Jamey reflects on learning key skills from their preliminary task and full coursework film project. Planning was easier for the preliminary task as it had a given storyline, whereas the coursework required more independent planning. Storyboarding, camera skills, mise-en-scene, editing, sound, and titles were all areas that Jamey gained experience in through both projects. Teamwork and independent learning were also important skills developed. Overall, Jamey feels they have learned a great deal about film production across both tasks but could improve their time management.

1. QUESTION 7
LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT
DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN THE
PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?
By Jamey
Rowsell

2. PLANNING
Preliminary Task
Planning for the preliminary task was
quite a short process as we had
already been given a storyline to act
upon. The main thing we had to plan
were the camera shots and which
actors we would choose to appear in
our short film.
Coursework Task
The planning process for the
coursework task was much more
hands on and independent. As
we only had 3 members in our
group, it took us a while to come
up with a creative film idea and
title. We wanted to make sure
that we would know how to
produce a good outcome so we
knew not to think of something
too challenging or time
consuming. However, once we
had grasped the idea, we knew
exactly what we wanted to do
and where we wanted to do it.

3. STORYBOARD
Preliminary Task
I don't recall making a
storyboard for the preliminary
task as we had such a short
amount of time to actually plan
and film the product (3 hour
lesson). We, as a group, had to
go along with what we were
doing and just make the right
decisions as we went along e.g.
knowing when we had to re-film
the shot of opening the door
handle and entering the room.
Coursework Task
The storyboard process for our
coursework film was definitely a
long process. I had to, myself,
draw the storyboard by hand in
detail and that took a lot of time
to plan the shots and get the
titles in the correct order. We had
to make a few adjustments to the
storyboard as some of the shots
were not clear enough and we
also took some scenes out from
the beginning of our film.

4. CAMERA SKILLS
Preliminary Task
As I was an actor in the
preliminary film, I didn't get
much of an opportunity to use
the camera and test out which
skills I was best at. However, I
did get one opportunity to try
filming when I wasn't acting. The
only other knowledge I had of
how to use that specific camera
was when we had our tutorial
lesson with the technicians.
Coursework Task
My camera skills throughout the
coursework task have definitely
improved a whole lot. As I wasn't an
actor in this film, I had the
opportunity to do most of the
filming and learn as I go along. For
example: I learnt how important
framing is. It can change the way a
character is perceived by the
audience and it makes the film, as a
whole, look quite untidy and not put
together. I have also learnt how to
hold the camera off of the tripod
and although I was a little shaky at
first, it was a good experience and I
believe that I have improved my
skills a lot.

5. MISE-EN-SCENE
Preliminary Task
Miso-en-scene wasn't something
that I focused on at all in the
preliminary task. I wasn't fully
aware of it's importance and how
the location and costume can
really change the way a scene
looks and the way a character is
presented to the audience. We
didn't consider any of this when
making our prelim, therefore it
wasn't as good as it could have
been if we had knew about the
importance.
Coursework Task
Mise-en-scene was a huge part of
our coursework film. It helped us
with representing our social groups
and helped show the divide between
both main characters. Our setting
was a big decision to make as we
filmed some of our shots outside
and again, we had to show the
difference between both characters
and had to film in different locations
e.g. on a block estate for the un-
wealthy rapper and around the 'city'
center, next to glass buildings to
show the wealth of the opposite
character.

6. EDITING
Preliminary Task
I wasn't familiar with the
software Final Cut Pro at all
before doing this task. I had
heard of it but had never actually
used it. My skills were quite basic
and to a minimum, I could only
figure out how to organize the
clips and cut the right sections
out. I wasn't familiar with any of
the tools available to me and this
made our prelim standard. I was
familiar with match cut and the
180 degree rule, so that did
come to some use.
Coursework Task
Editing was a very big part of
producing a good coursework film.
As one of the editors to the
project, I was able to edit alone
without any assistance. I learnt how
to add on any filters, bring in
sound, add in any transitions e.g.
fade in and out and a cross
dissolve. I also learnt how
important it is to render your clips
once they are in Final Cut Pro as
you won't be able to edit the clip
unless it is rendered.

7. SOUND
Preliminary Task
We used Garage Band for our
sound and this was the first time
that I had used the software. I did
find it fairly simple to use but
again, my skills were basic and I
feel as if I didn't bring much to
the sound department. However, I
feel as if the sound we used went
really well with our prelim and
almost made it comedic.
Coursework Task
Although we didn't use Garage
Band for our final film, my skills
have still developed throughout
the project as I experimented
with what we could do if we
wanted to. I learnt how to loop a
sound/song and how to change
the demo. However, we did up
settling on a rapping song by an
artist and just remixing it a little
towards the end.

8. TITLES
Preliminary Task
We put no titles in our prelim
film as it wasn't as important to
us as getting the right camera
shots and making sure we didn't
break the 180 degree rule for
example. Looking back down, it
would have been good to put
some titles on our film to show
the progress but then again we
didn't know it's importance.
Coursework Task
The software Motion is what we
used to make the titles for our
final film. It was a very efficient
software and although it was my
first time using it and testing it
out, I found it quite easy to use.
Our titles did take a long time
however as we had issues with a
template we had chosen and the
fact that we had to make them all
individually made the process
much longer and more difficult.

9. 'HIDDEN' SKILLS
During the process of our final film, teamwork was a big deal as you
have to have good communication and be able to get your ideas
across. We did have some struggles in making decisions in the titles
and which clips to put in etc. but overall I think we worked well as
team. It was a lot easier that we only had 3 members as we could all
work together much more easily and efficiently.
I personally think I took good control over my own learning and being
independent in my blog. Learning skills independently is something
very important as these skills could help you with something later on
in life, especially if you want to work in the film industry or with the
camera crew or special effects team.

10. SUMMARY
In conclusion, I have learnt a whole lot of skills from across both
productions. I have learnt how to control a camera both on and off
the tripod as well working software's such as Final Cut Pro, Motion
and Garage Band. I have developed massively across both
productions, especially through the filming and editing stages as I
hadn't much experience with any of those. I have also learnt how to
work more efficiently as a team and to get your ideas across to make
things improve and become better than what they were before e.g.
changing the font of our film title was my suggestion so that it suited
better with our rapping theme.
There are several things that I would change - one being time
management. That last day of editing on March 6th was completely
hectic and it would have been good if everything was done and
finished before. Also, with the blogging deadline.