Homeland continuity task

1. What was your role in the task and what did you actually do?
In this task, I was one of the actresses who starred in the Homeland inspired drama long with Tilly and our fellow actor, Oliver. Unfortunately, I was absent when the team was writing the script, therefore I did not majorly contribute towards the theory side of the task. However, I played the role of the 'good cop' which was inspired by the role of Carrie in Homeland. Therefore, I tried to mirror Carrie's imperative and declarative attitude towards the CIA mole. Once filming the short clip, I then had to edit the clip which was challenging, however enjoyable.

2. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, filming and editing?
When planning and filming, we made sure that we all collectively agreed on ideas which enabled us to work successfully as a team. Firstly, we briefly planned what the main story would be as we were told that one character would join two people who were sitting on a table. We furthermore developed a story which would accompany this and used episodes of Homeland to inspire us. In addition, when planning we made a storyboard in order to help us and portray our ideas more clearly. We also created a shot list, which listed which shots we were going to take in order as this would be more convenient on the day of filming. When filming, there were many factors which had to be taken into account, one was the layout of the classroom as we tried to adapt it to look like a scene from Homeland, this meant that we needed to move the furniture in order to reflect this. Moreover, we had to make sure there was no filming right before the bell or right after the bell in order to avoid unwanted noise. Also, we always ensured that we did not break the 180 degrees shot as this is a major component for continuity. In addition, when filming we always checked to make sure the sound was working and that the camera angles were correct in order to not waste any time as we were very limited for time, therefore it was essential to have effective planning. When editing, I needed to ensure that my Homeland clip looked continuous at all times, this was quite hard to do, especially with the door, however in order to achieve this, I needed to be patient and calm as it could be tricky at times.

3. How successful was your sequence? Did you manage to demonstrate match on action, shot reverse shot and 180 degree rule? Did you achieve continuity overall?
I think that my sequence was successful as i did demonstrate match on action, shot reverse shot and obey the 180 degree rule. I found that when I was editing, these were quite natural techniques to use. I feel like I did achieve continuity overall as I used a variety of shots and techniques which made the Homeland inspired clip look ceaseless.

4. What have you learnt from completing this task? 
I think that I have definitely learnt how to edit a film clip now, as I had never done this before. Therefore, this was a new skill for me to learn which was quite difficult at first, however, once I started to get used to it, it became a lot easier for me. Furthermore, I feel like I have also improved my acting skills as I listened very carefully to Livia, who was the director of the Homeland inspired clip, who instructed the actors/actresses on our positions and whether we needed to look more shocked/angry. I also feel like our class' teamwork skills have enhanced, as this task allowed us all to work together as a team and depend on each other, whilst still having independant elements, such as the editing.