to be smooth whilst following Will. It was the most challenging shot in the preliminary task and I had to re-do it many times.

These are some pictures of the techniques I used in my final media project.

Match-On-Action :

These two shots shows the car from the front and then, from the side. In the opening scene itself, the match-on-action keeps the dynamism of the car and makes the change between the shots smooth.

For this shot, I didn't use 2 camera because I did have only one. I had to de the scene while filming from the front and then, redo it but filming from the side. I am really happy with the result and I think I did edit well this part.

The second part of my opening is also full of match-on-action based on objects.

Tracking Shots :

This pictures show the Tracking shot I did on my opening scene. This tracking shot is looking at the Saint Edmunds' panel while passing by in a car. It was a really tough shot to do because I had to aim perfectly at the panel while being in the car (where there wasn't a lot of space). This shot is suppose to be from the point of view of the protagonist and we can see it by the way it moves.

Travelling :

The travelling is a technique I didn't use in my preliminary task but that I wanted to analyse because I think it was a good idea. The shot starts when the car arrives and the protagonist leaves it. Then, when he is starting to go to the entrance of the college, the camera is moving to the sky and stops on a fixed image of the cross and the sky. I found this hard to film because I had to move very smoothly the camcorder and, if I failed, I had to redo the entire scene which I definitly didn't wanted to. But, with the tripod, the filming was made much easier.

I think that from my preliminary task to my final draft of the opening scene, I had make much progress in many areas, in both filming, editing, using new technologies and planing.