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

From the transition between the preliminary task my skills and understanding have improved quite a lot. When making the preliminary task many of our decisions were based on elements which we had to have rather than them being relevant to the scene itself.

Research
Before our preliminary task we did not do very much research into the genre of the scene we were creating, I learnt a lot about the crime-thriller genre throughout the planning and making process of our film opening sequence. By analysing other openings and codes and conventions of the genre we were able to take inspiration from effective methods and apply them to our own media product. 

Camera shots
Our camera shots in the preliminary task were successful as we used close ups, mid shots and followed rules such as the 180 degree rule etc. Our camera shots that we used within the preliminary task were not very thought through in terms of what they added to the scene. When we were deciding on camera shots for the film opening, we discussed camera shots and what the different angles would add to the overall feel of the sequence. Our use of camera shots became more advanced also, when filming the section here a girl is 'hanging from a tree' we filmed the section with Caoimhe stood on the floor, the second shot was taken in a different tree with Caoimhe sat in the tree, the combination of the two made it look as if Caoimhe was not touching the ground at all. 

Mise en scene
The overall mise en scene has improved between the two tasks. In the preliminary task we filmed our scene within our school. Whilst this location had a lot of thought put into it, it was probably not the most convincing police interview room In our film opening our filming locations were all very relevant and effective, we spent time seeking out locations before finalising filming planning and used the locations well within our task. 

Lighting and white balance
Within our preliminary task we used a low lit room and a desk lamp to try and create tension. Whilst these were a good idea the execution of the light was not as dramatic as I would like it to be. Within our opening sequence the lighting was once again dark and had a far more mysterious and professional look to it - this was probably also due to the better recording equipment. When editing I learnt about the white balance of a video and how much it can affect the continuity of the shots. The close up shots of the journal were filmed in a different location the the rest and the lighting had more of an orange tone, I changed the white balance to make the clips have a more blue hue which meant they flowed seamlessly with the other shots in the sequence.

Voice-over and sound effects
The sound effects used within our preliminary task were all diegetic and recorded whilst filming. Within our film opening we used non diegetic sounds, voice-overs and our own soundtrack. Our voice-overs were very effective and helped inform the viewer what the situation was within the opening and the sound effects used helped to create atmosphere successfully. 

Software
One of the main things I learnt in the progression from the preliminary task to the full product was how to use technology that I had never come across before, I spent more time figuring out how to do advanced things and using editing programmes that I had never used before.