Continuity Task

Due to the fact I was ill for this area of the coursework i was unable to partake in the filming with the. As a result it was unfair for me not to contribute to the task and expect to be allowed to use it in my coursework. However a classmate of mine, who also is a friend was absent on this day when the continuity task was carried out as well, so she was in a similar situation with her group. Therefore we decided to team up for this section of the coursework and film our own continuity task, as we didn’t want to lose marks on this section.

Initially we had to write up our shot list and our script, the shot list of which had to include a certain number of specific shots given to us by our teacher. After we had decided on our final shot list and script for our actors we had to draw up our story board so we could see what out final shots would look like and also see what camera angles/positioning, props and costume we wanted to use. Then we cast our actors. For this we chose two drama/media students form the year above, year 13 as. This benefited us in two ways as it meant that the acting would be professional, they would know how to take direction and their media knowledge would also be beneficial to us as they could give us tips or advice if needed.

Considering we had only used a camera for a filming task once before and considering we wasn’t very experienced in the practical side of the coursework i feel that our filming ran smoothly, which allowed us to produce an effective amount of successful shots. With an excellent level of communication between my classmate, our actors and myself this task was enjoyable and completed very well. This enabled us to work together as a group efficiently; hence we managed to produce a relatively good piece of footage as the group dynamic was excellent.

This good chemistry allowed us to film in a comfortable, self-motivated and relaxed environment and considering myself and my classmate didn’t know the actors we used, we all got on very well which made everyone feel confident and comfortable with each other, hence which made the group work together much better. This feeling was reflected then in our work thus ensuing in a final set of footage that we were all happy with.

After we had finished our filming we then had the task of editing and bearing in mind neither of us had used the editing software before we both picked it up very quickly and between us managed to complete some fairly effective editing. This process was good as we got to see our first bit of lengthy footage come together which allowed us to eliminate and bad, shaky unsuccessful shots and made sure we used the best footage to its full potential in order to produce the best possible continuity task.

Teacher evaluation

After we had finished our continuity task we gave it to our teacher to look at and evaluate in order to get back some feedback on our work so far and get a rough level at what our work produced is at.

Level: 2

Negative points:

• Bad lighting
  
• Poorly framed shots – need to be wider angles
  
• Shot to is to short in terms of length
  
• ‘Hand tapping’ shot doesn’t capture some reactions a CU was needed
  
• Wider variety of shots could have been used
  
• Ending lacks quality
  
• Doesn’t finish
  
• Editing is a bit choppy
  
• Diegetic sound is lost at one point
  
• CU of phone is very badly framed (sideways on)

Positive points:

• Good camera work
  
• Good use of reaction and shots haven’t broken the 180 degree rule
  
• Effective close up
  
• Balance of sound is both clear and effective
  
• Juxtaposition is good
  
• Easy to follow narrative
  
• Mise en scene