Pre-production: Continuity Editing Exercise - Evaluation

Edit Workshop Evaluation



I will be evaluating the different aspects of my media production that allowed me to finalise my video. I will be focusing on what went well, what didn't go well and what I'd change or improve in the future. By discussing this, I will therefore see how well I understood the knowledge of using a match on action, shot reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

RULE OF THIRDS, 180 DEGREE RULE & MATCH ON ACTION

The following things which I had to put into my video to meet the brief was the: rule of thirds & 180 degree rule. I used the 180 degree rule to make the two characters seem engaged in discussion.  For example, the two over the shoulder shots which use this rule (shown above), help the audience feel more aware of the conversation whereas, by breaking the rule would result in the audience feeling drawn away from the conversation and confused. I also used the rule of thirds to make the clips seem more professional and in proportion (rule of thirds shown on the right - first picture).

I used the match on action (shown in the second picture on the right) to allow us to see the character opening the door and closing it in a natural way. I think it made it seem more realistic  because rather than using a fade in/out transition, we can just see her walking in as the camera follows the hand movement and the opening of the door.

What challenges did you face during production? 

The problem I faced during production was making sure that me and my partner was in agreement with the number of shots we had. For example, when we filmed, we would have a number of clips from different angles and shot types but if we felt we had to redo it, we had to be quick and very decisive.Another issue which I found difficult was filming the establishing shot. Me and my partner wanted to make sure we had a variety of clips for this because we both had different ways of introducing the shot in terms of how long it should be shot for. In addition to this, there were quite a few cars which drove by which made the process even longer.

        Establishing shot

What would you change if you were to film again?

I think I would try to use more shots because at the part where the girl is talking Russian, maybe I could have added more sound effects to create a funnier edge to it. I would also try and add some music at the start as well to introduce the theme of the storyline.





Challenges I faced during the post-production... 
When I was editing, the timing of the clips was a issue I had to tackle because if the clip wasn't placed at the right second of the timeline, the editing would not look smooth. For example, when the examiner asks "are you ready for the Russian Oral Exam", we see her hands move nervously at the right time (after calculating where it was meant to be placed).

In the future, If I was to edit again I would try to use more variety of clips that I recorded to make it more interesting. I would also record the noise on a voice recorder and get it at a balanced frequency which is the same throughout.

STRENGTHS

I think I had an interesting storyline which people can relate to in a humerous way. For example, this is shown in some of the shots like when the examiner says in a aggresive yet humerous way "Well whenever you're ready" and slams the table. At first I was going to make her come across as a typical examiner but I wanted her to be un-conventional to make her seem odd & stand out as a character.

Another strength is the fact that me and my partner planned our work on a storyboard sheet because it gave us a solidified what had to be done from, getting music - shooting a long shot.

Lastly, we managed to use the Apple Mac video editing software which is a natural editing software programme because it does not rely much on providing heavy video effects for the user. This was an advantage because it meant that I could focus on making everything just flow naturally. 

WEAKNESSES 

I think that the part when I used video effects to make the examiner seem shocked should have been better in synch with the Russian oral exam. I also feel that maybe we could have taken it to another level and had the examiner falling off her chair at the end to make it even more funny.

I think that maybe I could've shown a few more shot types for individual scenes. For example, when the girl is walking in the corridor, I could've shown her face looking nervous with a close up shot.

Overall Improvements

• Use a few more shot types for individual scenes 
• Better the synch with the dialogue & the (only) video effect I used to show the shocked reaction of the examiner.
• Use some music at the start to introduce the theme - School Exams.
• Use a voice recorder for general noise and then balance the frequency