From looking at both the preliminary task and the main task comparatively it is easy to see that the difference in the quality of the editing between the two is huge. What has to be borne in mind though, is that we shot the preliminary in just under an hour using ourselves as actors and whatever we had in our bags as props. On the other hand we had almost an entire day to shoot the main task on location in two different houses and we had weeks to prepare, gather up props and such.
In terms of sophistication, the prelim was actually quite offhand, we turned up, were given some guidelines, a storyboard and a camera and told to go and shoot it the best we could. During the shoot, we experimented with adapting the storyboard, different moods with which to shoot and even added some of our own touches into it, such as the mobile phone, implying a call was to be made. The main task however was a totally different story, we had about 3 months to plan it and then another month to edit the rushes. Our planning started from brainstorming ideas in November then moved to choosing an idea in early December and getting it approved and storyboarded by the end of the month. Next we got a shot-list written out, actors cast, a final storyboard and props collected up before shooting in late February.
We found that shooting the main task was in some ways easier than the preliminary as our main task didn’t include dialogue, eliminating the possibility of the actors saying the wrong words or not speaking them correctly. In hindsight this was an extremely good choice as we would have been very pushed for time otherwise.
We mostly shot the main task in medium close up, although we did have a few extreme close ups as well, and I feel we were more adventurous in the main task as we deliberately broke the 180 degree rule, and included a tilt shot showing the debris scattered across the floor. Because we were filming in 2 different locations with the aim of jumping between the two, we actually gave ourselves a lot of freedom with shot order, as during the editing process we experimented with three different sequences before choosing the one that we liked the most and continuing with that one.
While editing the the preliminary task, we began to realise the importance of added sound effects such as the mobile phone bleep and the door slam which emphasise these key noises. Finding these sounds in Soundtrack Pro was harder than I thought, as almost every different bleep we tried sounded wrong, and there were so many of them. What I hadn't realised prior to this first bout of editing was that the buzz track is essential in ensuring continuity between cuts. In the main task, we actually used much of our original sound dubbed over with an original score created by Sophia, so the buzz track wasn't actually needed. We actually used less sound effects than we thought would be necessary, as the original recordings were extremely realistic, so we kept them.
While editing the the preliminary task, we began to realise the importance of added sound effects such as the mobile phone bleep and the door slam which emphasise these key noises. Finding these sounds in Soundtrack Pro was harder than I thought, as almost every different bleep we tried sounded wrong, and there were so many of them. What I hadn't realised prior to this first bout of editing was that the buzz track is essential in ensuring continuity between cuts. In the main task, we actually used much of our original sound dubbed over with an original score created by Sophia, so the buzz track wasn't actually needed. We actually used less sound effects than we thought would be necessary, as the original recordings were extremely realistic, so we kept them.
