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?

CamerasFirstly, as I used different cameras for my preliminary task and my final product, there is a clear difference in quality of the resultant footage between the two media products. To film my preliminary video I used a Fuji S9600, and when watching the footage back I noticed that the quality was not the best, especially as I had filmed my preliminary task in dull lighting. This meant that certain facial expressions and details were not clear in the video. I also noticed when watching back the footage that the sound was very quiet and unclear, which meant it was hard to understand what the people in my video were saying. When using the Sony HDR SR8 to film my real film opening, I immediately noticed a difference in quality. This was great as I included a lot of reaction shots in my film opening, and the quality allowed them to be seen in good detail. An advantage of using this camera was that I could explore with different settings and edit the colour and exposure of the footage. This is something new I had learnt to during this project and I found it very useful, as when it came to editing on Photoshop I didn't need to change many aspects. Also, when uploading the footage and watching it back, I noticed the sound was very clear and good quality.

Preliminary Task Final Film Opening

EquipmentIn the progression of my preliminary task and my final film opening, I actually learnt that not using a tripod and having unstable footage can actually be quite effective. To film my preliminary task I made sure I used a tripod for every shot, as I wanted them to be still and straight as I was filming a laid back conversation scene. After completing my preliminary task I began to experiment with different camera movement, one of these being handheld camera which I practised and became more skilled in. When filming my final film opening, I knew that the mood of this video significantly contrasted against the relaxed, positive feel created in my preliminary task. I knew I wanted to include camera movement, especially in the chase scene to create discomfort and emphasise the action. This really fit the mood and in my opinion improved my video.

I had also learnt about other filming equipment and when and where it was appropriate. For example, I started off filming my final film opening using a dolly, to smoothly film the victim walk forward towards the camera, however after watching the footage back, I noticed that due to the uneven ground, the footage was vigorously unstable. Because of this, I decided to try and film in a location not to far from this one, but with a different surface, concrete. When watching this footage back, I had the same problem. Even on smooth concrete the dolly continued to wobble the camera, and also created a very loud noise which can clearly be heard in the footage. From this I learnt that It is probably not appropriate to use the dolly outside, but maybe indoors or on carpet. It was then I had decided to use handheld camera but I realised this was quite effective as it emphasised the characters movement.

SoundIn the progression from my preliminary task to my final product, I had learnt how to achieve clearer, better quality sound. During my preliminary task, I had used the sound on the camera. It was quite quiet and bad quality, and as I had also put music over the top, it was slightly difficult to hear what people were saying. I knew that I didn't want this problem in my real media product.

In my final film opening I had planned to include a shot reverse shoot conversation scene at the beginning, but as I had significantly exceeded the time limit this had to be cut out. When recording it however, I started off just using the sound on the camera just to see how it would turn out. I thought that as I was using a better quality camera, the sound might be good enough to use. After doing this I found it was very clear and was happy with the quality. Despite this, I wanted to try and use other equipment to record sound just to see if there was any difference in quality. I learnt how to use a handheld recording device that my actors held as they spoke. I listened to this back and found that this sound was slightly muffled and unclear. Because of this I ended up using the sound on the camera as it seemed good quality.

I had also learnt efficient ways to include good quality sound effects in my film. During my final media product, I thought about how I could include noise from the surroundings. When I first started filming, I thought that I could get someone to shake a bush while I was filming to create a noise which frightened the victim, however when listening to this back It was very hard to hear and I realised this was a very bad idea. I decided that using the boom mic to record certain sounds, and then place them over the top of the footage would be a much better idea. After learning how to use this I found it a lot easier as I was able to record the sounds separately, and in good quality. One sound in particular I had recorded was the sound of footsteps to play while the victim is walking along before she spots the newspaper. After recording a sequence of footsteps, I learnt a new skill on Photoshop which was to cut and slow down the sequence of footsteps so that it fit the actions of the character. Another approach I had taken was using free online sound effects. I downloaded a few sounds of thuds and drum hits which I put over the top of the footage in places where certain scary features appeared, for example when the victim notices the killer standing in the distance. This emphasises the scary features and creates a bigger reaction in the audience. I was very pleased with the outcome of these approaches, and looking back to my preliminary task I saw a clear contrast in the quality of sound in each video, and how recording voices separately and putting them on top of the footage was very effective and allowed the voices to be heard very clearly. I am happy that I have learnt this skill, which I will be able to use in future filming.

CompositionIn the progression from the making of my preliminary task and my final product, I feel that I had learnt more about and significantly improved composition. While filming my preliminary task, I did not really think about composition while I filmed each shot, and I can clearly see this when looking back at it. One particular problem I noticed was that In quite a few shots I had cut the head out of the shot when filming. This was not good as the face is an important part of a person as it shows emption and introduces different characters to us. After completing this preliminary task, I began practicing composition for the different shot types in order to become more skilled in them. I feel that this helped when it came to filming my final product, and before filming each shot I thought carefully about composition, and moved my characters around if necessary. This really benefitted the outcome of my final product.

Another problem with composition I had noticed in my preliminary task was that In a lot of cases there was a lot of space in the frame. This meant that the focus might not be on the person or people in the shot but the distracting surroundings. I thought about this when shooting my real media product, and I had had some practice with filling the frame before filming this so I became more skilled. In most of my shots the frame is filled well so that we are focussing on one particular thing in the frame. Despite this, in a few cases I had deliberately make sure the victim only took up a small fraction of the frame in certain shots. This was so that the surroundings could be seen, and the fact that she was alone was emphasised.

Camera Angles/Shot TypesDuring my preliminary task I used a limited amount of different camera angles and shot types, as at this time I had not done much practise or exploration. Looking back at my preliminary task I can see the ones I had used are very basic, and after completing this I decided to explore a range of different camera angles and shot types, and practiced them in order to learn and become more skilled.

When it came to filming my real media product, I really wanted to include a large range of camera angles and shot types to show skill. Because my video was quite fast paced this allowed my to include many different shots. I had covered a few basic shot types such as close ups and medium shots in my preliminary task, but as well as these, I wanted to try and include more unique and interesting angles or shot types. I decided to include a lot of extreme close ups to show and allow us to focus on the victims actions, and also a lot of reaction shots to emphasise her fear. In contrast to this, I used extreme long shots to emphasise the emptiness of the area in order to add eeriness. When it came to angles, I included some floor level shots in order to show low objects in detail, for example the newspaper or shoes. I also used low angle shots while filming the victim, to emphasise her lack of power in comparison to the villain. I found that using a lot of different shot types and angles helped emphasise the action of certain scenes, which helped create a tense atmosphere and overall improved my video.

PlanningFor my preliminary task, I had not done much planning before hand. Although I had made 3 short videos in preparation, I had not thought of what camera angles or shot types to use, or what the conversation would consist of. I literally thought of it as I went along. When it came to the dialogue, I had told the actors what to say right before filming the shot, but I found this was difficult as they kept forgetting the sequence. After many takes, I thought it might be a good idea to write a quick script to make it easier for the actors and so that the speech would be more fluent. This worked a lot better and from this I learnt that preparing a script for the actors and making them learnt it results in more confident speech and allows the scene to be filmed a lot quicker.

When it came to my real media product, I made sure I had planned every aspect. Firstly I had looked at exsisting horror film opening, and analysed a few of these in detail. I took into account the horror conventions, shot types used, sound, music, lighting, and mis-en-scene in order to follow the common codes of the horror genre. This helped me to recognise the sort of details I needed to think about when making my own film opening. I had done a few codal and timed analysises, which helped me see what horrors commonly include and the conventional structure of a horror film opening, which helped me think of a structure for my own. I also made things like risk assessments, location planning sheets, location and talent release forms which made me prepared for when I went out to shoot. I had planned the costume and makeup of my characters so that I was able to purchase extra items in advance for example the mask and red chalk to cover it in. I had even planned out every single shot I would use in my opening in the order of shooting, so that I would not waste time thinking about this when I went out to shoot, and so could do it quickly and efficiently. Something else I had done was practice shot types, which I think was one of the tasks that helped me improve the most in the progression from my preliminary task to my final product. It allowed me to decided which type of shot and camera angles would be appropriate and effective in my opening and also allowed me to become more skilled in these. In terms of editing, before filming for my final film opening, I had made a practice sequence of titles, so that when it came to making the real ones I knew what I was doing and didn't waste any time.

Editing and SoftwareI had learnt a lot of new editing techniques in the progression from my preliminary task to my final product. When it came to editing my preliminary task, the only editing I had included was cutting the clips and putting them together which made it look very average. Because I had used IMovie, there was not a lot of different editing techniques available.

When editing my final product, I had decided to use premier pro, as this would allow me to edit my video in a range of different ways, such as changing the colour of footage to make it more blue and cool. This benefitted my video as it made the overall video look more dark and sinister, while also making the footage look more professional. Editing curves, lighting and exposure also helped with this. Another useful technique I had learnt was to slow down footage or sound effects. This came in handy when I noticed that a recording of a breathing sound I had taken was too fast to fit the scene. I wanted it to be slower to create a relaxed atmosphere in order to lead the audience into a false sense of security before the murder. Slowing down this sound effect really made the scene more effective and helped slow down the pace of the whole shot.

Something I had a problem with during the preliminary task was the lighting or exposure varying throughout different shots. This made it harder for the footage to flow well. When this same problem occurred with my real media product footage, Premier Pro had allowed me to edit individual clips where a drastic change in lighting may be visible in order to make sure the shots look the same. After doing this, an adjustment layer could them be put over the whole video so that editing could be made to each clip at the same time rather than individual ones. Overall, I feel that using Premier Pro has really helped improve the quality and overall look of my media product, and I have learnt many new skills from this which I will use in future filming tasks.

MusicI had decided to get my music from Incompetech for both my preliminary task and my final product. I felt this was the easiest approach as I would not have to waste time trying to get permission for my music, and I found that they had a very large range of different songs which seemed appropriate. I found picking music for my preliminary task very easy, I just had to choose a cheerful song and then place it over the top of the footage. It was not so simple, however, when it came to my final film opening. I spent a long time listening to different songs in the horror section, thinking about the different scenes my film consisted of, and which sounds would fit with which scenes. In a lot of clips from existing horror films I had watched and analysed, I found that the eerie music is very quiet and relaxed before something frightening happens, in order to create a false sense of security for the audience, and that when the scary feature does appear, more instruments are introduced and sharp high pitch tones are suddenly played to make the audience feel uncomfortable. These were the sort of feature I wanted to include in my film opening. As it would be nearly impossible to find a piece of music on the website that perfectly fit with my film opening, peaking and quietening at the right times, I found that I had to cut, edit, and move a lot of the song around in order for it to fit well. I made sure the music started off quiet during the equalibrium, but peaked when the killer was shown. I picked out the most intense and sudden part of the music and placed that at the moment when the killer appears behind the girl, as it in the main scary feature. I feel that editing the music in this way really benefitted the outcome of the video, as it helps to create a certain atmosphere, and a reaction in the audience.

TitlesWhen making the titles for my preliminary task, I had had no previous experience or practise, resulting in very basic titles at the end of my video. They did not help create a certain feel or mood , like in my final product. After finishing my preliminary task, I got the chance to practise making and experimenting with titles. I learnt how to made them fade slowly in and out, which would be suitable for a slow paced scene, or make them very bold and tense which would work better in a more action filled scene. Making these practise titles allowed me to think about the sort of titles I would want or need in my horror film opening. I decided to look at some title sequences of exsisting horror films and saw that a lot of them were discreet and faded in and out to emphasise the calm before the storm. I knew that this was the sort of effect I wanted to my titles to have. When making them, I experimented with a range of different fonts in order to find one which fit the mood and genre, and I had a huge range to chose from. I feel like I have learnt a lot more about creating titles in the progression from my preliminary task to my full product, and am a lot more happy with the outcome of the titles in my opening in comparison with my preliminary task.