Preliminary Production Evaluation

When making our preliminary production I learned that when filming, it is important to plan what you are going to film and how you are going to film it before you start, rather than making it up as you go along, as when the production is finished you will be able to see noticeable flaws. It also ensures that filming runs smoothly and that you all know what you are doing.

Whilst editing the production, I learned key skills such as putting sound effects onto shots, and how to cut unnecessary footage out of the final piece. I also learned how to speed up shots, which I feel works well in our production. I feel that our finished production contains lots of successful match-on-action as they look effective in the production. These worked well as we were creative with our ideas, and we filmed more shots than we needed, so that we had a variety to chose from so that our match-on-actions worked well in the end. Another thing that I feel worked well is that we used a range of shots such as, close ups, extreme close ups, long shots and medium shots. We were able to do this as we ensured that the shots had all criteria needed, e.g the extreme close ups only contained part of a persons face.

 During filming we encountered a few problems, such as how to keep the camera steady but moving at the same time, background noise and the fact that we our clothes change through out the production. One of our shots consisted of the actress staying still, and the camera moving moving towards/around her. We found it very hard to keep the camera still and the end result looks a bit shaky. We even tried to balance the tripod on a chair with wheels and to push the chair but we found that this didn't work either. This problem could have been overcome if we had the equipment necessary.

To overcome background noise, the next time we film we could do it in a quieter area, as the school was quite noisy. We must also ensure not to laugh or talk when the camera is rolling as it detects the quietest of sounds. As we had to film our production in instalments, our outfits change throughout as it was hard to get all of the filming done in one day. Next time we will either need to wear the same clothes or get our filming done in one day.

The most productive thing about working in a group is that you can brainstorm ideas and watch them gradually get better through multiple persons input. It is also very reassuring as we can help each other if someone doesn't fully understand what thy need to be doing. The least productive aspect about working in a group is that it is easy to get distracted from the task and before you know it the lesson is over with and you have barely any footage.

Next time we will need to be more focused when going into a task and knuckle down until it is finished. Whilst filming and editing the production I have learnt many key skills which will help with my AS production. Such as: how to edit footage, how to use/set up a camera and tripod, how to film the different types of shots, how to work in a team and how to respect other people's ideas.

 During the whole process, I was most pleased with our match-on-actions as I feel we were very creative with them and managed to get a sufficient amount in to a short space of time. The thing that pleased me the most about the production was our editing as it ran smoothly and was good to say it was our first time using the software. The thing that pleased me the most about my role is that because I am only in the production briefly, it gave me a chance to also have a go at filming and directing.