'Looking back at Your Preliminary Task, What do You Feel You Have Learnt in The Progression From it to the Product?'
Camera Work
The complicity of the camerawork in our final media product has developed enormously from the preliminary task. This is mainly due to the hard work we put into planning our final product and due to a developed understanding of how the camera works and how to place the camera to create meaning. The camerawork in our prelim was not particularly effective, during filming we took only a few different types of shot, these being a mid-shot, wide-shot, close-up, extreme close-up and an over the shoulder shot. These shots were quite static and had nothing very different about them and this made our prelim look quite unprofessional.
During filming our prelim we only moved the camera about four times to find more affective frame angles, however in contrast, during our title sequence we continually rearranged the placement of the camera so that we could capture as many different types of shot as possible to create variety and originality. Also by having a a number of shots for one scene it made the editing process much easier as there was more footage to choose from, however when editing our prelim, because we had taken fewer shots, we had a lot less to choose from when putting it together and this made our prelim less effective.
An example of a shot we used during our final product that creates originality and consequent effectiveness is the Go Pro shot of Adams 4x4 speeding along the small country lanes. To create this shot we attached the Go Pro camera to the wind mirror of the car. The shot took lengthy planning as we had to get hold of the specific camera and find someone to drive a car. On the day of the shoot, having arrived at the filming locations, and seeing the layout, we did end up changing some of our shots purely to use the full potential of the location and find better shots, during the editing process the shots that may not have been part of our storyboard to make the camerawork more affective.
During our prelim we used little mis en scene. For costume we used hooded jumpers and tracksuit bottoms, along with a flatcap for Mariella. These costume choices were aiming to signify street life and thug behaviour which was closely related to the storyline of our prelim which was vandalising a wall with spray paint. The costumes were reasonably effective as they gave one an idea of the possible troubled background of the vandals. Initially we wanted our location to be a dark alley yet there was little time to find one and shoot there if it was off campus so we had to settle with the studio which had a pre built house for another shoot which we used. The house location was not very effective as it effectively contradicted the 'thug' stereotype we were trying to create and this consequently makes our prelim look very unprofessional. As props for the prelim we chose a spray can which was effective as it signified vandalism.
In contrast to our prelim, during the filming of our thriller title sequence we put a lot of planning into the mis en scene in the build up to the shoot day. We had costumes prepared for each of the characters, for example we bought a chef overall off ebay for Habeeb (actor) so that the audience would have a complete understanding of what his role was, thus making the kitchen scene more effective. In terms of locations for the final product we used a working restaurant and kitchen with real working staff going about their jobs which was the main location for the majority of the filming. By filming at a restaurant it is immediately understood where the sequence is taking place unlike in our prelim when there could possibly be some misunderstanding, this again made our final product more effective. By using real working staff in the kitchen scene it makes our product more realistic also. Our prop choice was also very effective for example the pill pot. Overall i believe that our use of mis en scene in our final product was much more effective than in our prelim as it will make the storyline much clearer and will prevent our audience from loosing track of the plot.
Editing
When we were constructing our prelim, our knowledge of editing was very limited and this as a consequence made it much harder to edit effectively. When editing our prelim we had little time in comparison to when we were editing our final and product and we were less comfortable editing in general which made things harder. In our prelim our continuity editing was not particularly effective as it didn't flow as much as we would have liked it to have done. It was very basic editing and it didn't look very professional at all. There were no titles in it at all and the story revolved around one scene.
In contrast in our thriller we took the process of editing a lot more into account and we understood how crucial this stage of production was. We had learnt a considerable amount more about how to use Final Cut Pro then we had done for the prelim and as a group our editing skills had progressed. For my groups thriller we have put it into box sections. This means that the audience can't actually see exactly what is going on as the boxes only show half of what is actually going on. This makes it look more interesting though and makes you actually want to watch the film to find out what's going on. It was very hard to get to this point though as we had to figure out how to change it from being so slow to having quick passovers. We asked our teacher for help and we discussed our title sequence and how to improve it further. We all decided that using the boxes method would be very effective and different. We wouldn't have been able to do this for our prelim as we didn't understand the editing programme well enough to even begin this challenging editing process. Compared to our thriller our prelim, due to editing that has little affect seemed boring and unprofessional. The editing we have done on our final product really has made a difference.
Sound
During our preliminary task we got given a storyboard with a script and no non-diegetic or diegetic music was used. So sound was essentially done for us so we had little to do. We used the sound recorder from the camera rather than using the tool that can make sound much clearer. By not using this piece of equipment the dialogue in the prelim was not as effective as it could have been. As there was no music little meaning was created through sound in the prelim. In contrast to our final product which we used the piece of apparatus that made sound clearer. Non-diegetic music was also used to create a sense of urgency and action. I feel that this music really makes our final product as it makes the sequence feel very fast paced which is what we were trying to create. As a result i think that our use of sound has progressed from the preliminary task, where we knew very little about it, until our finished product, of which sound plays a big role
Conclusion
During the period from beginning the prelim to finishing our final product i have learnt a huge amount about the importance of organisation. If you can work together as a group and effectively plan out in advance what you are going to do on the day in all these areas (Camera, Mis en Scene, Editing and Sound), it is much more likely that you will come out with an excellent end product. In Advance to our prelim we discussed it for no more than ten minutes the day before and basically used what was available to us the next day. As a result the end product was quite unproffesional and plain. However in contrast we spent months planning our title sequence and exactly what was going to happen on the shoot day and how things were going to take place. We prepared costumes, a shooting schedule, characters, equipment, props etc. and as result we got a huge amount done in the day due to great organisation and preparation. I feel that as a team we have worked well together over the course of pre-production and post-production. I think that, as we didn't know each other very well initially it was hard to be confident and put forward ideas that you had and share them with the group however over time we have begun to get on really well and become comfortable around one another, which meant that we could work better as a team.
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