Preliminary Evaluation

Prelim- Evaluation.
First we got assigned groups of four in which we planned, filmed and edited our project. We, as a group, were then allocated a location and one item that we must include in the project. Our location was a doctor’s waiting room and our object was a fifty pound note. The first stage of the project was to plan the story, the genre and the shots that were going to be used for the short film. In a group we discussed what the story was going to be. We decided to make the short film a comedy as the story was two characters fighting over the note and it ripping much to the surprise of the doctor and we thought this was best represented comically. We also had to decide a room that was available that best embodied a doctor’s waiting room. After discussing the story of the film we started to build a storyboard by choosing what shots were best to represent the story we made. The storyboard included a little sketch of the mise en scene, the shot type and a brief summary of the action in the shot. I feel the whole planning process really worked and developed on my teamwork skills, time management and creativity to create the storyline from the stimuli.


Using the storyboard we made we had an hour and a half session each to shoot and edit our short film. During filming we had to make sure we had sufficient amount of shots to be able to choose the best shots in editing. We had a number of shots to do. I was a subject in the short film meaning that I wasn’t behind the camera filming the action, however after a few shots we as a group reviewed the clips back on the camera to give tips and advice to the cameraman and woman on the best way to compose the shots. Time management was probably the most important skill that was needed during the filming so that we could capture a multitude of good shots and all the shots in the given time so that in the editing suite we had a nice variety of shots to be able to construct our film exactly how we wanted.


Editing was the stage of the project that required patience and precision to make transitions of shots smooth, seamless and give the film a nice flowing nature. Editing makes sure the audience is captivated in the story rather than being distracted by poor construction. We took it in turns to edit but we all contributed when it came to review the whole film after a while.


During the planning of the film I think I displayed some good creativity to think of a well-established plot for the film given the restrictions of the object and location of the film. I feel that the planning overall went well but we as a group were a bit slow to think of the idea and the required shots which left us less organised for the filming stage hinder the complete film. I also feel that the storyboard could have been built in more depth and clarity so that when it came to the filming we could use time much more efficiently to get better shots to work with in editing enhancing the end product. Despite the lack of depth and clarity in the storyboard I feel the order of shots was very creative and interesting to keep the viewer engaged.


Throughout the filming of the film I thought I could be involved with the actual filming a lot more as during the editing it was apparent that the shot composition and the lighting was the weakest part of the film. The filming was shot in a dark room with a little light source and not many windows bringing in natural light this made the shots harder to see and gave it an unprofessional look. Alongside the poor lighting of the shots the shots were also poorly composed in places not following the rule of thirds. This is because we struggled severely by our time management and poor organisation, this had a bad effect on the editing of the film. If I was to redo the filming of the project I would definitely have a clearer storyboard and used that time to really compose the shots well and find a better location our use alternative lighting to give the project a more professional finish.


Editing, the final stage of the film, I feel was the strongest stage of the three of the project. I feel that I exceled at assembling the different shots together to make the film fluid. In editing I felt that it was really important to keep reviewing how the whole sequence is running and how each shot flows into the next just to make sure that the whole project is smooth as sometimes when editing you are focused solely on a clip or shot from the whole film rather than the entire film as a whole. Due to the big mistakes made in the planning of the storyboard and the time management during the filming left us with little amount of shots which weren’t the highest of quality. This meant that the editing was very restricted in the fact that there was not numerous of good shots that could be included in the film meaning that we had to comprise quality with have a logical plot and even missing some shots out as they were “ unusable.”


Overall I feel that the planning of the storyboard, time management and the filming damaged the whole project. If I was to redo the project  I would make sure all the tasks were completed in depth on or under schedule by delegating different jobs amongst the group to work more efficiently to have much more to work within the editing suite.