Continuity task evaluation

How has the continuity task aided your understanding of the film-making process?

1) Shot list and storyboarding

The shot list that we composed was detailed and was set out clearly so that we all understood exactly what was meant to happen and could picture it happening in our heads. We found this useful in laying down the basic format of the short film, however we found that we changed a lot of the shots when we were actually in the situation. An example of this is that we found the over shoulder shots hard to do so often we changed these to high angle shots instead, which we felt gave the same impression. 

Storyboarding was also detailed and helped is imagine what was going to take place. However, the composition of the storyboard was long because we often disagreed as to how the sequence should be shot. As well as this, we found it difficult to put onto paper what we wanted, so therefore it took longer than expected. 

Furthermore, due to these factors I believe that making a shot list and storyboard helped us to understand the film-making process because without them, we would have been completely disorganised and the process would've taken much longer to complete. However, it did take longer than we planned because we took a long time to agree on plans.

2) Filming and editing

The filming process in the continuity task was relatively straight forward because we had organised our plans thoroughly which meant that we knew what we wanted  to achieve. However, I think we were sometimes too ambitious in the style of shots because none of us had ever filmed before and perhaps we should have filmed something more basic. As stated before, we often had to alter shots because performing over shoulder shots were more problematic in some scenarios than we'd planned, as the camera was hard to hold still without the tripod etc. Therefore, a lot of the time shots took longer then we'd planned to carry out. As well as this, I still feel unsure about the fundamentals of the 180 degree rule. 

However, the editing within our film ran very smoothly as we had jelled more as a team and had begun to make decisions individually without having to ask each other constantly. Therefore, it took much less time as we had less to disagree on.

Furthermore, this process had definitely aided our understanding of the film process because we now understood that we could not agree on everything, but simply had to compromise in some situations so that the filming could be completed as quickly as possible. 

3) The importance of research and planning

I would argue that the planning process in the most important stage in the continuity task because if the task is planned well, it means that the whole process will go smoother and quicker, meaning that we will be able to meet deadlines. Because of our delay in agreeing within the composition of a plot/shot list/storyboard, it has delayed us in the whole of our coursework which makes it difficult for us to catch up. 

Furthermore, when we go on to perform our real opening sequence of a thriller we will take what we've learnt and make sure we don't make these simple mistakes again.