This is my final draft of the Continuity Editing Exercise:
This week we edited all the footage we filmed on iMovie, so we had to decide which shots to use, trim them and occasionally use the precision editor to make sure everything flows smoothly.
During filming, we faced some problems, for example we did not follow the 180-degree rule. Afterwards, we re-filmed sections to fix this problem. However, we used the 180-degree rule during conversations to ensure the audience were not disorientated and could follow the scenes easily. Also, we filmed over a couple of days, so we needed to make sure that our actors had the same costumes each day and that we were able to use the same space etc. This was difficult as we filmed in school which meant we had no control over the noise from the surroundings. For example, you may be able to see some changes on the layout of the desk as it belonged to a teacher and it changed every time we filmed.
Before editing, there was a problem with the memory card I used when filming and this meant the footage took a while to upload on to the computer and then to edit in iMovie. Also, I found that at points where we filmed towards the end of the shot, the camera wobbled a few times, making editing harder as we had to make sure that wasn't in the end product. I also found using the bell in the beginning to cover up bad language used in the scene difficult as I found I needed to edit the audio of the footage and make it quieter.
I think that we expanded on the brief well, giving it a school theme and coming up with a script and ways to showcase all the techniques we planned too, to show an understanding of continuity editing. I think we planned well, although we made the mistake of breaking the 180-degree rule, so I think we should of spent more time referring back to the storyboard to ensure we followed every shot carefully. The editing process went well and I think the final product runs smoothly. The strengths of the work is the variety of shots and techniques I used which are listed below:
Long Shot:
We used a long shot to show the student walking to the office because we wanted to show her surroundings which shows that she is in a school environment. Also we wanted to show her whole body and her lazy body language to the audience so it demonstrates her attitude towards school. This is the first shot we are using after the establishing shot. Match on Action:
We used 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. We need to make sure that when we are editing that the door is in the same place between the two shots. To do this we will have to use the precision editor in iMovie.
Over the Shoulder and Shot-Reverse-Shot:
Mid-Shot:
We used 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. This allows the audience to see that the teacher is angry with the student, but not as angry as later on in the sequence where close-ups are used so is the most appropriate shot. Two Shot:
During conversations, we also used two shots, which allows the audience to see both characters in the shot and they can establish a relationship between them. Two shots allow the space between the subjects, the conversation and reactions to be seen.
Close-ups and Extreme Close-ups:
We used close-ups to focus on the face of the teacher as he got more angry with the student to express to the audience that the mood has changed and become more serious. We used an extreme close-up on the mouth of the teacher as he raises his voice to again make it clear to the audience the atmosphere is much more tense as the student is at risk of expulsion.
180-degree Rule:
We followed the 180-degree rule by keeping the student on the right and teacher on the left as you can see below. We found this hard in conversation as it can get confusing when filming over the shoulder shots which is where we went originally.
Rule of Thirds:
The rule of thirds means that your main focus in the shot should be on the top line of the screen. I think we could have executed this much better, but most of our shots were mid-shots therefore it is not that clear. As you can see our main focus is on the top line in the following shots:
However as you can see on this close up his eyes are not quite on the top line in the shot so I think we could have improved that if we had more time.
Strengths-
I think our work is good in the fact it uses a variety of different shots and our final draft follows the simple brief we were given and we came up with a suitable theme and storyline. The main strength of my work was my creativity as we were given a small brief to follow:
"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."
From this brief we came up with the idea of a teacher and student scenario, which we got the inspiration from a TV show that was airing at that time, "Educating the East End." We also were creative with coming up with shot ideas to make the final draft as interesting as possible. During filming we came up with the idea to have a cross-cut, which allowed us to show a flashback and then cut back to current time. Another strength is the editing as we had several match on action shots, which I think we edited quite precisely. Weaknesses-
As we needed to re-film sections because the 180-degree rule was broken originally it meant the conditions where we filmed most of our work may not be the exact same in sections of the final film. Also, I think on our close ups, the rule of thirds isn't clear and if I could film again I would line it up better. The main weakness is the planning of the continuity exercise as when we looked at our first draft footage, we noticed the 180-degree rule was broken, and that there were many shots we felt could have been improved and executed better. During filming we should of referred more to our storyboard, so we could have avoided having to only film two shots again for the final draft due to the rule being broken.
Improvements-
I would make the rule of thirds much clearer in the final product and would of tried to film it all in one day as trying to get everything the exact same proved extremely difficult in the place we were filming.
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