AS MEDIA - EVALUATION TASK 7

1. Evaluation Activity 7
LOOKING BACK ON YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU GAVE LEARNT IN THE
PROGRESSION FROM THAT TO THE FINAL PRODUCT?

2. Camerawork
 Our preliminary task that we had created is quite different to our final production, as we had
included a wider variety of shots and a number of camera movements in the final product.
 In the preliminary task, we had used shots such as long shots, tracking, and low angle shots,
which we were quite limited, as we did not have enough knowledge back then. However, in our
final product, we decided to use shots with different angles to help represent the character’s
emotions and feelings. For example, when John was lying on the floor half dead, there is a high
angle shot of his whole body, which represented his emotions as he was seen to be vulnerable
and weak. Another shot we used was the low angle shot of the antagonist looking down onto the
protagonist, which presented the psychopath to look superior and dominant. We even used a
POV shot of the protagonist looking at the antagonist right at the end to show the violence that
is about to occur, which helps keep the audience engaged.

3. Camerawork
 In terms of shots, we had used many shots in our preliminary task, but we were constantly
using the same ones, which didn’t allow for a variety such as how we mainly used medium
shots, long shots, and tracking shot. In our final production, we made sure that we used a wide
variety of shots to help us engage with the audience more and to keep them interested.
 For example, we used a lot of close up shots to represent the characters emotions, which helped
make the audience relate to our characters even better. Also, we used some medium shots of the
protagonist to show his innocence and vulnerability towards the antagonist throughout the
production.

4. Camerawork
 We had used a few tracking shots in our preliminary task, which meant that we were able to
transfer this to our final product because we had executed it well the first time around. In the
final product, we made sure we used a wide range of movement shots, which kept the pace of
film steady and allowed the audience to stay engaged throughout the production.
 Some camera movements we had used were the tilting shot of the antagonist, which is visually
exciting for the audience because it scares them and also reveals the plot clearly as well. This
represents the antagonist to be much more horrifying than he really is.
 We tried to use the dolly in the first scene of our film, but the level of the surface had meant that
the shots we filmed came out uneven and quite shaky. This was for most of the scenes we filmed
with the dolly because we were filming on a crooked road.

5. Camerawork
 In terms of composition, our shots have certainly improved since the making of our preliminary
task. In the preliminary task, the shots we filmed were quite basic and often out of frame. This
had meant that our shots would be out of focus and lack quality.
 In the final production, we included the depth of field. We discovered when using this we would
be able to see what was in focus, which helped our production look more professional.

6. Editing
 The editing for our preliminary task was very good, therefore we had to step up our game if we
wanted to make our final production look good. The preliminary task followed a linear narrative
where the story is easy to understand and the events that occur will be in a chronological order.
Since our preliminary task had a small plot, it was quite basic and easy to understand.
 This is different from the final production we had created because there are 2 stories being told
at the same time through the use of flashbacks to show the difference between the past and the
present. This required some complex editing to make sure that the narrative structure of the
film was easy to understand and not confusing. This ultimately makes the audience more
interested in the production as there is more to the story, which isn’t revealed until the end of
the production, whereas in the preliminary task it is quite easy to predict what is going to
happen next. In order to achieve telling 2 stories at once, we had to edit the film correctly so
that the audience is aware of when the film was showing the past and when the film was
showing the present. We used special effects, which gave the effect of a dream-like scenario,
which shows the audience that the scene was to show the past and when it came to the scenes
that were supposed to show the present, we had not added any effects to create a verisimilitude.

7. Editing
 For example in the 2 frames that you see show the clear distinction between the past and the
present in our final production.
 The image on the left is the scene that shows the past and the image on the right is the scene
that shows the present.

8. Editing
 In the preliminary task we can see a lot of basic transitions that were used; most of them being
straight cuts. We realised that the use of straight cuts would be effective as it makes the
transition look clean. However, as we had used it in most of the editing of the preliminary task;
it made the production look very boring and uncreative.
 For our final production, we had used many transitions such as fades that gave the effect of
something evil, which was essential in our production because the genre of our film is horror.
We had used jump cuts as well to distinguish between the past and present, which was very
effective in the final production because it made created tension and worked well with the fast
paced scenes. Also, we implemented colour into our scenes when editing to create the illusion of
a brighter scene when we had filmed scenes for the ‘present’ scenes.
 Finally, the preliminary task had a lack of diegetic sound apart from the conversation scene,
which was quite short. In our final production, we had made sure that we used many scenes
with diegetic sound to create a creepier atmosphere. The intention of our film is to scare the
audience as we made a horror film, so the greater use of diegetic sound would ensure this, such
as the use of dialogue, which makes the audience more intrigued to the production. This helped
create a verisimilitude as the combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sound created an eerie
and sinister atmosphere.

9. 180 Degree Rule
 In our preliminary task, we were aware that we had broken the 180-degree rule, which is one
reason why we had to re-film some parts of it. When we came to filming our final production,
my knowledge about the 180-degree rule improved a lot, which had meant that when we filmed
there were hardly any times where we broke the 180-degree rule. However, it was still
challenging when we filming our final production as it was difficult to film certain scenes
without having to switch angles so that we don’t break the 180-degree rule.

10. Match on Action
 The match on action that we incorporated in our preliminary task was compulsory and quite
rushed. It was part of the fundamentals we were supposed to show that we are able to do in the
preliminary task. However, in our final product, we executed the match on action quite well
because we had more space to film in, as well as more time. The match on action was smooth
and easy to film as it was the same idea for our preliminary task (person opening a door). As
this was smooth it had meant that the end product looked more professional and creates a
verisimilitude.

11. Shot/Reverse Shot
 I feel as those the shot/reverse shot we used in the preliminary task was quite good as the shots
were smooth and edited well. In the preliminary task, the shots were quite uneven and too wide,
which made it look more basic than professional.
 The duration of the shots we used in the preliminary task was much shorter than what we used
in the final production as this helped creates suspense and tension. The framing of the shots we
used in the final production is tighter than the preliminary task, which ensured that the focus
was solely on the characters and not anything else.
 However, there are a few shots that I have seen in our final production that could have been
improved such as the framing could have been tighter and some shots were not in full focus.

12. Shot/Reverse Shot
 One issue we had during the production of our preliminary task was the filming of the over the
shoulder shot because there were too many people in the background and the lighting of the
shots was different because of the time it took to film each scene. This had the effect on the
actors where they seemed darker in one shot and lighter in the other.
 When we were filming the final production we experienced the same issue because we were
filming outside on multiple different days, which had meant that some days we would film and
the lighting would be much different to the other shots we filmed. We learned from this and the
last few times we had filmed we checked the weather forecast before we left, so we know
exactly what time to film at and how to position our characters.