Team Work & Filming

After learning how to use the camera and understanding my assignment, it was time to organise myself into a group and begin to set specific tasks for each person.
I was in a group with three other people, Talia, Yaakov & Zack. We decided as a group that Talia and I would film and Zack and Yaakov would act. We quickly then wrote up a script and once organised we began to film.

Problems;
We found that luck was not on our side when trying to get a reliable camera and blank tape that worked properly and had not been tampered with. After trying twice to film all our necessary shots and realising only afterwards that it had not actually been recording properly, we began to feel slightly frustrated with ourselves and the equipment. However, I learnt from this that when dealing with very technical equipment, it is very likely that something can go wrong. After all it was just a process of trial and error.

Camera work

Having only had experience using digital photo cameras, I was eager to get started and learn how to use a very technical digital video camcorder. My teacher gave us an instruction manual and once I read through it, I began to understand quite quickly how to use it as it wasnt as complicated I thought it would be.

There are many different formats which the camera must be set on in order to film in a certain way:

1. Firstly make sure you have inserted a power source. -Slide the 'EJECT' button across to release the cover -Load or unload the cassette -Press the 'PUSH' mark on the compartment until it clicks -Click the cover back into place.
   
2. I adjusted the 'white balance'. I found that we got better results by setting the white balance manually esspeacially in places lit by certain types of fluorescent or mercury vapour lights.
   
3. Optical zoom lense. The camera has two zoom controls from either the side grip or the camera handle. Turn the zoom control towards 'W' to zoom out to wide-angle, and turn towards 'T' to zoom in to telephoto.
4. Basic recording. -Simply turn to POWER dial -Press the start/stop button to begin recording -Press the start/stop button again to pause recording.
   
5. Using the STANDBY button. As long as the POWER dial is set to a recording program, you can use the STANDBY button to tirn the camera on & off. This makes it easy to save battery power, & prevents accidental operation of the start/stop button. -Press and hold the STANDBY button for a few moments to enter/leave stanby mode. When the camera enters standby mode, ENTERING POWER STANDBY is shown in the viewfinder.
   

Introduction to the 'Preliminary Task'

Today I set up my blog which will enable me to record and evaluate the progress of my work.

My first exercise is a continuity task which has to involve a number of different things;

• filming
• editing
• character opening a door
• crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character
• S/he then exchange couple of lines of dialogue

This task should demonstrate a variety of different shots;

1. Match on Action - cut from one shot to another view that matches the action and pace of the first shot. This creates an impression of continuity despite the fact that you might have filmed the shots weeks apart. If a character begins an action in the first shot and completes it in the next, a visual 'bridge' is created that acts to disguise the cut from on to the other.
   
2. Shot/Reverse shot - when two characters are in conversation, film one character looking off screen to where the other character is imagined to be, and vice-versa. Ensure that one character faces left and the other faces right., so you can edit between a character talking and a character listening.
   
   
3. 180-degree rule - when using a variety of shots for point of view and switching between the characters it is essential that all shots are filmed from the same side of the line. If you cross the line when filming, the characters will appear to exchange places and continuity will be lost