Amy completed a preliminary film task with two classmates. They wrote a short script with dialogue between two actors, created a storyboard, and filmed five shots. Filming was difficult due to background noise and not laughing during takes. Editing went smoothly using techniques learned in class. Overall, Amy found the process easy since steps were clearly explained and some were practiced beforehand. Areas for improvement included limited camera space, tight time constraints, and short dialogue making transitions difficult. The preliminary task did not provide ideas for Amy's required two-minute film opening due to the basic nature of the script.

1. G321 Preliminary Task Evaluation
Name: Amy Balmer
In a group with: Jack Francis and Adam Cook
Write about the preliminary task. What were you asked to do? How did
you find each stage of the process?
We were asked to make a short film of a minimum of five shots. We had to
create a short script of a minimum of 3 lines of dialogue between two
members of the group at a time. The first thing we did was write the script
which wasn’t too difficult because only really basic dialogue was needed for
Actor 1 and Actor 2. Then we created a storyboard to work from when it we
came to filming; it wasn’t too hard because we knew what shots we needed to
film it was just writing these down in note form that was required. Jack wanted
to add more shots like a tracking shot of Actor 1’s feet but we decided to keep
it simple with the original five shots. The next stage was filming which was
one of the hardest stages and also the longest. It was the hardest because of
background noise, we wanted to make sure there wasn’t any sounds from
other classes being caught on the camera, and luckily no noise was. Also, it
was difficult not to laugh during filming so I had to film the same shot a few
times. It wasn’t too difficult though because I knew where to set up the
camera because Jack and Adam had directed before me so it was easier for
me to set up the camera. Having the storyboard also helped with the set up
because then I knew which shots to film and for how long. Editing was quite
easy because the class had practised on a previous years’ preliminary task so
I knew how to use the software. I had filmed extra material on the shots so it
was easier for me to trim to the clips to the right length. Overall, I found most
stage fairly easy because we had been told how to do each stage in detail
and we had some practise on some of the stages beforehand.

2. Write the 3 techniques/rules you learnt about during the preliminary
task:
180 degree rule – an imaginary line that the director create so that when a
shot/ reverse shot is filmed all actors are looking the right way. I used this
when filming the dialogue so that you could see each actor speaking.
Shot/ reverse shot – where two separate clips are filmed and then in the
editor the clips are arranged so that we can see the person talking.
Match on action – where two clips are cut so that the action carries on
smoothly between each shot. I used this to cut between each shot of the film
for continuity.
List three things that went well during the filming/editing process:
1) The camera didn’t pick up any noise from the other two classrooms that
had students working in: This was good because that means we didn’t
have to film again or alter the audio which made things easier in the filming
stage and the editing process.
2) Match on action: I think this went well because I filmed excess material
and Jack and Adam were good at doing the same thing each time we
filmed.
3) Continuity: Jack and Adam were very good at repeating what they had
done in the previous shot throughout filming so that made it easier for me
during the editing step.
List three things you think could have been improved in these stages:
1) Camera set up: where we had the table for the actors wasn’t the best
because all the tables were quite close together so it was hard to set up
the tripod for the shot/ reverse shots because there wasn’t a lot of room for
it behind the actors.
2) Time: we were running out of time when I filmed my clips so I think my
finished product looks rushed in the acting and filming because we spent
too much time on the other clips.

3. 3) The length of the dialogue: I found it quite difficult to trim the shot/ reverse
shots because the dialogue was quite short and the other actor would say
his line almost immediately after the other finished, so it was quite hard to
make the conversation flow well.
Has the preliminary task given you any ideas for you 2-minute film
opening? If so, what? If not – think, then say.
It hasn’t because our dialogue wasn’t good enough to build a two minute clip
off of because it was very basic. The dialogue was only enough for the task
but not for that length of time.