College Land video and evaluation

Our class needed to plan the filming and production of College Land before we started. I put together a roles list where I had a part role in filming responsibilities. This included setting up the tripod and focus on the camera lens. We had to plan the setup of all three lights, camera and sound recorders in positions that would make the film look and sound the best. Issues with using the Lavier mics for the first time included hiding the mic from the camera and poor/ muffled audio quality due to them being hidden under clothes. To help the audio as much as possible, we used a boom mic during the filming as well as actors having their own Lavier mics. During the editing process, this gave us more freedom and options when choosing and editing the best audio.

 

We filmed College Land in a public and busy area of the college which gave problems such as a lot of background noise or students walking through the filming set-up. As we edited the clips together, the background noise gave an ambient style to the film and any louder or unmatched audio was edited out. The choice to use a boom mic as well as Lavier mics worked well with this process

 

Using the A7 camera for filming went well due to it being a more advanced camera, the video quality was much better and gave the video a professional look. I think we could have improved on the filming by including a wider range of cinematography, angles and shots. Most of the shots in the video are medium still shots due to the camera being on a tripod. I feel the inclusion of a tracking shot of Mo (Misha) walking across the room or some close-up shots would add to the tension and mood of the video. Capturing some facial expressions within an extreme close-up or close-up may have given more connotations of the characters’ feelings towards each other and matching the atmospheric music. Other close ups of hands/ coffee cups would have also added professionalism.

 

The editing process required us to separate audio clips of character Mo talking from Jackie, Ray and Frankie dialogue. Having the off-screen characters say their lines whilst filming Misha was useful due to having the correct timing and reactions of characters in both set-ups of audio. During editing, we also found stock footage of a college campus and added an overlay title ‘College Land’ with the footage playing inside the text. I feel the font used for the opening of College Land matched the mood portrayed through the film due to it being large, bold and dramatic. The editing of college footage inside the text also gave  a much more professional look from the beginning of the video.