Question 7

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

• I feel that my transition from preliminary to main task was successful as i understand the importance of research and planning in pre production. As the preliminary task was just a test of our camera skills, in creating a media product all of the elements had to be right for it to be a credible thriller. Through textual analysis, studying narrative codes and theory’s i found that the smallest of errors can have a dramatic effect on the audience. This opened up my scope as a director as i knew everything needed to be in place in order to make a good production that challenged thriller conventions in a way that would not be confusing to the audience.
  
• The preliminary task had no real pre-production, whereas our opening sequence had a story board, shot list, production brief, prop and cast notes etc. This made the process easier as it stopped us from wasting time filming shots we didn’t need and we had a plan on what types of shot we would use to help in creating a realistic opening sequence. It helped me as a director because i had a set plan on shots so that we wouldn’t stray to far exploring other shots whilst filming.
  
• We also had a progression in using the camera as in the preliminary task we broke the 180 degree rule (see fig 5) this was a problem for us but luckily we had time to film again. We knew that in our main task we could not make the same mistakes again as it could cost us valuable filming time and could possibly ruin our whole production. As you can see from our preliminary to our final piece our camera work and shot continuity has improved vastly.

<>

Overall the process of producing the preliminary task and two minute sequence was interesting. I learnt a great deal about the filming process, and it has also made me broaden my understanding of what it takes to not just create a film but all of the elements that are required to make it realistic. I feel i also have learnt a lot more about the film industry as a whole from research and production right through to marketing and distribution.

Figure 5
Below is a video demonstrating the 180 degree rule in film production.