QUESTION 7

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

The initial idea that I struggled on was storyboard. With my prelim task I didn't group my storyboard in the order of which I’m filming. I learnt that it was time consuming and made me had to rush the ending of the prelim task as there wasn't enough time. Not having the storyboard done in detail also made the film time consuming as I had to think about the position of the camera and the framing on the spot. It also made me miss out some shot which was vital to have. I learnt that in order to produce a good prelim I had to make very efficient use of time and having things such as undetailed storyboard has a negative effect on the film. In comparison to the main task the story board was done in detail as it included the framing of the shot and the angle of which I was to shoot the film. It also included the type of shot e.g. close up, mid shot, cut away. I learnt to include variety of shots and use it effectively rather than use it to fill up the gaps in my storyboard.


Another initial idea that I struggled on was my location. My location for my prelim task was in a history room and outside the room. Since it was shot after school there were people walking in and out of shots which also made it very difficult to get the outside shot of the person opening the door. The scene alone took most of my time and didn't let me have enough time to record the same shot about three times in order to choose the best one. Once I knew the room was available I made no attempt to look at the structure of the room in case it affects my movie so I would be aware of this and make few changes if necessary. However in my main task I took notice of the location and knowing it being in an open area which is available to everyone I decided to close the path of which people were shooting and informed people of this with a sign at the Alley way. I went there to check whether the structure would fit my film in my own time and became aware that due to it being narrow there wasn't enough that could be done of which I decided where to position the camera without a struggle. With these changes I had time to do each shot twice or three times in order to choose the best one.


Rehearsal was another initial idea that I struggled with due to the lack of it in my Prelim task. Not having to rehearse before shooting meant that I had to stop or cut in the middle of a shot as some of the cast were not aware of what they were supposed to do. I learnt it waste time which has a negative effect on the film as it means that most of the film has to be
rushed and not done appropriately. However with my main task I made sure we rehearse everything with the camera off and made sure the cast was directed in a way where they don’t have to ask the director what to do every minute or so. I learnt that having rehearsed made it easier to make use of the time and not spend too much time on one shot.

Production

Variety of shots was also something I struggled with during my prelim. With my prelim task I repeatedly use shots in order to fill the gaps of my storyboard. I learnt that without a variety of shots in my prelim is didn't portray the film in a creative but rather a simplistic way. It also show that my film in a very basic mode and didn't make it seem interesting. In comparison to my prelim, my main task included a variety of shot which were place for a reason rather than to fill the gaps. For example I included an extreme close up of one of the characters turning up a dial which was used to engage the audience rather than to show a mid-shot of the character doing it.


Another thing I struggled with was the timing. Not keeping an eye for the time of which I was to spend on each shot resulted in spending a large amount of time on the first couple of shots and having to rush through the last couples of shot. However with my main task I elected someone to keep the time in mind and remind us every now and then how much time we have left on each shot. In my prelim task the time spend editing was wasted as the group spent our time watching back on what went well and what could have been improved before cutting the shots which wasn't needed. We didn't spend enough time on the editing of the film but rather what went wrong and watching the bloopers. Nevertheless when I was editing my main task I made sure to use the continuity sheet whereby I wrote which shots went well and bad so it was easier to edit. It made the editing process faster as I could delete shots that were bad rather than having to watch every shot and then having to decide whether to delete. I also came back to edit my movie on my free periods rather than just relying on the one hour lesson that we have a day to do it. I learnt that using continuity sheets and having spent extra time editing makes it easier and less time consuming.


Continuity of shots was one of the things of which I struggle with during editing my prelim task. With the prelim I was more interested in deleted the unwanted scene and grouping the shots in order of the film. However with the main task I was more concern about the match on action and
how well the film flow and also choosing the best shot out all the shoots that I had taken.

Post Production & Feedback

During prelim I didn't take the feedback of the teachers and the others into action but focus more on how to make it look better. I learnt that if you don’t take critics on board you wouldn't know how to improve your work. However with my main task I took everything on board and actually made notes of what I've been criticized on and what I’m to improve on. The things I have been criticized on:

* Continuity of movie
* Pitch of the music

I have made note of these and will act on them if I have the chance to.

Not saving my work on the lacie but on the computer instead was something that I did and really regretted. I forgot to save my work every now and then which made me loose some of my work when the computers decide to freeze. I learnt that I would lose my work and everything if I didn't save my work on the lassie. With my main task I made sure to save my work every five minutes in order to avoid losing my work. I also made sure to save all the changes that I made in the film.