Mohammed Aboobakar

Q7. Looking back at your

preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt

in the progression from

it to the full product?

Quality of Framing Throughout the preliminary task, we used a varying range of shots

from wide shots of the building to medium close ups and close ups during the rest of it. This really gave us an idea of the different shots and how they would frame on the real assignment. In “Soul Mate”, during the opening sequence, the majority of the shots we used were establishing shots, close ups on the characters and medium close ups. We also made sure that every single inch of the frame was significant and that in one way or another it added something to the protagonists character or the plot. For example, when filming the male actor, we had him in the right left of the frame and the female actor in the right to show how they’re separate and also added frames together where they would both look up to get that sense of unison between them. The lessons about framing really helped me to understand that even the smallest of objects can make a significant effect in a scene and how it should match every single aspect that is in the frame. I now feel very confident that when filming I can use framing adequately and that the framing was high quality in our assignment.

Quality of Shot The preliminary task quality of shot wasn’t great, ill be honest with

you. It was our first time filming using a tripod and due to the unsteady ground, the camera shots weren’t great. Also we used a monopod to see how it worked out filming wise and it was a lot harder than a tripod because we had to use our hand to steady it. We did in the end decide to use a tripod rather than a monopod largely due to the fact it was a lot steadier but a negative was that it took up quite a bit of space and caused an inconvenience for people when filming in public as they had to walk around us. I do feel that our shots were shaking a bit because of the wind impacting the camera and that the tripod wasn’t strong enough. Also some of the shots had to be filmed freehand because the angle was hard to achieve with using the tripod. I do feel though it helped our stability quite a lot with the establishing shots and helped us produce quite good results.

Was the shooting material appropriate to the exam directives

For our first time filming, the preliminary task seemed to be going well and we used almost all the footage as some parts we had to re film for example, when Sophia went through the door, just to make sure that we caught the scene correctly on camera and the shot was steady enough. One thing which I was quite proud of was that even though I forgot about it, we didn’t cross the 180 degree line which really bought up the fact that it had been instilled in us in lesson that it was a no no. That way everything looked natural within the conversation between myself and Sophia. Pre editing, we had our opening sequence of random couples holding hands, walking together etc. but this was due to heavy influence from Love Actually which was a group favourite film and I think we relied heavily on it to the extent we tried to copy it. Although it looked natural, the shots were unsteady and it looked rushed because we were constantly trying to film different couples together which could have also ended up with some ethical issues. As a result of editing and seeing how the film went together we decided to scrap it as it wasn’t giving us enough of the narrative plot. We decided to have a different narrative plot which eventually became popular and the new footage we filmed using a better camera really bought out the fact our first idea wasn’t ideal. There were some bits that were blurred and this was due to fast movement. As Camera man I soon realised that slower movement were captured better on camera so we tried to do things slower from then on which allowed the camera to take in every single movement within the frame. Bar all the negatives there were some great positives we took away from our experience. We used a great range of different shots and angles for example over the shoulder shots of our female actor and close ups of our male actor which was when I learnt about using light shade and about depth of field and how to blur out the insignificant background and focus on the actors. All of our shots were planned and executed well showing the different aspects of Romantic Comedies and exploring every detail due to our concise and proficient editing which bought our clips smoothly together along with a soundtrack that fitted perfectly which bought together our project quite nicely.

Editing When undergoing the preliminary task, editing the shots together showed

the female protagonist going through a building to what seems to be a meeting which we filmed using tracking shots, establishing shots, medium close ups, close ups of her feet as she walked up the stairs and finally a conversation between Sophia and I. We learnt that editing was to be our bread and butter when doing our opening two minutes so we really got used to it and although it wasn’t the best editing in the world, it wasn’t majorly terrible either. For our opening sequence, we edited our establishing shots together which really gave a feel of the environment, we even added the flag so you could tell it was a low budget British film. Throughout the process, I learnt that while filming, if you film the same part twice and it carries on into the other scene, its much easier to edit and gives you room to work with. We used close ups and medium close ups when filming the two main protagonists which really gave of a sense of character and also the use of the notebook which depicted the male was a thoughtful male who liked to write. Another key point with editing was to wait a little before actually starting the scene which made the clips easier to trim and allowed us to edit it easily so that other clips would flow perfectly into others.

Sound Incorporated with Filming The preliminary task was very basic in the fact that we were following a

script and had to do exactly what it said on the sheet provided using the words “Feed the Fish” and it didn’t allow us to have much of a creative aspect to it regarding the dialogue/speech or sounds as it was also in school. During our opening sequence, we had already decided to use upbeat and jolly music as it was on of the conventions of Romantic Comedies to play over our establishing shots and throughout the voiceover. The voiceover idea we attained from Love Actually and I must say I’m glad we did it because it really tied our narrative together. The background sound and the voiceover related to our opening sequence and the genre of our film as it set quite a jolly, and bright atmosphere to the opening in parallel to the sunny skies and busy areas. From some constructive criticism that took place in our class, we had decided to add the sound of a pencil writing because people said that no sound was a convention of a thriller and didn’t fit into our codes or conventions. I feel that the sound really improved the flow of the clip and showed off our narrative quite well and the feedback for background sounds was really positive.

How did we work together?

Our group did work well together and I think that the groups effort is shown through our two minute opening sequence and the quality of it. During the preliminary task, we were all just getting to work with each other for the first time and from then on, I guess we have just worked to each others strengths and has allowed us to do well with the assignment. Having a strong group behind you is very important and we learnt this from another group where one girl wasn’t turning up to group meetings and it really affected the rest of the group. We communicated well and despite our differences we worked around them and got the job done. Technology helped us quite a bit as we exchanged numbers and emails so we could decide on when to meet. The group took on board each others ideas and no one felt left out, some of the group worked harder than others but in the end if there was a dispute we would work it out and incorporate as many of our ideas as possible so that we could attain a high grade for out project.

Panning and Organisation When it came to planning, the preliminary task was easy as all was

required was a few story boards and remembering lines. The storyboards were important and we needed them to film. There were different tasks delegated to each member of the group, I was Camera Man so I had all the camera work figured out, Sophia was editing, Ellis was in charge of sound (He even done the voiceover) and Ailiyah was in charge of the storyboard and script although I was the main writer of the voiceover. The storyboarding was definitely a helpful reference point as to when we were stuck and due to Ailiyah’s artistic nature it was that much easier as it guided what we did and had the additional information to help if we were stuck. The deadlines were also very important as they were set by the teacher and it also allowed us to keep track of what we were doing. Although we scrapped what we initially filmed, we managed to get all our filming done in the deadline which reflects on our efficiency and how well we worked as a group. When planning for ideas, I have to say we were definitely organised and we knew what we were doing. We listened to each others ideas and issued feedback which assured us that all parts of the task were covered. It really hit me how important planning was and that being organised really affects your filming and I think that without our planning, we wouldn’t have produced a flowing opening two minutes and we would have nowhere to go if we were stuck. If we didn’t have our targets set then I definitely think we would’ve fallen behind