Blogging Task- What I Learned from the Practice

For our practice filming session we were given the task to make a newspaper thrilling through the use of good camera work and editing. Each group was given one newspaper, a camera and a tripod for their filming. Before we started we had to storyboard our idea so that we had something to follow and that we weren’t filming of the top of our heads.
I was quite pleased with the majority of our camera work because most of it seemed to work really well considering it was our first time filming. I felt that the close up of Salone’s eyes didn’t look as professional as the rest. I think it’s because when I filmed this part the camera wasn’t on a tripod but hand held. When looking back it looked quite wobbly and unprofessional. If I could change something it would be to have done that shot again but using a tripod instead.
The editing for our group didn’t go quite according to plan. This was because whilst editing we forgot to save and the computer crashed. We had lost all our work. Our group then had to go back to a lunchtime workshop to try and quickly edit it all together. The first part of our editing went really well because everything was match cut quite accurately. However where we started to run out of time the ending didn’t look as good and ruined what had been done. We also didn’t have time to put any sound over the top so all you can hear is sound of us talking or people in the background which sounds really unprofessional. I do feel though that the short film made sense and was completely all over the place however there was room for improvement.
I learnt that the placing of all small things that you might think are irrelevant are actually extremely important. When we were filming Salone’s leg in the background was another group and you could also see their legs. By being able to also see their legs distracts you from looking at Salone and focusing solely on her. I feel that it also made it look slightly tacky. Your background plays an important part in presenting your story and if that’s not right then neither is your film.
Our group was really good in remembering the 5 seconds before and after the main filming. We managed to do it every time. The only thing that we did forget was to save our work while editing. Which was one of the worst things to do but we most definitely learnt from our mistake.
I am so glad that we were given the chance to have a practice filming session because it really familiarised us with the camera and editing process. I think if we had gone straight into filming our main thriller it really wouldn’t come out how we’d want it to. It also gave us the chance to make all the mistakes in the practice session to learn not to make them in the real thing. I also really enjoyed the practice as it was a good experience and a fun one.