evaluation activity 7 - what i have learned since preliminary task

In the my preliminary task I had very limited knowledge as far as editing is concerned, my wider knowledge and ability with editing software has enabled my final piece to run much more smoothly compared to my preliminary task. The match on action shot in my preliminary task was not very well edited and it looked a bit jumpy, not fluid and smooth.  Another thing I have learnt since doing my preliminary task is that it helps a lot to do multiple takes of each shot, even if it looks ok as you may notice something wrong with it later, doing multiple takes could save you having to film again. In the preliminary task we did not have to shoot anything again, this was partly due to the fact that the whole piece consisted of about 6 short clips, not about a dozen long clips. Longer clips are very effective but there is more time for something to go wrong, and render the clip useless.

Other things I have learnt since then is just how effective different camera shots and angles can be in portraying certain things, for example in  ‘untraceable’ a high angle shot is used to make the agent look like he is not in control and not very powerful (insert screen grab of the clip). The preliminary task taught us how to do shot/reverse shot and how to use them correctly, all though I did not use this in my final clip I was planning to originally, I would not have even thought about that had I not have filmed a whole conversation using shot/reverse shots.

The preliminary task was the first bit of filming that included any storyline of importance and dialogue, but this also showed me that you do not always need dialogue to represent things, actions can do this just as well, this was useful for my film as I realized I do not have to compromise a good backing track that fits in well and builds the mood, just to add dialogue.

The preliminary task was the first time I had ever even heard of the 180 degree rule, since then I realize how important it is where continuity is concerned, and just how much the rule can effect the quality of your piece.