Analysis and Evaluation of Pre-Production Task.
The group was given a brief that told us to shoot a short continuative film sequence
involving someone walking through a door, sitting down on a chair and exchanging two sentences
with another person. This sequence had to show the techniques of match-on-action, shot/reverse shot
and the 180 degree rule. Personally, I interpreted this as a good opportunity to show creativity and
style due to the fact there were so little specifications, no genre, no target audience, almost everything
was free to design and implement as I pleased. My partner and I made a list of what was absolutely
needed in the sequence, and built our narrative based around those points, with several extra shots and
effects added into the film.
To back up the knowledge been given to help create the sequence, I have had varied previous
experience with filming. My first major film project was made during the summer holidays between
Years 8 and 9, and was title Parodic Chronicles 6 (the film can be viewed by following this link:
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/parodic%2Bchronicles/video/xd1og_parodicchronicles-vi_shortfilms). Although the film was actually intended to appear video-game-like in
format, the techniques and equipment used were those of the film medium. No storyboards were used;
all prior planning was done by writing on paper the actions needed to be performed. The cameraman
would shout out the actions and the actors in shot would perform them, with the audio being deleted
as there was no need for any speaking or natural background sound. Even back then, I appear to have
had some knowledge of the techniques, as very basic match-on-action is used along with various
long-shots, medium shots and close-ups. All editing was done by me, which gave me invaluable
experience in my software.
Secondly, I used to regularly make AMV’s (Music Videos) with various effects and clips used
from other media (usually games). Although no filming was used in creating these, the amount of
time I spent editing the clips, the effects and the timing of the music also increased my experience and
knowledge with my current editing Software.
My third and final piece of prior experience was during my Media Studies GCSE course, in
which my individual coursework task was to create a Film Trailer, entitled ‘Parallel’. As expected, I
learnt much more during the course, including why certain shot types and camera heights were used,
various camera movement techniques (tracking, panning, etc) and how to storyboard, which was the
main way that I planned my trailer. I gained more experience in filming from a director’s point of
view rather than an actors, as I did not star in my trailer, and also gained more experience in editing to
the style of match-on-action. Furthermore, I used shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule in my
trailer (even if I didn’t know it was the time), which were concepts that I hadn’t used before and
would use in the A-Level pre-production task. This piece of experience also furthered my
understanding of my editing software, particularly for actual film footage.
I believe continuity editing to be editing footage through the software in a way that makes the
narrative easy to understand and the film appear to feel uninterrupted. This includes; the order of the
shots (to be put chronologically in most cases); the transitions between scenes/shots (this is where
match-on-action and the 180 degree rule must be considered); the dialogue, SFX and music (placing
the wrong sound/line in at the wrong time could throw the audience away from the plot); the mise-enscene (for instance, having an actor wearing a white t-shirt in one shot and suddenly wearing a black
t-shirt in the next shot in the same scene without showing or suggesting him changing would also
confuse the audience).
The animatic process succeeded in allowing my partner and I to create a rough idea of what
we wanted within each shot. They were large drawings which allowed more detail to be sketched, and
also gave us a good idea as to what shot type and angle we were going to use for the shot. We were
also able to include some basic dialogue on certain shots also which helped when we fully developed
the script. On the other hand, I believe we could have improved the process in numerous ways. We
could have included the shot times on the animatics to give us a rough idea of how long each shot
would last, and some of the drawings could have been of a better quality and be more accurate.
Furthermore, we should have written up the exact dialogue needed on the animatics for each shot
rather than write up a script as we had to spend a short while deciding what amount of dialogue would
fit into each shot.
Between the planning and pre-production stages, numerous changes were made to our film
sequence. The most notable of these changes would be the added shots at the beginning of the film
(the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th shots), and we added those in due to a complication in the brief. Although we had
planned a shot of someone sitting down and another shot of someone else opening a door, they were
separate people, and we had been told to shoot a character walking through a door and sitting down on
a chair. We added the extra shots to the film to make up for this.
We also changed a shot, namely the 7th (“It’s in here. Have you got the money to pay me?”).
The content in the scene itself, including the actions and dialogue, haven’t changed, but we had to
change the angle and type of shot. This was because we were using two corners of a room, the bottom
left and bottom right, as opposite sides, which meant that the original over-shoulder shot would reveal
a part of the room we didn’t want the audience to see. The angle and shot type were altered so that the
connotation of a small room was kept.
During shooting, I quickly learned that it can be harder than first expected to get that perfect
shot. In the scenes where we had to introduce Dr. Evil, it took several takes to get the actions right,
the voice in perfect pitch, tone and accent; even a slight costume change was needed to truly get a feel
for who the character was. Directing was also harder than I first thought; getting everyone around the
area to be quiet and getting the actors into place is a hard task when everyone is busy working and
getting distracted. Finally, I also learned that even if you think you have a great shot after the first
take, it’s still wise to take some extra shots from the same or different angles just in case you change
your opinion on that ‘perfect shot’ or you spot something in another take that could be better.
One thing I would’ve definitely done different was get the scenes with Bond in right. In final
edit, you can easily see that in every shot that showed Bonds face he was smiling, which seems very
out of character, and the roll shot seemed very fake and generally unimpressive. His voice changed
between shots too, going from a regular pitch to an extremely low pitch. With all that said, however,
we did have a very limited time to get those shots done, and the actor who played bond had a limit to
how many rolls he could perform without injury. Perhaps another change I would make is the actor
who played the Bond character, exchanging him for someone with a slightly more serious persona and
a body fit to perform stunts such as rolls.
I would also have liked to get a few more takes of the shot in which we introduce Dr. Evil
(where he shuts the suitcase and reveals his face) as the take I chose cuts early, a continuity error that
potentially makes the audience feel somewhat rushed through the film.
As a last point, there is a lot of non-diagetic sound coming from various people talking while
we were shooting, and this is very hard to remove from the sound once it is in the clip. I would get a
few more takes of those scenes to make sure there was no unnecessary sound during the take.
Match-On-Action.
A fundamental feature of continuity editing, Match-On-Action quite literally means to
Match On the Action from one shot to another. If a character is performing an action, and the shot is
cut before the action ends, the next shot should begin precisely from where the last one left off, either
showing the same character performing the rest of the action or showing the action itself from a
different angle or point of view. Here is an example:
These are the end frame from shot 1 (top image)
and the beginning frame from shot 2 (bottom
image). The character is walking towards the
white building in shot 1.
As you can see, the character is a set distance
from the metal framework to the very right of
the screen in shot 1. You can also see that the
case he is carrying is facing away from the
framework.
In shot 2, the character is the same set distance
from the framework, even if it’s at a different
angle. The case is also facing the same way as
before. If you look closely, even his legs are
perfectly a frame apart in the walking phase.
This is Match-On-Action. Matching On the
Action of one shot to the next shot.
Match-On-Action is mostly used to achieve continuity for the film. Without this, the audience
will get confused because everything is suddenly different, in a different place, doing something
different with no link as to how it got there or why, and the narrative will also suffer because nothing
is in order, the sequence of events won’t follow each other correctly making in unable to be
understood. Match-On-Action allows a flow of action that is almost invisible while the audience
watches it, allowing them to be satisfied that everything is linked. Because actions are linked together,
the narrative will also flow smoothly as events within it are also linked.
The 180° Rule
Once two characters have been established in a scene, they have been ‘given’ a side of the
shot. An imaginary line is drawn between the two characters, and the camera cannot cross that line
unless it is shown to move over the line in a single shot. This is known as the 180° rule.
Here is an example:
Below are frames of shots 10 (left image) and 11 (right image)
The diagram to the left shows a plan of the
scene. The dotted line shows the 180 line
which has been established, and the half
marked with the red ‘no’ symbol is the area
where the shots can’t be taken from. The
cylinders represent cameras and the yellow
triangles are the area they have in shot, while
the numbers on the cameras designate what
shot number they were used for.
10
11
As you can see, these two shots follow the 180 degree rule due to the fact they are shot
on the same side of the 180 degree line (whatever shot type, angle or height is used is irrelevant).
The 180 degree rule is another important part of continuity editing. Within a narrative,
for example, the hero and villain meet and exchange conversation. Should the 180 not be used, the
hero and villain would be shown on the same side of the screen; almost connoting they were on the
same ‘side’. Using the rule also uses ‘eye line match’. This means that the characters appear to be
looking at each other because the direction in which they are looking meets the direction that the
other is facing, further deepening the connotation that the two are looking at each other and
engaging in conversation.
For the audience, the same applies. Using the 180 degree rule will allow them to become
familiar with both characters separately, following the conversation and knowing that the two are
talking to each other through the ‘eye line match’ technique. Without this, it would be highly
possible for the viewer to not believe they are talking to each other properly as they wouldn’t ever
look at each other while they were speaking.
Shot/Reverse Shot
Shot / Reverse shot is, when put simply, a supplement for the 180 degree rule. In one
shot, a character is shown to look one way and in another shot, the second character is shown to
look in the opposite direction. Since they are looking oppositely, they are assumed to be facing each
other, and thus their eye lines match.
Here is an example using the same Frames as before:
As you can see above, in Shot 10, Dr. Evil is facing one direction while, in Shot 11, The Delivery
Boy is facing the opposite direction. Through this, we can assume that they are looking at each other.
(Note that they eyelines do not meet PERFECTLY. This is due to the difference in angle of the shot.)
The effect it has on the narrative is basically the same as the 180 degree rule, as it also bases its
use around eyeline matching. For the narrative, Shot/Reverse Shot connotes the characters to be
looking at each other, and are assumed to be engaging in conversation should they be talking.
For the audience, the eyeline match created within shot/reverse shot allows them to easily accept
that the two characters are talking and looking at each other. If it wasn’t present, the viewer would
become confused and disorientated as to whether the two of them were talking or not.
Within the film, there are several special effects I used:
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A combination of widescreen view and a complicated visual colour filter that gave it
the added ‘cinematic’ touch. In other words, this effect was to make it seem more like a
professional film to the viewer rather than amateurs recording using a handheld
camera.
A ‘reflection’ effect shown in shot 12. Using a separate shot of a door, I mixed the two
shots together to create a reflection of the door in Dr. Evil’s glasses. This was to
connote the fact that he could see, and was looking towards, the door that Bond is
about to burst into, almost connoting he was ‘expecting him’.
Titles were used within the film to credit those who made it. The font style used is
slightly rough and blurred, connoting the setting and film involves very rough and
mysterious places/situations. Also, the way the titles are transitioned in (a zoom)
connotes that events are going to come at the viewer by surprise, or in quick
succession.
The final titles at the end are used to introduce the film name and announce that it is
‘Coming Soon’. The font for most of the text is the font from the Bond movie
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‘Goldeneye’ which will obviously have strong Bond Film connotations, whereas the
other font used is very similar to the rough-cut beginning titles, a further connotation of
a rough and dangerous storyline. These titles are transitioned in and out of shot by a
zoom in and another zoom in which appears to make the title go past the viewer. This
transition style uses the fact that the text is ‘zooming’ toward the viewer to connote that
the viewer is actually going towards the film, as if it is actually coming.
A special effect used for the James Bonds ROFLHOUSE title is to have the two O’s in
the ROFLHOUSE word shot, and by changing them from solid letters to having a hole
in the middle each connotes they have been shot. With the added effect of blood hitting
the screen and the gunshot SFX, all of it put together strongly connotes a lot of blood,
violence and gunfights within the film.
Alongside all of this, the special title effects make the film look slightly more
professional and impressive.
Between shots, cuts were used as a transition. These are commonly used to join a
sequence of events together in quick succession, and the quick cuts within the film give
a fast-paced feel to it, almost connoting it to be of the action genre.
Overall, I believe my finished sequence meets the brief almost completely. Although there are
some errors within the sequence itself, these mistakes don’t affect how they meet the needs set by the
brief. It involves a character opening a door, walking inside, sitting in a chair and exchanging more
than two sentences with another character, so it definitely meets the narrative requirements. With the
examples above, I clearly show how it meets the rules of Match-On-Action, the 180 degree rule and
Shot/Reverse Shot, so, with that said, it meets all the requirements set by the brief.
If I cut out shots 1 – 4 and shots 11 onwards, it would still include Match-on-action, the 180
degree rule and Shot/Reverse Shot, as well as containing all the requirements met by the narrative, so
perhaps an ‘Improvement’ would be to cut those if I wanted to just meet the brief with no extra parts
of the sequence. Furthermore, if I wanted to completely meet the brief alone, I could cut shot 8 of Dr.
Evil shutting the suitcase and change the dialogue spoken in shot 9 to make them only speak two
sentences and still be continuative.
On the issue of Continuity, there are some very minor errors including the very slight early cut at
the end of shot 8, and during shots 9, 10 and 11 there are supposed to be two suitcases, however you
only see one in each shot and there is sufficient evidence to believe that the one held by Dr. Evil
disappears during shots 9 and 11.
To conclude, I believe that this sequence meets the brief well, but there are still mistakes and
things I can learn to improve on for the Main Coursework Task ahead.
Tips I have learned for my next production are very much based on the errors made within this
sequence, with a couple of exceptions.
1) Always wait until after the shot is completely finished to stop recording.
2) Always record extra takes of the same shot so you have a choice when you edit them.
3) Bring in all the objects you need for the mise-en-scene to avoid continuity errors.
4) Write the script first before putting the dialogue onto the animatics, it will save time.
5) Draw on the animatic more accurately to how you want the shot, and write the shot time.
6) Make sure you understand what MUST be done before you start to plan shots (this is in
reference to the change in shot 7 because we couldn’t show what was behind the character.)
7) Make the effort to find actors who are willing to play their part well (e.g. they know they
have to perform an action roll and they can do it well without injuring themselves.)