Evaluation Question 7

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

There are many differences between our preliminary task and our final product, the main difference that is most visable is the quality of our product, this is due to the cameras we used and our knowledge of the programme we used to edit, IMovie. When making our preliminary task we used a standard non-hd video camera to film, as we had never actually made a film opening before, we had minimal knowledge of how to use the camera and the types of shots and camera angles we were going to be using, also we didn't use a tripod which meant that our shots wern't always steady. However when we filmed our final film opening, we had experience and a lot more knowledge of how to make our film opening look good quality and professional. We used a brand new HD Canon video camera, which meant the quality of our film was conciderably better than our preliminary task, also when filming our actual film opening we used a tripod, this meant that our film was steady and all the shots looked smooth and professional.

We planning our preliminary task we did minimal amount of planning for it, we only did a shot list, storyboard and script, we went into the filming with a very limited idea of what we were going to do, we only had a rough outline of what we wanted our preliminary task to be about and we filmed with mainly unprepared actors, minimal costumes and props, which at points looked very unprofessional and fake. However when it came round to making our final film opening, we did a very large amount of detailed planning into the genre we were filming, previous films in that genre, the titles, the institution logos and the audience we were aiming it at. On the day of filming we all had our own packs with our planning, our multiple storyboards, shot list, scripts and roles inside them, so we all knew what we were doing and when we had to do this, unlike in our preliminary task. This extra planning for our final film is clearly visible in our final film, this like props and quality are clearly different and improved. For example the gun used in our preliminary task is quite clearly fake, where as the shells in our opening are obviously real. 

In our preliminary task we didn't have an establishing shot, this meant that the audience were being thrown straight into viewing the film without knowing anything about the location or setting, whoever in our final film opening, we used an establishing shot, so the audience knew where they were and the location of the film opening. We used a lot more complex shots in our final film opening, such as pans and low angles, where as in our preliminary task most of our angle and shots were shaky and unsteady. We made sure this wasn't the case with our final product, and after doing various rough cuts and watching our final cut, it certainly isn't. 

We know definitely feel more confident and comfortable using the equipment and cameras, when we filmed our preliminary task we had very minimal knowledge and confidence with using the equipment meaning our shots and angles and overall outcome of the film wasn't very good, we entered and came away from making our final film opening with a much better understand of how to use things such as cameras and the setting that they have on them, tripods and the different ways you can move and adjust it, and the editing software which we used on the macs. When we did our preliminary task we had very limited knowledge of iMovie and didn't really know what we were doing most of the time, but when it come round to editing our final film we knew what we were doing and where everything in the programme was. 

We also took into consideration the costumes that our actors where wearing a lot more in our final product than we did in our preliminary task. In our preliminary task we simply mentioned to the actors roughly what we wanted them to wear and look like and just let them bring their own costumes, this meant that our preliminary task looked very rough and unprofessional because the actors weren't wearing very good costumes. However when we filmed our final task we made sure that we had planned what we wanted our actors to wear and had given them the exact specifications for their costumes, meaning our film looked more professional and well finished. 

Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

 The camera we used to shoot our film opening was a Canon HD video camera, the video camera was brand now and allowed us to film in very high quality, meaning that our filmed looked very professional and had a good end result. The camera was extremely easy to film with, it gave us a very wide range of settings to use and chose from when it came to filming, it was easy to attach to the tripod and it had an easy setting which allowed us to watch back every clip we had filmed in really good quality, quickly with the sound, meaning we could check it we liked the shot or not and could see if we needed to re-film anything. The camera came with a lens hood meaning that any glare or flare was stopped, meaning that our footage had an even better, more professional finish to it.

We didn't encounter any major issues when filming our film opening, we only had a few minor issues which were easy to resolve. When filming on location we did have an issue with how smooth the tripod panned at some points, meaning that some of our shots were jolting and didn't look very continuous, to resolve this we looked back on our shots and worked together to make sure the tripod ran smoothly. Another minor issue we had was when it came to recording our voice over, we were initially going to get the actress to record the narration directly to iMovie on the Mac, however when we put the recording to our rough cut we found it wasn't the best of quality, so we decided it would be best to record it onto an iPhone and import it into iMovie, this worked a lot better and the quality was improved.

The editing software we were initially going to use was Final Cut Express, we did some testing on this software, but we soon realised that although it would make our product look more professional and give it better quality, none of us actually had enough knowledge of the software to use it properly, so we decided not to use it. Instead we made the decision to use iMovie, we had all used this software before, we would easily navigate around it meaning that we could edit our opening with ease.

When using iMovie we encountered few issues, this is because we had filmed the correct amount of shots that we needed so all we needed to do in iMovie was edit them together and add the titles narration and music. We only made a few adjustments to the clips, we changed the brightness and contrast to give the clips the look we wanted. We also didn't like any of the fonts that were in iMovie, as an issue iMovie has is that the choice of fonts are very limited, so we decided to import one we liked from the internet and use that instead.

Next time we do any work as a group, or if we were going to make a whole film, we would most likely learn more and improve our skills in Final Cut Express, if we want our product to look professional and good quality, this software would be a better choice than iMovie.

During filming on the beach, we used a tripod, this helped us a great deal, it enabled us to position our shots properly, it also helped us keep them straight and stable, this improved the quality of our film a very large amount and made it look more professional, we could've used a dolly for some of our shots, however because we were filming on a beach we couldn't use one.

When it came to working as a group, we worked very well in the planning stages, we went location scouting together and went together to take pictures for our photographic storyboard, we didn't have any major dis-agreements either. When it came to the day of shooting, we all worked together really well, we all had our own role to play on the day, we all had our own script and pack with the plans and storyboards inside it, so we all knew exactly what we were doing. When it came to editing, we did work well together, however due to the fact we had clashing of lessons, some of us couldn't attend some of our scheduled editing sessions, however in the end we all shared our responsibility well and worked very good together as a group.

We used the website Blogger to document the research, planning, filming and editing stage
of our film opening, we all contributed to the group blog, and we all viewed it regularly, which meant everyone was in the loop with what we bing done and what needed to be done. It helped us to order or work in an effective, organised way which meant it was easy to read and access. Blogger enabled us to embed and upload video, document and pictures of our work and of other peoples past work to make comparisons, meaning we could improve and compare our work effectively. 

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media insituion might distribute your media product and why?

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?