Evaluation preliminary vs. real

"preliminary Vs Final task analysis"

 

After completing both our preliminary and our opening two minutes, there are some quite apparent mistakes in terms of how we constructed, filmed and edited both pieces.

One of the most noticeable faults in our preliminary was the lack of the use of the tripod, which is used to steady the shot which then delivers a more professional scene and gives it a more naturalistic performance. In our opening 2 minutes we used a better camera which enabled it to appear more naturalistic. However, during the chase sequence we added a bit of intentional shake to the scene to convey the unsteady emotions of the protagonist as he searched for the antagonist.

With the final two minute opening completed we have compared to result to the initial preliminary task we shot at the beginning of September last year. This is to see the development of our knowledge and how we have improved upon our filming and editing skills.

The first noticeable difference is the location of the shots. With our preliminary task we had 3 hours to plan and shoot the entire thing. We took the task seriously so tried to create a piece to the best of our abilities. The location we had to use was the school grounds. This could be a good location for a limited part of the clip though the location was not entirely suitable for a thriller/ spy action film. The use of a train station which is internationally recognised as being part of a wealthy country and iconic to the British nation. The decision was made after experimenting and examining several different locations. The most iconic locations we could of used were London (specifically london Victoria), Guildford cathedral ground all iconic and internationally recognised. However with researching the Conventions of the genre and examining films such as James Bond, The Bourne trilogy and Pulp fiction we found that these films rarely actually used iconic locations. They do appear within the movie though the start of the films really is back alleyways rooftops of building. For this reason we decided to go with that idea. The start of a back alleyway chase but intentionally would go to London to film more of the movie.

The acting level within the preliminary is minimal. Although we have all done drama before we were not focused upon the characters as we were focusing upon the camerawork more. The result ended up with us lacking any depth to the film however when we were planning our final shoot we planned everything. Even with the vast improvement upon acting practicing and filming there is still one more thing that i wish i could change now and will in the future utilize and that is the age of my actors. ive noticed the young actors make a film look extremely low budget so i would try and find at least mostly adults within the film. Another comparison was the quality of the visuals: we shot the preliminary in a standard definition resolution, whereas our final opening piece was recorded in 1080p at a higher frame rate, resulting in a more aesthetically appealing look Due to the extended planning on the opening we spent more time thinking about the framing of shots, as well as other aspects of cinematography, for instance lighting and exposure which proved a slight problem in our preliminary task. So using cardboard and settings of the camcorder i went about controlling the amount of light allowed into the camera. this allowed me to basically shoot a  high definition quality shots in which i would not have to spend a lot of time in post production trying to correct any issues.

Something we also took into greater consideration was the colour of the film. We struggled with making the color correction and grading in our preliminary task look cinematic, We achieved a distinctive look through adjusting the colours towards the yellow hue this brought up the colours within the film however the small parts where the colours became to great I would reduce the colour correction. The issue with the colours would be resolved with camcorder with depth of field adjustment.

Overall the noticeable improvements upon camera shots and there angles, the character representation, the script and the continuous editing have created a high standard piece of work which is a huge jump from our first attempt at film making. With what we learn't from this experience I am certain the jump will be noticeable again with Puzzle Production's next film.