AS MEDIA PRELIMINARY EVALUATION

By Ellie Lester

What have I learnt during the making of my Preliminary Task…• Technical aspects – my group and I had never actually used a tripod before we started our

preliminary task but we learnt how to use one very quickly after being shown by our teacher. Once we learnt we were able to go to our filming location and set up the tripod to the correct height.

• How to manage time – Time management was definitely a key point when making our Preliminary Task, as one of the people who ‘starred’ in our video was only available for filming on certain days.

• Group Work – I found that working in a group was a lot easier than if I would’ve been working on my own, as we all had different ideas to contribute to the project about where we could film and what kind of shots we would use.

• Storyboarding – When writing our storyboard we came up with some really good ideas for camera shots, however we didn’t exactly stick as clearly to our storyboard as much as we should have done.

• Issues around continuity – The only continuity issue that we found was that one of the actors, Jake, wore his hair in a different style halfway through the piece. We were only able to notice this problem afterwards so we could not do anything about it.

Areas of success…

• Finished version – When I watched the finished version of the preliminary task back I noticed that certain aspects worked really well for the film. For example, one thing that I noticed was that the music fits in very well with the walking sequences as it suggests a hint of mystery and creates a feeling of the unknown as it consists of the same beat throughout.

• Planning stage – My group quickly came up with lots of ideas about the camera angles we wanted to use. We all knew how important the planning stage was, therefore we completely focused on it and managed to complete our storyboard complete with annotations and drawings.

• Group dynamic – As I worked part of a group of 3 with Georgina Brough and amber Needham, I think that the three of us worked really well together and as a group managed to get all the film we needed. There was no arguments or fall outs, and we all contributed in different ways.

• Effective shots or use of editing software – The shots that I am very pleased with took a bit of time and patience to get, for example the shot of my Ambers hand sliding up the staircase which I felt was effective, as it showed mystery and didn't give away what was happening.

Areas for development…

• In our Preliminary Task the main areas that I am disappointed in is first of all that our

storyline wasn’t very good, therefore it was hard to follow.

• Also, the dialogue was not very interesting as it was improvised on the day by our

actors. For future reference I would definitely plan it out better.

• As well as planning more, I would like to include more things such as the 180 degree

rule or using more match on action shots as Amber and Jake walked into the room.

• Another problem was that it was unclear at times what the characters were doing and

what their personalities were like. For example, their costumes could have been more

appropriate, so Jake could have been portrayed more mysteriously by wearing a long

dark trench coat.

How well did we meet the brief…

In order to meet the brief we…

• Used a match on action shot at the beginning of our piece, as Amber was walking

through the corridor and then come out the other end of the corridor. This creates a

sense of continuity,

• Used a shot/reverse shot, when the conversation between Amber and Jake was going

on. The effect of this is that it creates continuity by not distorting the audiences sense of

location of thee characters in the shot.

Feedback from others…

Brandon Hoult said…

Three things I enjoyed:

1. The use of music was interesting, and really fit well with its purpose.

2. The over-the-shoulder shot shows clearly the folder on the desk, revealing the reason the characters are there well.

3. The use of scene changes to show both characters getting to the location at the same time. It shows linear time, and is cut very well.

Three things that could have been improved:

1. The audio wasn't clear when the characters were talking.

2. When there was a close up shot of Jake stood still it didn't make sense.

3. The continuity mistake of Jakes hair changing when the characters are in the room talking.

Evaluation of my contribution to the group…• What did I actually do? – I filmed the video, along with Georgina, as well as helping out

with editing. When Amber was unavailable for a week, Me and Georgina created the title screen, added the music and finalised the video.

• How flexible was I? – I feel that I was flexible when it came to filming, however we planned out our filming schedule so we could film on a Tuesday, when both Amber and Jake would be free. I was free most days so I was able to help out with filming/editing etc.

• What skills have I gained from doing this? – I feel I have learnt a lot about getting good camera shots and what works well as well as what doesn't. I also think that I got an insight into the editing process, for example learning how to create title screens.

• Do I think I worked well as part of my group? – Our group worked well together and I have no complaints. I personally feel that I worked well as part of the group and contributed where I could.