Q7 Evaluation - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Through completing our production of an opening sequence with credits, I feel that I have learnt a lot since making our preliminary task. The main areas I feel I have improved in since making Inheritances opening credits are camera skills, editing and improved knowledge of mis-en-scene and the impact of soundtrack.

Camera

 In our preliminary task we only had access to an iPad. 

This provided us with basic tools to film our footage. The camera work within the preliminary task is fairly smooth however the colour within the shots should have been altered and since creating this clip, I have learnt more in relation to utilizing the tripod as efficiently as possible. When creating our opening credits, we had a tripod. This meant I learnt how to smoothly pan and tilt whilst recording. Also, having access to more than one camera when filming meant that I learnt how to control white balance and exposure within a scene, ensuring we had the best visuals available to us. Also, you can see the change in quality from the preliminary task to our final opening; this is because in the preliminary task we used iPads to film however in the final opening we had access to higher quality camera which provided us with a professional touch when filming our final production.

Editing

 As you can see in our preliminary task we cut and link shot without cross cutting them, this means the whole clip lacks fluidity and just looks poorly edited together.  Since finishing the preliminary task and creating our final project I have learnt that with planning, you can ensure you will gain a continuous style throughout. We also organised ourselves so that we were sure we to be able to gain excess to Premiere Pro, this mean all of us were able to learnt and gain new skills from Premiere Pro. Having minimal knowledge of our editing program Premiere Pro when compiling our footage of the preliminary task together, the standard of editing is poor. You can see this as we have not cut some clips short enough and some cuts are untidy. Since doing this, I have learnt how to successfully edit on Premiere Pro and ensure the finished cut has as much as professional look as is possible. This was especially important within our chanting scene as we needed to show to the viewer point of the chanter and the victim in different perspectives. I  learnt how to reverse play of one shot this adds a spooky effect which will make the audience feel a bit edgy. I also learnt to put colour balance on the chanting shots in the opening, I chose the colour red as it symbols death, hell and blood which will also add a spooky effect to the final opening 

Mise-en-scene

 In our preliminary task it is clear that we have not considered mise-en-scene.Through use of research into horror films, and through looking at miss-en-scene on a deeper level since filming the preliminary task we became much more educated on the importance of mise-en-scene and was able to use our new found knowledge when filming inheritance.In the opening scene of inheritance, it is clear to see our group have thought a lot about the location, the costumes, the makeup, the shot types, the lighting and appearance of the characters. This was not portrayed within our preliminary project. In our final project we ensured that the costumes worn by our two characters represented their roles; the victim had props such as a teddy bear, Paul Frank products also featured in her bedroom which is a well-known brand popular with many teenagers. The killer's costume is black with white backcombed hair,black eye makeup and red lipstick. The red lipstick resembles death, blood and hell. Mise-en-scene allows the audience to identify the characters personalities and their role within the film, it is evident that the young girl studying is the victim, as she displays vulnerability. This is displayed through her pink bedroom with floral print, her teddy bear on the bed, and the way she is dancing as she is listening to music through her earphones, completely oblivious to what is to come. Whereas, the killer is shown quite clearly as an evil psychotic killer through her costume and make-up. 

Sound

During the production of our preliminary task we didn’t actually add or import any soundtrack/sound effects over the top of the filmed shot. However, when creating our final opening sequence, we knew we had to add and import sounds and effects into our film piece. We did some research into sound to help us make appropriate decisions about the non-diegetic sounds we should add to create the tension conveyed in the typical horror genre. There is diegetic pop music playing every time we are introduced to the victim, it is diegetic because she is listening to it through her earphones. We placed a pop track over the top and edited it to give it a tinny sound, we also lowered the volume of the track to make it clear to the audience that it is a song listened to through the characters earphones.   helps to convey to the audience that she is a typical young teenage girl as she enjoys pop music. When the killer is shown the music is dark and dramatic, there is a reason why this is done as it will add tension whilst the audience is watching the killer.