The Meeting 2: Shooting

When it finally came to shooting our new 'meeting' film, we were faced with the issue of one of the group members not being at school so the camera person also had to direct the actors. Another issue occurred that we were prepared for which was bad weather. However thanks to our planning we were able to shoot an alternative opening shot in the corridor outside the classroom we were filming in.

We filmed again with the flip cameras although this time we were given tripods which was a very helpful addition.  I think we could have improved our filming session by rehearsing the acting as well as just organising the location and deciding on the camera movements. We didn't have a long time to film so it would have been ideal if we had practised and set up the props before we started shooting. All in all, I think that despite the problems we faced the group was much better organised and the improvement should be reflected in the final cut of the second meeting film.

The Meeting 2: Planning

Once the group watched the video of the first filming task and received feedback from the rest of the class, we decided that in order to improve, we needed our next effort to planned in greater depth. To begin with we changed the story to make it easier to follow. We wanted to depict a situation that would allow us to use different shot types so we changed our idea to a job interview. In the scenario, the interviewee becomes distracted which meant we could use an eyeline match as shown below in our first storyboard.


Some things we needed to consider in coming up with our storyboard were:

• Location: we chose a job interview because we knew it would be easy to make a classroom in the school look like an office and it had to be somewhere that wouldn't be too noisy. Another advantage was that the classroom was well lit
• Props and costume
• The weather as it would have an impact on whether or not we did our external establishing shots inside or outside (in the end, the establishing shot was filmed indoors)
• Limitations we would face and how we would get around them: for example, setting the tripod on a table to film at a higher angle
• Where the camera-person would be filming from so we didn't break the 180 degree rule and ensured continuity

After this I was given the task of writing the script. I had to write one that would be easily adaptable, simple and stuck to the basic plot. It also had to fit the given time frame of a few minutes and effectively communicate the stage directions to the actors as shown below in the first draft.

Evaluation of the Filming Process

Class feedback:

• The acting was good
• Camera shots needed to be more varied
• Good dramatic characterisation; the script, acting, body language
• Costume was well considered
• The camera was unsteady, use a tripod next time if avaliable
• Needed more evidence of editing techniques
• Good use of location; it reflected the dark nature of the narrative
• Effective use of an over-the-shoulder shot
• A close up should have been used for the emotional parts of the drama
• The editing and continuity needed improvement to make the transitions more seamless

All in all, I agree with the comments made my the rest of the class especially considering the camera movements and editing. I feel that the whole group now realise how in future we would work differently to create an effective short film.

Preliminary Task 1: The Meeting

On the first day of starting A2 Media Studies, we were presented with our first task to create a short film about 'a meeting' using minimal editing. The purpose of the brief was to give us experience of using the technology employed in film-making (we will be using video cameras, tripods and uploading software). The brief stated that all editing would be done 'in-camera' and required us to use six shots, including some of the following shot types, film concepts and camera movements:

• Close up
• Mid shot
• Long/wide shot
• Shot reverse shot
• Pan left/right
• Zoom in/out
• Tilt up/down
• Framing
• 180 degree rule

Planning the sequence
The other members of my group and I had to carefully consider how to portray 'the meeting' in a limited number of shots. We came up with a story about a patient meeting their doctor and created a storyboard showing the types of shot used; firstly, an establishing shot which was a long shot including panning from left to right; a mid shot that would become a close up with the use of zooming and a two-shot showing the meeting, amongst others.
Next, we had to consider location as filming in school limited us. We decided to film mostly in the classroom. Finally, the script was written.

The altered storyboard

Filming the sequence
When we were actually filming, we changed our ideas somewhat, deciding to only use one location which was a much more reasonable approach. We did not use an establishing shot, which negatively affected the film and the script was heavily edited. I was given the responsibility of acting in the sequence and I gave some direction to the person operating the camera. However it was evident the scene was not very well planned as we had to do quite a few takes to establish how the camera would move and organise the blocking of both actors. We also had to take continuity into consideration; although the editing makes it seem as if we used jump cuts, we put the props back into place after deleted takes.

Editing
The editing of the film was minimal. The video from the flip camera was uploaded and simple cuts were added to the film in iMovie. The editing of the film was not a collaborative effort and I felt the group members responsible left out too much of the shots we filmed. In future I think if possible all of the group should be involved in the editing process.

Blog Introduction

Hi, I'm Ballu Koroma an A2 Media Studies student. The purpose of this blog is to document and provide evidence of the research and planning of the task I am about to undertake. The brief for the A2 Media coursework is to produce a film marketing campaign in a specific genre (horror), including a trailer, magazine front cover and a poster.

This project differs from the AS coursework in the following ways:

• The work is a collaborative effort, meaning the group based nature of the project will present new challenges for myself and the rest of the group
• We are using video based media as well as print media in the poster and magazine cover. Although this will be challenging, I am looking forward to learning new skills in media production
• The brief asks us to create various media products, presenting yet another challenge