In our p.task we only have a simple dialogue and we did not think precisely on what we should say. Majority of what we said was spontaneous. Also, when we came to edit the sound for our p.task we didn’t know how to adjust the sound levels properly e.g. when we are speaking the music should go quieter. We attempted to do this but our final sound for our task does not flow properly as the sound goes quiet suddenly when not needed. Also we did not completely mute out our voices when they were not needed.

Sound from our p. task

I have learnt that the sound has to match the action of our film opening but still suit our genre. Sound in action/superhero films are always heroic. A sound track is not enough to portray different messages. This is why logic pro was very useful as we were able to edit the music we created and cut out instruments that were not needed. In our film opening there is a drum beat playing throughout to link both scenes unlike in our preliminary task, we did not manipulate any sounds or edit the sound.

Sound from Iron Man

Sound we made with our music teacher

Learning how to use the camera was a vital skill for our film opening. From my film opening I learnt how to use a camera along with a tripod. It was key to get the camera stable. In order to know whether the camera was balanced on the tripod, was by seeing if the water mark was in the centre. Most importantly, I learnt how to get my framing right before I direct my actors what they have to do. When I was filming for my preliminary task I didn’t know how directing worked, I would try to film whilst directing. It was very difficult directing throughout the preliminary task as everyone had ideas but difficulty putting them together. Also, When we were filming we did not use a variety of shots and did not think about framing. We only filmed our p.task once whereas we re-shot again for our film opening until all our shots were suitable so they are as accurate and right.

Only used long shots, close up and mid shots however different shots such a high angle shot also portray meaning. A high angle shot would show someone as inferior and vulnerable.

Framing is not right for this shot and the camera wasn’t still.

We also didn’t think much about mise-en-scene apart form a black glove. We casted ourselves in our p.task but we do not fit the conventions of this genre. Usually bulky men are the body guards or minions of a evil co-operation in action films.

We thought more carefully about framing in our film opening. We still used similar shots from our p.task but we used them more effectively e.g. mid shot of the little boy but framed to the right. We didn’t want to frame everything in the centre. We also wanted to use shaky camerawork but for effect, to further reinforce the danger and jeopardy when the little girl is getting kidnapped. We learnt how to explore camerawork sufficiently so meaning is conveyed.

We wanted to frame the boy on the right so you can see the little girl screaming for help in the background. However, when we came to film this we forgot about this because we made a mistake by filming the kidnap first. This was a major mistake because if we did film the girl at the background it would’ve been more clear that she is in danger. The audience would’ve been aware that this tragic incident is taking place right before his eyes but unfortunately when he starts running to her he is too late resulting in his sister getting kidnapped. We wanted to go again and re-film but it was difficult as they are young children and travelling with them using public transport becomes increasingly difficult. This is why we decided use this shot and cover our mistake using a parallel edit of Sadiqur in the hospital. This reinforces his muddled thoughts.

We wanted to have the little girl struggling to get away from the villain here.

YouTube was also very practical for uploading drafts and work on research and planning. YouTube then allowed me to share my videos and put them onto my webs for free. Without this site it would’ve been impossible to embed videos. Additionally, YouTube was very convenient as it had tutorials for programmes such as After Effects and Photoshop. I was able to use these tutorials for my work on titles for my film opening.

I learnt how to use this website competently as it was very important for our research and planning to be very clear and comprehensible. As our webs is very important to the production of our film opening, we stylized our webs to our genre so it is clear and distinctive as to what our genre is. It was crucial to make the text readable which is why we followed a pattern of bright colours and bold text. To insert my work onto our webs, I learnt how to embed videos and images from Google, Slide Share and Prezi.

This was another programme I learnt how to use for the titles for our film opening. I practice

creating a movement glow effect for our logo ‘Ashra Production’. In order to achieve this effect

I used a step by step tutorial on YouTube.

I also used Photoshop to create titles for our film opening. This was very useful as you can edit the

text with more layers adding effects such as texture, glow, drop shadow etc. I also used

Photoshop to create a film poster for our film opening.

This is a programme which I used to also practice creating titles. I tried to replicate the movement of the titles in Hulk, which zooms in. A motion expert came to our school to help us use this programme, however I still struggled but managed to produce something. This programme allows you to track the text which makes it look professional also you can effects such as smoke, fire etc. The title that I made on Apple Motion did not look like a real film title which is why we did not use it.

I worked with my coursework group while producing the prelim task. We did not assign each other specific roles so it was not organized. This is why when we were filming for our film opening everyone in our group has a specific roles e.g. I did camera work. From this I learnt how important teamwork as we all had work together so we get our work completed for the deadline. We did not plan our preliminary task which is why we made many continuity mistakes. For example the lighting. When we enter the room it is dark but when we meet with the villain the lighting changes from dark to bright. We only had an hour to film our p.task whereas to complete our film opening we had five months. We were able to think more closely about the costume, casting and the narrative.

The lighting changes

Did not think about costume. We filmed in our casual clothes.

When we were filming for our film opening, the filming lasted for two hours which affected our lighting. While we were recording the ‘over the shoulder shot’ for our short reverse shot we didn’t realise the lighting has change. The lighting became more yellow resulting in us cropping the audio from the text and place our titles instead of the video. This was only achievable through editing as without the programme Final Cut Pro we would not be able to resolve this problem. Whereas when we was editing for our p.task we did not know how to correct our mistakes.

Improved on casting as we chose better actors and picked actors who suited the role.

We thought about location more precisely. We travelled to Regents Park and also Royal London Hospital. We felt long red nails portrayed more evil compared to a black glove.

Filmed in school in our media classroom as it was the easiest location.