Narrative Sequence Preliminary Evaluation

Preliminary Task Evaluation

1) I worked with Jess Ball, Winnie Cheung and Wanda Dunham.

During filming Wanda and Jess were actors, which meant that Winnie and I shared roles as camera operator and director or as sound technician (we would swap roles for each shot; we decided that one of us could double up as the assisant director which for our task would only involve holding up the board with the shot number). Since sometimes only one actor was needed in a shot, the other actor (Wanda or Jess) would instead take the camera operator and director (although we would all discuss how to frame the shot).

We all contributed to editing the film and came up with suggestions of how to fix or get around problems. However, Wanda was absent for the majority of editing, although she helped at the beginning.

Before the filming we decided that we should meet up during our free time in school and plan our script, storyboard and shot list.

2) In order to plan our sequence we first had to come up with an idea; one girl would walk into a classroom and ask the other if they could borrow some lip gloss, although she wouldn’t let her because she had a cold sore.

During our meeting we all contributed towards a script and then discussed the storyboard and how each shot was going to be framed and whether there should be any camera movement, for example a pan. Wanda drew this storyboard. To do this we used ideas such as match-on-action (when shooting Jess opening the door), action-reaction (during the conversation), eyeline matching (during the conversation) and used the 180 Degree rule as well as use of shot order (LS to MS to CU) throughout the filming. From our storyboard we were able to construct our shot list.

This task involved us using theories such as storyboarding, camera skills, sound effects and construction of a narrative and continuity sequence.

3) During filming we used a Canon HV video camera (which used a Mini DV tape format) to shoot the sequence and had a tripod on which to rest it. In order to get a high enough sound quality we used a shotgun microphone attached to the top of the camera and headphones, which we used to listen to the sound during filming so that we could tell whether their voices were audible enough or whether there was any background noise.

The software we used to edit the film was Adobe Premier Pro which was adequate for our needs. This involved source monitors and output monitors so we knew which clip we were using and what the finished sequence would look like. In order for us to tell where our clips were and their order we dragged the clips onto two video tracks so that we could place the clips alternately on different tracks so it was more visibly clear. We then cut the length of the clips using the razor tool (this was especially useful when arranging the conversation since we had to separate each characters lines from one clip. It also allowed us to import titles from the title software in Premier Pro which we used at the beginning which contained our names and the title of our sequence. The only effect we used was a Fade at the end of the sequence to signify the end.

4) When planning we mostly took into account the 180 Degree rule since we were filming in a classroom and so we had to think were to position the camera. During filming we came across problems such as where to put the furniture in the classroom so that we would have enough space to film a LS in the classroom, asking other groups to be quiet so that we could film without any background noise and also how to do a pan of Jess entering the room seeing as the camera would be too high when she sat down next to Wanda. We overcame these difficulties and during editing we had to decide which shots to use and when to cut each shot in order for the narrative to flow realistically.

5) I think our sequence was successful in the fact that we did lots of things right. We took into account the 180 Degree rule and the sound quality was very good; there was no background noise and very little camera shake (only during the pans). The conversation was well edited so that the narrative flowed well and the audience might well be watching a real conversation. Also, we executed the match-on-action well (when Jess opened the door) as the door was in the same place from both angles.

There were also bad points about our sequence. We didn’t have any CUs which meant that there wasn’t a wide range of camera shots and as a result the audience may not feel as if they are interacting with the story. If we were to do it again I would have a CU on Jess’ hand as she opens the door (we originally had a MS of this but the camera position was too similar to the shot before it and it looked as if the camera had jumped; this didn’t follow the 30 Degree rule). Also, at the beginning of the conversation between the two girls the sequence appears to jump between Jess sitting down and ask the conversation. To rectify this, we should have shot the whole sequence from over Wanda’s shoulder. This would mean that we would have an option to lengthen or shorten the LS pan and the OTS.

6) During this task I’ve learnt how to edit film to make a narrative sequence flow and how to master the action-reaction shots and the match-on-action. This will help me when editing a much longer narrative sequence later as i have more of an idea of when to cut the film and will probably be able to do it a lot faster than I could before.

From my mistakes, I now know to film the parts before and after the shot I want from the same angle as this will make it easier to edit and I will have more options when creating a match-on-action. Again, when filming a longer sequence this will be useful, especially during fast-paced scenes.