Preliminary Task - Miss Miller

Chloe Eustace

Preliminary Task

Introduction:

The members in my group that I created the preliminary task with are Miranda Simpson and Elizabeth Lawrie. The purpose of the preliminary task was to get used to the equipment such as the camera and how to use it, and everything about the camera becasue then we would have had some practise for when we are ready to film our opening sequence. This task has also allowed us to as a group to get to know the camera angles and practise them and decide which ones give the most effect  and the ones that we prefer the most. We had to film a small 30 second scene about anything as long as it allowed us to use the camera techniques and shots to practise them as we might use them in our opening sequence. We had to quickly edit the sequence together in order to see how they were shot and for them to give the best effect. It also gave us the opportunity to get to learn some of the simple editing techniques such as cutting parts out.

Equipment

There was a variety of different equipment that we used when undertaking this preliminary task because it helped us to be able to get used to the equipment so that when we actually shoot the thriller sequence we know how to use the equipment properly and with ease. We used the tripod in order to get some zooming in shots and the tripod helps to balance the camera while the scene is being shot. Other equipment obviously that we used when undertaking this task was the camera, and it was good because it allowed us to see who would be the best at using and manoeuvring the camera so we would know who would be the best at being the camera person when we come to filming. This was a good idea because the person that can use it with the most ease makes sense to be the camera person when we actually film because it will make filming easier and run more smoothly.

Camera and Camera Shots

Different camera techniques that we used included a two shot where we had to make sure that there was two people in the shot and in the cameras focus at the same time. We managed this however a two shot includes the two people in  the camera focus from the waist up and ours was sort of more with just the faces. We also used the zoom, this the zooming in on faces or and object. In our small sequence we had a two people have a conversation.

 We zoomed in on the faces. We also used a panning shot which we used when one of us in the scene walked into the room this we did quite well becasue it gave the effect that we wanted it to as the camera followed the person. When we were filming we managed to work the camera and had it set up functioning properly. Becasue we had the camera functioning properly it meant that we got all the shots we needed. Something that we need to work on is timing as when we filmed there was times when we hadn't discussed when the next person would move into the scene and we would forget to pause in some places which is why when we went back through it there was a lot of shots we didn't even need, we found that there was a lot of shots that we needed to cut out of the scene. There was also during filming when we would not have ended the conversation properly and would have jumped to the next part of the scene,

This is something that we need to work on and make sure is done properly before we start filming our opening sequence. Watching the footage back has helped us to see what mistakes we made as we got to see exactly what bits we had missed out or what things we need to make sure are in our final opening sequence. Before we film our final sequence I think that we need to make sure we know exactly what we want to achieve and how we are going to achieve it.

From undertaking this preliminary task I have learnt how to use the camera with ease and how the camera works the best for us meaning that we have decided that I will be the main camera person when we film our thriller sequence because it makes it easier and quicker for us when filming. Some issues that we found that we had when filming was determining the right buttons on the camera and timing. Our timings were very poor and so when it came to editing it meant that we were cutting out most of the scene.


Conclusion

From this preliminary task I have learnt that as a group we need to decide on things a bit more before we jump into them for example like the story line and how we are going to make sure that we create the effects that we need in order to create and make the opening sequence to our thriller film. This task has helped me prepare for filming the opening sequence to our thriller film because it has allowed us to have a go at using the camera and setting everything, from having the practise of using the camera and the set up, this may make will make things easier when we come to film as we would have had practise setting up.