critical reflection 3

1. Critical reflection 3
How did your production skills develop through this project?
Rudi Dempsey

2. My production skills have developed vast
amounts throughout this project, from not
knowing anything about creating a film opening
to creating and completing my very own film
opening using new skills and techniques I learnt
along the way.

3. An example of the
level of improvement
from starting this
project is my
preliminary task…
By contrasting this first project to my final opening I can see the
development in skills and comfort using media. The amount of simple
mistakes made and techniques missed in my film opening such as
breaking the 180’ degree rule, not adding foley sound and shaky camera
work presents the level of skills I was working with at the beginning of
this project. This level of skills and depth of knowledge improved as the
project went on allowing me to create a film opening which incorporates
complex media ideas and classic film conventions
Preliminary task

4. I have learnt how to use different types of software and
technology. From having no experience to acquired knowledge
of how to use and maintain hardware and software.
The different types of software and technology I have learnt to use are:
Premier pro-
In design
Blogger-
Cannon 5D-
Learning new technologies
- YouTube
- DR70D

5. Learning my way
around premier pro
From my preliminary task to my final piece my skills In premier pro have
improved a lot. You can see this by just looking bellow and contrasting
the amount of different editing techniques and skill in both tasks.
In my final film opening you can see the depth of editing, use of foley
sound and diegetic sounds presenting a depth of knowledge within
premier pro contrast to a basic understanding of the soft-where which I
had in my preliminary task

6. Improvement in premier pro
From my first experiences with premier pro to my final piece I
have improved a lot and learn a lot of skills along the way.
SOUND: In my preliminary task used just
raw audio from my footage without any
editing, whereas now I have learnt and
become confident in adding foley sound,
diegetic /non-diegetic sound and having
external music over the top as well
Editing: The contrast in editing from my
preliminary task to my film opening
demonstrates how my skills inn the software
have improved. I have gone from using only
simple cuts and match on action to whole
different types of editing with loads of
different cuts, adding adjustment layers and
having titles I created over the top
Titles: my use of titles has improved
significantly from my first attempt at
creating them where I was just placing a
title where I felt it should go. I have now
learnt how to follow a movies title scheme
to fit a genre, fade in and fade out titles,
select specific fonts and edit titles. Cuts: From my first experience with premier pro
I knew cuts were important. In my preliminary
task I used 1 match on action shot and had
straight cuts for the rest of my footage. With
practice I was able to use jump cuts, invisible
cuts and straight cuts. With more confidence
with cuts I was able to execute them more
professionally and more accurately
Fades: Through practice getting used
to premier pro I have learnt how to use
fades and In my final film opening I
have managed to use fades on the
titles and on the closing shot

7. Learning how to use
and edit blogger
From my first use of blogger I have gained confidence and
understanding for the website. Before the media corse I had never
used blogger but through trial and error editing and creating a variety
of different blogs I have become completely literate within blogger
Being able to add a lot of different types of
media with in my blogs.
This level of
understanding for blogger
can be seen in the
development from one of
my first Bloggs in which I
only used bullet points
and bold font to one of my
most recent bloggers
which I incorporated gifts
and different fonts too.

8. Understanding how
to use In design
In design is a software similar to premier pro and photo
shop which enables you to be able to create designs.
From no experience with this software I had to get use to it and and
use it to create movie idents for the beginning of the film.
In design is an adobe product
meaning that is has very
similar features and
characteristics to photoshop
and premier pro which made
it easier to get use to using
and allowed me to become
confident in my ability’s in this
software quickly.

9. Understanding how to use
and film with a Canon 5D
Before the Media course I had never used a digital camera or filmed with
one, but with practice and Learning my confidence built up and I am now
fully confident with a digital camera especially the Canon 5D. I have used
the cannon 5D numerous times now and I have learnt how it works.
When using digital cameras you need to know about the cinematic rules
The 180’ rule is for the
audience mainly and Is
important as it helps a
scene stay realistic and
dose not confuse the
audience with the
angels.
Iso measures the sensitivity of
the image sensor, the lower
the number the less sensitive
your camera is to light.
180 Degree Rule

10. Improvement in camera work
From my first experiences with the canon 5D I have gain
confidence and improved my skills
Focus: from my early footage with poor
focus and constant adjustment to focus I
have learnt how to focus up a shot accurate
and how to maintain focus while filming.
Due to my improved skills in focusing the
camera I was able to use different types of
focus in my film opening such as full focus.
Footage: The overall footage is what is
important after filming my first few
attempts at my film opening I came back
with shaky, grainy shots and couldn’t
understand why. Over a while I learnt that
the feel and look of the footage will be
affected by the shutter speed and iso (the
amount of light let into the camera) and I
was able to improve my knowledge and
skill with camera components making sure
I was getting the correct exposure for the
shot and getting the right depth of field.
Steady shots: From my fist few
experiences with the digital camera where
I was using unsteady handheld shots and
shots with the camera just proved on a
wall. It was clear to see in editing the
quality of footage was not good enough
and could not be amended. From this I
learned to use a tripod and make sure that
all my shots maintained a steady feel to
ensure a easy viewing