7. Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Quality Summary Quality of holding a shot steady

In the preliminary task, we did not use a tripod because it was not available to us at the time therefore we had to improvise and use our hands and a stack of books to keep the camera steady therefore the shot was unsteady.

However for the real media product we had a tripod for most of the time and the shots were steady.

What we learnt from the preliminary task was that we had to try our best to always locate our equipment and use our initiative by finding other ways to hold the camera steady.

Quality of the framing shots

In the preliminary task, the framing of shots were good however at times our actor’s head was cut off.

What we learnt from this was again to always use a tripod and use our best efforts to make sure the actor’s are fully in the shot.

For example when Jemima was walking into the room in the preliminary task, part of her forehead was cut off but when Leon walked into the newsroom in our final product, his head was not cut off and this was made possible by the use of a tripod.

Quality of shooting material appropriate to the task set- i.e. the content of your film pre and post editing was consistent with the exam directives

In the preliminary task we were required to include a character walking in through a door, conversation between two characters and reverse shots.

For our final media product we were required to produce a film that followed the conventions of a specific genre.

For the preliminary task we did not research our directives however for the final media product we had to research 6 psychological thriller films and highlight the conventions

of the films for example the use of the characters, titles, the sound, lighting, mise-en-scene etc.

Essentially, we learnt to broaden our horizons and widen our research in order to produce a film that follows the basic conventions of a psychological thriller.

Quality of selecting mise-en-scËne including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting;

For our preliminary task, we did not pay specific attention to the lighting of the room or of the objects in the room because we just composed a story and filmed it paying more attention to the directives because they were the main focus.

The fact that Leon was wearing black in the preliminary task was more of a coincidence then a predetermined plan.

However, for our final media product we had to constantly think about the use of lighting, what the costumes conveyed, the sound, the locations, the atmosphere etc.

We learnt how to analyse in depth and how to use specific props to create a deeper meaning. For example Leon’s character, Horatio, wore a white shirt, black trousers’ and a maroon tie in order to convey his alienation from his peers.

Quality of editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer

In the preliminary task we used reverse shots in order to convey the conversation between the two characters however in the final media product we used various shots in order to convey the basic meaning.

For example in the final media product we had to cut to different shots of Horatio and the computer he’s using in order to convey his isolation.

Quality of using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;

In the preliminary task we used diegetic sound in order to create a natural setting and we did not think it was necessary to include music to create an atmosphere.

Whilst researching psychological thriller films, I found that most of them using non-diegetic sound in order to intensify the atmosphere and add tension therefore for our final media product we had to research music that conveyed tension and an eerie

atmosphere. We learnt that we could not rely on diegetic

sound alone to create an atmosphere that followed the conventions of a psychological thriller.

Quality of positioning and movements of actors

The positioning and movements of the characters were good in the preliminary task however there were times where Jemima was not fully in the shot because we were cramped in a small room.

For the final media product, we made sure that the character’s were positioned where we could film them easily and we also made sure to organize a room that was a big enough to hold more than 4 people in order to make sure our actor’s had enough space to move.

We learnt how to organize on a big scale rather than on a small scale.

Quality of group planning, meeting targets, organization

For the preliminary task we planned well and spoke a lot but because it only took us a few minutes to film we did not meet as much. However for our final media product, we all interactied through e-mails, facebook, text messages and we spoke to each other in our media classes.

In terms of organisation, we all completed our roles to the best of our ability and we all started filming withthin a few weeks of completing our planning. Leon sorted out the equipment when needed, Hannah edited when we finished filming each scene, Jemima finished the storyboard and I wrote the script, organised the locaitons and sometimes located the equipment if Leon was unavailable.

We learnt to communicate more and made sure that all of us were always kept in the loop.

Group dynamics i.e. how did your group work together

In the preliminary we worked well together and communicated well. The whole group worked with enthusiasm and efficiency

however the communication was restricted to the classroom.

For our real media product, I sent out various e-mails, facebook messages and texts in order to organise filming and all of the people that were needed on set showed up.

We learnt to respect each other's needs and made sure that everyone knew what the plan was for the day.

Other points of evaluation (e.g. equipment related etc)

In terms of equipment in the prelminary task we had no problems apart from the absence of a tripod however for our real media product we had various equipment problems.

For example at one point our camera's battery died because it wasn't fully charged, the white balance did not work well indoors so we had to use a professional camera in order to make the film more visually pleasing however the battery of the professional camera died for 4 days so we had to use a standed camera to film.

Also, the tripod we were given towards the end was stiff and came out with difficulty and it delayed our filming times.

Learnt how to use our initiative