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

1. S
Looking back at the
prelim task, what do you
feel you have learnt in
the progression from it to
the full product?
By Stuart Moore

2. The prelim task
S Before the prelim task I had little knowledge on how to make a
intro to a film. This included shooting shots, editing, effects and
sound.
S The prelim task allowed us to learn by doing and this really
helped me when it came to my real task that would be marked
by the exam board.
S I had some experience using the adobe software but this was
about 2 years ago when I was using CS4. In this AS Media
Coursework I was using CS5.5 Suite on Mac OS.

3. Progression with camera
techniques
S First of all I took learning how to use the tripod to make different
shots to put into my proper task. These shots were like a pan, tilt
or zoom shot. Using the tripod on the prelim task really helped me
and my camera skills progressed throughout.
S At the beginning of the course I had no knowledge of camera
techniques or rules. For example during the prelim task I learned
about the 180 degree rule and different shots like extreme close
up and establishing shot. This then made it easier for me to add in
establishing shots into my main task and make sure the camera
was always where it was meant to be. I also learn how to do a 2
shot properly which really helped when recording dialogue
between 2 characters

4. Progression with equipment
S The prelim task allowed us to look at different equipment
that we would use when filming our film introduction. It
gave us chance to use the tripod, camera and steady
cam.
S I learnt that the steady cam was used for POV shots
during a film. We then used that knowledge and added
into our real task when we shot a POV of a character
walking up the stairs. This helped create tension as it felt
like you were looking through the characters eyes.

5. Progression with software
S To edit the film together and add effects like green screen CGI we
had to use the Adobe suite software. This is software I had used
briefly before but needed to recap and learn new things in order to
create the film introduction to the best quality. The prelim task
allowed us to do this but we only learnt how to make the separate
videos work together as a type of film
S We learnt how to import clips, crop them, make video transitions,
also how to add effects on the screen. We added a blur effect
around the screen for part of the intro of our main task. We also
added green screen effects by using keying on after effects which
helped us add more dynamic video transitions in to make the film
run smoother and look more professional.

6. Learning from mistakes from
the prelim task
S In the prelim task we made mistakes which we then looked at
after we had finished. The main mistake we made was
recording a shot in front of glass panes. We did not realize
before putting the shot into the prelim task that you could see
the camera and myself taking the shot in the reflection of the
glass. This is something that we learnt from and did not do in
the real main task. As well as this when we were filming there
was lots of background noise because we filmed it in the
college. For the main task we made sure that when taking a
shot the only sound would be the dialogue from the characters
and music that we add in on premiere pro after completing the
shot.