Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary Brief: Film and edit a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character. A couple of lines of dialogue must then exchange between characters & match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule should be demonstrated.

Main Task: The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes (all video and audio material must be original, produced by candidates, with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source).

Since our preliminary task I found that I have progressed in my knowledge and ability to create a film. In the beginning of my prelim task, I made numerous mistakes that I was able to avoid in the construction and process of the main task, due to having learnt new techniques and also the professional ways in which successful films are made. Having some experience from GCSE Media i was aware of the basics such as how to set up a camera, camera movement/ techniques, storyboarding and scripts. However having doing the prelim task i started to learn that there was a lot I did not know about the process, I was also not familiar with a lot of the technology that we were to use (for example the Canon XAH) because the quality was of a much higher standard than what I had been exposed to previously.  

On the other hand the Main task was much more complex and required more effort, knowledge and ability; we had to involve more camera techniques such as panning, 180 degree to keep continuity consistent etc... Camera angles and shots. I began to realise that each shot was vital in making a successful film. During my learning process I began to see how camera shots were used significant in portraying certain aspects of film. Even though I knew this before, going through my prelim task I was aware of how the smallest detail made the biggest difference and could add to how effective the film is. Our teachers prepared us on what is needed to know, we then had to develop this knowledge and use it in our final Main task product. We were expected to be committed and have the motivation and enthusiasm in order for us to create a product to be proud of.

PRE- PRODUCTION.

As part of our pre-production stage for both our Prelim and Main Task we had to create the following:

·         Script

·         Location reccee

·         Story-board

·         Photo story board

·         Prop list

·         Treatment

·         Shooting schedule

·         Cast list

·         Timetable

These document allowed us to be more organised and make the experience of planning our film much more easier.

We created a storyboard as a visual interpretation of the shots we were planning to shoot, it made the filming much easier and organised as we knew the angle , shots and techniques required for each shot we were planning to take. In our prelim task I found that my storyboard wasn’t well developed , we didn’t include all of the shots or note the angles/techniques we were planning to use, Therefore when it came to the of filming we wasted time a lot of time arranging and discussing how we were going to film certain shots. I used this experience to prepare me for my main task where me and my group spent more time in preparing and planning each shot, we include more frames than I had done originally. Each shot we drew slowly transitioned from each other smoothly so when it came to the filming day we knew the shots, angles, and techniques we were to use when filming.

As a group we created our location reccee, we listed all the available locations suitable for us to use for our film, we then listed each of the pro’s and con’s so that we could discuss what location would be most beneficial. For example during our preliminary task we was planning to use our sixth form common rooms as a location for part of our film, we thought it would set the film well and matched to our narrative. However after further discussion we came across a few problems , for instance it would be busy and therefore not safe for us to bring expensive equipment such as the Canon XAH camera, we also came to the conclusion that it may also be noisy and therefore hard for us to film in that condition. I found that in my prelim we limited the number of locations we had to choose from , this created problems when we found that the locations we did choose had more cons that pro’s and therefore we found ourselves at last minute trying to find an appropriate location. Carrying this over to my Main task our group made sure we had a vast list of locations to choose from so that when i came to choosing our locations we should have plenty to choose from, which we did.

PRODUCTION.

As part of our production stage for our Main and Prelim Task we had to make sure the following was in check:

·         Equipment

·         Weather

·         Planning documents

·         Cast

·         Continuity

We then had to do the following:

§  Film shots

§  Re-take various shots

§  Record sound and voice over’s

Prelim Task

In the production of our Prelim Task, we filmed in our school grounds; we were given two lessons to film and finish our task. Considering it was our first shooting task I felt my group did quite well however in comparison to the Main task Is noticed there was a number of vital things we were quite un accurate about. The first, is the number of takes on each shot we took, in our prelim we never filmed the shots more than twice, which left us with a small number of takes for each shot when it comes to the post production stage. Another problem we faced when shooting was the continuity in the shot, in one of our locations which was set in the canteen but then realising that it lacked continuity as there was faint music that played in the background by the dinner ladies and so this was played by the radio and so when we did reshoots and different shots, the music changed and so it lacked continuity.

Main Task

During the production of our film I found that we were smarter in the way we shot our film, we filmed a shot a number of 3 times so that when it came to the editing process we were able to select from a variety of shots. We also chose a quiet location, compared to the location that we chose in our prelim that allowed us to be clear from disruption. We found that our continuity was much more persistent as well as the fact we were able to work much faster and be totally focused on what we was doing. Unlike our prelim we included much more difficult camera techniques such as smooth panning which we used when showing that our main character was dead. We also used our camera shot much more wisely which created more effective to our narrative of our film, for example the close up shots of the child’s photograph instantly created meaning and was portrayed to be as something significant to the film, whereas in the preliminary task we didn’t pay attention to such detail.

From prelim to main task i learnt the following skills:

Time management is key so that you are in time with your time limit and you are not rushing shots that may cause it not come out how you planned , you need to time in making sure your shots are how you want them to be.

Safety shots as a briefly explained it is key to have safety shots , especially when i comes to editing as you want to be sure that if your first choice shots didn’t turn out how you originally wanted them to be, then you will have safety shots to fall back on.

Shooting schedule, story boards, and scripts are essential as they help you to organise and carefully plan your film so when it comes down to actually filming you have a guide of what to film, where to film and how to film it.

POST PRODUCTION & FEEDBACK.

As part of the post production stage for both my Prelim and Main task:

§  Digitise shots on to the editing software ( Adobe Premier Pro)

§  Edit shots, add music and sounds

§  Create production company logo

§  Include credits

§  Receive feedback from peers

In our preliminary task we didn’t put as much work and creativity into our film compared to the main task, we used basic editing techniques such as rough edits, text, minor sounds and very few effects. I also found that we didn’t use the correct shots that were specific to our narrative, for example in our task we added a lot of close up shots and didn’t use a vast variety of shots such as long shot, mid shot etc , we also had extra shots that could have been cut out as they were unnecessary and just were taking up vital time that could have been used for something that had more meaning. We also had to make sure we managed our time well, and that each individual in our group had a fair share of editing the film, we done this by arranging times co-operating with each other on when we had free periods or if we were willing to put in time after school, which all of our group members agreed to. At times we found that some individuals weren’t being considerate of others and would only spend no more than 30 minutes on the work whereas others individual would make great changes and put in more time and effort .We resolved this by had a group discussion and all came to conclusion that this is all of our work and therefore we should all be making the same attempt to put effort In. Also in our preliminary task we were expected to receive feedback from other peers and also non media students from our school, this allowed an outside perspective on our opening sequence and gave us opinions on what they believed could make it better. However when in came to post production in the main task a lot more was required and we found this stage the hardest out of all three. In the main task i found my group was more organised and committed when it came to time management, most of the time we were on top of things and I found that all of us in the group had enthusiasm when it came to the editing process , we all had our own input and contributed to every aspect. When certain issues arise for example using one shot that another may disagree with, both individuals had a say on why they think that the specific shot would be beneficial and then we made our judgement from there. We also created a lot of the things ourselves for example the music , we recorded a babies voice to use as a voice over, unlike the prelim task it showed a lot more creativity, we also created our own company logo using Photoshop and embedded it into our film.  special effect were used more wisely in our main task compared to our prelim as we had more knowledge on the effect that special effects can have on the audience as well as the narrative, for example we used a black and white theme throughout out opening sequence, as it represented loneliness and how discarded she felt from the outside world.  In the main task we then had to ask form feedback , we chose to ask peers from our class and other non media students , like our prelim I felt that it gave us an idea on what we could do to improve our film.