Preliminary Task- Miss Miller

Preliminary task

The group that I worked with for my preliminary task included Hannah Hobbs and Ella Sawtell. The purpose of the preliminary task was to get used to the equipment we will be using and to understand how to use different camera angles. We had to experiment with different camera angles to see which ones work and which ones don't. Our sequence had to be based on a conversation and it also had to be under a minute. After filming, we then went back to the class room to analyse our work and to then edit it. It took a while to get used to editing and also to use things like blur to link the different clips together.

In our groups we had to film a sequence including camera angles like panning, shot reverse shot, over shoulder shot, close up and long shot. We used camera angles like panning in chase scenes, shot reverse shot to show a conversations occurring and close up to show our characters true emotions.  These camera angles are conventional to the thriller genre and they are used to show facial expressions body language. I think that my group was very organised and prepared and we knew exactly what we had to do. We had a good understanding of the different camera angles we had to use and we also understood quickly how to use the camera and the tripod. However my group did struggle with adjusting the height of the tripod and using different shots without the tripod. We also struggled to keep the camera steady when we weren't using the tripod which was a real problem because it made our footage very shaky and not very clear. When we film our opening sequence we will make sure the camera is always attached to the tripod to make sure that this problem doesn't happen again. We will also become more familiar with the tripod and how you adjust the height of it so that we will find it easier to use. I think if we were made more familiar with the camera and tripod then we would have been able to use it better.  From watching our footage back we were able to see what mistakes we had made when filming.  We had made mistakes such as a shaky camera on certain angles and we had left the tripod in shot in one scene. Without watching the footage back on the computer, we wouldn't have been able to notice these mistakes.

This task was extremely useful in the running up period of  making our opening sequence because it taught us how to use the camera and also how to use the tripod. It also taught us how to edit our footage which is really useful when cropping out mistakes we had made. I have learnt from doing this task that editing is very important when making a film or particular scene. My group needs to ensure that we carry on with using the camera angles we were using and also to make sure we don't make the same mistakes twice. This task has also made us more prepared for filming because we now know what basic camera angles to use and how they can be used effectively. Without doing this task we would be going into filming unprepared and unaware of how to use the camera and tripod. The main thing we learnt though was how to use the equipment to make different shots. For example you can make the over shoulder shot but placing the camera on the tripod directly above but behind someone's shoulder. This camera angle is great to show conversations or even confrontations. This task has shown me how to make this camera angle and many more.