Continuity Sequence- The Chat up Line

Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

I was working in a group of three for this task, I was working with Hugh and Patricia, for the planning stage of our project will all contributed the same amount, sharing our ideas and making sure our final plan was something we all agreed on. When we where filming, Patricia and I were the actors and Hugh was filming, but we made sure we went through each shot after it was taken and made sure we liked it ,if we didn’t we discussed how to improve the shot. Hugh was filming as he was more confident with a camera then me and i am able to act. For the editing stage, we split the sequence up into three as there were three of us and we each did a third of the editing. Hugh editing the first 4 shots me the next 3 shots and patricia the last 4. Patricia edited the fade away to our names as she is new to media this year and we wanted to give her a chance to improve her editing skills.

How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use? What theories did you try to take into account?

When we were planning our sequence we decided to sit down and have a group meeting discussing any ideas we had, when we came up with the idea of a chat up line, we decided to go to the computer room where we were filming and walk through our sequence, after we knew what we wanted to do we story-boarded the sequence so we knew exactly what shots we needed to shoot. After we had shot our sequence we watched all the tape back through as the group and made any suggestions we had to improve our sequence, we then re-took the shots we thought needed some improvement. The theory we took into account for our sequence was continuity, we used many techniques in order to achieve a good flow in our sequence including, , the 180 degree rule and shot-reverse shot. In order to make our sequence flow we made sure that there wasn’t a big difference between consecutive shots, for example we started with a mid-shot of a boy walking through the doors, then it zooms out to a long shot of him, then back to a mid-shot, we didn’t do any drastic changes for example a long-shot to a big close-up. We also used match on action three times in our sequence, we thought that it made the sequence look much more professional and make it flow better.

What technology did you use to complete your task and how did you use it?

We used a lot of technology throughout our project, the camera we used to shot our sequence was a Cannon HV-30, with a mini DV tape, for our audio we used a shot-gun mic which connected to the top of the camera, and we also used headphones to listen to our shots so we need exactly what it would sound like on the computer. We also had a tripod to make sure the camera was as stable as possible, and a clapper-board so we knew which shot we were shooting. When we were editing we used Adobe Premier Pro, we had an output monitor next to our main computer monitor where we could play back our sequence and check everything was how we wanted it to be. On the programme we used twin audio and film tracks so our shots could be laid out clearly.

What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

When we were planning our sequence had to take into account we only had three group members, this meant that only one person was able to film, this person was Hugh as Patricia and I were acting, therefore we had to plan shots that Hugh was comfortable in filming. When planning we also had to consider the other groups filming in the same location as us, we didn’t want to have many shots that were outside in the corridor as we knew other groups would be using the same area and we would have less time to shoot them. We also had to take into account time management when planning our sequence we only had an hour and 20minutes to film so we coulnd't take too long on one particular shot. When we were filming we had to take into account any audio errors that made be made, for example any unwanted noises, this meant we would film the shot a few times to be sure we had one we were able to use. we had to consider the weather also, we had to shot all the outside scenes at the same time incase of a sudden change in the weather, which would make it look like there has been a big jump in time which wasn't planned. When we were editing our sequence we had to take into account that some of our group members weren’t as confident using the programme as others, we made sure that we all did the same amount of editing and if someone didn’t understand what to do we would help them until they were able to do it right, We also made sure when editing everyone was happy with the outcome, and if anybody had any suggestions we would try them out to see if they worked better.

How successful was your sequence? What worked well? And what would you improve/do differently?

In our sequence a boy walks past the computer room door and glances inside at a girl he finds attractive, he then walks in and attempts to chat her up with a cheesy chat up line, this fails and she hurries out of the room, leaving him dissapointed. I am very happy with our final sequence, I think our continuity techniques work well, I think our first match-on-action of the boy walking through the door into the computer works very well and I think the shot-reverse shot works well, with the camera focussing an equal amount of time on both actors. I also think the script works well, the sequence makes sense and there is also some humour added with the punch-line. I think the reaction shots work well also, the reaction shot of the girl looking up at the boy when he walks through the door and then looking back to her work acts as a good cut away. Then the reaction shot of the boy after the girl makes it clear to him she’s not interested adds humour to the sequence. If I could improve the sequence I would improve the second match-on-action, I think this is the main fault of our sequence, the shot is of the boy rolling on his chair towards the girl, the first shot from behind the boy and the second shot from in front of the boy don’t connect well, it is not a smooth cut, the boy is moving much faster in the first shot then he is in the second so this part of the sequence doesn’t work.

What have you learnt from completing this task? How will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework?

I have learnt how to use the technology we used much better then I could before, it had been a long time before I had used the Adobe premier Pro programme and this task acted as a good reminder, which will prove helpful in the future if I need to edit any more film. Also the Technology I used when filming, like the shot-gun mic and the headphones, I am now used to using all this equipment so when it comes to using them next time I will be able to use them to a better standard. I have also learnt a lot about shooting and continuity techniques, like the 180 degree and the 30 degree rule, this knowledge of how to shoot will help me in the future as it will make my look more professional and make it flow better.