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

We identified many faults in our preliminary task which we recognised and made sure we didn’t repeat them when filming our main task. The aspects which we felt needed improving were:

Planning Camera techniques/shots (no shot-reverse-shot) Boom in shot Lack of credits Not enough footage to work with

I think that the main downfall of our preliminary task was the lack of planning we managed to do for our preliminary task. This caused us great difficulty in finding a location to film, scheduling a time to shoot and finding a convenient time for our actors. Although we did create a storyboard for the preliminary task to ensure we filmed all the footage needed, we didn’t realise the importance of sticking to it but instead we just filmed what we remembered from the top of our heads which caused us to waste time. This played a huge part in the reasoning of why our film was so short. For our main task, we ensured we had all our planning such as the script and storyboard to be precise and accurate so when filming, it gave us clarity and direction. By planning accurately, it gave us ample of time to film, reshoot on sections we weren’t happy with and finally allow us to have plenty of time to edit. Furthermore, we didn’t meet the brief of our preliminary task for example, we didn’t include shot-reverse-shot. This time, we made sure we all understood the task to make sure we produced a product of great standard.

Our preliminary task lacked an amount of varied shots, causing us to not meet the brief; ‘include shot-reverse-shot’. This was a great downfall in our preliminary task. One of the main reasons why we didn’t manage to include this important shot was because our planning was poor, resulting in us not having enough time to film. Our storyboard was unclear so we were confused into how we were to pursue certain aspects of our sequence; this resulted in key details slipping from our product.

Anna Moorhouse

This screenshot shows a perfect opportunity of where we could have included shot-reverse-shot in the confrontational conversation between the two

characters during our preliminary task. This would have increased the amount of cuts which would have corresponded well with the quickening pace of the

narrative due to two characters arguing. Also we would have been able to see a clear shot of the characters frustration in their facial expressions- adding to

the suspense.

On the other hand, our main task included a huge array of varied shots including; match on action, shot-reverse-shot, an establishing shot, panning, close up shots, mid shots, long shots, zoom in, zoom out, quick zooms, slow zooms, over the shoulder shots, and finally both high and low angle shots. This was a great improvement from our previous task as it showed how we were all capable of using the filming equipment adequately and that we were all well-educated on the shots typically used in the media. The screenshots below show the effect of using these filming techniques.

The screenshot on the top left show how we started our sequence with an establishing shot. This addresses the audience that the main character was a middle class teenager because the mis-en-scene gives connotations of this. The top right photo shows a high angle, close up shot of the young girl asleep; the fact that the camera is positioned at a high angle shot implies that she is vulnerable and innocent as she sleeps. The transition we used between these two shots was a slow zoom. The reason we did this is because it corresponds well with the current mood and soporific tone in the room as the girl sleeps peacefully, it also contrasts with the loud, irritating sound of the alarm and quick cuts which soon follows after.

This shows how the camera panned the movement of the young girl rushing to get ready. To achieve this we had to use short quick cuts which followed perfectly with the narrative as it adds a sense of urgency. Match on action is also used here as the girl exits her bedroom, making it clear to the audience that the sequence is of a high professional standard.

Anna Moorhouse

Finally this shot-reverse-shot scene shows the conversation between the two siblings. The use of a high angle shot on the sister makes her opinions look worthless whereas the low angle shot of the brother makes him look like a person of high authority and or importance. This shot alone shows a lot about the characters’ personalities.

A major downfall in our preliminary task was the scruffy details which made our title sequence look rushed and unprofessional. An example of this is at 19 seconds into our title sequence when the camera jolts, diminishing the desire of our films looking smooth. A prime example of this is when the boom appears in the shot which significantly degraded the quality of our piece. Furthermore, this lead to our actor having to duck under the boom in order to escape getting hit by it. The screenshots below show evidence of this occurring.

There shot below shows the one shot in our main task where we had to pay special attention to as we could have easily included the filming equipment and the filming cast in it. We avoided this occurring by moving the camera slightly left of the actress and by putting

the camera on a slight tilt to create a high angle shot. Moreover, we made sure our filming was smooth and not jolty by using the tripod throughout and making sure the tripod flexibility was on a loose fitting rather than a tight one so, when we were using camera transitions, such as panning, it was smooth instead of shaky.

One of the key mistakes we made in our preliminary task was not focusing on our titles enough which lead to us having 4 basic titles at the end of our title sequence. These 4 titles weren’t incorporated into our filming which made it unimportant and less memorable. To re-correct this, in our main task we used many transitions, title sequences and font colours to make them part of our title sequence instead of a tedious list at the end and also because

Anna Moorhouse

we wanted them to look quirky in order to reflect the main characters quirkiness and because it corresponded with the genre, an Indie Thriller. The only thing we carried through from our preliminary task to our main task about the titles was keeping the same font throughout which gave a consistent theme. To make sure we incorporated our titles into the mis-en-scene and props, we added in where we were going to show them in our storyboard to make it easier when we began editing. We also changed the colour of the titles so they contrasted with the background, this made them look important and eye catching to the audience.

A crucial downfall in our preliminary task is the final length; it only lasts for 53 seconds instead of the initial intention of a 2 minute long title sequence. I believe that the main cause of this was the lack of footage which didn’t give us enough film to edit with and also our group not sticking to the story board. We didn’t gather enough footage because we only had 1 hour to film our sequence due to the implications such as the gym we were initially going to film in had removed all the equipment as it was getting refurbished. Because of this we had to include many unprofessional clips which we weren’t happy with because otherwise our sequence wouldn’t have included all the elements we wanted to include. We learnt from this and made sure we had left ourselves ample of time when filming our title sequence but also we left plenty of time after we began editing just in case we had to re-film a certain section. This made sure we were pleased with our final product when the strict deadline was met.

Overall, we have improved our end product dramatically from our preliminary task to our main task and we have been largely influenced from the mistakes we initially made. It has made us understand and use the media equipment accurately, value the importance of planning effectively and finally, improve our editing skills.

Anna Moorhouse

The screenshot on the left shows how we displayed our credits in the preliminary task and the screenshot on the right shows how we improved our exhibiting of the titles. As you can see we

have incorporated them into the mis-en-scene and props.