Western Shootout.

 Western Shootout

Pre-production

We were given the task of creating a short video showing a western shootout. This task was done in order to further our knowledge with practical work. It gave us time to figure out how premiere pro works so we would feel more comfortable using it in future projects. The task also accompanied using cameras and camera equipment we could use to capture the shots we needed.  

To start we had to create a storyboard, it didn't have to be super detailed, just enough of a plan to know what we were going to do during our video. We did this to insure we weren't just throwing ourselves into the field with a blank mind, improv doesn't always work the way you hoped. It makes more sense to at least have some sort of idea/script, it creates less stress amongst the group and means you don't have to waste more time on coming up with ideas from the top of your head.

As a group of five, it meant all of us had to have a role in the production. Two of us acting in the video while the others set up equipment, manned the camera and one of us to direct the actors.

As a group we had never used any type of camera equipment, getting to loan out a tripod, but for this task we needed a tripod to allow the freedom of getting the shots we needed. 

The Making Of 

Using the field round the back of college we set up our tripod with our camera, figuring out how much space we had in order to capture the shots needed. It wasn't difficult, telling our actors where they had to stand and how many counts they had before they walked into the frame of the camera. However, having a certain amount of time to film as well as it raining half way through our shoot and having two people off during the second day, did mean that it took us longer to finish filming. Despite the set backs we came across, we still managed to finish the task.

Getting to use the tripod meant that we could get still shots from the perfect height, being able to move it from being tall to short in a matter of seconds. We marked on the grass where we had been with the tripod and where the actors had started so that the filming we did was guaranteed to be continuous. This was important because continuous shots are the most popular during famous pieces of media, which meant that trying our best to create a video that was continuous allowed us to understand how difficult it could be for actual movies to portray this. 

We use a range of closeup shots, establishing shots, cowboy shots and knee level shots, making sure to film a lot more than we needed just in case the shots we had already taken weren't good enough to use in the final product. 

Editing

We had go through each clip before we started editing on premiere pro to find any shots that weren't worth using and splitting them up from the ones we decided to use in the final product. After that, i inserted the clips i had chosen in order on the timeline, cutting out the parts that didn't matter and putting them together in ways that made more sense continuously. I then added black screens to the beginning and end, putting text over that says 'fin.'