The Filming of our Preliminary task
The equipment
Our piece used two cameras, two tripods and a dolly. Also, our prop list included what could only could be described as 'junk', was a bin bag full of rubbish. For one of our characters, Minur, we had a pink fluffy dressing gown with the word ‘Gorgeous’ in sparkles on the back. Each member of equipment had its own difficulties, most of which were easily resolved. At first setting up the cameras and tripods were fairly confusing but, after a quick play around, we soon got the basics and advanced our knowledge during the production of our piece. The dolly was my favourite piece of equipment as it could easily be set up with the tripod attached, it was fun to use and easy to be creative with. However, that does not mean we had problems with it (described in a later post). The bag full of rubbish was honestly a tad disgusting to work beside. However, it served its purpose in our piece and without it I feel the originality would not have shown as well as it did.
Problems with filming
Our filming consisted of two main problems: getting the recording done perfectly and dealing with annoying teachers, annoying interruptions and members of the group getting cross. We were unaware a staff meeting was taking place every Tuesday beside where we were filming. So many shots that seemed to be perfect were either ruined by loud noises or accidental interruptions. However, this taught me personally and hopefully the rest of my group that we must think of even the slightest my basic things when planning. The other problem we faced was in our control to fix. Our line of rubbish would often get trodden upon by our camerawoman or run over by our dolly, producing a crunching noise in our recording. We soon fixed this by creating roads though the minefield of garbage so the dolly and camerawoman could easily make their way through and still gain the perfect shot. Like the other problem, we managed to find ways around this and have learned to once again plan even the basics. With these lessons on board it should not be as difficult facing problems next time.
What we changed during our filming
During our filming, I noticed we changed tiny details. In fact, without them being pointed out you may not be aware of them. We scrapped the idea of having a clock for the first shot; it was not necessary or relevant to our film. Also, a touch our actor Minur added (which I felt help improve our piece) was the slight change of lines, also adding a touch of an Indian accent to fit his character perfectly. During acting, we also included a hug as Minur cried which worked well as my character screamed. It added a humour factor to our piece and the zoom in to my face worked in my opinion extremely well. Apart from these tiny changes we stuck to our initial plans.
Was our group prepared for the task?
Our group planned well. In truth some members seemed to drive themselves insane with planning. We tested out locations before filming, discussed ideas and shared opinions in order to come to a conclusion on every microscopic detail to make it the best. We checked that one another understood what we were doing and we spoke to our actor to check he understood his character and how we was suppose to be and act. We worked well together and were confident things would run smoothly. However, the disrupptions proved we did not plan the basics such as checking when and where a staff meeting takes place. In spite of this, we managed to finish the work and, although we had extra stress piled on us, I was glad we experienced this and feel confident now I have experienced it that next time I use a camera it will run smoothly.
How did our group work together?
Our group seemed to have all the characteristics of a perfectly functional group. We consist of the planner, solution solver, practical worker and many more parts. Members do get stressed and cross but with friends who want to perform to their best abilities it is easy to still keep going. I’m more than happy with my group and sense that being with them will improve my grade and I hope my contribution will improve their overall results.
What I enjoy most about filming
I enjoyed all of the filming process. Even when it got tough and stressful, I still really enjoyed it. I found myself interested in the task and enjoyed the practical but, most of all, I enjoyed setting up the equipment and playing with them. Though we only worked with simple cameras, I am very interested and would like to very much work with more complex equipment. On the other hand, I also really enjoyed finishing of the film. It was definitely rewarding, especially when we overcame all obstacles and threats to our piece. Maybe my views will change overtime but filming is very enjoyable and rewarding.
