Continuity Task 1 (BLK)

Explain the story of your video?

Characters A and B are doing their work in a classroom and are joined by character C, who enters the classroom through the door. Character C then walks past characters A and B, but in doing so he trips over himself and falls to the floor. He then slowly picks himself up, after which point Character A is then shown to be very shocked and alarmed at character C's accident.

How did you attempt to create a 'narrative flow' (continuity)?

Narrative flow was achieved through the use of different camera angles which build the audience into the narrative and through the use of camera movement; one of the shots panned and tracked character C as he walked past the camera.

Did you achieve full continuity?

No, we did not achieve full continuity and I think that this was due to the lengthiness of shot 1, the delay of the reaction shot (shot 6) and the unnatural look of the fall/accident.

What would you do differently to improve the narrative flow of your video and tell your story more effectively?

Narrative flow is about continuity for audience so the action/shots are seamless. With full continuity a story can be told more effectively. To improve this I would have…

• shortened the length of shot 1 as it slows down the pace and goes past the point of a strong anticipation
• started filming shot 2 when character C is out of frame so there is no chance of the shot starting with a stationary character, and also so character C is shown opening the door and entering the building which looks more natural
• used 'match on action' by cutting down the link between shots 2 and 3
• shown the object that character C trips over, to remove the question of 'what did he fall over on?' from the audience's minds
• swapped shots 5 and 6 so that the reaction shot (6) is not delayed. This means that the reaction of character A is shown immediately after the accident.

Below is the edited version of our story with an improved narrative flow, and a more seamless feel: