Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it the full product?

1. Tajmina Yasmin
Q7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it the full product?
Our original Preliminary task was very messy as it did not completely follow our
guidelines that we were given for our preliminary brief which therefore lead us to
filming another pre-lim. The storyboard was well planned however it was planned
that the character B who played a female colleague would remain “mysterious” and
therefore the audience will never see her face. It was also extended to the aftermath
of the conversation which portrayed some drama in character A, the male focus’ life.
This was completely unnecessary for the preliminary task as it went into too much
detail and also didn’t meet the guidelines of what was required for the preliminary
task. Therefore, my group and I went away to create another preliminary task and
therefore better our listening skills.
In terms of time management, our organisation was very poor. Although we
had a paper schedule of shooting as well as what to do, when it came to putting this
in action we were quite disorganised and we didn’t follow what was set out. Also, my
group kept discussing about filming details on the day as well which put us back in
time and therefore led us to being the last group to finish filming. In order to combat
this issue, we decided to stop the excessive chatter and get on with it even though
we still ended up finishing the latest. Clearly, my group and I should have planned in
more detail as well as more effectively. From this mistake, I learnt that planning is
key when it comes to time management as otherwise you go off schedule.
Our shooting schedule was properly planned, however we did not follow this
as well as we should have due to the encouragement of filming extra shots. If I were
to film again, I would ensure that the basic shots that were listed down took priority
in filming as well as keeping in mind the availability of the location. Location was
quite key in terms of shooting schedule as we had limited time for certain locations
as well as the fact that there was always the possibility of interruptions whether it
being a teacher or a student. To combat this problem, we filmed afterschool where
the presence of students would be virtually non-existent and notified every teacher
with links to the location the importance of no disruptions therefore enabling the
filming to run smoothly as this had limited interruptions. From this, I learnt that
cooperation with people who had links to our locations was vital in order to prohibit
interruptions which would overall enable filming to go smoother. I also learnt that it
is important to stick to what was previously planned in order for filming to be
smoother as well as swifter.
It was advised that the original storyboard for our main task was quite long for an
opening sequence as well as the fact that there were too many locations which
would then confuse the audience and in turn interfere with our filming. In order to
combat these issues, we limited our locations to 3 settings, one of which we would
use twice throughout our filming and we changed some details to our story board to
make it look more like an opening sequence instead of a short film. Instead of
drawing out our shots like everyone else, we took pictures to make it more realistic
and captivating to the audience which therefore resulted in a photo storyboard. This
then helped our teacher to understand our vision with the opening sequence. From
this task I learnt that photo storyboards are much more effective then drawing

2. Tajmina Yasmin
things out as they enable you to visualise how your opening sequence will look in
more detail.
The shooting schedule for the main task was quite difficult to complete as
there were more shots we had to plan and each shot had to be one within a certain
location. I, given the task of the shooting schedule, therefore planned that the
outdoor scenes would be done first as we were going to start filming quite early in
the morning and this would stop/ limit all outside interferences. My next priority was
filming the indoor kidnapping scene as this room would not be at our disposal due to
scheduled lessons. In order to combat confusion on the day for filming, our team
booked the room for the majority of the day in order to prevent continuity mistakes.
This task was quite smooth, however in order to improve, next time I would make
drafts of shooting schedules and therefore run them by my team in order to keep
them included with decisions as well as improve the shooting schedule in case they
pointed out issues that I was quite ignorant to.
In terms of timing for pre-production, I feel that we should have spent more
time planning/ used our time more effectively in terms of what was needed to be
done on the actual day for our filming as planning is vital in order to enable
everything to flow more smoothly. The fact that we didn’t plan more effectively did
result in a few squabbles amongst the team due to the fact that there was some
confusion on how certain scenes were going to be filmed. From these issues, I learnt
that communication with new people in a new group is key in order to make sure
people are on the same page otherwise it results in squabbles and I shall therefore
keep this in mind for future references.
In our preliminary casting, we used people from our group to cut down on
time and make the whole process more effective. This made it more effective as the
people in our group were already familiar with what the roles were for filming and
what each role had required of the actor. However, an issue that were raised with
this task was the fact that there was no solid script organised for the preliminary task
and therefore had an impact on our timing and continuity as the conversational
sequences were messy and unrealistic at times. From this issue, I learnt that a script
must be agreed on and learnt prior to filming as this would therefore keep up the
continuity and the timing.
In terms of location, we pre-booked as soon as possible as this would give us
the advantage of sticking to our storyboard. Overall, our locations were closely
knitted together and therefore enabled filming to go smoothly in terms of location
as we had unlimited time to work with the advantage of our ideal setting. However,
it was quite difficult to book as this area as many other classmates were rushing
around to book their ideal filming locations. Overall, I think my team were quite
smart in terms of booking the ideal location as we were very swift and quick to book
it therefore I would say that this was the most smoothest task in our history of tasks
for filming.
Continuity was closely monitored for the preliminary task. The weather was
very important in terms of continuity as it had affected our lighting for when we
came on set for our filming. In order to combat this issue we made sure that the
blinds were closed throughout filming as well as keeping the lights on. From these
issues, I learnt that location checks were quite important in terms of continuity as
well as how time sensitive filming actually is if you want your film to be consistent.

3. Tajmina Yasmin
In regards to casting, Aaron was perfect in terms of fulfilling the role of
bandit/teacher as his physique, with the right direction could be shown as quite
menacing. He was perfect for the role and was also our first choice for the role. This
role was therefore smooth in terms of casting. In order to combat the issue of using
too many actors for our opening sequence we used our actors for double roles. This
was quite effective on our part as filming was therefore split in two parts due to
location issues. This actually helped in some ways as most of our characters would
come in school uniform anyway and would save them from the nuisance of having to
get spare clothes to school. I believe this also made it more effective for our film as it
enabled us to emphasise how Shamus’ daydream was different to his reality. Shamus
and AJ’s clothing were kept the same or similar to show their importance to the film
as characters.
Due to exterior reasons, we were unable to film our opening sequence in one
day as our location had ordered that everyone should leave the premises at one
o’clock. This therefore broke our working streak in a way as well as some
infringement on continuity as we were only allowed to film during lessons and this
therefore enabled people to interfere with our set even though we left a note asking
them to do the exact opposite. This was our most major issue with the location as
this didn’t enable our filming to go in more of a flow. From this issue, my team and I
therefore aimed to complete all the shots we needed for the drama room as this
location was quite difficult to book in the first place.
There were some obvious mistakes in continuity for our main task .e.g. when
Shamus walks towards the door we see that the machine gun is no longer in the
place that he left it behind in. Also, when Shamus walks into the room where the
hostage is held, you no longer see Bandit A’s dead body in the background which
also affected the continuity. In order to prevent a reoccurrence of these issues, I
would ensure that we filmed more viable shots to use in the editing process and
keep an even closer eye on the continuity of each shot. In order to ensure this does
not happen again I would also make sure that I am stern and more vocal when it
comes to continuity issues for future films that I will hope to make.
Feedback was quite vital for our preliminary task. Through watching the
other preliminary tasks from other groups, my group and I noticed that we had not
stuck to the guidelines of what we were asked to do. The majority of our shots were
of good quality however some shots were formed in what seems to be quite a lazy
manner although our over the shoulder shots were good. The sound effects for the
phone ringing were said to be quite unrealistic as well and the fact that the actor
didn’t let the phone ring for very long was quite unrealistic as well. In order to
combat these issues our teacher allowed every group to go back and film the task
again. From these issues, I learnt that whenever we film we should rehearse the shot
first to see how it looked on the camera and also work on listening as well as
cooperation skills in order to not commit the same mistakes again.
In terms of sound, we had to ensure that dialogue was very clearly heard as
our preliminary task was centred on dialogues exchanged between our two
characters. In order to ensure that speech was clearly heard, we filmed in a quiet
classroom/office environment and notified people related to the building that we
were filming. This therefore prohibited background noise. However this did not stop

4. Tajmina Yasmin
all the background noise. However this incorporated quite well with our preliminary
task as it made it more realistic that our actors were teachers working within an
educational environment. From this issue, I learnt that dialogue is very important in
order to be heard quite clearly as this would therefore enable our audience to keep
track of what’s going on otherwise they would just lose interest.
In terms of editing our original preliminary task, it was very time effective as
we only spent a couple of lessons. However, from this I learnt that it is important to
watch over the film as the parts that I was unsure of ended up being picked on at the
preliminary task .e.g. in the beginning there is a continuity issue of the character B
just standing there although she has supposedly walked through the door already.
This could have easily been fixed up within the editing. From this I learnt that it is
important to check over your work.
Audio and music were very important in the main task as my group and I had
decided to limit the dialogue. Originally there was no link between the music of the
opening credits and the music used for the actual opening sequence. However, this
affected the flow of the opening sequence and therefore was changed due to
feedback given by our teacher so that the second set of sound would therefore begin
when the actual fighting began which was all in all quite effective.
Feedback played a massive role in the flow of our film. Originally, we missed
out an opening title by mistake; however feedback reminded us that a key opening
credit was missing. This therefore enabled the music to creep in and make it more
effective. The props however, looked too unprofessional however to combat this
issue you could say that it adds to the effect of the unrealistic nature of the
daydream. Audio on Aaron was brought down in the end to make it more focused on
the dialogue. This helped to improve our film.
The editing process took about a couple of days. The editing was swift and
quick which therefore enabled us to gain some feedback from our teacher and
improve our work. In order to improve the editing process, I would make sure
everyone has more of an equal hand in editing.