We have nearly finished the storyboard and the film; we only have to adjust the audio levels to fit in with the voiceover and then we can collect feedback from our target audience. Whilst editing the film we encountered a few problems that we managed to solve, which I shall explain.
Near the end of the film, we had attempted to join two clips of the same scene together which were filmed at slightly different angles. When we replayed the film the transition was too obvious as the mid-shot jumped upwards slightly. We overcame this problem however by using an effects tool called Scale. It allowed us to zoom into the picture and this let us change the angle from a mid-shot to a close-up. This disguised the transition slightly and fitted in well with our script.
Another problem we found was that at several points we broke the 180-degree rule. We realised this during filming, and tried to think of ways to avoid this, but we couldn't; due to the layout of the location, the 180-degree rule should be broken as there was no alternative. We also found that it gave a much broader view of the location and this establishes the important home factor of the main character's life to the audience, not to mention that it makes the setting more realistic.
A more technical problem occurred when we attempted to import images with different file types. We created the titles in Macromedia Fireworks (PNG images, but when imported they would just cover the film completely) yet had to edit them in Adobe Photoshop (PSD images), remove the background layer and save them under the Film & Video preset. This enabled us to import them as sequences and then place on top of the film, but only the text would display.