Preliminary task Analysis

By Lemuel Lewin

My Role• As soon as we began to plan the preliminary task we each chose a

role for production. Whether it be, the cameraman or the main characters. I chose to act as one of the main characters in our short task. While my other group members Vinay and Khalid were the other main actor and the cameraman. While we filmed I also took it upon myself to give my input on the camera movements and angles that we should use. I also helped produce the script as I shared my ideas on the scenario. From the role I played I began to gain confidence while engaging in dialogue, I also attained signs of leadership while informing my group members of the requirements for the task at hand. Overall I gained some vital skills while undertaking this assignment.

Pre production• My group and I produced a script while we were filming as we

decided to improvise to help us with creating a scenario. The script was very effective during production because as soon as we came up with a scene we forgot our lines quite frequently but we the script allowed us to refer the dialogue and what particular moments myself and my group member would say each line. WE also made a lot of changes to our script to adapt to the scene as it kept changing. We did not however create a storyboard, which was a significant part of pre production. I think that this affected production slightly as it could have helped us film more fluently. Another impact it could have had on production for example is the fact that we missed one of the requirements for the assignment. This would have been on the storyboard if we had created it which would therefore allow us to fully complete the task.

Camerawork • I believe the camerawork was very effective for our preliminary

task. We used various shots such as close ups, long shots two shots and Over the shoulder shots. The long shots for example with the cuts helped the continuity of the scene as it showed a flow and gave our audience a clear understanding of the scene. It also made the scene more interesting such as when the main character was on their way through the entrance of the sight form to the main room. It allowed the audience to feel like they were following the journey of the main character. Another example of the effectiveness of the camerawork was the example of a two shot. The two shot helped establish the relationship between the two characters while they were engaged In a conversation.

Did we fulfil the brief • I believe that we showed clear examples of all the areas required

to complete the task. My group and I had to demonstrate examples of match on action, 180 degree rule and a shot reverse shot. Firstly we showed a clear example of match on action when Vinay arrived at the main room and began to open the door, as soon as he opened the door we showed the close up on Vinay’s hand on the door handle which clearly gave the sense of continuity through the action. Furthermore we also strictly followed the 180 degree rule as we did not cross the 180 degree line and remained on one side of view so that it improved the effectiveness of the shot reverse shot which we also demonstrated by the use of over the shoulder shots.

Continuity Editing • I think that the continuity editing in the scene was clear and

showed a flow between the shots. For example the shot reverse shot clearly showed the relationship between the characters. The match on action also displayed the sense of continuity through action. Overall I think that our preliminary task demonstrated continuity clear and was well constructed.

Improvements• We gained feedback from our peers from other groups on their

views on how well we did our preliminary task. We received a lot of positive feedback about our task and some potential improvements we could have made. There were also some mistakes that we made and some of the requirements. Although our peers struggled to spot any mistakes or noticeable improvements there was one. During production I constantly stated the fact we had to stick to the 180 degree rule and that we had to add more close ups and over the shoulder shots during the conversation part of the task. However the requirement that we did not take into consideration was the rule of thirds. This was noticeable at the end of the scene where there is a close up of one of the characters but the character is in the middle not where the leading lines intersect and there is no space on either side of the shot which doesn't conform to the rule.

Conclusion• To conclude I think that our preliminary task was very successful. We

included most of the vital requirements needed in the task , and I believe it gave us a idea of what our groups qualities and each others skills that would help us in the production of our own film opening.