Question 7

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

All the members within my group have learnt a large amount of things after the preliminary task. The group and I have learnt not only the skills required to produce a film opening but also the importance of group organisation in the quality of the product produced. We have learnt how different technologies can effect the quality of a piece of film and how different editing softwares can enhance the product. We have also learnt the range of shots and camera angles that can be inputted into a media product and the importance they can have on the quality of the product.

One of the most important things we have learnt since the preliminary task is the importance of organisation and the research and planning when producing a film opening. We learnt that without taking time in the research and planning stage when coming to film it makes it much more difficult to film the shots that will make the product the best it can be. With careful planning it means when it comes to the filming stage it will be much more efficient and the quality will be better. Stages in the planning stage such as the storyboard and the shot list were also recognised in the preliminary task as being the most important stages as they give the most accurate guideline of what the product will look like and also a basic plan as to what will happen when filming. We also realised that the research is less important but is still very useful in terms of creating a quality film opening and one that looks as professional as possible. Research tasks such as looking into the importance of titles and sound provided the group with knowledge that would enhance the product. The preliminary task inspired us to further look into ideas before producing the piece of media as we felt that the preliminary task was affected by the lack of preparation. We also learnt the importance of group organisation. During the preliminary task the lack of organisation meant the tasks weren't done to a standard that could've been achieved if the distribution of roles was in place. With tasks being allocated to different members it means that the quality of the tasks would be much better.

The next thing which we learnt since the production of the preliminary task is the importance of the editing software and the skills needed for the editing software which we used. During the preliminary task we used the basic editing software 'iMovie'. We realised this software was effective and useful but would not be satisfactory for the product we were hoping to produce in the main task. iMovie allowed us to produce a media product with continuity but didn't allow us to use the intensity of sound we were hoping to use in the final product. When watching the preliminary task we realised how big of an effect the capabilities of the editing software had on the quality of the product. The skills we learnt when doing the preliminary task were very basic and self explanatory as opposed to the software we used in the final task. The software we used to produce the main task was Adobe Premiere Pro. The skills we learnt in this software were much more advanced and allowed us to produce the product we wanted. The software allowed to us to craft the product more in the way that we wanted. We were able to adapt the titles and were able to use the amount of sound we wanted. When watching the final product, we realised how big of an effect the editing software had on the quality of the product.

Another thing we have learnt is the importance of having a range of camera movements and angles. in the preliminary we had very few movements and shots which made it seem very basic. After the preliminary task it made us realise the value of the camera angles and shots, because of this it made us use more angles and shots when it came to filming the final task. During the filming stage it made us film a range of movements and angles so when it came to editing we would have a wider range to use in the final task. By having more shots to choose from we could then show different perspectives and avoid the product looking basic like the preliminary task.

The quality of the preliminary task production also made us aware of the effect that technologies can have on the quality of the final product. We learnt that that the quality of different technologies can better or worsen a media production. During the preliminary task we used an 'iPad' to film the footage which when exported onto the computer didn't look as what we thought it would do. We realised that if we wanted to create a quality piece of film we would need to use a better camera, which we did when filming the final task.