Critical

1. HOW DID YOUR PRODUCTION SKILLS DEVELOP
THROUGHOUT YOUR PROJECT?
CRITICAL REFLECTION 3:
By Oscar Stringer

2. PRELIMINARY TASK:
Looking back on my Preliminary Task, I can see there were a lot of mistakes and errors.
ilst working on this project. Within the Prelim task, I had to include match on action,180 de
g Media, I had a very limited understanding of camerawork and how films are made, let alo
Here is a shot from
My Preliminary Task,
here you can see I
have tried to use the
‘rule of thirds’
however it is clear I
have not been very
successful.

3. PRELIMINARY TASK:
You can see a drastic change from my Preliminary task to my final Media
Opening Title Sequence….
Camerawork - My camerawork in my Prelim is weak, although I used a tripod for the
majority of the shots, there was one shot which came out canted and wonky. As my two
actors go into the room the camera pans and goes into a canted angle. I feel as if for my
first attempt my composition was good however there is a massive improvement when
looking at “COLD HEART” my opening. Especially in terms of the “Rule of Thirds”…I
managed to create a lot more powerful and aesthetically pleasing shots within my
opening. Another area I did not make use of is
- focus and how I use it…
Slightly Canted

4. Sound - In class we learnt about how sound is used. In my Prelim I wanted to use non-diegetic
sound to really create the sense of an opening, and I didn’t include or focus on creating any
diegetic sounds to create an atmosphere, but instead allowing the music to do so for me. I could
of improved in my use of editing sound as I didn’t time the buzzer on the gate right and it feels
dubbed over instead of natural.
The song I used was
“Gimme Shelter” by The
Rolling Stones
PRELIMINARY TASK:

5. Editing - Our teacher taught us a variety of ways to edit film and cut shots together. My editing coul
PRELIMINARY TASK:
the two first shots of my film. After filming “COLD HEART” I learnt the benefits of an establishing shot
There were no editing techniques used in my prelim. Compared to my
opening which uses a whole range of them. This creates an engaging
product but also one that looks as if it is a real media text.

6. COLD HEART:
Camerawork- Looking at my prelim, and my use of composition, I can see a massive improvement
leading up to my final piece.
“Cold Heart” is a CRIME DRAMA, similar to “Se7en”. “Se7en” and “True Detective”
were major inspirations for my film and you should be able to see similarities in our
use of cinematography.
Notice the use of the rule of thirds in the shots.
Composing my protagonist on the edges of the
framing and framing my actor appropriately along
the quadrant, creates aesthetically pleasing shots.
Notice also the use of focus in this shot. I
used a prime lens to emphasise the use of
soft focus.
Expanding upon my prelim, I noticed a lot of the shots were static and
on a tripod, I wanted to get hand held shots to loosen up the
camerawork but also to get inside the head of the protagonist, as it
sides us with him as he walks.

7. COLD HEART:
Sound-
The use of sound in my Preliminary task was very limited.
I did not use diegetic sound, and only focused on the soundtrack for the opening.
After watching back I realised this was a mistake and did the opposite when making
“COLD HEART”
Diegetic sound : To give a sense of realism, and to highlight the
harsh environment surrounding my protagonist, I focused on
creating a diegetic soundscape. This included the sounds of :
- Footsteps on snow
- Harsh Wind
- Leaves crushing
- Crows Squawking
Non-Diegetic Sound :
For the use of non-diegetic sound, I also used a variety of noises. The soundtrack is less of a
song but more of a compilation of sound. This is one of the reasons why I picked it, there is
a sense of eeriness to the music, and the instruments used give it a harrowing sound. There
are sound in the song that are almost like lost souls shouting or groaning, which I liked as I
though it related to the theme. As a piece of music it is very disorientating and fits well with
the mood and tone of the film.

8. COLD HEART:
Editing - My preliminary task had not one use of an editing technique which
creates, to me, a very boring piece of media.
In my opening I wanted to create a sense that what you are watching is a real film.
Therefore I used all the editing techniques I could in my arsenal. To establish my
film I use a fade up to highlight our protagonist but also to ease the audience into
the film with a sound bridge. Hopefully this will pull the audiences attention without
them realising.
FADE
EFFECT
ON TILT
DOWN
The use of editing techniques will engage the audience further and should
hopefully carry my desired effect onto the audience. FOR EXAMPLE -
Here the use of the “Jump Cut” not only should show to the audience the passing in time and
location, but it is also my desire that they feel lurched forward by it, due to its suddenness. It
should also begin to make the audience feel nervous or anxious as our protagonist delves
further into danger.

9. CONCLUSION:
In conclusion I feel as if since where I started on my
Preliminary Task, with limited knowledge of cinematography
any film, I have ended up with a very developed product.
Through my use of film conventions and language I have been
able to create a product which gives the illusion of a feature
film opening. I have developed not only my knowledge, but my
skill as well. I have been able to develop my camerawork and
composition to gain more aesthetically pleasing shots. I have
learnt to create a developed soundscape using diegetic and
non-diegetic sound and I have managed to develop my skill in
terms of editing, where I can now transition between shots
seamlessly without disturbing the audience.