2. Life on Mars task
Before our preliminary task, we completed a small activity which was to
copy a scene from a TV series 'life of mars‘. This gave us experience of
using the camera and how the scenes need to be set. This helped me with
my preliminary task as I learnt about the timing, the value and meaning of
the scenes. We copied each scene and wrote how long each shot needed
to be and then took out a camera from our media department and found
a great place to film it. From doing this task, I learnt how to use the
cameras and although it was a short task I realised how hard it is to try
and film the exact same shots. I enjoyed doing this as it gave me incite of
what will be included in my finished opening scene.

3. Preliminary task
After having lessons learning about what we needed to include from the
preliminary task. We made a note of what shots we wanted to include
and made sure that we knew exactly what to add in, for example, for the
actors to speak at the correct time just like the story board. Writing down
the shots allowed me to follow a guide so I didn’t go off task but also I
had the freedom to change if I needed too. After we finished filming our
shots, we put it into final cut express and edited the clips. My actors were
talking in my clip so I didn’t feel that I needed to add any music. Although
this was a small task, I felt like I could of improved on it. If I was to re do
this task, I would want to show my skills more efficiently by including
more camera angles, better story board and including different lighting. In
this task I learnt about the 180 degree rule, match on match action and
how to successfully use shot reverse shot. I never knew film directors
included these rules in their films which was really interesting to find out
about.

4. Storyboard
Before completing my film opening, we created a still image story board which
incorporated shots of all our scenes that we wanted to include. We also added our
titles into this scene. I learnt how many different shots you needed to use in a two
minute scene, thus needing to use many varieties to interest and attract my audience.
This task helped me organize my film as I could play around with the order and change
the way scenes appear. I gained experience of using Final Cut Express and learnt how to
add in titles which would help me reduce the time of editing my opening scene. I also
got to experiment with the titles as I changed the order a few times. I felt like this task
helped us very much as it allowed us to plan the exact shots and the time for the film
opening. This task helped us to use Final Cut as we learnt exactly how to complete our
film, doing this prepared us for the film opening and I believe without it I wouldn't of
been able to complete the film editing.

5. Editing
Before the preliminary task I had basic knowledge of using Final Cut
Pro. From the beginning of ‘Life on Mars’ to the final film I created, I
had grown from knowing basic skills of editing to becoming an
accomplished editor. Each task throughout the year has helped me
perfect my own editing skills, for example, how to add effects to my
film, adding titles and changing the opacity of music. From my
experience as a director, I have learnt many skills that I would be able
to transfer to making another film.

6. Film Opening
The first thing I learnt when researching and learning about film openings was the importance of intriguing the audience in the
first few minutes. I learnt that you must include an important character so the audience is able to relate, you must establish
the scene and include a important moment which will set the whole films genre and story line. These things are so vital as it is
what makes the audience remain watching. I learnt the importance of including the correct titles and the order they appear in.
I found this task very hard as I changed my order many times. When I researched titles, there was many different orders that I
could have chosen from, which made me very confused but after getting feedback from my teacher he guided me in the right
direction.
I made sure I showed what genre my film was which is key to a great opening. To conduct this, I included music which was
eerie but didn't give too much away. I used dark lighting in my house scenes which showed a thrilling effect. Although, it was a
opening scene I wanted to make sure I left it on a cliff hanger. This would leave suspicion of what could happen next, thus
keeping the audience excited about the storyline and ending to the film. The thing I felt that I lacked in this task was the
character profile, I didn't want to give too much away about the character but this meant that I lacked information on the
social groups and audiences that I needed to address. I learnt about how much work goes into each minute of a film and how
hard it must be to create a whole entire film!
I enjoyed making a film opening as it tested my skills of many tasks I wasn’t so sure on before and I gained knowledge and
information about film making which I am extremely interested in.