When I begun this course I already had a basic understanding of using a camera and Final Cut, the editing software we would be using, but I have learnt a large amount of new features of both that I did not previously know existed. Once we decided that we wanted to include smooth long shots in our film we knew we would need a stabiliser, something that I had never had the chance to use before. My partner was experienced with stabilisers so taught me the best ways to hold and make use of it to end up with a seamlessly smooth shot. We first practised using it in school so by the time we went out on our filming day it had become second nature to use.
Filming, while it was far more stressful than anticipated, was a very rewarding process. I was in charge of organising and arranging a time all our actors were available so we could film, which was a challenge I had never faced before. As I wrote about in the "filming process" blog post we had some initial struggles, with not being allowed to film in out planed location. However after fixing this it all began to go smoothly, despite some stress over whether we would have enough footage as our actors would not be free for a while after that day.
This was in fact not a problem at all, as once we finished our first rough cut with the clips in order it was just under two minutes, exactly the length we wanted as with our ident and title it would fit the two minute requirement perfectly.
My partner was more knowledgeble using all variety of softwares such as Final Cut, After Effects and Garage Band that we needed to use. This was hugely helpful as he taught me a large amount of new skills in each of these. Such as how to get titles to track the background in after effects, or how to use a combination of shape and colour masks in Final Cut to create the Pleasantville effect.
Looking back at my preliminary task I used a simple series of shots edited together with no additional effects or titles. I included a match of action, shot reverse shot and followed the 180 degree rule, each of these simple techniques I managed to learn from and ended up making use of in my film. We ended our opening with a match on action with the hand on the girl's shoulder, straight away followed by a high speed shot reverse shot between the girls's face and the gloved hand to aid in the building of tension to the climax. These can both be seen below....
Shot
Reverse
Shot
As our preliminary task was short and simple to complete our teacher also gave us the challenge of creating a short 2/3 minute film entitled the package in a group of three. Looking back on that now I can see incredible improvement in my film making. We had problems in The Package with our continuity as we filmed on two serrate days, thinking we had enough clips on the second that we would not need the first and so had not made sure to wear the same clothes in both. This lead to my outfit changing mid scene which can be seen below...
After the shot change to the wide my outfit appeared to change as the person on camera forgot to press record when we re filmed the wide with me in correct clothes.
Below is a more zoomed in version to show the continuity error.
However, The Package was still incredibly helpful as it was my first chance to have a go at colour grading in Final Cut. This turned out to be very useful knowledge as in my final thriller opening both me and my partner spent a large amount of our editing time focusing on perfecting colour.
Overall both my preliminary task and The Package were incredibly influential in my journey towards final product as they gave me a good insight into all variety of transferrable skills, ranging from working with a camera, to using sound equipment, to editing, to collaborating with my fellow students and actors, allowing me to produce a final film that I know I could happily look back on years from now, proud of what my partner and I have produced.
