Question 7:

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

Camera used: We went from a simple flip-camera to a HDV Sony Camera. I think that this made a big difference on the quality of our product. For example, the size of the screen on the flip-camera prevented a broader view of the character’s surrounding as the screen only allowed the audience to view only the character in the shot and maybe just what is behind the character. However, the use of the Sony camera allowed the audience have a broader view on the characters’ surrounding. I think this is good because it allows the audience to look at the surrounding of the character(s) and they can start guessing on which person or object can pose a threat to the protagonist. The Sony camera also allowed us to change the lighting of the shot and we were able to zoom in and out and without actually moving the whole camera. This meant that when recording our final product, it was very stable and the camera was not moving all over the place. Additionally, the Sony camera came with a microphone and we were able to use a muffler which allowed us to isolate some unnecessary sounds whereas, in the preliminary, the microphone was not that good so we could hear every single noise.

Camera shots: The camera shots we used in the preliminary were very limited. We only mainly used Mid-shot, Long-shot, Over-the-shoulder-shot and High-Shot. Although there was a variety of shots, the audience were not really able to see the characters in a wider range of shots. In our final product we used a wider range of camera shots, this allows the audience to see the characters from different angles and they are able to see the mise-en-scene from different points.

Costumes: The character’s costume has played a big part in the change between the preliminary. In the preliminary the characters wore their uniform. I think this was not good because it did not allow the characters to express their personality, therefore it is harder for the audience to have a connection with the characters. Whereas, in our final product, the characters were able to wear clothes that we thought would make the audience have a connection with the characters.

Storyline: With our preliminary we got given a set script, I think that this prevented us from thinking of our own ideas and therefore, the characters were not really representative to our target audience. Whereas we were able to create our own storyline for our final product, this meant that we were able to make it fit for our target audience and we were also able to incorporate everyone’s idea in the group in too our final product.