Evaluation - Question Seven

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


Before planning and filming our thriller sequence we decided to carry out a preliminary task whereby we filmed a very short and simple clip. We decided on a simple narrative , a piano lesson and with two class members acting we filmed a short clip whereby we tried to include as many cinematography techniques as possible before editing the clip on the software we would use for our media product.

The aim of the preliminary task was to become familiar with the camera and settings on it such as the zoom, delete and play buttons. The task would also allow us to get used to using the tripod and filming several different camera shots and angles that we had never attempted to film before and would look effective in our thriller sequence. The task was important to carry out because we had not worked with any of the equipment that we would later use to film before. We needed to learn how to before we created the final product so we would be prepared and be able to prevent some problems that may occur. We learned how to operate the camera on a tripod, how to create certain cinematography techniques such as a long close up and midshot. We also learned what was easy and what was hard about filming so we discovered what we would have to consider when filming our sequence such as the camera being blurry or out of focus. We overcame this by holding a blank piece of paper in front of the lense which helped the camera to focus so we know to do this if we are faced with the same problem when filming our opening sequence.

We learned that the camera picks up the sounds of surroundings easily so when filming we would have to remain silent except for sound that we intend on including. For example, we will try not to film near a busy road or talk when filming to avoid hearing cars or voices in our shots. In terms of the narrative and characters, the actors should not look into the camera lense when filming because it can look unprofessional and unnatural so we made sure to let our actors know not to look at us when we filmed out thriller sequence. A main idea we got from filming the preliminary task was that we should use as many cinematography techniques as possible as it would compliment our narrative most effectively and make the sequence appear more interesting.


In terms of skills to use when creating the full product, we learned how to record and edit using a specific camera and editing software which made creating our media product easier because we were able to reach our desired effects for our sequence without a software or camera that made editing or filming too time consuming. This is because both the camera and Final Cut Pro X are relatively simple and easy to operate so we were able to use them both easily quite quickly after practising with the preliminary task.  Learning how to use a tripod and secure the camera to it was useful because it kept the camera steady during shots.


We also learned how to film a variety of different cinematography shots and angles that we could use to create certain effects in our opening sequence such as an over the shoulder shot which is effective in showing the audience clearly who is speaking and who they are talking to. We created this shot by positioning the camera on the tripod just behind one of our characters shoulders and pointing to the other character. This showed some of the back of one character and most of the front of the other so the audience can view the conversation between them.

Another example would be creating a close up shot. We pointed the camera towards the actors hands as she played the piano and then used a button on the camera to zoom in and focus. We made sure this shot was steady by slowly using the zooming in button to focus on one particular object or person. A panning shot was given height by attaching the camera to the tripod and adjusting the settings so that the camera was sat high. We then filmed very slowly and steadily in order to make sure that the shot would not turn out 'jerky'. After filming we learned how to cut and crop each shot correctly before adding transitions to it so that the sequence as a whole ran smoothly as if it was one shot.

I found it hard to film a panning shot at first because it kept appearing unsteady but we continued to practise and filmed the panning shots slowly with the tripod which worked well and improved the steadiness. Another angle that was difficult to film was a long shot because we did not have much room. This made us consider the amount of space we would need to give ourselves when filming our product.

 Overall, the preliminary task proved to be helpful in preparation with filming our sequence because it let us practise using the equipment and test camera techniques. We could also discover problems or issues that we may have encountered in filming our final media product and therefore we could prepare and decide how to overcome or prevent them.