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?

Looking back at my preliminary task, I can’t believe how much I have learnt and how much the quality and standard differed between my preliminary task and my two minute film opening. If you were to compare the two, you would notice drastic differences between them. I noticed that my preliminary task looked a lot less professional and the editing was jumpy and disconnected. This could have been because when I first started media I wasn’t confident with using up to date technology as Macbooks and software such as Imovie as I have never experienced them before. In my preliminary task I was unsure about camera angles and the effects they would individually create. So I think I have learnt a lot more about camera angles and which ones to use and where to use them. I also have learnt how to edit footage on Imovie which I found really difficult at first, but it got easier over time. In my preliminary task the editing was poor and it didn't contain any transitions, however by learning how to use Imovie, I was able to add transitions and improve the quality of my film opening. Also I think I have learnt how the importance of a good storyline can impact the quality of the finished product. For example in my preliminary task there wasn't much dialogue and the storyline wasn't direct and clear, however in my film opening the storyline and narrative are clear from the start. With my preliminary task I didn't really plan what to do and how to do it, where as I believe I did a lot of planning for my opening. I have realised the importance of planning and how vital it can be. For example I created a number of story boards to help the process of filming. I also feel that I have learnt the importance of titles how they benefit the footage. On the preliminary task we only had titles at the beginning and end of the footage whereas in my opening I incorporated them into the footage, as I had learnt how to do this in the process of editing. The quality of sound is something else that I learnt from my preliminary task, because we filmed outside in several scenes and this impacted the sound, so for this reason I stuck to filming indoors for my opening. So that the sound was understandable and clear. I also learnt that adding a soundtrack really does make the opening a lot better, it creates great effects and it adds a lot to the fluidity of the footage whereas in the preliminary task we didn't have a soundtrack which made it a little dull and boring. So I have learnt that in most occasions music really does benefit the footage and the way that it’s perceived by its audience. I have learnt that meticulous planning is important as you need to be aware of your audience and how to attract them, so this is why I conducted research into the conventions of psychological thrillers so I knew what my audience expected. Also I think I have learnt a lot about selecting the right clips to use, because with the preliminary task we never had a time limit so we could just film whatever, however with our film opening we could only go up to 2 minutes, so I had to select appropriate clips to keep our film opening direct effective and therefore memorable.