Evaluation 7: Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Evaluation part seven compares my preliminary task (one of the first posts on my blog) to my horror production, this will show how i have applied the knowledge from the preliminary task into the horror production; i will explain and demonstarte how the rules of filming are used in both, suchas the 180 degree rule.



The above images show how i used close ups. They are both used for effect but due to the change in genre the effect of the shot changes. In the preliminary task; the close up was used to emphasise the dialogue as the goal of the task was to show a conversation, the 180 degree rule was applied in this instance much like it was when Rowen and Michael were in conversation in The River. In our horror opening; the goal of close ups was to show the reactions and emotions of the characters. We used this effectively throughout the film. The above shot shows Michael looking puzzled when he hears a rustling of the bush, another close up is then used when he is about to be killed. The image from my preliminary task shows Jonny in conversation the main effect was not to show emotion.

From the preliminary task there are many key things i have learnt and improved upon with my film production as a whole. Some of these being:

- Casting
         Ensuring the roles and characters of actresses/ actors is clear before filming, with the preliminary task it was almost ad-lib with the roles we all performed, scripting also ties in with this.
- Planning
         The planning process is of paramount importance when making a film, we made 3 in depth copies of the storyboard, a screenplay and an in depth script and a large amount of location planning. For our preliminary task we hardly planned and I feel the planning made our film much better than the preliminary task.
- Location
        When deciding on the location we had around four ideas for our production, we visited each of these and decided our filming location that way, with the preliminary task we filmed in the room it was assigned in which made it less believable as the mise en scene didn't fit the genre. Whereas, our horror  film location was perfect.
- Camera work
         My understanding for filming has increased vastly since my preliminary task, before the preliminary task i was unaware of rules such as the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot; they now come as a second nature when filming, this paired with my previous understanding for camera work makes this one of the strong-points of my productions. We applied the shots in the preliminary task but we adapted them and used them effectively with our story to add tension and the 'scare factor' which i feel was benefited by my new understanding of filming and camera work which was gained from the preliminary task.
- Editing
          Last but not least the editing of my films, editing was always the thing i was most confident about with media due to my previous experiences with my video making hobby. In the preliminary task i adapted to a new editing programme which was alien to me at first; from the preliminary task I found it very similar to the programme I use at home (Pinnacle Studios) i learnt some methods from the preliminary task which i then used in the horror production. I feel that the editing on 'The River' is very strong and adds to the production as a whole.