Evaluation question 7

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

When making our preliminary film my skills of using software, cameras and internet were much weaker. When we began filming our prelim I had little to no experience of using a camera and was just taught the basics. Since we were following a basic guideline we had a clearer picture of what we were doing (a short film with dialogue).

Pre-production

For the pre-production we used Quark to make a storyboard. This was when we first learnt how to use this software (this involved taking pictures with a still camera and inputting them into Quark). Since then we didn't learn any new skills to do with the software. So similarly while preparing for our actual thriller opening we made a storyboard on Quark. To conclude, in the pre-production side of making a media product i have learnt how to make a storyboard on Quark with pictures and captions.

Post-production

• Camera skills- For filming our prelim we used a JVC pro HD GYHM100E. While filming the prelim i learnt the basics of using this camera (this involved turning it on, inserting a memory card, zooming in, capturing footage and watching it). On the other hand when it came to the filming of our thriller opening we required slightly more advanced camera skills, for example: i had to learn how to correctly focus the lens when zooming in, we encountered problems with focusing the camera and as a result we had to re-film a large section of our opening. So to conclude, working between the prelim and thriller opening has taught me a variety of camera skills including: how to operate the camera while filming, how to focus and zoom, and how to playback the footage to check if it was correctly filmed and focused.

• Mise en-scene- The mise en-scene used in our prelim was very basic because we used the clothes we were in and the staff room. However when working on our thriller opening we had to think about what props to use and why. We spent a fair amount of time dressing our actors up to appropriately suit the roles they were meant to portray, for example we dressed my character up in a suit to give him more class and authority and on the other hand we made the drug house look as grotty as possible by using scruffy furniture and a worn out table. So in the progression from the preliminary task and the full product i have learnt how to use mise en-scene to portray my desired image of the characters and setting.

• lighting- When doing our preliminary task we didn't focus on the lighting at all. This was because    we didn't have the option of regulating the amount of light. For our thriller product on the other hand lighting was very important for the drug house scene. We had to find a way to make the location seem as dark as possible in order to achieve that gloomy and dark feel. in contrast the skills required to light the locations in our thriller opening were much more complicated than the skills required in the preliminary task.

• Editing- While editing our preliminary task the only software that we used was Final cut pro. We learnt how to match cut, cross cut and put our footage in order and also add titles. On the other hand, in the post-production of our thriller we had to use another softwares called Soundtrack pro. while using soundtrack i created a soundtrack to go along with the final cut of our opening. I also learnt how to input our opening into soundtrack. To conclude, in the progression from the preliminary task to the full product i learnt i wide range of skills while using softwares like final cut pro and soundtrack pro to edit, create a soundtrack and add titles to our media product.