Evaluation Task 7 - What do you feel you have learnt in the progression from the Preliminary Task to the full product?

I have learnt many different things since doing my Preliminary task and feel I have improved and progressed while learning a wide range of things during the production of our final product.

When producing our Preliminary task i learnt what shot reverse shot was as it was a technique we had to use. This helped me to understand what this was and how to use it. Since then I have learnt how to use this shot more effectively and in our final product was able to use an over the shoulder shot when using shot reverse shot so that it was more clear that the two people were in a conversation and we were not cutting between scenes. We were also able to apply this technique to a genre of film as our Preliminary task was not of a specific genre. We were also able to use mid-shots to emphasise the importance of this conversation as it is the first time the male and female lead roles meet. 

I also made progress in the different camera shots and angles I learnt to use, this is shown as in the Preliminary task we used basic shots and did not move the camera often, especially when inside the room. However in my final product the camera was moved much more which is evident in Madison's room as the camera zooms in and out of different feminine props, setting the scene and pans following Madison across the room. 

Another technique we used in our preliminary task was match on action. This allowed us to cut out unnecessary pieces of information that added too much time to the end of our film. Learning this benefited me in my final product as it meant I knew how to make cuts between different pieces of footage that was not needed and made the film a lot longer than it should be. It also allowed us to make smoother cuts that made the continuity of our film flow much better. 

In our Preliminary task we paid attention to what was in the immediate back ground of our shots and some of our shots had other things such as recycling bins in them. However we were much more observant of this when it came to our final product and we tried to make sure that the framing of our product did not contain anything that it should not have.


We also learnt how to crop parts of the image out of the screen when making our final product, this was really effective as it made it easier to get suitable footage. For example when we were driving the car we had to crop out part of the image as there was a reflection of Alice from when she was filming.


I also think our planning has improved since we made our preliminary task, this is evident in the costumes we used. As our preliminary task had no genre the costumes were not vital as the people in the film were ordinary people so we did not think this was necessary , however costumes were much more essential in our final product as we needed to find a way to portray these characters so that it was easier to tell which characters had which personality's and characteristics therefore we  had to make sure that the costumes fit the stereotypical conventions of a teen angst film and the characters involved.

The Mode of Address was similar in both the Preliminary task and our final product. We used standard English in our final product as this meant there were no accents that can be difficult to understand for certain people. This also makes it seem more professional, which is why we used it in our preliminary task as the pet shop would be professional as this makes it seem more sophisticated in a shop.

Our final product also used titles which is something we did not use in our preliminary task. This was something new we learnt so we were able to experiment with different types of fonts and colors. Using this in our final product is effective as it made it a lot more realistic like other teen angst films.

Evaluation Task 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

 When creating our media film we used a variety of different technologies which each benefited the production of our film in different ways due to their own personal advantages and disadvantages. This taught me how different technologies work and how to use them all. 

Google Chrome 

Firstly we used a laptop computer to use two different web browsers, Google Chrome and Internet explorer to search for different teen angst films and to do some research into these films so that we could try to learn the stereotypical conventions of a teen angst film to ensure that our film fit this. However after searching for these teen angst films we thought we should watch them to explore them further and discover 

Internet explorer logo

Netflix

things for ourselves. I watched the majority of these films on Netflix, and some others I already had on DVD. 

After researching these movies our next step was to plan our piece. During the planning of our piece we used email accounts and text messaging to organise things with each other and help each other to plan.

Microsoft email

Gmail

Facebook messenger

I think using email was really effective as we could all communicate on conversations together so everyone got all the information we needed and we were not passing on information to each other. It also meant we could send documents so everyone could see the work each person was doing to make sure everyone was doing equal amounts of work. We also used the well known app facebook messenger, another way we could communicate with each other. During the planning stage we also created a PowerPoint presentation to present to the class with a pitch of all our ideas to the class. While we were carrying out or planning we used a 

Microsoft Powerpoint

Blogger logo

website associated with google called blogger. On this website we were able to keep track of our progress and show how we planned and what research we did. I think using this website was really useful for me as it meant I could be organised and keep track of everything I was doing as I did. It also allowed me to checkpoint and make sure everything I needed to be done was done. 

Tripod

The next part of our planning process was the filming of our piece. To do this we used a HD camera so that we would record good quality. I was not used to recording with these cameras so learnt a lot, I learnt what buttons do what and I also learnt how to playback videos.  To make sure we had steady footage we used a tripod to film the majority of our opening sequence. I learnt that this was much better to use as it meant that our filming was not jumpy. 

Voice recorder

As we used a voiceover in our product we had to use a voice recorder. I had not previously used this so I had to learn all the buttons that I would use and also learn how to play this back to make sure we had a clear recording. 

After filming and recording on the voicerecorder we had to transfer all of this onto the Mac computers using the leads, we then had to up load this work onto the editing software we were going to use. We used a software called final cut pro. This program allowed us to layer different things on top of each other, which included the footage, sounds and also to add special effects and transformations between each clip. Final cut pro is also designed for the brand of products Mac which made the general application of the software easier and short cuts made for the Mac's made the process more efficient. As this software was new to me I found it very difficult to use but as I worked on the project more I became more familiar with the programme and can now say I am more confident in using this. 

Adobe photoshop logo

When making the logo for our film name a program called adobe photoshop was used. This was to edit fonts and a lips logo onto a transparent background that did not effect the background in the film when it appeared. I have not used this program before and really struggled with different techniques and how to do certain things but after spending some time exploring the programme I found it so much easier to complete this. 

When searching for sound for our piece that we could legally use we used a website called freeplay music. This website was really difficult to search on and we spent a lot of time searching for a piece we could use. After this we had to download the piece and make sure it was stored in a safe place. Our next step was taking the piece and transferring it off of the laptop and onto the Mac. To do this we used a memory stick, I am used to using memory sticks, however not used to taking stuff off of them onto a Mac, therefore by carrying out this procedure I learnt how to do this.