Preliminary Exercise Questions

What Factors Did You Have To Take Into Account When Planning, Shooting and Editing?

Planning:-When planning our shoot we had to take into account the amount of time we had to do it, the budget, the locations available to us and the weather. It stopped us from planning an idea that was too complicated and unachievable as we knew we only had 1 hour to shoot and 1 hour to edit so we could not plan a long sequence. Also we were only allowed to shoot within the school premises so we had to plan for a shoot that used a location within our school otherwise it would have been impossible to do. Budget was also a big issue because as we had no money to work with we could not plan something extravagant as it would not have been possible to do with no cash to buy props and hire professional actors etc. Weather also played a big part when it came to planning our shoot. If we were planning on shooting outside it may not have been possible on the day due to poor weather conditions so we had to find a way round that and instead planned our sequence so that it all took place indoors. Also the weather could interfere with the continuity of our sequence so when planning we felt it would be a safer option to just plan a shoot with an indoor location so that weather would not effect it.

Shooting:-When shooting we had to take into account the continuity of our shots, the shot types, the lighting, the sound and certain disruptions that may have been occurring in the locations we were shooting. If we were shooting one sot to match up to a following shot we had to make sure the actors were in the same position, wearing the same clothes, had the same hair and were in the same location that looked the same to the previous shot otherwise our sequence would not have been plausible and the continuity would have not been successful. In order for us to do this we sometimes had to carry out the shot several times. We also had to make sure we had the correct cutting points on our shots and that the shots we had intended to shoot were actually being shot. This involved working out the framing of each shot through the camera viewfinder before actually shooting the shot. We had to make sure that each shot was lit correctly and clearly so that there were no dark shadows hiding the actors or bright, blinding beams of light that looked unnatural. We also had to check that the brightness of the lighting did not differ from shot to shot otherwise this would have effected the continuity of our sequence. When on set we had to make sure that the actors dialogue could be heard clearly, despite any outside noise that could of interfered with it, otherwise each shot would of been pointless as we would of not been able to hear what they were saying or understand it. When shooting in certain locations there were other things taking place around us at the time for example people coming out of lessons and other people shooting their footage. We had to adapt to these disruptions and maybe change our intended location or shot type to avoid them. Without this improvisation the disruptions could of ruined the sequence and made it seem unprofessional and messy. 

Editing:-When editing out sequence the main facto we had to take into account was the continuity. We wanted our shots to fit together seamlessly and not let them look as if they have been shot separately or do not make sense or are confusing for people to watch. Where out shots were cut and the order we put them together in were the two main issues involved with the continuity of our editing.