7 – LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIM TASK, WHAT HAVE

YOU LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM THAT TO THE FINAL PRODUCT?

How did you found the preliminary exercise and describe what the hardest thing was to overcome?For the preliminary, I think our group over complicated the concept of the task and tried harder shots that ended up looking of a poor quality. this resulted in us needing a lot of help and guidance. The preliminary task was the first time, I personally had to use a camera. This meant I had to understand how to use the camera and different rules that we then had to apply to the preliminary. For example the 360-degree rule. One shot that I found hard, in particular, was properly executing the over the shoulder shot. This was because though we understood the concept and what it was, the proportions of the main focus and the space behind the character. For the first couple attempts, we had too much empty space in the shot which took the focus away from the charter. However, after a few practices, we were able to achieve our desired shots

Were you happy with the outcome?Overall I was happy with the outcome as it was our first try with creating a high-quality video. However, I do think some things could be better such as the cinematography as mentioned previously. Initially, our camera angles and the shots were not up to par as we had to redo a lot of the shots. This may have been due to our location being on the steps with a big window. This meant that certain shots were hard to carry out as we had to be careful with the shadow of the camera in the shots. Also for most angles, we used the handheld method instead of the tripod this involved some shots were shaky. This made the whole shot look unprofessional and disordered. Yet the good elements consisted in the editing. Though it was the first time I had used final cut, I quickly got the hang of it and seemed to understand the basic tools and how to use them properly. This reflected in our opening sequence. By doing the preliminary I found that my weakest area was cinematography and my strongest was in editing. This allowed me to put this knowledge into my production.

How does your final 2 minute film opening demonstrate a progression in the standards of filming compared to your preliminary.

As a whole, our group made a significant amount of progress in areas like cinematography and editing. But the most significant progress was in the camera work. Our shots were an of higher quality and more professional. By doing the preliminary we were able to make mistakes and learn from them so when it came to our production we made fewer mistakes. Unlike the preliminary, a lot of our opening sequence relied on editing this involves me spending a lot more time on the editing and using more of the features that final cut had to offer such as the effect and filters. In out preliminary, we didn’t have any sound, this was mainly because on final cut we didn’t like any of the background music it had offered. This was a mistake on our behalf as we should have used the internet a found music that suited our production. this mistake we quickly learnt form in our opening sequence as we spent hours searching for the right ambience music and sound effects

Lastly, what do you think you have learnt from completing the coursework overall?

I learnt a lot about time management and understanding that some things can't be rushed. While doing the editing, when I first started I knew it would take some time, however, I didn't anticipate how long and tedious the whole process would be. I went through a lot of different version of our opening sequence while editing before getting to the final product. This included using different shots, sound effects and fonts before finalising on what we wanted to include. I learnt the importance group work and ensuring everything does the work. Having everyone in the group equally contribute allows the process of creating an opening sequence go smoothly and easily. Not only making sure everyone is doing the work, but helping one another in our weaker area. This means not only will the work will get done but it is done to a high standard. We also learnt independence, when it came to our project our group tried to do a lot of it alone but still got feedback from our teacher. But for the majority of the project, we did a lot of it alone especially the production as we wanted to have that learning process where we made mistakes and would learn from them which would not have been able to happen if we got constant help. It also meant that in our next project we have that independence and knowledge of what works and what doesn’t so we don’t make the same mistake and to make the process go a lot quicker and smoother. Lastly, I learnt how to work with different technologies. Before media, I really didn’t have any knowledge of how to use a camera to create something of high quality or how to use programs like final cut to edit. This meant I could experiment with the different media platforms and get an understanding with what I am good at and what areas I could improve or where I need a bit more practice. For example, my strongest area is editing and sound whereas my weakest area is cinematography. This would allow me to have some insight on the type of role I should take in future projects.

Comparison Preliminary task

Opening sequence