Evaluation Q7 - James Presland

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel yo have learnt in the progression fro it to the full product?

I think I have made several large improvements when comparing my Preliminary task to my final project. This can be seen in  camera angles and shots,Equipment knowledge , research and planning.

Memory opening 

Preliminary task:

Camera angles and shots/Production

One way I feel I have improved since my preliminary task is my knowledge and understanding of camera angles and shots. One camera shot that we tried to focus on during out final project was the use of point of view (POV). We were not able to use this specific type of shot during our preliminary task as we lacked the skills and equipment in order to successfully carry it out. However, through research such as looking at examples from student made films on you tube and vimeo, we were able to know what place into the frame and really understand the effects we can create with having POV  and a wide angle shot e.g. Lens flare creating a glare effect. However after having multiple lessons focusing on Production elements on our final project e.g. learning how to position the camera to achieve a clear shot reverse shot i felt much more able to transfer these skills into the actual production.

Research/Pre-prodcution

I learnt from this task that in order to create a successful plan and eventually a successful final project extensive research is needed. When comparing research between the preliminary task and the final project I can see that the research that went into the preliminary was very little and it mainly focused on camera shots and angles such as match on action and the 180 degree rule , however the research did not include any information about the genre.For the final project our research consisted of studying popular Thriller films in the genre. This research led me to two specific films ; The Sixth Sense( 1999 ) and Se7en ( 1995 ). This research into the genre helped me greatly as it gave me a general idea of what type Thriller i wanted the film to become. Research also consisted of surveys and research into what made a good Thriller. This also gave us information into who our target audience was. However ,research into costumes and props was studied less extensively. This was only necessary for the final project as for the preliminary we did not need genre based knowledge,

Equipment

During the preliminary task we were given a Canon DLSR 650D and a large tripod.At the time this felt like a lot of equipment especially as it was a first for many of us dealing with this equipment. However When it came to the actual final project I felt comfortable with the Canon 650D because of a lesson dedicated to getting to know the Camera and its many features which enabled us to film in low light situations and create effects such as glare.In addition we were given the chance to use several LED lights varying in size and type ( flood light or simple LED fill light ). These were very interesting to work with as they could enable us to shoot in poor light situations and also enable us to manipulate the effect of being stunned.

Pre-production

During the preliminary task we were tasked with featuring certain camera angles and shots such as match on action and shot reverse shot this led us into editing where we were tasked with continuity editing. For the final project these skills were extremely useful. Editing with final cut pro made the process very easy as provided us with the tools necessary to achieve the shots and angles we wanted. In the preliminary task we were very short on time however for the final project we had a significant amount more which I think is clear in the editing standards of both.

I feel the final project was very successful at completing the task and at using everything we had learnt from the preliminary task, however, I think we could have spent a longer time researching the props and costumes that needed to be used in the final project.