HASSAN'S MEDIA STUDIES AS LEVEL: 2017-05-07

LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMENARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE LEARNT IN PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

THE PLANNING PROCESS.

AUDIENCE.

The students in our class were the only ones who got to view our preliminary task. They gave us feedback, including constructive criticism. This preliminary task was a vital and essential part for us to do, as our class members could tell us our strengths and weaknesses.

When given feedback for our preliminary task, our cuts for the continuity editing were not of a high standard. Our continuity editing was ruined by the jumpshot.A few of the shots were cut out 1 or 2 seconds before they actually should have. However, we did have a very smooth and neat editing process.

My group were confident in what we were doing, but we also know that we could achieve much better. We decided to incorporate our advanced skills and techniques into our opening sequence. When we had showed our preliminary task to our peers, we had found out that it is absolutely key to get them engaged, so that they stay focused, interested and enjoy. In our opening sequence, we were not able to film a video questionnaire, but we had managed to create a visual questionnaire for three 15, 16, 17 and 18 year olds.

LOCATION.

We had filmed our preliminary task in the school only and we were not given permission to film outside of the school boundaries due to health and safety issues. We were limited in terms of options, but we had managed to find an empty classroom, followed by an empty hallway. There were no issues finding a place to film. Our decision making for the shots we were taking were not justified. An example would be where had included a shot of a tree and a wire, right at the beginning of the preliminary task. There was no link between these shots and the task that was set. We were trying to set the location by showing the surroundings but had not deeply researched into that. Our media teachers and class mates had told us that in order for us to show the surroundings, we must pan left to right, rather than showing one image on screen that has no relation to the task.

The very first 5 seconds of the preliminary task were filmed outside, and the rest was filmed inside. The lighting outside was really bright, so we had to make sure that when filming inside, we increase the brightness in the room. We had done this by turning all the lights on, and pulling all the up in order to let in as much light as we can. This was very important because we needed the characters to be visible. When editing this task on the iMac, we had to colour correct some parts of the preliminary task as they were to dark in comparison to the rest of the shots which were filmed. We knew that the verisimilitude of our short film would not look very good as the natural lighting would cause changes. This is why colour correcting was vital. We should have used high-tech lights to increase lighting. In our opening sequence, we had used lights for the news reporting scene, and had colour corrected (decreasing lighting = more darkness) the shots in the "FAMOUS ESPERO APARTMENT".

RECCE.

A recce is where the cast pays a pre-filming visit to the set location, in order to determine if it is suitable for filming or not. In our case, we had not done this properly, as we did not know where we were planning to film beforehand. We were also limited to time. We only had a bit over 2 hours to film. However, we were fortunate enough to find an empty and nicely spaced classroom, where the tables were aligned perfectly. This had made the "sitting" scene of the film much more easier for us. Our school is quite big, so we were not overly worried about where we were going to film. We just had to find an empty classroom, and had managed to do that. For our opening sequence, we had visited the warehouse beforehand, to check it's suitability to our theme. We really liked what we saw, and the next visit was the day filming had started.

STORYBOARD.

We did not have a storyboard because we were already given a script by our media teacher. However, I believe that we should have done a storyboard beforehand, in order to make sure that our filming is completed at a faster rate. Due to us not having a storyboard, we wasted time on repeating shots, and worked quite slowly. The storyboard would have been extremely essential but at that time, that was not our mentality of thinking. We have learnt that the storyboard would have provided us with accurate shots to take and when we should be taking them. For our opening sequence, we had used a storyboard, (with plot) and the difference was surreal. We worked much faster and most things went according to plan. Also, we had saved time, as well as battery life. This had enabled us to stay ahead of schedule but that to a high standard as well.

PERMISSIONS.

We had gotten permission from our media teacher to leave the classroom and film in our groups, with the time provided. There was not any permission issues when planning the entire process. For our opening sequence, we had to get permission from the owners of the warehouse, and had negotiated a pricing of £50 GBP for 2 hours.

SHOT PRODUCTION.

ROLES.

The roles were easy to issue because there were only three of us in our group. There were no arguments between us on who is going to play which character. It was quite straightforward as we had each expressed what character we would like to play. I chose to be the cameraman because that was something I really enjoy doing. Not all my techniques were great, but there was definitely areas for improvement. In the opening sequence, I was also the cameraman. I had learnt and acted upon the mistakes that I had made in the preliminary task. Being the cameraman again, had helped me develop my skills even further. I was the "Director Of Photography".

WORKING TO SHOOT A SCRIPT.

As mentioned earlier on, we had already been given a script. The script was very easy to learn as the lines to memorise were quite short and simple. We did not improvise the script in any way. However, for our opening task, we had improvised the script many times. This includes adding and taking lines out.

SHOT ORDER.

Firstly, we were unsure of how many shots we were going to take. However, we decided to film each shot more than once, so we could have a backup option if the first take did not look very well, or had a flaw in it. We should have made some sort of checklist, but did not do this! I believe that a checklist for shots should have been made, so that we do not keep filming the same shots over and over again. The checklist would have helped us in terms of organisation, but we felt that we did not need one as the script was quite short. On the other hand, we did not make a shot checklist for the opening sequence either, as a LOT of it was handheld. The preliminary task had included a number of shots, and we had discussed then filmed after every shot. This kept us all on track on what we should be doing. For the news reporting scene in the opening sequence, only a constant mid-shot was used, so we did not have to worry about the order of the shots. I still think that a checklist would have helped us, therefore saving time.

CALL SHEET.

We had made a rough call sheet, which had included the dates, times and cast. This was just a general reminder for Alex, Anam and I. This ensured that everything was up to date and organised. We included an additional notes section so that we could all add in notes if we feel the need to. We had used a call sheet for our opening sequence and have uploaded that on our blogs.

HOW MUCH TO SHOOT.

We had no idea, on how many shots we should be taking. We took numerous shots for each individual shot just to make sure that we have a backup, should anything go wrong with our first shot. We had to include shots fro different angles and a lot of establishing shots. We also had to leave some space for the credits, at the very end of the short film. We got the grasp of it once we were in the process of filming different scenes. However, for our opening sequence, we knew exactly what shot we should be taking, when we should be taking it, and what type of shot it should be. This was one of our own idea's, so it was much easier for us to remember about the types of shots we should be using, in accordance to our individual roles.

RUNNING ON THE ACTION.

This was quite a challenge because we had to get Anam's body, from the bottom of the stairs whilst she was running up the stairs. We showed the shots from different angles. We filmed her from the side of the stairs, then just beneath the side of the stairs when she was running on the final flight of stairs. I (the cameraman) had to stay behind her, following her whilst she was running in the hallway. It was quite difficult when doing this because I had to make sure that the camera does not fall or wobble whilst keeping up with the pace. The outcome was really good, but could have been more accurate. There were no running scenes in our opening sequence.

ACHIEVING A SEAMLESS NARRATIVE.

After editing some key scenes, and colour correcting some off balance scenes, we had managed to make our short film quite smooth, but not as smooth as we would have liked it. We were missing a few shots, and the camera was a little bit shaky, which meant that the natural aspect of the accurate framing had disappeared. On the other hand, in our opening sequence, a Panasonic video camera and a tripod for the news reporting scene was used. Anam & Alex also used a Panasonic camera but without a tripod as it was handheld recording for the vlogging. This was the aspect of natural and raw footage.

MASTER SHOTS.

The master shots were ongoing close ups of Alex & Anam, whilst Alex was waiting and also whilst the two were having a face to face conversation. One of the main shots were the zooming in of Alex's hand, when sliding a sheet of paper across the table to Anam. The use of master shots portray an image of seriousness and prime objective. They were a key aspect of our short film. We did have a POV shot from Anam, where she is looking at Alex's face whilst she is talking to her. However, as part of our opening sequence, the FAMOUS ESPERO APARTMENT" was the main focus point, including the dark room and the objects within the room.

THE EDITING PROCESS.

CAPTURING.

When editing the short film, all of our scenes had come together as one. It was a hard process but we had used Adobe Premiere Pro to accomplish this. Adobe Premiere Pro was also the same software that we had used to edit our opening sequence for horror. This was the second time we had used this software, which meant that we had already learnt a few skills and techniques from the first time round. We knew a few skills, but had developed them further by exploring the key features in the software.

TIME-LINE.

After all the shots had been put together in a time line, we had to edit and cut the shots that had continued to drag onwards. The shots going onwards were the extra shots that were only filmed as backup or for "behind the scenes". After this step, we had to re-order the shots, just to make sure that they are in the correct order.

RE-ORDERING.

Re-ordering the shots were simple, as it was a drag and drop / swap technique. Copy and paste could also have been used. The last step involved in us adding all the non-diegetic background music towards the end of the short film, to enable some realism and make the scenes look and feel better. This was done via Google, YouTube and Adobe Premiere Pro itself. Overall the editing process was a challenge for all of us, but we had gotten the hang of it after viewing some "HOW TO..." video tutorials on YouTube. It was a great experience. This was a similar journey for our opening sequence as well, in terms of the editing process.

THE EVALUATION PROCESS.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF FEEDBACK.

We were given feedback from our 2 media teachers and all the students in our media class.

They said...

The video itself is generally good.
The performance of Alex was quite entertaining.
The editing was smooth.
The parallel editing was soft.
The POV shot was good.
We had followed the 180 degree rule.

These were all the positives.

These are the negative / constructive feedback...(where improvements are needed)

The shot of the trees was quite odd.
The framing could have been a lot better.
The reverse shot was unusual.
There was an unnecessary jump shot.
The incomplete filming of the third scene of Anam opening the door, had ruined the continuity editing. After hearing all of this, we had acted upon it, allowing us to fix the mistakes and find a solution to those problems. We had a group debrief later on, where we had assessed the areas for improvements and had made sure that we do not make these mistakes again in the upcoming media projects. For our opening sequence, we had double checked that our shots and edits were precise and accurate, making sure that none of the mistakes that had happened in the preliminary task were repeated again. This was a large lesson for us, which we have truly learnt upon, therefore enhancing and advancing our skills and concentration.

FOCUS GROUP.

We did not have a focus group for our preliminary task because we already had all the media students and teacher's in our class to provide us with feedback. We did have however, have a focus group for our opening sequence, whereby they told us general and key points that we could take on board to improve our opening sequence. They were all of a different age group whereby their interpretations and ideas would differ from one another, therefore enabling us to choose the best points which would be suitable for us. Their feedback is the MOST important factor in relation to our opening sequence, because we need to be able to meet the requirements of the audience in order to attract and engage them. We want them to watch our film and enjoy it. This is why they play an important role in our ENTIRE PROCEDURE.

WORKING AS A TEAM.

We learnt a lot about ourselves and one another when working with each other. We realised that one must be able to LISTEN, COMMUNICATE, CONTRIBUTE & REMAIN POSITIVE. I will explain what all of these mean, in order to define the words, 'WORKING AS A TEAM".

LISTENING: Our group members may have a better idea than us and we must listen to what they have to say, and then evaluate it. They may have an amazing suggestion which may help the opening sequence's outcome to be much better. If no-one listens to one another, then ideas will be missed, and individuals may feel like they are being ignored.

COMMUNICATING: It is vital to keep talking to our team members, in order to remind them on what has to be done and what they could improve on the work they have already done. Everyone needs to have some sort of work to do, so that progression is ongoing and quick. If there is no communication within a group, then there will be no organisation in the group for the opening sequence.

POSITIVITY: Staying positive will allow the group to be motivated, therefore working longer and harder, in order to reach to the final outcome. Being positive spreads encouragement around to everyone. If there are no positive vibes going around the group, then the atmosphere would be quite dull and everyone would not have the feeling to work towards an incentive of getting the work done up to a high standard.

CONTRIBUTING: Everyone must contribute something onto the group blog, so that individuals has something to do. If only one person uploads posts, then it would not be fair on the rest of the group members, as they would have nothing to post.

However, I felt that Anam and Alex were not showing the urgency to complete the set tasks, and also had issues with communicating with me. Whenever I would put out a suggestion, they would sometimes contradict and try to override my decision. I enjoyed working with them but would not like to work with them again as I do not like their approach to finishing and understanding different tasks. On the bright side, they did complete the work and had also allowed me to suggest a couple of thing. I think that this was a huge team effort, and my two peers did show a few sparks of positivity but the atmosphere was quite dull.

They are great to talk to, but I feel that the entire "teamwork" phrase could have been a lot better if they had showed some more enthusiasm when in the process of completing small tasks. On the other hand, towards the end of the preliminary task, I managed to take charge and direct what we have to do, and what is the number one priority. We all use social media, and we felt that we could put our SMS, Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp to even more use, by texting each other and planning ahead. This allowed major interaction and were very good communication skills which had brought us together at times. Overall, it was a wonderful team work experience, and I could not have done it without the rest of my team.

CONCLUSION:

I have learnt a lot when doing the preliminary task. I learnt how to...

Use a camera professionally.
Use a camera when running.
Edit on Adobe Premiere Pro.
Take different shots from different angles.
Identify key aspects to particular scenes.
Work as a team and take lead.
Guide my team into memorising the script.
Know how much to shoot.
Achieve a smooth and neat final product.
Take the different types of feedback on board - (take constructive criticism and work on them to develop my skills.)
Take risks and compromise when needed.

The benefits of doing this preliminary task was that I / we were able to have some foundation knowledge of EVERYTHING, so that we can develop our skills when doing further projects, such as the horror opening sequence. This preliminary task had provided us with a guideline and had spotted out our strengths and weaknesses. Without this preliminary task, our opening sequence would not have been to such a high standard. This is because we already knew quite a bit of background knowledge and skills from THIS task, allowing us to get better and enhance and broaden our learning capacity for the overall planning, editing, evaluating and running a shoot process.