Preliminary Task - Miss Miller

Preliminary Task

My group consists of just Kate and I. We were given the preliminary task in order to get used to the equipment needed when we are to move on to filming our own thriller sequence. It is also for our own understanding of how the camera works i.e. how to film and to experiment with different shots and angles. For example, panning. The task consisted of having to film a short clip which had to be between 30 seconds and 2 minutes and featured a person walking and of a simple conversation between two people. After the filming was completed, we had to use the software Final Cut to edit the clips together and create it in a movie like format in order to further get used to what we would be doing when filming the final opening sequence. We then had to watch this back to gather an idea of how well the filming had gone. 

We were given 5 different camera techniques in which we had to ensure were included in our short clip. These were; Panning, mid shot, zoom in,  over the shoulder and close up. When filming, we found some cinematography techniques easier to execute than others. We struggled greatly and lost some clips when uploading from the camera onto the computer so our clip is unfinished. This has taught me that filming is not as easy as it seems and that when filming the opening sequence, we will need to take this more seriously and have no time for making mistakes and having to re film.

Panning: The first cinematography technique we were able to film was the art of panning. To achieve this, we mounted the camera on a tripod and fixed it in a set position. As I started walking, Kate followed me with the camera while keeping it steady. This can be seen in the above clip from 0:17 until 0:24. We used this shot to film my entrance into the scene. This should be steady and show the camera moving smoothly, which is something we managed to achieve to a great effect. This was the easiest shot to film as the handle on the tripod made it easier for us to carry out. Due to how simple the shot was to complete, my group and I decided that we could use this technique in our opening sequence in the scene before the car crashes. We will follow the car as it drives showing the example of panning.

Over the Shoulder: We used this shot to show our reactions to what the other person was saying in order for the conversation to flow naturally. I found this shot relatively easy to complete but found it to be very time consuming as we had to film little sections of conversation, stop filming, move the tripod to another position from the other person's shoulder and re-film. However, this has helped us when planning our film schedule as we can estimate more accurately the time it will take to film each shot meaning we can remain closely to the time. Having said this, we also found it difficult as we didn't have a third person to hold the camera to ensure that both Kate and I were in shot therefore we struggled with this concept and were not able to achieve the shot effectively with just the slightest success. Next time, we will ensure that we have a third person to help us to get the appropriate actors in shot as well as having this person help us to record the footage each time.

Due to many of our shots being lost, these were the only two techniques we managed to achieve out of the 5 that we were expected to include. However, although this footage was lost, we managed to film a close up shot midway through the conversation. I found this shot relatively easy to film as I was able to see the camera clearly and therefore knew when I was pressing record and knew that Kate was in shot each time. We also struggled a lot on figuring out what each of us were going to say during the conversation which was being filmed. As we wasted a lot of time, this therefore affected how much time we had when editing the clips together. In the end, we decided that the conversation wasn't the main focus of the task and that it was based on our knowledge of cinematography and so roughly started planning the camera angles and shots. If we had devised a simple story line to focus the clip on, this may have helped us in knowing which camera techniques to include as well as the setting which would help to demonstrate our understanding even further and creating more of an effect. This has made me realise how essential the planning stages are and to make sure that we plan in detail.

When editing the footage filmed for the preliminary task, I used the 'Final Cut Pro' software on the macs available in class. As this was my first time using this particular software, I learnt how to upload footage from the camera onto the computer or from a folder. I was then able to preview each individual clip that was filmed and select and use the best ones by dragging them into the timeline below. I also learnt how to 'trim' the footage down in order to cut out any unwanted parts without having to delete the entire clip. This was done by selecting the particular footage which required cutting, clicked at the end of the clip and adjusted the small line indicating the part of the clip in use. For example, when watching the footage back, at the end of one specific clip I began laughing as we had shot the clip wrong and so this needed to be cut out.

The preliminary task will aid me in creating my own thriller sequence as it showed me the importance of the task and how I need to improve on filming the different techniques and editing them in order to be successful when we begin filming for our own clips. To begin with, we kept laughing as we were unsure of how to film the over shoulder shot and were not taking it seriously enough therefore meaning that the filming took a substantial amount of time and we lost time to edit the footage in class. Consequently, we had to stay behind after class to finish editing and be able to upload the short clip to YouTube. However, this was helpful in a way as it showed me that we need to ensure that we plan everything carefully and in detail to make sure that we have enough time to film and edit in time to meet the deadline. It also gave us some experience in using the camera and using the editing software which will need to be used when making the thriller sequence meaning that it will not be too difficult as we already have some basic knowledge of how to achieve different camera shots and angles. I have managed to gain a thorough understanding of cinematography and how to apply this within my own work and also helped me to see which shots worked well and which didn't. For example, the over the shoulder shot was hard to film as there was only 2 within the group and we had to press the record button ourselves instead of having someone film over the shoulder for us therefore we may avoid this particular shot when filming for our own thriller sequence or bring in another person to film this shot for us if both of us are in the same frame.