Preliminary Task - Video and Evaluation

Preliminary Task - Character Profiles

Hanna is the first character that will be shown in the production. She is smartly dressed with the intent to find out the missing pieces of the puzzle. Her character is aggressive and meaningful and has the purpose of finding out who killed her friend and her colleague; Karen. Hanna is stubborn and also persistent, her personality shows through with her blunt body language and ‘straight to the point’ words. She has one thing on her mind and nothing will get in the way from her finding out.

Elizabeth is the second character that is seen in the production. Again the same as Hanna, she is smartly dressed and has a nervous edge about her. Her defensive tone suggests she is unsure about the situation as she is caught between Hanna’s mind and the truth. Elizabeth is also a stubborn character and is willing to fight her cause especially when lies have covered up what is rightfully correct.

Karen is the last and final character to be seen in the production. She is dressed in casual clothes and appears to be ‘normal’ compared to the other two characters. Her timid mindset and actions emphasize that she is in her own world and is oblivious to the people around her. This was caused by a freak accident in Nikosia which has now impacted her life as she isn’t 100% right in her head. Karen is suspected dead but is revealed at the end leaving the production on a cliff hanger.

Preliminary Task - Poster

This is the poster for our film; the picture was taking after filming but on the same day.

Preliminary Task - Filming

During the Preliminary Task, many set-backs and problems occrued throughout. Some of these issues included actress' pulling out due to a clash of dates, illness or because they just didn't have the time to do so. Even when it came to filming, one actress pulled out and a replacement had to be quickly found. Another problem such as location also denied us the chance to film our production which in turn,s et the filming date back further than expected.

Our roles when filming were as follows;

• Myself, Ryan Denney, as the camera man
• Alexander Mulley as the editor and producer
• Beatrice Brown as the director

As a whole, I feel the filming when very well. Although only a few minor set backs occured, which will be explained in this post shortly, I feel as though filming ran quite smoothly. Within our roles, each of us in my opinion filled their purpose nicely. Beatrice directed the actresses well to make them perform how she had planned to fit the storyboard. Alexander aided me when it came to the conversation in which both cameras needed to be operated. I was directed by Beatrice on what the camera shot and angle should be looking like and used my media skills to get the shots the directed needed. Also, when it came to filming, all three of us helped in deciding how the next shot should be formed to follow the storyboard and shot list, with director's concent of course. Another positive from filming would be that we moved through the shots quickly so that we didn't go over the time we had asked from the library. Only a few shots I asked to be taken again as I wasn't happy with the way that it was portrayed and filmed, this meant that shots could be filmed quickly and effieicently leaving us with time to spare to pack away and leave the library before closing time.
The set backs that did persist during filming was the public getting in the way and not wanting to move. Due to the fact we can't film the front of people's faces meant that we had to change some of the shots because of the library being quite busy at peak times. Although there were many people, we managed to do our best and improvise on how we would film the sequence without getting the public's faces in the shots. Another problem that occured was the background noises of people talking (despite being in a library). To combat this, we filmed the dialogue when there was little or no background noises to minimise any disturbances in the audio. One other problem was that the supervisor of the library kept trying us to stay away from people in the library. This was hard to avoid since the library did start to fill up rapidly because it was a Saturday morning. We did our best to film away from people in the library but it did appear to become quite hard. To evade being told to move on due to disturbing users of the library, we decided to film the squences quickly so that we could film the upstairs part during the peak time. The last problem that occured was the actress' learning their lines on the day. It took them a while to get to grips with the concept of the story but once they got into characters and had practised a bit, the acting was fairly good since they hadn't had any acting classes before.

As a whole, I think that filming went very well since we stuck to our roles, helped each other when needed, filmed quickly and effieciently whilst getting the shots we needed and communicated well within the team.

Preliminary Task - Diary Entry - Update on the task

The original idea of filming at the Peterborough Central Library had to be changed due to building works being made on the location where we were going to film. Also, one of our actresses became ill therefore making filming near enough impossible due to the implication. This then resulted in our group deciding to change filming location to the library in Yaxley. We rang up for permission, which was given, and then we were able to repeat the pre-production stages again e.g. shot list, storyboard etc.

I feel that during this process, the team as whole have worked well together. We all designated roles within the pre-prouction and contributed when forming the production schedule. Also, the whole group finished the final storyboard as team.

When uploading the work to the blog, I use the website Scribd. This gives my blog a more interactive feel so that doucments can be viewed by using some advanced technology rather than viewing it in a plain format which isn;t very interesting.

Preliminary Task - Recce Checklist

Also when on the recce, a checklist was filled out to ensure that all details were covered during the viewing of the new location.

Recce List Completed

Preliminary Task - Recce Photos

When viewing the new location our director, Beatrice Brown, took some photos of the location. Here they are:

Recce Photos Final

Preliminary Task - Final Storyboard

The location was changed, therefore so was the shot list. This then impacted onto the storyboard meaning that new shots would have to been added, changed or even removed. This is the final storyboard ready for filming.

Preliminary Task - Final Shot List

This is the final shot list, it had to be changed due to a change in location. Although still a library, the layout of the new location was different to the original thus meaning the shot list, and storyboard (which will be updated) needed to be changed.

Shot_List_v_4 2

Preliminary Task - Original Shot List

This is the original shot list. Due to the location having to be changed, the shot list also had to be changed so that we could film the parts we wanted in the new location.

Shot List

Preliminary Task - The Script Final Draft

This is the final draft of the script. The changes have been made so that the script now matches the new location. The script has been edited and changed by the group as we have gone through the possible applicable changes.

MILies Draft 6 2

Preliminary Task - Production Schedule

The production schedule was formed by the group in a session during pre-production.

Production Schedule Final 2

Preliminary Task - Storyboard

The following images are the shots that will be used in our preliminary task. We may add in or take out some of these shots when we do in fact film, but this is the main basis of the camera shots that we are going to be filming.

Preliminary Task - Update

A quick update on the task; we have now completed the final script and have delegated the roles sufficiently. The storyboard has been completed, further pre production elements still need to be completed before we can start filming. We are all contributing to the storyboard so it will be finished in time. The production schedule and other such documents will be completed in the following days in preparation for the filming process.

Preliminary Task - Script Draft 5

MILies Draft 5

Here is the 5th draft of the script for MILies.

Preliminary Task - Script Draft 4

MILies Draft 4

Here is the 4th draft of the script for MILies.

Preliminary Task - Script Draft 3

MILies Draft 3

Here is the 3rd draft of the script for MILies.

Preliminary Task - Script Draft 2

MILies Draft 2

Here is the 2nd draft of the script for MILies

Preliminary Task - Camera Skills

The benefits of using a tripod

• the camera is kept on steady if positioned correctly.
• camera shot aspects such as pans and tilts can be performed by using the device at the top which allows you to do so.
• the pole on the top of the tripod where the camera is placed lets you do pans and tilts.
• the tripod also allows the user to extend the device allowing them to have different high angle or low angle shots.

Here is an image of a tripod:

Here is a video of a tripod being used:



The benefits of using the 180 degree rule

• by using the rule it doesn't disorientate the viewer
• the technique saves time when filming the scene as usually one take is needed and gives two shots of this scene which, when editing, can change between the shots for a more interesting aspect of the scene.
• also, for continuity filming, this method of filming a scene is helpful because rather than filming different shots at different times, which may alter things like clothing or hair; the shot is filmed in one take meaning the likelihood of a continuity fault is reduced.

This video explains how the 180 degree rule is used and the effects is causes.

In the preliminary task we will ensure the use of both the tripod and the 180 degree for clearer pans, tilts and also to not disorientate the audience when watching the film.