The student learned how to use a camera and attach it to a tripod while completing a preliminary video project. They had challenges with ensuring continuity between shots by keeping the same clothes. The student also found that plans don't always work out as expected and their initial story line had to change. Working with friends made the group dynamic positive, with everyone contributing ideas respectfully. Areas for improvement include checking shots immediately after filming and choosing quieter locations to avoid interruptions during shooting.

2. What I Have Learned
I think I have accomplished a lot whilst completing the preliminary task.
When I started my preliminary task I had never used a camera to take serious
pictures or videos, and I definitely didn’t know how to use a tripod or attach
a camera to it. Although I was in front of the camera most of the time I
made sure to practice with the camera and I now know how to attach it to a
tripod safely, record, pause and add a grid to the screen that splits the
picture into three (rule of thirds). The part I found most challenging about
the task was making sure we used our time efficiently. We has to consider
the continuity of our video which meant making sure that we were wearing
the same clothes every time we filmed. This meant that there were lessons
that we struggled to fill our time because we couldn’t film. Next time i think
we should film after school because we would have more time and we won’t
have to keep stopping and starting. I also learnt that things don’t always go
as we plan them. For example, although we made a story board before
filming, we did have to change our plans because we decided our first story
line didn’t offer us enough chances to create a tense atmosphere.

3. Areas of Success
Because the three people in our group (Charlotte, Caitlin and I) are good
friends and know each other well we worked very well as a team and
understood that we each had different responsibilities and were dedicated
to different things. This meant that we didn’t argue about commitment are
putting extra time in. We all felt confident enough to contribute ideas and
discuss the pros and cons of them, whilst knowing we wouldn’t hurt any
ones feelings. We didn’t waste to much time and got started on the task
straight away. This meant that we had plenty of time to edit, re-film and
adjust things when needed. We even managed to finish a few days before
the deadline. During our preliminary task we used shot reverse shot to make
the conversation seem natural and as if it was flowing, and it also showed
who the other person was talking to. Furthermore, we included a leading
line shot when I was walking to the door to show where I was heading and
make the audience focus on the doors. This showed the importance of her
going through the door, symbolising that something interesting was going
to happen when she goes through.

4. Areas of Development
The last part of creating our video was to edit it and as we watched it back
on the computer to check that the shots we had were all usable we noticed
an error. We saw a reflection of Charlotte and Caitlin filming it in the glass
door I was walking through. To prevent this from happening next time we
can watch each clip immediately after filming to check that it doesn’t need
to be redone. Another thing we will consider more carefully next time is our
choice of location. One problem that we encountered was that because we
chose to film on the stairs people kept interrupting us by coming up and
down. This meant that some time was wasted whilst waiting for people to
leave. Furthermore, our exterior location was outside the music corridor,
meaning that during the leading line shot keyboards and other instruments
which meant that we had to remove the sound from this part. Although we
managed to replace it effectively with a wind sound, it meant that the
footsteps could not be heard, making the scene seem more naturalistic. A
way to avoid these problems next time is to film after school when
everything is quitter and there are less people around.

5. How Well Did You Meet The Brief?
We were asked to include three specific shots in our preliminary task; shot
reverse shot, match on action and 180 degree rule. In the task we had to
include a person walking towards a door and then going through it on the
other side. As I said before, we included shot reverse shot during the
conversation effectively (maybe too often). We also showed that we
understood and knew how to execute match on action when I was recorded
walking towards the door, placing my hand on the handle and beginning to
walk through it. This was shot from behind, and then the camera was moved
inside the school and videoed me walking through the door from the front.
We had to make sure that my hands and feet didn’t move whist Caitlin came
past with the camera otherwise the shots wouldn’t line up. I think we
included the 180 degree rule because during our shot reverse shot we made
sure that our eye lines matched where the camera angle changed to.

6. Feedback from Others
We asked Brandon Hoult to watch and evaluate our preliminary task and he
said that he thought that our use of sound effects (the wind sound at the
beginning) was effective at helping the audience identify the atmosphere of
the scene. However he said that a flaw in or video was the reflection of
Charlotte and Caitlin in the door. Furthermore he said that the beginning,
leading line scene was too long and should have been shorter. He also said
that the ending of our preliminary task was effective because the camera
zoomed in on charlottes face- creating an extreme close up- showing the
audience how evil her character was.

7. Evaluate your group’s contribution
We shared the work equally within our work. Caitlin’s contribution was
mainly in the filming aspect- since Charlotte and I were in it. She was very
patient with us whilst practiced and tried to work out what we were saying.
Charlotte contributed greatly with the editing, as she fund she was very
good at this. However we also found that she wasn’t very flexible outside of
school and did cancel our plans to film after school last minute meaning that
we had less time to film and i couldn’t get home from school. I think I
contributed well when we added sound to our preliminary task because I
taught the others how to use Mixcraft to create sound effects and any other
music we wanted. We all worked well when coming up with our story board
and ideas for the preliminary task and no one was shy in contributing.