Media studies AS evaluation question 7

1. Looking back to your preliminary task,
what do you feel that you have learnt?

2.  The preliminary task was a 10 second clip highlighting some key camera and
editing techniques that we needed to be able to master in order to progress to
the final opening sequence. The “Prelim” piece has no story line and an
abundance of continuity errors.
 The first shot is supposed to show a different viewpoint for the audience of the
girl walking down the hallway by cutting to a different angle of the girl, but
instead cuts to a slightly further away shot of her doing the exact same point.
The camerawork is very shaky as we didn't use a tripod in order to stabilise the
shot.
We did a similar transition in our final piece. With the use of better
editing techniques, the clip runs a lot smother and isn't noticeable by
a casual audience member; Unlink the clunky editing of the prelim
task.

3.  In our prelim task, we had very little time to finish the product which meant
that as a result, each take could only be done once. Because of this, a thumb
can be clearly seen over the lens whilst someone was recording and normal
people are sat in the background. This lack of continuity once again takes the
audience out of the scene and makes the piece less believable.
 In our final opening sequence, we were able to re shoot several times in order
to get the shot perfect for what we needed. The shot below was done at least
four times in order to get the tone and atmosphere of the moment right. The
ability to then alter the shot in post-production by cutting out errors in the shot
allows for a better overall result of our piece.

4. • Due to us being able to have more creative freedom during pre
production, we were able to experiment with various effects such as
the blur featured below. The ability to change the focus of the scene
is something that we simply didn't know how to do when we
completed the preliminary task so the piece was left looking rather
dull and boring in comparison.
• We also didn't think about filming at different times in the day and
the impact that might have on the piece in our preliminary task.
Arguably, if the prelim task was done at night rather than in the
daylight the tone of the piece would of been much more serious than
what it actually is. This is something we implemented into our final
opening sequence and as a result, the atmosphere of the piece did
was significantly altered.

5. During our opening sequence, we learnt that in order to successfully compose
the shots in the dark, we would need an external light source instead of just
relying on lampposts or another artificial light source. This is how all the darker
scenes manage to be retain their clarity whilst also still having the tension of a
darker scene.
The same cant be said for our preliminary task. The shot below is barely visible
as the natural light coming from the window is too bright and contrasts with the
characters, making them appear as barely detailed silhouettes rather. This
ultimately, is a weakness throughout the preliminary task but during the filming
for our opening sequence was one of the most important elements we wanted
to get completely right due to the detail in our set pieces. If audience members
cant see it properly, then the story we were telling would of been
compromised.

6.  The music and sounds featured in the opening sequence are much more
clearer than in the preliminary. By being able to record sounds externally
from the shoot and then add them to the piece (Phone call conversation)
creates a sound bridge for the piece. We also had an external microphone
which we used when filming to give us better sound recording and as a
result, all diegetic sounds are filmed on location. The use of music and
sound effects to the piece also add to the overall dynamic of the piece,
which was something that was missing from the preliminary task. By
having the music feature so heavily in the opening sequence, the tension
levels and atmosphere is maintained throughout and keeps audience
members engaged.
 In the prelim task, the only sound is the dialogue between the two
characters and is barely audible due to the noise of ordinary people and
lack of proper equipment. The lack of music and sound effects ultimately
make the piece worse as the footage on its own isn't engaging enough to
maintain an audiences attentions