EDITED: G321 PRELIMINARY TASK WRITE UP

This is the final edit of my preliminary task

Our preliminary task was to film someone walking, film a conversation and if we wanted to, film them leaving the conversation. Our group decided to film a scene from 'James Bond; Skyfall.' Our film had to be in a way that was continuous with a character opening a door, which would have included a range of shots like close ups and extreme close ups, a character crossing in a room in some way and sitting down opposite another character and engage in a short conversation.

What planning did you do in preparation for the filming, and how did it help ensure the shoot was smoother/ better organised?

When we planned our preliminary task, we used means such as story boards and floor plans. These helped us to plan out our filming and be able to have something to refer back to in filming so we knew exactly what we were doing and when it needed to be done. 
We also rehearsed our parts and the way we were going to film it to make sure we didn't break any of the vital rules used in filming a conversation. As you can see from the embedded video, we stuck to the 180 degree rule where the camera is kept on one side of the people being filmed at multiple angles. 
Doing so much planning for this preliminary task allowed us to see how hard it is to film a conversation from multiple angles and be able to film enough footage so that it's possible to edit the footage in a way that can be seen as continuous with all of the shots lining up and looking smooth.
To help with filming another short film like this I would definitely use the same means of planning I would just definitely make it more in depth. I would take advantage of the storyboards and the floor plans and make everything as detailed as I can to make sure everything is filmed in a precise enough way that leaves no room for error and makes the editing of the film even easier.

What techniques did you use in the film, and how did you incorporate these techniques?

When we filmed our preliminary task we used a variety of shots, angles and heights.
For example, we used close ups on both Ben and Cody whilst filming to create tension, trying to keep both their faces in the rule of thirds. Similarly, we filmed a few extreme close ups of Ben's hands. These shots draw attention to Ben's character and emphasise his authority over Cody's character. We kept to the idea of the 180 degree rule in filming too; this was useful in editing because it was easy to edit the clips together and made the final film look more professional and continuous.
We tried our best to keep to techniques like the rule of thirds, nose room and lead room which again in turn would've made the film look much more professional and kept it looking of a much higher standard, drawing attention to the right parts in the scene.
In editing, we tried to make the film look as smooth as possible, trying to keep to the idea of continuity editing. At the end of our film, we used a 'dip to black' which made the film more tense which actually fit well with the idea behind the scene, thus being a dark, tense scene from a James Bond film.

What are the key things you learnt from this project, and how will these be useful when it comes to your thriller project later in the year?

 The main things I think I learnt from this project are the importance of continuity editing, the 180 degree rule, planning. 

In terms of editing, learning how to use the software was really important as that now allows me to edit things in the future in a way that may be continuous or seem smooth. This highlighted the importance of continuity editing to me as I was able to see how effective my work can look when it's edited in the correct way.

Similarly, this project let me see how important it is to not break this rule. Not breaking the rule makes the film look so much more realistic and effective than if you were to break the rule.

Planning is hugely important in projects like this as it helps to make the film as effective as possible in the sense that it brings every part of the filming down to the small parts like walking and opening doors etc. Planning this in depth leaves less room for error making it much easier to film effectively and makes it easier to edit as it allows room for more filming and a lot more precise clips, if planned in a way that allows you to do so.

Everything we've done for this project will help me to make my Thriller project better as I will be able to use many of the rules and types of shots and editing techniques that we have used to make these films. 

Hopefully, I will be able to use my preliminary task to help better myself and my filming and editing skills to make my thriller opening even better than this task.