The document discusses lessons learned from a preliminary media task to a full media product. Key issues with the preliminary task included lack of planning, poor camera techniques, boom in shots, and not enough footage. For the full product, more planning was done through scripting and storyboarding. A variety of shots were included like shot-reverse-shot. Titles were better incorporated into the film. Overall, mistakes from the preliminary task helped improve the quality and professionalism of the final media product.

1. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in
the progression from it to the full product?
We identified many faults in our preliminary task which we recognised and made sure we
didn’t repeat them when filming our main task. The aspects which we felt needed improving
were:
Planning
Camera techniques/shots (no shot-reverse-shot)
Boom in shot
Lack of credits
Not enough footage to work with
I think that the main downfall of our preliminary task was the lack of planning we managed
to do for our preliminary task. This caused us great difficulty in finding a location to film,
scheduling a time to shoot and finding a convenient time for our actors. Although we did
create a storyboard for the preliminary task to ensure we filmed all the footage needed, we
didn’t realise the importance of sticking to it but instead we just filmed what we
remembered from the top of our heads which caused us to waste time. This played a huge
part in the reasoning of why our film was so short. For our main task, we ensured we had all
our planning such as the script and storyboard to be precise and accurate so when filming, it
gave us clarity and direction. By planning accurately, it gave us ample of time to film,
reshoot on sections we weren’t happy with and finally allow us to have plenty of time to
edit. Furthermore, we didn’t meet the brief of our preliminary task for example, we didn’t
include shot-reverse-shot. This time, we made sure we all understood the task to make sure
we produced a product of great standard.
Our preliminary task lacked an amount of varied shots, causing us to not meet the brief;
‘include shot-reverse-shot’. This was a great downfall in our preliminary task. One of the
main reasons why we didn’t manage to include this important shot was because our
planning was poor, resulting in us not having enough time to film. Our storyboard was
unclear so we were confused into how we were to pursue certain aspects of our sequence;
this resulted in key details slipping from our product.
This screenshot shows a perfect opportunity of where we could have included
shot-reverse-shot in the confrontational conversation between the two
characters during our preliminary task. This would have increased the amount
of cuts which would have corresponded well with the quickening pace of the
narrative due to two characters arguing. Also we would have been able to see
a clear shot of the characters frustration in their facial expressions- adding to
the suspense.

2. On the other hand, our main task included a huge array of varied shots including; match on
action, shot-reverse-shot, an establishing shot, panning, close up shots, mid shots, long
shots, zoom in, zoom out, quick zooms, slow zooms, over the shoulder shots, and finally
both high and low angle shots. This was a great improvement from our previous task as it
showed how we were all capable of using the filming equipment adequately and that we
were all well-educated on the shots typically used in the media. The screenshots below
show the effect of using these filming techniques.
The screenshot on the top left show how we started our sequence with an establishing shot.
This addresses the audience that the main character was a middle class teenager because
the mis-en-scene gives connotations of this. The top right photo shows a high angle, close
up shot of the young girl asleep; the fact that the camera is positioned at a high angle shot
implies that she is vulnerable and innocent as she sleeps. The transition we used between
these two shots was a slow zoom. The reason we did this is because it corresponds well with
the current mood and soporific tone in the room as the girl sleeps peacefully, it also
contrasts with the loud, irritating sound of the alarm and quick cuts which soon follows
after.
This shows how the camera panned the movement of the young girl rushing to get ready. To
achieve this we had to use short quick cuts which followed perfectly with the narrative as it
adds a sense of urgency. Match on action is also used here as the girl exits her bedroom,
making it clear to the audience that the sequence is of a high professional standard.

3. Finally this shot-reverse-shot scene shows the conversation between the two siblings. The
use of a high angle shot on the sister makes her opinions look worthless whereas the low
angle shot of the brother makes him look like a person of high authority and or importance.
This shot alone shows a lot about the characters’ personalities.
A major downfall in our preliminary task was the scruffy details which made our title
sequence look rushed and unprofessional. An example of this is at 19 seconds into our title
sequence when the camera jolts, diminishing the desire of our films looking smooth. A
prime example of this is when the boom appears in the shot which significantly degraded
the quality of our piece. Furthermore, this lead to our actor having to duck under the boom
in order to escape getting hit by it. The screenshots below show evidence of this occurring.
There shot below shows the one shot in our main task where we had to pay special
attention to as we could have easily included the
filming equipment and the filming cast in it. We
avoided this occurring by moving the camera slightly
left of the actress and by putting the camera on a
slight tilt to create a high angle shot. Moreover, we
made sure our filming was smooth and not jolty by
using the tripod throughout and making sure the
tripod flexibility was on a loose fitting rather than a tight one so, when we were using
camera transitions, such as panning, it was smooth instead of shaky.
One of the key mistakes we made in our preliminary task was not focusing on our titles
enough which lead to us having 4 basic titles at the end of our title sequence. These 4 titles
weren’t incorporated into our filming which made it unimportant and less memorable.To re-

4. correct this, in our main task we used many transitions, title sequences and font colours to
make them part of our title sequence instead of a tedious list at the end and also because
we wanted them to look quirky in order to reflect the main characters quirkiness and
because it corresponded with the genre, an Indie Thriller. The only thing we carried through
from our preliminary task to our main task about the titles was keeping the same font
throughout which gave a consistent theme. To make sure we incorporated our titles into the
mis-en-scene and props, we added in where we were going to show them in our storyboard
to make it easier when we began editing. We also changed the colour of the titles so they
contrasted with the background, this made them look important and eye catching to the
audience.
A crucial downfall in our preliminary task is the final length; it only lasts for 53 seconds
instead of the initial intention of a 2 minute long title sequence. I believe that the main
cause of this was the lack of footage which didn’t give us enough film to edit with and also
our group not sticking to the story board. We didn’t gather enough footage because we only
had 1 hour to film our sequence due to the implications such as the gym we were initially
going to film in had removed all the equipment as it was getting refurbished. Because of this
we had to include many unprofessional clips which we weren’t happy with because
otherwise our sequence wouldn’t have included all the elements we wanted to include. We
learnt from this and made sure we had left ourselves ample of time when filming our title
sequence but also we left plenty of time after we began editing just in case we had to re-
film a certain section. This made sure we were pleased with our final product when the
strict deadline was met.
Overall, we have improved our end product dramatically from our preliminary task to our
main task and we have been largely influenced from the mistakes we initially made. It has
made us understand and use the media equipment accurately, value the importance of
planning effectively and finally, improve our editing skills.
The screenshot on the left shows how we displayed our credits in the preliminary task and the
screenshot on the right shows how we improved our exhibiting of the titles. As you can see we
have incorporated them into the mis-en-scene and props.