In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? By Katie White

1. Looking back at yourpreliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression
from it to the full product?
In the preliminary task I was less knowledgeable of the key aspects of creating a professional
looking film, such as: lighting, mise-en-scene and camera movement. Looking back at the
preliminary task, I feel I have learnt numerous factors that have been developed, and
successful in the main product.
The first factor I feel has progressed greatly since the preliminary task, was the use of
lighting. In the preliminary, we decided to film at night, which was a bad decision as it
created an unclear grainy effect on the camera. When we came to edit on premiere pro, all
the clips filmed with little lighting looked very blurry. Even the ones with lighting looked out
of proportion of light to dark, making the clips change in colour as it was edited together.
However, we learnt from this- not to film at night. Therefore, on the main task we made
sure we filmed during daylight, at around 4pm to create a more eerie light, as we wanted it
to fit perfectly with our genre. All of the shots turned out extremely clear and precise, as we
made sure we looked at the shots on the camera, ensuring the lighting was good and not
too dark compared to the others. We also filmed shots numerous times (which we didn’t
take into account on the preliminary), therefore we had a selection, just in case any were
not up to standard. Additionally, we decided to add a filter of black and white, to fit with the
sense of the sequence being set in the past and also to create an eerie, dark atmosphere.
The black and white filter also really compliments the lighting, as it creates natural shadows
against light seeping in from the windows. We really liked the turn out of the lighting,
without what we learnt in the preliminary, the lighting would have not been achieved to a
more professional standard.
The next factor the preliminary task enabled me learn in progression to the main product
was the use of mise-en-scene, being a vital aspect of making a filmlook more professional.
Despite, the mise-en-scene in the preliminary task being effective to the context of the film,
we did not add any deliberate changes to the mise-en-scene. Therefore, from the
Preliminary
Main Task

2. preliminary on to the main task we made deliberate, effective changes to fit the mise-en-
scene with the filmand its story. For instance, we carefully picked out the location of an old
manor house, this enabled the mise-en-scene to look authentic, as we wanted it to appear
as an old-looking, isolated house. Furthermore, inside the house we added props such as,
the coins, paper, knife and candles on the table- we added this purposely to draw deliberate
clues to the audience. Also, we added the painting and did shots of the figurines to highlight
the age of the house and it’s past. Lastly, we purposely did shots of certain, significant
places in the house, such as the piano, which was there to create a ghostly feel of something
playing it. Overall, the preliminary task prepared us to think much more carefully about the
mise-en-scene and what was shown of the mise-en-scene, as it does create a significance
difference to the look at atmosphere of the film.
The last thing I learnt from the preliminary task and took on board for the main task was the
use of camera movement, sound, editing and how to keep the camera steady and clear to
the purpose of why they were used. In the preliminary task when we tracked around the
sofa the camera wad very shaky and the shot wasn’t fully in frame. We also didn’t use much
of a range of shots, only a few, but with no distinct purpose. Also the sound was very quiet
as we plugged in the microphone wrong so struggled to pick up sounds. Additionally, when
it came to editing, because we didn’t filmthe same shot a few times we didn’t have much to
select from and had to work with what we had. We also, didn’t add any extra filters, music
and sound effects- which would have made the piece more interesting. However, in the
main task we learnt from this and ensured that shots were steady and in frame, we did this
by shooting lots of footage of the same shot, this was so we had a range of clips to select
when it came to editing. Furthermore, we used a variety of shots to reveal and draw
attention to certain aspects, such as the pan, close up of the piano to show something was
playing it, the pov shot from the stairs, alongside the editing of ghosting and a whispering
sound, to show that something ghostly was watching the teenagers. Editing on premier pro
was much easier when it came to the main task, as I learnt required skills from the
Preliminary Main Task

3. preliminary: how to use the tools, import sound effects and built up knowledge of how to
add music/sfx.
In conclusion, I feel the factors I learnt from my preliminary task, enabled me to progress
and take onto the main task in a precise and effective way. Overall, achieving a much more
professional look to the film, with much more knowledge about how to accomplish a
carefully planned and thought out sequence.
Preliminary Main Task