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

In October 2013 we were set a preliminary task to help us familiarise ourselves with Adobe Premier Pro, our main brief was to create a short sequence which incorporated the continuity techniques: shot-reverse-shot, 30 degree rule, 180 degree rule and match on action.

This was the final product


Looking back now, it is clear that were a lot of camera-work issues

• Harsh jolts in parts (see 0:12-0:14) made the sequence look very unnatural and therefore ruined the audiences ability to suspend their belief.
• The framing on shots was either very loose or very tight, it was never perfect so we could not achieve strong shots

There were also a few continuity errors

• The movement of the camera at times was unnecessary and therefore ruined continuity
• Match on action was not fully utilised which would have made certain things smoother
• At 0:17-0:18, the two shots of Mari putting her bag down do not connect smoothly, they aren't continuous

Although the prelim's were of a low standard, without that I would not have felt prepared to produce 'Growing Pains,' as they offered great practice and things to remember for this time. This all resulted in a very well polished final product:

PREPRODUCTION

Our prelim required hardly any pre-production, however this wasn't the case for our film.

Storyboard. Animatic and shootboard

We made an A3 colour-coordinated storyboard which allowed us to visualise where our shots would go. The colours corresponded to the type of shot which allowed us to see if we had a variety of shots.

We also included transitions and when music would come in and fade out.

Our animatic was effectively a video version of our storyboard.

Shootboard organised in set-ups, not chronologically. It allowed us to record the length of each shot and which take was the best on the shoot, to make editing easier.

LOCATION RECI

1. Accessibility - This location was a one minute walk from my house and the school is very close to Seb's house. Therefore, it was easy for Seb to take the kit to his house, then pick up Mari and Louis and drive them to my house with the kit. 
2. Safety - There are lots of locations in inner city London which we would have used, however filming on a real London estate with expensive equipment would have been quite intimidating and we would have put ourselves at risk to crime. Filming on an estate in the suburbs was a lot easier.
3. Permission - For most locations in London you need permission to film, this would have caused hassle so we just avoided by choosing this location.
4. Footfall - During the time and days we were filming, there were barely any people around which made it easy to film without being interrupted by human activity.

                                                                   WEATHER CHECK

For our prelim we were filming inside, however as we filmed outside for our film, weather was an important factor which we had to consider before each shoot

CASTING SCRIPTS AND CAST CONTRACTS

We cast the role of Shaniqua (as I was immediately Melissa and Louis was Clem) and then printed off scripts to learn our lines in advance

We made cast contracts to ensure all actors could and would be there

FACEBOOK GROUP

This Facebook group made it easy to communicate when we weren't together

PRODUCTION
There has been a massive improvement in the standard of our film in comparison to the prelim. Camerawork and continuity was much more on point and we communicated better as a team overall.
Here are some examples of techniques we improved:

MATCH ON ACTION

SHOT REVERSE SHOT

POST PRODUCTION

We used Adobe Premier Pro again for editing but we were able to fully utilise all its settings for example I learnt how to sound mix and colour grade which I found challenging to begin with but very fun and interesting as time went on.
I also learnt how to use Live Type although as mentioned previously, didn't feel like it was necessary.

IMPROVEMENTS

• The animatic was never referred to after we made it, could have spent that time researching and planning further. 
• Lots of shots need to be taken for conversations, particularly when outside. Wind and traffic sounds is something which cannot be fully controlled but with more shots, although it would be time consuming, we could have surely found some which were void of background noises
• Treat a test edit as if it were the real thing (planning wise). 

Overall, it was a really enjoyable process. As well as building on my skills in media e.g. using the camera and its equipment and editing, I also built my team working, listening and communication skills and built stronger relationships with the people in my group which was a nice addition to the process.