Media Evaluation Question 7

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

Our Preliminary task was a Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she?he exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. In this task we had to demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and 180-degree rule.

Whereas our Main Task was to create the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

While the preliminary task was completely different to the main task, I would say I have used some of the skills I learnt from that to help create our final film. Before taking A level Media Studies I had very little knowledge on the subject and little knowledge on how to create a media product.

But in doing the preliminary task I learnt what match on action is, which we used when opening doors in the final task and throwing folders off the desk. This makes the film run smoother and makes sense.

I learnt what 180 degree line was which was used throughout both tasks. This ensures that the shots do not get reversed as the film progresses. We used this rule because it helps to make our film makes sense and flow in a more understandable order.

Also I learnt what shot reverse shot entailed. This is vital when filming conversations as it involves filming shots that look like one character is facing another. This makes conversations between characters believable and therefore makes the film more realistic.

Throughout the year I have learnt many things, which has helped me improve my skills. Looking back at the preliminary task, I feel that I have get better all round in terms of cinematography. But I have get especially better at sound bridges and lighting. In our final film we used many sound bridges. This is where a outgoing sound (either dialogue or sound effects) in one scene that continues over into a new image or shot. We have used these to good effect in our film in order to achieve good continuity and dramatic effect. Also I have got better at lighting. In the preliminary task, we did not focus on lighting at all, however in the final film we focused on getting the lighting perfect. We used a small lamp to get the lighting that we desired to get good dramatic effect.

While we have used the same methods to produce our film (180 degree line, shot reverse shot, match on action) we have altered them to create an effect. In our final film we have used low angle shots and high angle shots to show the personality of a character. Shepp Flanagan when on camera is seen by a low angle shot meaning he dominates the screen making him look powerful. Whereas the character Marcus Finn is shown through a high angle shot, making him look small and vulnerable.