Question 7
The purpose of my preliminary task was to learn how to use the equipment and also how to perform different camera angles which we would like to use within our thriller sequence. Before making this thriller sequence, I had never used a tripod before so I had to get used to how it works and how I could use it to the best of its abilities.
From the preliminary task the main things I have learnt are: How to use a camera properly, How to use a tripod and also how to perform professional looking camera angles. The preliminary task was very helpful because we were shown by our teacher before filming how to construct some basic camera angles like panning, over shoulder shot and point of view shot. We also learnt that a tripod was essential if you want the best footage possible. We found this out before hand when we were trying to film by taking the camera off the tripod and just holding it ourselves. This was a bad idea as the footage was very shaky which made in turn made for bad quality of film. Another lesson we learnt was that the position of the tripod is crucial. If the tripod was on uneven ground then the footage could become very shaky or tilted. As a group we had to come up with a solution to what we would do if we would come across this problem when filming our actual thriller. We came up with the idea of placing objects under the tripod to make all the sides of it even. This was a good idea and it helped us a lot because we actually did come this problem was filming our thriller sequence.
One skill I learnt from the preliminary task was how to use a camera and achieve the best footage possible. I did this by looking back at the screen on the camera after each scene to see if there was anything I could improve on to make the footage better. I think that this skill has helped improve my work a lot because I kept filming the same shot over and over again until I was happy that it was the best footage possible. The most important thing I have learnt though is how to work well in a team. This process was all about team work and how certain people have their individual roles. Progressing from the preliminary task to the end result I think that my group has grown in confidence and I think that we have worked well as a team. The preliminary task was so helpful and I think that life would have been a lot harder if we were not shown how to use the equipment and camera angles before hand.