Question 7:Looking back to your preliminary task,

What do you feel you have learnt in theProgression from it to the full product?

What did you struggle with during the process?

During the preliminary task, I struggled with a lot of the software.This was because most of the software was new to me so I wasunsure of how to use it as I had not had time to explore thesoftware to use it with ease as the time slot for each section of thepreliminary task was quite short. For example, I had never usedBlogger before so having to make my blog visually interesting andembedding videos and Prezi’s I found quite hard. Also, using Preziitself I found quite difficult because I hadn’t seen it before.Therefore, my evaluation on my preliminary blog was a simpleformat with limited information.

However, as the main task was a longer process than thepreliminary task, I over came these difficulties by exploringthe software that I knew I was going to use before it got tothe stage of using it. I experimented with Prezi and looked atall the different aspects of the software so that when I had tomake a Prezi during the final task, I understood it fully andcould use it with ease. I also was unsure about exportingvideos to master files from Final Cut in the preliminary taskhowever by the time it got to exporting of our final productin the main task I had had plenty of practice doing so andtherefore knew how to do it without assistance.

Did you change groups from the preliminary tothe main task and why?

In the preliminary task I worked with Lauren Parton and ZoeCope. I remained in this group for the main task too. This wasdue to many factors. The main one being we got on well as agroup and felt comfortable with each other so we enjoyeddoing the work and therefore managed to hit all deadlines. Wealso worked well together as a team to come up with ideas andtake different roles and responsibilities. This remained to workwell in the main task. I found coming up with ideas in the groupwas quite easy as we felt comfortable with each other to thepoint where if someone disagreed with an idea and felt itwouldn't suit the genre they could say something withoutcausing arguments or tension. However it was slightly moredifficult to stick to the deadlines in the main task.

What have you learnt about making a longer film rather than the simple pre designed conversation?

In the preliminary task we only had to create a 30 second, simple pre designed conversation, whereas in the main task we had to create a two minute opening sequence and come up with the ideaourselves. We also had to come up with the plot and back story of the entire film along with that. Ihave learnt that making a longer film is a lot longer process and more work despite having the samethings to do. This is because you have to research a lot more to ensure that everything you include inyour extract suits the genre and attracts the audience. Also due to this aspect, plans such as shootingscripts, storyboards, mise en scene have to be a lot more detailed. For example, in the preliminarytask we only had to make a drawn storyboard which had limited frames however during the maintask we had to create a drawn storyboard containing about 40 frames and a photographic storyboardso that we had a more realistic view of our product. We also had to create a full mise en scene planwhich we did not need to do in the preliminary task as there was limited mise en scene to create anatmosphere that we used in the 30 seconds. In conclusion, I have learnt that making a longer film is alot more work and a much longer process due to the quantity of planning that goes in to it as youhave to come up with the idea’s. Also the construction takes a lot longer as you have more footage tochose from and also have to have meaning behind every colour and effect you put in.

What have you learnt about the importance of research and planning?

During the preliminary task, the research and planningdid not seem as crucial, this was because we hadalready been told exactly what we had to include in our30 second extract and we did not really have a targetaudience or genre that we had to stick to or attract.However, during the main task research and planningwas crucial. One reason for this was simply because theextract was going to be longer so we had to plan a lotmore, for example the storyboard and shooting script.We also had to plan and make time for filming as therewas a lot more different and varied shots that weneeded to include. Time for filming was crucial to planas well because in the preliminary, the weather, etc didnot really matter or need to create meaning. However,in our main task weather/lighting was very importantas we needed it to create the contrast andjuxtaposition of the shots and the main character.

Also, research and planning was a lot more important inthe main task as we had to come up with our own ideafor the plot of the film, what was going in the openingsequence, what shots we used, what happened, whatediting effects, what sound, etc. It was very importantthat we researched what normally went in a Thriller filmso that the aspects of media language we put in ourproduct would suit the genre. Also, we had to do a lot ofresearch to ensure that our target audience agreed andliked the ideas we had in mind so that when we hadconstructed our extract, it attracted the target audience.

If you were to do the process again, what would you do differently?

If I were to do the process again, yes there would be a few things I would change. For example, as we chose the sub-genre of psychological Thriller, we as a group wanted to emphasise the psychological side as that was the kind of thing we enjoyed however, in doing this we did go slightly down the horror route. Therefore, if I was to do it again I think I would stick to a more conventional Thriller and maybe include some kind of chase scene, to make our product more Thriller like. To make it less horror like and more settled in the Thriller genre, I would also have changed the costume of the main character in the real life sections, rather than have her wearing a hospital gown. This is because hospital gowns are quite conventional to psychological-horrors as it makes the character look ghost like, therefore I would have changed her to just wearing dark coloured plain clothing. Finally, even though I have done all the work by the final deadline, if I were to do it again, I would ensure that I keptthoroughly on top of all the work as at the start as a group we focused on the editing rather than uploading videos onto blogger such as the pitch and as we know uploading videos to YouTube to then put on Blogger is quite timeconsuming, therefore nearing the end of the process, we had to rush to upload some of the videos, however we didmanage to do them in time. Doing my main task has shown me how important keeping on top of work and hittingdeadlines is because if I had not of turned it round and focused on getting the work done as soon as it was set, I wouldnot have hit the final deadline.

What have you physically learnt during theprocess?

I have learnt not only a lot about technology and theThriller genre but I have learnt a lot about myself as well.I have learnt that I can work very successfully in a smallgroup and can put ideas forwards and sometimes takecontrol of situations if need be. For example, when wewere discussing roles and responsibilities I took theresponsibility of dividing the roles up by thinking aboutthe other members of my group strengths andweaknesses.However, I have also learnt that I can work successfully onmy own and get things done. For example, when we didthe storyboard we split the scenes up and all had theresponsibility of taking them home and finishing ourscenes in our own time and bringing them back. Also Ivolunteered to do the ‘Final Idea’ mind map, which I didindividually in my own time and brought it in to college sothat we could all upload it on to our blogs.

I have also learnt that I can make suggestions as to when Ithink something could be better if we did it another wayand more often than not the group agreed and we usedthe suggestions I made.Being able to take constructive criticism and work onsomething to make it better is another trait I have learntby doing the main task. This is because throughout theconstruction process we had people giving us feedbackon our products which we then had to take in to accountand modify our product so that it would attract our targetaudience.