Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you think you have learnt from the progression from it to the full task?

From the progression of the preliminary task we learnt that when filming shots, we need to film them for longer in order to be able to edit more effectively as shorter shots dont allow you to edit as much because it's more difficult to match certain shots together without looking like a jump cut or not matching seamlessly. We also learned to use a more varied number of shots in our main task for example we used over the shoulder(when the girl is on the balcony in the chapel), long (when the girl is walking down the main path in the park), wide and high angle shots in comparison to the preliminary task where we were much limited on what shots to take as it was only for 30 seconds, and by taking different shots we were at a better advantage when it came to editing. We learned how to add in sound effects to make the sequence more intriguing and enlightening to the audience for example the wind from the trees in the park. In addition to this we learned how to use the tripod effectively for example when taking a pan shot, where we scanned the park to establish the new scene moving on from the chapel, which we did to give a neater finish to the shots whereas in the preliminary task we were struggling to use the tripod and the shots looked quite shaky and amateur.

Examples of the types of shots we used:

This is an example of a bird's-eye view shot



This is an example of a medium long shot:

Everything already mentioned makes up the planning of a film(opening). We found that effective planning, such as a story board, a detailed shot list, locations, costumes etc lead to the easier production of our opening. However, even if we didn't follow our plans to the tee, we still found them helpful as they gave guidance when we were perhaps struggling with what shot would work best.We knew exactly what kind of feel the opening needed (eerie, mysterious) and so we chose a park which connoted this atmosphere through bare trees and very few, if any people in the background. The planning also continued into the editing stage of the film process, for example, we knew that our soundtrack had to fit in with the visual images and so we used violins and other 'dramatic' sounds/instruments to convey the right 'feel' (using Garage Band). This is in contrast to our preliminary task, where a soundtrack/voice over was not needed. Also from our preliminary task, we learnt how to use the 180 degree rule, which helped us in our main task. This was especially the case when the girl is looking through her old photos and then blows out the candle.