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

Using the camera in the main task was very easy to do, as we had all our knowledge of using it from the preliminary task. However, we had to film outdoors in the main task, which we had not done in the preliminary, and this made us aware of natural lighting, and making sure the camera was not facing the sun and did not have glare from the sun coming into the shots.

The main mistake we made in the preliminary task was crossing the 180 degree line. This made the character switch places on the screen, and made the shot look confusing. Therefore, throughout the whole of filming, we were very careful to keep the camera on the right side of the character, and made sure that it never crossed over to the left. This kept the character on the same side of the screen at all times and avoided confusion.

We used final cut pro when editing our preliminary task, so we had a basic knowledge of how to use it. However for the main task this knowledge became much more extended as we learnt to play around with visual and audio effects, and also transitions between shots. Learning how to do this helped us to change the flashback scenes into black and white, to show that they were at a different time to when the character was on the roof; we also added a shadowy effect to reflect the photographic nature of memory and the fact that some things aren't always clear to remember.
Adding fade in and fade out transitions helped us to create jump cuts, and also helped to portray when real time was 'ending' and when a flashback was beginning. This made the film easier to understand, rather than if the shots just cut from the rooftop to when the character was recieving the bracelet.
Something we hadn't used for our preliminary task on final cut pro was titles. However, they were relatively easy to set up, and after browsing through the different types we could use, we found one that fitted in with the atmosphere of the film. We chose one where the letters faded in and out in a sinister way as it gave a mysterious atmosphere, rather than one that flashed across the screen that would be better suited to an action film.

A program we hadn't used on the preliminary task was garageband. On here, we found two audio pieces that we felt contributed to the film, and gave it it's eerie atmosphere. The first piece was called "Beautiful tension", and was a minor piano playing with a percussion beat in the background. The minor piano gave a sinister feel to the film, and the percussion helped to build tension and suspense. We had "Beautiful tension" over the parts where the character was on the rooftop, to help build suspense about what the character was going to do. The second audio piece we had was a low strings number called "Not so friendly". This was very spooky and cold, and over the flashbacks gave an impression of menace and worry, and showed that this was not a nice memory for the character.
Getting music from garageband onto Final Cut Pro was relatively easy, and quick to learn how to do. I believe if we'd have had more time on the preliminary task, adding music would have been a good technique to do.

Generally, I feel we are a lot better skilled in using Garageband and Final Cut Pro than we were when we did the preliminary task. This is due to the continuous use of it throughout our project. Both the preliminary task and the main task were extremely fun to film and edit, and we have had a great time making them.