Evaluation Q7

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

Continuity ExerciseThe continuity exercise was the first thing that we had control over planning,

filming and editing. The task was for someone to walk either in or out of a door sit down and have a conversation. We had to note down beforehand the types of shots we needed in order to make the film product flow. We also had to make sure we included things such as the 180 degree rule, match on match

action and shot reverse shot. As this was the first task I was in charge of filming the all the shots. At first I found it difficult to do the 180 degree rule

and I hade to re-film this once. I then had to edit the shots so they too flowed perfectly. After reviewing the exercise I can now see errors I have made in both shooting and editing. Sometimes there would be pauses before and

after the shot, making it look less natural.

Life On Mars Exercise

This was the second task that we had to complete, we had to recreate a scene from a popular TV show. We had to watch the clip several times in order to really understand how the shots flowed and the number of shots that were

included in the clip. We created a shot list with timings on it so when we went off to film we had a rough plan to stick to. The shot list also allowed us a

guide for the music and sound. In this exercise I was the director so I was in charge of the shots being taken. I tried to make sure I followed the same

shots as closely as I could to the original, however, I don’t think I did it perfectly. I did not have to edit the piece because we were working in groups

and we all had assigned jobs. However, the edit was a I struggled, as it included effects that we had not come across yet.

Final Film OpeningThe film opening really did test my skills I have gained so many new skills by the end of this project and it was also revealed new skills I needed to perfect. This process was not as quick and simple as the previous two.Firstly we were only given the vague design brief of creating a film opening with titles that should only last 2-3 minuets long. This was hard enough to start with, as it gave me so many options to think about.Looking back I should have been more decisive earlier on when deciding the genre, I think if I had done this I would have had more time to film/edit.I also think if I had done an opening that had conventions that were typical of the genre it would have been easier to create meaning through mise-en-scene rather than shot types. When creating my film opening I really wanted it to be unique and not stereotypical. I think doing this may have made the task harder for me.I also learnt how to shoot my shots better from the previous tasks, what I also learnt was to take more than one take. I took several takes of each scene so I did not have to re-film like before.

Conclusion

I feel after all three tasks I have grown as a media student tremendously, not only can I plan

filming down to the last millisecond I am also able to film to a very high standard. I am able to

edit to a high degree of accuracy whilst also including titles, effects and sound. I really

enjoyed creating my opening and look forward to more media tasks.