Evaluation Question 7 - Essay and SWOT analysis

1. Q7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? Aaron Cogdell
I believethatmymediaskillshave significantlydevelopedthroughoutthe course of the year,startingwithmypreliminarytaskandfinishingwithmy film
opening.Ihada decentunderstandingforthe use of equipmentandeditingsoftware formypreliminarytask,butsince completingmyfilm, Ifeel thatI
have gainedfurtherexperience anddevelopedmyskills. Iwasaware of the basic cuttingand fadingtechniquesinPremierePro thatwere requiredformy
preliminarytask,buttryingtocreate a horror filmthatmatchesthe current productionsinthe industrymeantIneededtoknowalittle more aboutthe
Adobe editingsoftware.Forexample,Ilearned howtoadaptthe brightnessandcontrastof a clipto bringout the strengthof colours,specificallythe darker
coloursof a clip.Thiswasnecessarytoset certainmoodsandatmospheresforthe tensioninmyscenes. Inaddition,Iamnow more comfortable withthe
use of Adobe AfterEffects.Afterresearchingsome tutorialsonYouTube,Ilearnedhowtocreate a multi-layered,animatedtitle foronscreeninformation
and a filmtitle toclose the openingscene. Thiswasa programme Ihad onlyusedonce before forgreen-screening,butIam nowmore experiencedand
skilledwithinthe software,andwouldlike touse it,ina more advancedfashionin future productions.
It isdifficulttoaccuratelycompare mypreliminarytaskandopeningscene‘side-by-side’asmypreliminarytaskwasshotentirelyinone room,withminimal
character movementastheywere seatedata table.However,Iwouldliketosaythat I believe the ‘tracking’of mycharacter(s),forme,feelsmore
professional,asthiswasseenmultiple timesasmymaincharacter walkedaboutthe house andthe woods. Onthe whole,Ican see andfeel a personal
improvement,largelydue toworkingwithagenre tomeeta differentobjective,butalsojustthroughthe cameraworkpractice and experimentingwith
different,more advancedsoftware,andevenanalysingotherclassmates’work.
I wouldlike todevelopmyuse of Adobe AfterEffectstoadda more professional style tomymediaproducts.Iwouldlike to developthe qualityandcolour
of myclipsas well asthe on-screentitlesthatpresentanyrelevantinformation. Furthermore,Iwouldalsolike togainsome knowledgewithvisual effects
workas it issomethingthatisnewto me and somethingIbelieve thatIcouldworkintofuture projects,toadd that‘professional touch’. Finally,Iwouldalso
like toworkwithdifferenttechnology/equipmentsuchasa GoProcamera. Throughexisting,basicknowledge Iknowthattheycanshootin manymore
framespersecond(FPS) whichassistswiththe qualityandspeedof filming,butIwouldlike togainfurtherknowledge,andbecome familiarwithusingone
and again,incorporatingitsusage intofuture mediaproductions.
In conclusion,Ibelievethatmymediaskillsandunderstandinghasbeendevelopedbetweenmypreliminarytaskandmyfinal openingscene. Myuse of
software andequipmenthasimprovedsignificantlytoachieve the endresultthatIam happywith,andI wouldonlylike toimprove myskillsfurtherin
future projects. BelowisaSWOT analysisof myopening scene mediaproduction,includingthe strengthsandweaknessesIthinkIhave and whatmy
currentskillsmightleadtointhe future.

2. Q7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? Aaron Cogdell
Strengths
Plot: I believe thatthe plotformypreliminarytaskwasvery‘basic’and
lackingindirectionorexpansion.Due tomyextensive researchformy
openingscene,Iwasable tocreate a more ‘interesting‘plot(one that
matchedmy genre) andone thatalso hadto capabilitytobe expandedand
continuedif made intoafull lengthfilm.
EditingSkills:I alsobelievethatmyeditingskillshave becomemore efficient
and evenmore advanced.Mypreliminarytaskonlyrequiredbasiccutting
and positioningeditingtechniques,butformaximumeffect,myfilmopening
requiredfading,speeding-upandslowing-down,animatedtitlesanda
combinationof bothvideosandstill images.
Pre-Production:Ihave also betteredmy pre-productionskillsand
commitment. Ihave learned toexplore deeperintoandaround multiple
topicsto maximise my‘options’and‘findings’.Iamnow more experienced
infilmplanningandknow the minimumpre-productionrequirementsto
make a successful production.
Weaknesses
Titles: AlthoughIusedAdobe AfterEffectsafteraconsiderableamountof
researchand planning,Ibelievemyfilmtitle atthe endof the openingscene
appearsto be very‘basic’and quite ‘unprofessional’.Thiswasmainlydown
to the lack of time I had allocatedmyself forthispartof production.
Camera Angles/Movement:Iincludedclose upsandpanningshotsasa
conventionformyhorror genre,butIfeel asif myfilmrequiresawider
varietyof camera shots.Perhapslonger‘trackingshots’oreventhe use of
aerial shotswould give amore professionalfinishtomyproduct.
Lighting:The lightingandcontrastin myclipsis ‘inconsistent’throughout
my film.Thiswasfirstlybecause of numberof differentshoots,atdifferent
timesof the day on differentdays.Also,due tothe relatively‘basic’
equipment,Iwasunable tofullyutilise the ‘darkness’asourcamerasdid not
pickup enough,if anydetail.
Opportunities
After Effects: I believe thatdevelopingmyuse of Adobe software,suchas
AfterEffectsIcan furtherincrease the aestheticqualityof mymedia
productions.Learninghowtocolourcorrect/enhance clipsandevenuse,
professional,animatedtitleswouldbe abonusto my future media
productions,andeveninthe nearfuture formy A2 production(s).
Visual Effects:Afterbecomingmore familiarwithusingAfterEffects,Iwould
like toexperimentwithsome visual effectsinfuture projectsaswhen
workedwitheffectively,canmake a bigdifferenceinthe qualityandsuccess
of a mediaproduct
Threats
Actor/Actress choices:For bothmy preliminarytaskandthisfilmopening,I
usedmyself andmybrotheras the maincharacters. Thiscan be seenas a
‘weaklink’tomyproductionas we are not ‘actors’and filmingourselvesor
one-anotherbecomesdifficultincertainsituations.

3. Q7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? Aaron Cogdell