Foundation Portfolio Evaluation
By
Rhys
Ward
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
As I have previously said, work based learning was the best way to develop my film constructing knowledge and having to do the preliminary task was definitely a great way of learning about everything. When constructing my final product, my main aim and objective was to really show off how well I have progressed from my preliminary product to my final film opening. Furthermore, I wanted to give off a professional impression, and for any audience watching to feel like this is a real film that they could watch in the cinema.
My knowledge of more or less everything film related was pretty poor when I was constructing my preliminary and I think that this is quite evident.
Over the process I have developed my film skills and knowledge. My technological skills have really developed as I have gotten to understand the different softwares and components. For example, my editing skills have developed to become much better with being exposed to doing different things such as changing the speed of clips and using text. My audio editing skills and general camera skills have also improved because of how I’ve had to use them more so in the construction of my final product than in my preliminary task. In my final piece I had to edit the volume of the clips to ensure they all matched and it was continuous and even had to import my own audio and ensure that it fitted in with the video aspect. In my preliminary I did nothing like this. I simply left it how it was because my skills were not as developed. One example of how my camera skills have developed is by changing lenses to make sure that I got the best footage for my final piece, whereas in my preliminary I just used the standard lens. Changing lens allowed me to do things I never would have been able to do by just sticking to one standard lens, such as doing the focus pull that it seen at the end of my opening.
My knowledge of different techniques has also developed greatly from my preliminary to the final product. For example you can see the focus pull technique that I used to add effect and make the audience feel disorientated to create a paranormal and scary atmosphere. Other techniques include operating the tripod, switching focus settings on the camera from automatic to manual when necessary and much more…
Audience feedback also played a big part in the construction of my final film because it allowed me to make changes to it and develop it to make it as appealing to the audience as possible. The multiple questionnaires that I sent out and received back, face to face comments made about different elements of my film opening and even texting people to ask of their opinion are all examples of how I gained the opinions of a potential audience to make my film opening as appealing as possible. My preliminary, on the other hand, did not take any audience opinions in to account and was just made to how I wanted it to be done in my head. Audience feedback has definitely played a bit part in making my film opening as appealing as possible.
In my opinion, my preliminary was made at a basic level using only the essential techniques outlined in the task brief. Although it did what was asked of it, as I now look back I do not like at all how it is and how poorly planned it was. My final product has been planned very well with everything being documented and uploaded to my blog to aid my organisation of different things, including actors and equipment. I see a clear progression and development from my preliminary to my final piece in every way. The camera work is much more advanced and experiments with different shots/angles. The editing is more appropriate and suits the genre well. Continuity is also improved and has been taken very seriously in comparison to the preliminary. I believe that my final product is successful when I cross reference it with not only this aim of making something that showed a clear progression from my preliminary and appeared professional, but all of the aims I have mentioned throughout my evaluation.