Q.7 Evaluation

Q.7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary Brief: Film and edit a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character. A couple of lines of dialogue must then exchanged between characters & match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule should be demonstrated.

Main Task: The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes (all video and audio material must be original, produced by candidates, with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source)

The preliminary task was basically a warm up to our main task, just so we learnt some vital skills which would have a positive effect on our main task. Also in the first task the objectives were so limited, whereas the in the main task we had to complete more objectives add copy right free music which made the task more of a project, which subsequently made our groups more eager to succeed.

Pre Production:

In the preliminary task our pre production was done quite quickly and without much thought, to be fair it was quite rushed. Our treatment was pretty basic we wanted to a clip which was quite dramatic and exciting, and we decided to go with a story line of an affair which was cliché but a good idea. In our main task our treatment was much more detailed we had more of an background story, it  also had a lot more elements within init in the sense that we talked about sound, and the visual image of things a lot more and also the Mise En Scene. In the preliminary task we didn’t have much chemistry as a group, so when it came to rehearsing we didn’t bother much to organise it properly, which meant we couldn’t function well together when it came to filming we wasted vital time discussing past issues. Also when we did rarely meet up to rehearse it was short and far in-between which meant not much productivity had taken place and by the next meeting we forget what we was doing, so on the day of filming we made a lot of things up from scratch like our positioning, and some dialogue. In the main task the group worked together much better from the beginning perhaps this was due to natural chemistry, or because we knew how important this main task was, either way we worked much better as a team. We rehearsed regularly and for longer periods of time during free lessons, after school, and lunch times. This time around it was as if everyone had commitment, and when one person was down someone was always there to raise spirits which is important in a group.

In our preliminary task we barely had a shooting schedule as a team we didn’t really feel it was important and we paid know interest, we made one rushed version but we lost it, we didn’t take care of it or do to a high standard because we hadn’t grabbed the purpose of it, but when it came to filming we came to realise how important it was. In our story we had multiple shots in the same location but at different times in the story, but because we didn’t have a shooting schedule we didn’t shoot all the shots at the same time, which wasted valuable time and messed up our continuity, so because time was of a minimum we had to rush some shots which subsequently lead to a poorer quality of film. Although in the main task we did make a shooting schedule and stuck to it, so in doing this we saved time and kept continuity under control which was part of the reason our main task was more successful than the preliminary task.

Production:

Location was a big problem for our group in the preliminary task because we choose a very busy venue for a fair proportion of our film which in a waiting room. We didn’t check the place out before filming we just assumed it would be free and available to use. When it came to filming we had so many distractions that the actor and actress’s couldn’t perform to the best of there abilities, which wasted a large portion of time to say the least. Due to the heavy distractions and our bad judgement we had to move location and start filming again, which was a big hassle and caused arguments and conflicts within the group, but this problem was our fault so we had to face the consequences of putting in extra time. Our location for the main task was much more sensible you could argue this change of location was only due to our storyline, but I learnt a lot from our earlier mistakes of our previous location, also when we was choosing our location we visited it at 3 different times of the day so we gather if it is practical, our new location was underground and we had know real disturbances which meant we could get on with our filming.

 In our preliminary task we had very basic of shots and a small variety at that, so when it came to editing we couldn’t change any shoots and add small changes to the look of the clip. Which is not good because often whilst editing you come up with loads of good ideas to make the clip better but due to the lack of shots you become very limited in choice, and also you could feel you have a good shot when filming but during post production realise it wasn’t as good as first thought, then you have a big problem which could lead to a very bad grade. Whilst we was doing our main task our mistakes from the prelim made us able to combat similar potential problems, during filming we took the same shots numerous times, and we also took the same shot from various angles, which meant when it came to editing we had a variety of optunities and avenues to take make while making our film. During our prelim task we didn’t have a lot of cut away shots which made our clip less interesting and fun to watch, we didn’t know the importance of a cut away shots and what it adds to a film, which is anticipation, and excitement. On the other hand while we was filming our main task we had took many cut away shots which is very crucial in making a good film.

Continuity wasn’t really a problem for my groups in both my prelim and main task, mainly because the importance of keeping it was stressed and we also thought it logic to it. Although in the prelim task well lost concentration and drive to keep it going near the end, which could have been fatal for us but wasn’t perhaps due to luck. But in the main task continuity became second nature and we kept on top it very capably.

Post Production:

During the prelim task I didn’t do as much as I could in post production I feel this is because I did so much with the acting side of things, and the re production, I  also wasn’t to comfortable with the equipment. From this a lot of controversy arose, which meant the group was at arms and it seemed everyone was against me. I feel this problem could’ve of been avoided quite easily if the group had better chemistry and if we discussed things more. In the main I felt as if it was my duty to do a lot of post production because of my limited work in this department in the previous task, so I put a lot work in staying after school, free periods, and lunch times. I made the production names, I found the music, and sound effects, and I also put most of the effects into the film, but it was a group effort. During the post production of both projects I learnt many things such as how to add sound, increase or decrease it; I also learnt how to add transitions, and visual effects and much more. I did learn more in the main task because it was a much bigger and important projects and I also spent much more time on it. During the prelim post production I rushed to try and complete editing, but in the main task we took much more time and went through things properly in the aim to get as close and we could to perfection. You can even see by the quality of both clips that we put more effort and time into the main task.

Feedback was a help in our main task, and I feel our opening sequences wouldn’t have been of the same quality if we didn’t take the feedback on board, at the time when people gave feedback it hurt and it was as if someone was tearing our film apart, because you begin to look at your film as a baby, but when you let your pride down you can see the improvement that most pieces of feedback make. For example when I was choosing the backing track for our film my teacher said I should change the music to something more airy; when I did I honestly saw the difference and how much better the film sounded. In our prelim task we didn’t get much feedback but when we did we didn’t take them on board due to our immaturity and naivety, which made our film lack. Also in the main task we added credits which just made our film look more real, so it didn’t just look like a classroom amateur product like our prelim task.

All in all from the prelim task I have learnt to do and not to do a lot of things, these lessons learnt enabled our main task to be more of a success.