TASK 7-Prelim and opening sequence comparison

Looking back at your preliminary task what have you learnt from the process of conducting this media product?

We have learnt a lot from our preliminary task in editing, sound, camera usage and mise en scene. When we reached the editing stage we learnt a lot more about final cut pro. Our creative skills when building our set also improved. We made sure that in our thriller we made our set look as realistic as possible where as during our prelim task we didn’t have any props on our set and the only thing on our set was a fireplace. We have learnt a lot since then and we have learnt to address our target audience using props and camera work. We have also developed the way that we have used technologies such as our editing techniques, for example using final cut pro. In our thriller we used muzzle flashes for the fun shots and also putting in gun shot sounds. To make my opening sequence flow I also added fading devices in my thriller.

When filing my prelim we only knew how to operate a camera in a very basic way. We didn’t focus on the exposure so all of our shots ended out to dark. In our opening sequence we made sure that the light was perfect to fit the situation. The light couldn’t be to light as it wasn’t a good situation. We also used a variety of shots that had a purpose in our opening sequence. We made sure that the shot was absolutely perfect for our opening sequence. By doing this we took time over the hot and we were thoughtful of where we were going to put our shots. When filming our prelim we didn’t take time over shooting and therefore a lot of our footage was out of focus and also the shots didn’t illustrate any message to our audience.

 

Upon editing our prelim it didn’t take a lot time, firstly because it wasn’t a very short piece however mainly because we did not have very much experience of using final cut pro. We put our prelim task together very basically not using any effects our putting in any title sequences. The sound was also poorly put together and no background effects were put in place. In our opening sequence we knew a lot more about using final cut pro. We added sound effects such as gun shots which we spent a long time choosing. We also added in a muzzle flash to make the gunshots look a lot more realistic. We made our opening sequence a lot faster and quicker when the action sequences came in. We also made our sequence flow a lot more by using fading effects that were in final cut pro. When adding in our title sequences we used adobe photo shop to choose a font that incorporated with our political/war genre. We would never have done this in our prelim task as we didn’t know how and the technologies weren’t available to us.

When setting up our set in  our prelim was we didn’t add anything in to build on representation or illustrate anything to our audiences. We didn’t add any props into our prelim task, it was simply a fireplace and a door and the only other prop that we used was a cigarette as our prelim task was about peer pressure of smoking. In our opening sequence we made sure that every single prop was well thought through. We had “top secret documents” to illustrate the severity of the situation. Moreover we made sure all of our props in our thriller were put together to incorporate with our genre, which was not the case in our prelim task.

To conclude, I have learnt a lot about developing a media product since I filmed my prelim task. My editing skills meant that I could make that I could make a better and more realistic media product. Our camera work was also used a lot better and all of our shots were well thought through and planned before. The props were also planned to incorporates with our genre and attract our target audience. Moreover the editing was one of the factors that illustrated the improvement from my prelim to my opening sequences. We made our opening sequence fast paced and also effects to make it realistic such as gun shots and muzzle flashes.