First Draft of Continuity Editing Exercise

During filming, we did come up with some more ideas for our short sequence so filmed more footage than we planned. We decided to add more dialogue and different shots that we didn't use too much for example, two shots and close ups. We decided to add a cross-cut to make the effect of a flashback during our sequence, showing what the student did to be sent to the office. This happens towards the beginning of our film.

This week we also had to find any SFX or music we would like to use in our sequence. We found a school bell we are going to use, and some music that will set the scene at the beginning. 

Below, is my first draft of my continuity exercise. This is because I need to film some shots again as I broke the 180-degree rule which needs to be fixed so the audience are not confused when watching it. 

Continuity Editing Intro

This week we have been planning for the preliminary exercise called "The Encounter" that we started planning for last week. 

This short sequence must contain a range of camera shots and angles and especially show an understanding of match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. 

Our idea is set in a school, where a student has been sent to the Head of Year's office for the third time in that week and the teacher explains how she is at risk of expulsion from school if her behaviour continues. The student walks to the office and walks into a room and sits opposite the teacher where this conversation takes place. We got our inspiration for this idea from a recent series on television called Educating the East End, where the students talk back to their teachers often. We wanted our actress to play a similar student and have the same attitude some of the kids on the show do. Below you can see a short trailer for this series:

Part of this task is to be able to showcase all different shots to show an understanding of continuity editing. The shots and techniques I planned to use are listed below:

Long Shot: 
We planned to use a long shot of the student walking to the office door. This is because it will show her surroundings (the school corridor) and her whole body language, which should show her attitude towards school.  




Match on Action: 
We planned to use match on action, in two places in our sequence, on an opening door and the teacher passing the student a statement. Match on action enables a smooth transition and a relationship to be made between the two shots. The idea is to make two separate shots, look as fluid as possible and try to make the cut absolutely invisible to the audience.

Over the Shoulder and Shot-Reverse-Shot:
We planned to use both these shots together during the conversation between the two characters. This is because in both different shots you are able to see the reaction to what one character says to another. Over the shoulder shots also frames the shot with one character's shoulder, allowing the audience to see who the conversation is going on between. 

Mid-Shot:

We planned to use mid-shots, especially when showing the teacher, to show the contrast between their body languages (student at beginning and him in the school office). Also it shows the character's face and hands so they are able to express emotions so are ideal to use during a conversation. 





Two Shot:
During conversations, we also planned to use two shots, which allows the audience to see both characters in the shot and they can establish a relationship between them.








Close-ups and Extreme Close-ups:
Close ups and Extreme close ups allow you to focus on one element and are useful for a dramatic effect. We planned to use an extreme close up on the teacher's mouth so the audience understood the significance of his words.  

180-degree Rule:

The 180-degree rule is an invisible line that when filming you should not cross to ensure the audience do not become disorientated or confused when watching a scene. In our film, we have to show an understanding of this as it is important in continuity editing. 

Rule of Thirds:

The rule of thirds ensure that the characters are looking at each-other directly by making sure the eyes are on the top horizontal line when filming. 

Planning for Edit Workshop and Storyboard

This week we started a preliminary exercise entitled "The Encounter." We were given simple instructions to base the short sequence upon which are below: 

A character opens a door, crosses a room and sits down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. 
The task should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

As well as the techniques described above, we must be able to use a range of camera shots and angles and show continuity in our editing.

We had to get into pairs to storyboard, stage, film the sequence, but we edit the work individually. In my group, we decided to base our sequence around a school theme, where our character would be a girl who was being called into a teacher's office for misbehaving. 
After planning our idea, we had to storyboard our sequence, making sure we showed what type of shot and angle we were using, annotations describing the shot, dialogue, duration and sound effects and stating the transition/editing between each shot. To complete the storyboard quickly and fairly, my partner and I completed half the shots each, her doing shots 9-16 and myself completing shots 1-8. After some more discussing and planning, we added some more shots, which you can see in the bottom picture. 

Here's the complete storyboard below: