The First Reflective Main Exercise Blog Entry Thing

Compared to the preliminary exercise, the planning for the main exercise is far more in depth. With the main exercise we have had to look at all the aspects of the genre we have decided (social realist drama) by looking into the codes and conventions that are associated with the genre. Also we needed to look at the stereotypes of ‘Chavs’ as our opening sequence will involve aspects of the ‘Chav’ subculture. This was different with the preliminary exercise as we only had to touch on the ideas of the genre and didn’t have to include information about social aspects such as stereotypes and sub cultures like we have with the main exercise due to the fact that we only had to concentrate on achieving the technical aspects of filming such as the 180 degree rule and continuity. With regards to the story boards we have had to put a lot more detail into them to show what we intend to make. With the preliminary exercise we were able to make a brief storyboard just to give the basic ideas and show how we were going to use the required camera shots. However with the main exercise we have had to think about how we are going to portray the characters and how they will represent the genre and stereotypes.

With the preliminary exercise’s SWOT analysis our group’s weakest points were the lack of experience in operating cameras and time keeping. The fact that time keeping was a weak point was due to the fact that one of the members of the group was absent due to illness for a large portion of the exercise. This meant that completing some the planning took a little longer than we hoped so the time for filming and editing was cut short. We have been able to overcome this with the main exercise because of a slight change in group members. We have kept on top on the planning paperwork by dividing up the tasks so that we haven’t fallen behind. The other weak point with the preliminary exercise was our lack of experience with operating a camera. However even though the preliminary exercise helped us develop new skills in the way of camera work, the main exercise will require us to get some complex camera shots but we also need to concentrate on getting the lighting and sound right as well.

With the main exercise I am hoping to mainly improve my skills when it comes to editing. This is mainly due to the fact that I only helped with the edit of the preliminary exercise in a small way. For example I would off my opinion when a frame had been edited. I will be editing the main exercise so I’ll be able to learn how to use the software and how edit the piece of film to get a good quality finished product. Time keeping/management is another skill that as a group we are improving on because at this point we have completed most of the preproduction paper work apart from the location recce and the risk assessments. With the film section of the main exercise we are looking to gain experience in making sure we have the correct lighting that we desire for the film and getting the right sound. For example the right background sounds to ensure that we get the correct feel within the clip.