What do you feel you have learnt in the progression from your preliminary task to the full product? Ev7

The task taught me a lot of things about making a short film which I then went on to use in our final film opening. Here are some examples.

Camera work:

In the preliminary task, we had a set storyboard that involved a wide range of camera shots and angles. This meant that we knew exactly what we were doing so that filming was easier as we had a clear vision of what the film would look like. We used this skill in our final film as we knew we had to plan every specific shot and know what we were doing. We used storyboards to do this, and also filmed each shot a number of times at different angles so that we knew for definite that the camerawork would be what we planned if not better.

From our preliminary task we also learnt about different camera angles such as the use of closeups, mid-shots, two shots and the 180 degree rule. We tried to in-cooperate all of these angles and shot types in our feature film opening to make the sequence seem more exciting and to highlight the important features such as facial expression, setting and costume.

In the preliminary task, we used a close up of the characters faces to show they are main focuses of the sequence. This focuses the audience's attention on that specific character as they are the main thing on the screen. We transferred this idea to the short film by using a close up of Courtney's face. We did this to focus the audience's attention to her, making them recognize that she is the important character in the film.

Framing:

Framing of a shot is important as it allows you to show specifically what you choose to in a shot. In our preliminary task we had a problem with framing as our setting was given to us. This meant that for a lot of the filming we had no control over what was in the shot and what wasn't. In order to fix this, we had to rearrange the space we were given so that the table we used was in a good position with the lighting we had.

For our opening sequence, we avoided encountering this problem again by carefully selecting the settings and characters we used. This meant that framing was easier as we could create the specific effect we desired without having other factors in the background such as a pile of tables which we had in the back of  our preliminary task.

Mise en scene:

The mise en scene in our preliminary task was another issue. We did not do enough planning for the sequence and so the characters costumes were just the clothes that they came into school in, they have no props, and the lighting and settings were only what were provided. This meant that we had less control over what was seen on the screen as we did not make enough decisions in relation to this.

In our final piece, we planned as much as we possibly could in relation to costume, props, setting and lighting. This overcame the problem we encountered in our preliminary task as it meant that we controlled everything shown on screen.

Costume:
For example, we made sure that each of the characters are wearing a different costume in each scene by filming on two seperate days. We also made sure that the characters are wearing clothing that suits their stereotype, for example out of fashion "nerdy" clothes for the geeks, hoodies and tracksuits for the chavs and "trendy" clothing for the popular girls.

Setting:
The settings of our film is in a school and at a party. These are typical features of a teen-angst film and so we decided to follow the generic features and show these two settings.

Lighting:
The lighting in the classroom scene is high-key natural lighting to show that it is a normal school day in the daylight. In the party scene the lighting is low-key, with only a small amount of light as at a party the lights are usually quite dim. This also connotes mystery as Danny walks towards Courtney and takes her away from the party. We used this effect as it is then up to the audience to decide what happens next as the movement is ambiguous.

Props:
The props we used are specific to the setting and the characters that possess them, for example, text books for the geeks, cigarettes for the chavs, and a  note being passed around the classroom.This is iconography of a typical classroom and school setting, making it seem more relatable to the audience and also making it fit the stereotype of a classroom.

Mode of address:

In the preliminary task, we only had three lines of dialogue. These were:

Rhiannon: I baked you a pie.
Liz: What flavour?
Rhiannon: Pie flavour.

This is a set of adjacency phrases, used to make a direct and fast conversation between the two characters. The dialogue is short and over quickly, making it seem unrealistic. This is because the speech uses no normal non-fluency features which we use in almost everything we say in real life. The characters also use standard english with no slang or taboo language to address each other, making the conversation seem formal and important.

In our feature film opening sequence, the main character Jessie addresses the audience through use of a voiceover. As we can see the character on screen most of the time, it gives the effect that we are listening to her thoughts and opinions on each of the social groups. The voiceover uses colloquialisms such as "fat cow" and "they all wanted a piece of me" to relate to the audience as they will also use this language. These phrases also show that the character is a teenager as they are using words and phrases associated with that specific age groups. Normal non-fluency features such as pauses and laughter are also used in the voiceover to make her seem more realistic as she is formulating her thoughts at the same pace she would if she was speaking it aloud.

Editing:

In our preliminary task, we learnt to use the 180 degree rule. This means that the camera only stays on one side of the action, as if a line was drawn through the scene. Here is an example.

The arrow shows the line in which the camera must not cross by any means in order for the product to be continuous and make sense. We used this so that the film is continuous, meaning that the characters do not jump from one side of the screen to another. This was one of the main aspects that we had to include in our preliminary task, meaning that we knew how to effectively use this during the filming of the main film. Match on action is another aspect we had to include in the editing of our preliminary task. This is where you can miss out a slight section of the action to make it flow better. For example, when Liz walks through the door, you do not see her open the door from both sides. This makes the action flow more smoothly as there are not large chunks of unnecessary footage to make the scene feel long. We learnt to use this in our main film for example when Courtney walks through the main door to make the action seem more smooth. We used a transition of a heart being drawn on the screen and then dissapearing into the next scene. The heart is in pink, which makes it look more feminine, a typical aspect of teen angst film. In our preliminary task, we used no transitions as it was one simple scene which only required cuts. We decided that to link two scenes together we need to use a transition in order to show that they are on different days.