AS Media

Here is my answer to Question Seven which i decided to answer via a blog post, below is my plan for this question.

Answer to question
Here is the preliminary video.
Here is my final two minute film openings.

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

When reflecting back on my preliminary task I completed at the beginning of the year, it is clear that I have learnt numerous things that have helped me progress as a media student and develop skills that I used in my coursework.

Looking back at my preliminary task, I can see how much I have improved, building skills in editing and filming techniques. At the start of the year I didn’t have much of an understanding about media and film and that is clearly seen in my preliminary task. I didn’t know about all the different types of shots, angles and movements that I could use in media that helped to create a certain atmosphere and feeling in a film. In my preliminary task we only filmed the actors and didn't put much thought into what shots we used. We only focused on the three we were told to include which were match on action, the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. In my final product though I thought very carefully about what shots I wanted to include and what I wanted certain shots to represent. I used close ups on my protagonist so that the audience could feel more of a connection with her and so they could take in all the emotion she was showing. I also used high angles so that my protagonist looks vulnerable while she is being followed by the stalker. Having an understanding of all this terminology helped me to use the best shots for my film and also give off the atmosphere of a thriller film.

Another thing I have learnt and built up on is my editing knowledge. When creating my preliminary and practise task I was unsure of how to use the software at school and so wasn’t too involved in the editing process of the videos. Working on my own meant that I had to learn how to do this and so I watched YouTube videos and learnt how to edit my final film opening. I learnt how to add different effects to my video on final cut like the camera effect and also the security camera effect. I also learnt how to add transitions to my video to help it run more smoothly. Towards the end of editing my film I looked up different production companies and learnt how to create my one production company logo to add at the beginning of the film. One thing that we never added to our preliminary video was any titles, which is something that is very important on the mark scheme for my final product. I looked up typical thriller film titles to see what fonts and colours they normally used and then created my title with inspiration from them.

Another thing that we didn't add to our preliminary task was sound. At the beginning of the year I didn’t really understand the importance of sound in film, both diegetic and non-diegetic. Although we did use dialogue in our preliminary, it was very simplistic. We also didn’t add any sound effects or even a background track to help set the atmosphere for the video. After learning more about media I began to understand how important sound was in film and began to learn about the different aspects of it. In my final film opening I learnt a lot about the type of music horror and thriller films tended to use as that was the direction I was going in for my film. I learnt that sharp singular notes helped to create a tense and uncomfortable atmosphere and so when looking for the music I would use, I kept that in mind. Due to my film starting of quite calm, I wanted to find some music that helped to represent this before getting more sinister when you first see the stalker. I ended up combining two tracks to help create the kind of music I wanted; one containing calmer piano music and the other containing sharper notes created by string instruments. Because I wasn't going to have any dialogue in my film opening, it was very important that I got the right background track to help create the right atmosphere to the audience. Another key part of sound which I included in my final opening was sound effects. I first have the sound of chalk for when my title comes up on screen, though I also have the sound of static for when the security camera is shown and also when the video camera runs out of battery. This again just helps to set the scene for the audience and help create that 'thriller' atmosphere.

Finally I learnt how to be more organised with my filming by creating scripts and storyboards. While doing the preliminary task, this was one thing we neglected to do as we thought it was irrelevant, though I now understand how useful these things can be in helping everyone understand what it going on. While doing my final opening, I spent a long time looking at how scripts were written so I would understand how to set my out and how much detail had to be included. I also spent a while on my storyboards, making sure I had all the relevant and important scenes noted down so when I came time to film, I would understand what shot I would need to film next and I wouldn't end up forgetting anything. The scripts were also useful in helping my actors understand what they had to do. Because neither of them have any dialogue, everything is focused on their expressions and actions, so having the script which tells them what to do and how to act helped them understand what they needed to do and when.

Plan