P1

Jason and the Argonauts (Chaffey 1963)

Star Wars (Lucas 1977)

American Werewolf in London (Landis 1981) 

Phone Call Review

What went well:

• My group was quick to give roles.
• The group worked well together.
• We managed to complete the task given in the time limit.
• The end result looks good and high quality.
• I had no technical issues when retrieving the files off of the memory card.
• The background setting was perfect.

What didn't go well:

• The camera was unpredictable and kept cutting certain scenes.
• Took a lot of time to record each scene.
• We didn't understand some of the scenes, and ended up skipping one.
• We had an extra person join our group halfway through, confusing things.

What could have been done differently:

• We could have gone back and tried to fix the camera issue, or change the camera.
• We could have planned what we would do before we left the room.
• We should have read each scene in preparation for filming and to see if there were any issues.

Star Wars Edit Task

- The effect that I was trying to achieve was to make it look as natural as possible between scenes, which was difficult with the music playing in the background. However, I managed to put together a short 3 minute sequence, that makes sense. 

Key moments in my edit:

1. Between 00:43 and 01:15, I managed to transition each scene very smoothly. I decided to put the scene of them getting in their x-fighters before the action starts, as that makes sense to the viewer. Also, I included the interior of the rebel base to show their reactions too, to include more characters.

2. Between 01:16 and 01:56, Is when you get the first look at each character, and I put together as best I could a conversation between the interiors of the x-fighters. I did this because otherwise the viewer would be very confused, and would struggle to follow the scene if you jump straight into the action without showing the relationship between each character.

3. Between 02:07 until the end. This section was the most difficult to edit, as I had to make sure each character wasn't forgotten about, and I also wanted the perspective of both sides in the scene. For example, once Luke attacks their station, I cut to Darth Vader inside the death star with sounds of damage behind him, giving a good effect of a battle happening. I did this because I didn't want to just have the x-fighters attacking the death star as that would be confusing, so I added in the enemy's perspective to make it much more interesting to watch.

Shot Blocking

For the scene we shot, I was one of the light managers. My job was to make sure that the actors weren't too dark in the shot. I think I performed well at my role, as the lighting looks good for each shot, and I managed to learn how the lighting worked with the different settings, such as yellow, as I have never used a professional light before. However, if I had the knowledge after shooting at the start, then I think I would have set up the lighting better, and overall given a better performance at my role. My role has a big impact on production, as it controls the look of the shots, and is required to make the shots look accurate in relation to the scene. Lighting gives the shot a certain lightness or darkness, along with tone, mood and atmosphere. Therefore it is very important for me to manipulate light correctly in order to get the best looking scene.

Three things as a group I thought went well -

• Everyone managed to have their own role and work together in relation to it.
• Everyone, who had little or no experience with the equipment, managed to learn how to use it.
• We all communicated well with each other.

Three things as a group I thought we could have improved on -

• It took a lot of time to shoot each shot.
• Occasionally someone would make a mistake, meaning reshooting a shot.
• Some people didn't take it as seriously as others.

Overall, the group worked well together, considering how most of the people, including myself, had no idea how to use the equipment. The director was clear and instructed each scene well. The cameraman did a good job, especially with learning how to use the focus. The actor was very good as they managed to act well in front of everyone. The clapper board person did a good job of writing down each scene correctly. The sound recordist, and the person holding the boom mic, did a good job, as the sound recordist occasionally checked the sound to make sure it was good enough. The continuity manager managed the noise and people walking in the background. The grip person did well too. As you can see, these main roles were managed well by each person.

Film crew roles

(1: not interested – 10: interested)

·      DIRECTOR

-       The director’s job is to control the film’s dramatic aspects and the screenplay, while guiding the actors and crew to make sure they know what they’re doing. The director is, to me, the most important and most difficult as it is a key role in making important decisions.

-       1/10 – this would be my last choice, even if I would probably enjoy doing it, I don’t think I’m confident enough to decide what everyone does. Even though I feel like I am creative, I would struggle to lead a team and to motivate crew members and actors.

·      1^ST AD

-       This role in a film includes tracking daily progress with the film production, making sure everything is running smoothly and maintaining order on the set. You are effectively the Directors right-hand person.

-       2/10 – As with the director role, I feel that this isn’t right for me, as it is still very much about team organisation and planning ahead, which isn’t my strongest point. You’re also required to be a good communicator, which again is one of my weaknesses.

·      CINEMATOGRAPHER

-       You are responsible for the artistic and technical decisions related to the shot. You manage the camera crews and light crews, and give a visual impact to the film.

-       10/10 – This role doesn’t seem too bad to me as I feel that I am a creative person. I am artistic too, however, I have little knowledge with camera equipment and lighting techniques. I feel that I would be able to understand what makes a shot look good, and overall, I would enjoy this role. I would prefer to have a more involved role that pushes me out of my comfort zone.

·      CAMERA OPERATOR

-       This role is very important as you physically control camera equipment and are in charge of making sure the shot is how the director wants it to look.

-       7/10 – I have little knowledge with cameras, however I feel like I could learn the basics. I would struggle to communicate with the actors as I don’t have great communication skills. However, I am a patient person, because you have to wait around a lot with this role. However, I have almost no experience with cameras, therefore I feel that someone else with lots of experience would do a much better job.

·      GAFFER

-       In charge of all the practical aspects of lighting sets and locations. You work close with the lighting directors and make sure the shots are in the right place with the right lighting.

-       3/10 – As I worked with lighting in our short shoot recently, I realised that I struggle to understand all the different settings on the light and how they work. I don’t have a lot of knowledge on lighting, therefore this wouldn’t be one of my preferred choices.

·      SOUND RECORDIST

-       You are in charge of the quality of the sound, recording through headphones and work closely with the director, boom operator and sometimes sound editor. Often you use multiple microphones.

-       9/10 – I enjoy surround sound technology and how it all works, so I feel that I would enjoy this role. However, I would struggle to pay close attention to the sound for long periods, but I would probably get used to it. This role also isn’t too involved, you are out of the way for most of the time, which is what I would prefer.

·      ART DIRECTOR

-       You would put the production designer’s ideas into vision, with the different sets and locations. They would look at the costumes and work on the designer’s creative brief.

-       6/10 – I feel that I’m a creative person who could work with the director and production designer to make sure the shots look good. However, it’s quite a leading role and I think I would struggle to lead people and telling them what to do.

·      SFX SUPERVISOR

-       Designing and maintaining prosthetic make up. You work with directors, make up designers, production designers and actors. You decide if the character will need to have prosthetic makeup done by going through the script.

-       5/10 – I wouldn’t enjoy this role as it’s quite artistic relating to prosthetic make-up which I’ve never done before.

·      DATA WRANGLER/ASSISTANT EDITOR

-       You are in charge of running and maintaining editing systems. You have to make sure that the scene shot ran smoothly.

-       8/10 – I have a good aptitude for technology, and enjoy editing, even if I would assist the main editor. I have very good IT skills and have built my own computer, and edit videos a lot in my spare time. I am good at taking direction and I watch a lot of films.

·      CLAPPER/CONTINUITY EDITOR

-       You prepare the camera, and work with the clapper board. The continuity editor ensures that the film ends up making continuous verbal and visual sense.

-       4/10 – I have good skills at observation and I recon I could spot mistakes and things that don’t make sense in the film. However, I wouldn’t enjoy having the clapper role as I feel that I would make easy mistakes as I have never done it before.

Phone Call shots renamed

Knife throw task