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

In the prelim task my initial decision about the location was to use the media classroom due to the lack of classrooms available; because of school events taking place the same day as our filming. I wanted to use the media classroom because it was perfect to film our scenes because of the spacious environment and we had envisioned it to take place there. However a problem encountered that involved the class being used at the same time as the filming.  I had the choice to wait for the meeting to be complete in order for filming to begin. In the time to wait I decided to have a look around school to find another classroom and an empty classroom was found. This location caused a few problems because of the classroom lacked a blind which reflected on the table during one of the shots. However the use of outside space benefited our prelim task because there wasn't any interference and it there was plenty of space to position the camera.

From this mishap in the prelim task I learnt to ensure the location is free in advance and also check the location beforehand in order to identify any faults with the location.  There were still a few problems that aroused in the main task. In the main task it took place at Maria’s house and the location was checked beforehand so I could imagine were the position of the camera will be on the day of shooting. On the day of filming the main task, the road caused a few issues due interference from vehicles. When filming the tracking shot on the road caused problems. It helped that the road was a one way road which restricted traffic from both directions and also we had more time to remove equipment when a car was approaching. Problems like there are hard to avoid and we couldn't block the road either because it was a public environment. We adapted to the cars approaching and we were able to film the perfect tracking shot. 

The initial decision made for the storyboard was a simple scenario of the character opening a door, entering the room and having a conversation. The problem encountered during our story board was continuity. As the storyboard planning took place we developed a problem with continuity. There was a lack of continuity because the character entered the room and the second character appeared without a shot of the character. The problem in the prelim task helped us to keep in mind continuity in the main task. As my job as of continuity in the main task and ensured to familiarise the group of continuity. In the main task continuity was successfully accomplished and I was able to create a two minute opening sequence that portrayed the lessons learnt from the prelim task. In the main task there was clear continuity from each shot. For example the shot showing the character pilling her clothes on the floor the through the use of props such as clothes showed my improvements of continuity. In the future I have to keep in mind continuity and plan the shots in my head to imagine them and help me expand my continuity knowledge.

The initial decision of script in my prelim task is to ensure the cast including myself are more prepared when shooting scenes. I and my cast member both struggled to memorise lines due to the lack of preparation beforehand. This meant that in-between shots the cast were rehearsing lines which meant time was wasted rehearsing rather than continuing onto the next shot. The lack of preparation for the script made less organised and required us to improvise. Due to the lack of preparation for the script we had to reduce the length of lines delivered to each other in order to help us. Therefore we were able to help each other remember lines. From this confusion by the cast it’s ideal to prepare the script prior to the filming day. The problems that occurred helped to retain a simpler script for the main task in order to avoid confusion and help us to not waste time. In the main task there was a lot less script which made it easier to remember lines and also meant we saved a lot of time.

The initial decision made during the production was variety of shots. I ensured there was a wide range of shots in the prelim task. My knowledge of media skill from previous years helped me understand what kind of shots needed to be taken. The camera operator also had a spontaneous pattern of ensuring we took enough shots just in case the other ones didn’t look professional. This created during editing which helped me to come to a conclusion on what shot looks the best. There was one shot which didn’t look very professional when the character sat down because of the empty space behind her. This made the shot look very unprofessional and this didn’t show our technical skills. From this technical fault I learnt to be more aware of what the camera operator is doing to ensure there is another group member looking out for problems with other technical aspects. From this technical issue I was more aware of unwanted space in the main task to ensure our shots looked more professional. Also I kept in mind other aspects that could possibly ruin our shot. For instance in the main task I ensured there was minimal empty space surrounding a shot. I also made sure the success of a variety of shots in the prelim continued in the main task and I also developed the use of variety of shots be giving the camera operator of capturing it at a different angle.

Another aspect that was my initial decision was equipment. In the prelim task I ensured the group was extremely careful with the equipment when transporting it and also setting the equipment up. Also when moving the tripod around I ensure I gave a helping hand and made sure the group were holding it from the places to increase safety. Also from the lessons with the technical professional Stuart I engaged in his tips when assembling the equipment to ensure the equipment was set up with care and attention. In the main task we add the use of extra equipment like the tracks. I ensured all the equipment was handled with care again. Also my group member had arranged transport to help us take the equipment to my group members house, this made it a lot easier to carry the equipment. From learning from the mistakes the camera operator made in the prelim task and Stuart corrected, I took the tips and made sure they were used in the main task. However there were a few other problems that I discovered that weren’t addressed in the prelim. For instance the camera was on lock and this meant that the camera would start playing the tape. This simple error meant that time was wasted because we could not figure out the solution. I then had to contact Stuart and inform about the problem and he then helped to correct this mistake.

The initial idea of weather was hard to avoid in the main task than the prelim. In the prelim the character walking from the outside to the inside required a few takes due to the strong gusty wind on that day. This meant that Myrah’s hair kept blowing in her face which distracted the shot. There was an option to tie her hair back but this would ruin the appearance of the character. But we successfully managed to capture some good shots that didn’t have any interference. In the main task the tracking shot that was filmed outside caused a few problems because of the bitter cold weather. This made it hard for us to stay outside for too long because of the horrible weather. But the group and I successfully managed to bear the weather and capture a great shot.

The initial decision in post-production was feedback. In the practise task we weren’t given much feedback because it was just a task to help us grasp the technical aspect understanding of the equipment.  We were only given the majority of feedback during our main prelim when the editing took place. From the practice task we learnt that we included some unnecessary shots that were too long and didn’t need to be that long. We also learnt from the shot of Myrah entering the room that there should have been a shot of me in order to show that I haven’t just popped up into the room. From this feedback I kept in mind during the prelim task that I needed to include the shots that weren’t included in the prelim task. In the main task from the feedback received from the storyboard, we needed to include more shots in order to show continuity between the shots. For example in the shot of Maria throwing clothes onto the floor, our teacher told us to include a shot of her throwing the clothes from different angles. This also creates a variety of shots but also creates continuity because we get to see where the clothes are ending up. The feedback received from the storyboard helped us to understand why we needed to include these shots.

Another initial decision was time. In prelim task we efficiently spread out our time so we there wouldn’t be much time wasted on each shot. We also knew what we were looking for in each shot because of the feedback received in our practise task. Also during editing we sent about 4-5 hours editing the prelim. I also used my free lessons to come in and edit my prelim in order to ensure the prelim was edited perfectly. The time efficiently spent in the prelim helped us to manage our time perfectly for the main task. We didn’t waste any time deciding over on our shots because we had a vision of what wanted each shot to look like.