PROGRESSION TO THE FINAL PRODUCT

Comparing the preliminary task and full

product

PRE-PRODUCTION

When producing our prelim, it is noticeable, that we had

very little knowledge of techniques in all sections of production that

would enable our film to look professional.

In our prelim we were unaware of how essential the pre-

production planning was, therefore our prelim was very obviously

planned inadequately and this prevented our production stages

from being as successful as they could’ve been. Therefore, in the

pre-production stages of our final opening sequence we understood

how necessary the use of storyboarding and a timetoast would be.

MISE EN SCENEAfter receiving feedback regarding our prelim, we recognised the

importance of all the things that can be seen within the frame. These features such

as props, clothing and setting aid the audiences understanding of the film and

therefore reduce the amount of information that has to be provided through

dialogue; thus making the film more realistic. In our prelim, our lack of

understanding about the need for good props prevented our film from being

successful.

In this shot, the fact that the task that we were completing was visible in the background and the box said ‘book club’ prevented out prelim from being successful. Also, filming it in college was not desirable

MISE EN SCENE

In our full product, we ensured that all locations

were planned and we created a digital storyboard so

that we could assess all mise en scene in each frame.

We tried to find interesting locations so that we

could focus on improving our props and costumes. To

do this we visited visually interesting locations such

as the colourful streets of Shoreditch.

LIGHTINGWhen filming our prelim we paid very little attention

to the lighting, especially when filming inside. This

means that a majority of the shots were dark and

had bright light behind the characters meaning it

was difficult to see them. In order to rectify this, we

not only analysed each frame before we started

filming, but made use of filters on the camera that

could be used to remove unneeded light.

CAMERA SKILLS

During the production of our prelim, we learnt about the

importance of specific camera kills. Understanding the 180 degree

rule was essential as it is a way to prevent the audience from being

confuse about where people are positioned. Also, the use of smooth

panning shots is important as it makes editing easier as well as

making the product look better. During the production of our

prelim we had knowledge of these skills but by the time we began

filming our full product these skills had progressed drastically,

therefore allowing us to create a better quality product.

SOUND

Our preliminary product feature virtually no sound.

With the use of garageband we were able to create

and edit a soundrack for our full product. This

helped us show our progression between when we

made our prelim and our final film as the mix of

diegetic sounds and non diegetic sounds enhanced

the quality of our final product. Foley sounds and

music aided the editing and atmosphere of our final

product; and this is what our prelim definitely

lacked.

TITLESOur prelim included no titles! Titles are necessary to inform the

audience of the institutions and people involved in the

production of the product. After watching various teen dramas,

we noticed that even within the subgenres, all films had titles.

As we felt they were the most important, the institutions

(production and distribution companies) we written in white

and laid over a black screen. We formulated an order for our

titles to go into and laid them over the moving image that we

had filmed.

During the production of our full film, we used

software that we hadn’t used in the production of

our prelim. This includes motion, that I used to

create the titles, and garageband, which was used to

create the sound.

WHAT ELSE HAVE WE LEARNT?

I feel as though we have learnt the importance of working as a

collective. The input of each individual in the group allowed us

to make a title sequence that was relatable to a wide audience

as it explored multiple perspectives. Having more than one

opinion made decision making easier and meant we came to

more informed decisions regarding the plot and characters.

Producing a blog allowed us to document almost everything

we did, which helped us follow our plan.

HOW HAVE YOU DEVELOPED ACROSS BOTH PRODUCTIONS?

During the production of our prelim, our camera skills began to

progress as we were able to see what wasn’t working and what

didn’t look effective in relation to what we were trying to put

across. Having these skills already developed after the production

of our prelim meant that during the production we had time to

develop other skills such as our editing work. During the process

of creating both media texts we have learnt the importance of

mise en scene and costume in portraying an idea without actually

saying it.